Best Local Beer Spots For Your Inner Beer Snob

Are you sick of drinking watered down, skunked beer? Do you crave flavor, hops and a refreshingly blended brew? Would you consider yourself a bit of a beer snob? While the majority of bars and restaurants in the metro carry the same selection of beer, some patrons with a more refined palate care for the finer things in pints. Here is a list of places to get your beer snob on and sip on a worldly selection of brews.

Old Chicago-Uptown

2841 Hennepin Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55408
612-870-1918
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Have you ever wondered what the popular beer in Ireland is? Or, what they like to drink in Holland? Wonder no more and venture over to your nearest Old Chicago for the World Beer Tour. With 110 brews to choose from, some on tap but most in bottles, it's a beer connoisseur's paradise. It's easy as showing your I.D., getting the tour card and choosing a beer. The bartender keeps track of the beers you've selected and are tallied onto the World Beer Tour card. Each time you try a new beer, it gets you closer to the plaque! That's right, you get rewarded for drinking beer. Once you've had the entire selection of foreign and domestic beers, you receive a plaque stating you've complete the world tour. It's free to join and monthly promotions go out to cardholders. At Old Chicago, you Travel the World, One Beer at a Time.

Gasthof zur Gemutlichkeit & Mario's Keller Bar

2300 Northeast University Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55418
612-781-3860
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Step into old Germantown and experience true German hospitality right here in Minneapolis. On the corner 23rd Avenue and University sits a German-esque haus with a distinctly German plaque that is hard to miss. And inside the traditional décor and architecture continue. Belly up to the bar with 11 true German beers on tap. Light, dark, wheat and amber drafts are available as well as a wide range of foreign wines to choose from. Possibly most famous at Gasthof's is Das Boot. A two-liter boot shaped glass filled to the top with your choice of beer. If you want to drink like a true German, head over to Gasthof's and prost to the great beer makers.

The Bulldog Northeast

401 East Hennepin Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55414
612-378-2855
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Northeast Minneapolis has a great selection of bars and restaurants along Central Avenue and Hennepin Avenue. And the Northeast location of The Bulldog is no exception. The casual, mixed atmosphere offers an oasis for the younger to middle-aged crowd looking for a good pint of beer. Offering more than a dozen flavors of high-end imported beer, regional and foreign craft pints and beer flights with light, amber and dark pours, The Bulldog satisfies all your beer needs. Wash their well-known tater tots down with a seasonal craft tap or Belgian ale. Come see for yourself what The Bulldog is about and experience why Esquire Magazine calls this one of "the best bars in America."

The Nomad World Pub

501 Cedar Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55454
612-338-6424
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Domestic, Belgians, cans, Tallboys, crafts, worldly -- The Nomad World Pub has it all! Featuring a unique blend of craft and imported beers is just the beginning with this pub. Bocce ball leagues, soccer leagues and dogs? Yes, dogs are even welcome at this establishment. Monday's are especially great because the bar offers 2-4-1's and hosts trivia. More than a dozen foreign taps line the back wall and entice beer drinkers of all walks. Stouts, IPAs and Porters are just a small selection of the different styles of pints Nomad's carries. At Nomad's it is always a great time to Travel the World and Never Leave Your Barstool.

Rock Bottom Brewery

800 LaSalle Plaza
Minneapolis, MN 55402
612-332-2739
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Do you enjoy local beer? Do you enjoy when you get to see your beer being made? Then the Rock Bottom Brewery is the perfect place for you. Located in the heart of downtown, the Rock Bottom Brewery offers great food and sophisticated beer. Describing their brewmasters as part scientist, part beer geek, they take exceptional care when creating their Kölsch brews, white, red, brown and pale ales, and light and dark lagers. This brewery also offers a mug club to frequent visitors in which they receive special promotions and gifts each time they return. With different taps at each location, it's impossible to not find a beer and love it. The Rock Bottom Brewery prides itself on brewing beer the old fashioned way, with local brewers and local ingredients.

Emily Buss is a music journalist from Minneapolis and author of On the Rechord blog. On the Rechord is a music site dedicated to the local music scene in the Twin Cities. Emily writes concert and album reviews, band and artist profiles, and provides information about local shows. A college graduate with a degree in Mass Communications with an emphasis on Journalism, Emily has been professionally writing for newspapers and online outlets for six years. You can find Emily at www.ontherechord.com, on Facebook at On the Rechord and on Twitter @TheEmilyB.