The beer review returns: local brews at Third Street Brewhouse

As we return from spring break, we decided to keep our reviews local for a couple of weeks.

This week, it brought us to Cold Spring to enjoy a few drinks at Third Street Brewhouse. The taphouse had a great vibe. They played into the old train station vibe perfectly and it didn’t feel forced or fake.

Many breweries in the twin cities strive for the same vibe but make it feel forced, so a relaxed and natural atmosphere was much appreciated. We also noted that Third Street is incredibly affordable, with pints costing $4 and 10 oz. pours costing $3, the perfect place for college students to enjoy a Friday or Saturday evening.

So, if you’re 21+, head down to Cold Spring and enjoy one of these great beers at Third Street.

Minnesota Gold – America Lager (4.9%)

The first beer we tried was the Third Street staple, Minnesota Gold Lager. Minnesota gold is a standard American lager, with a heavy bready influence. It was very bready on the nose and the front of the palate. A green, grainy flavor came across on the back that made the beer very refreshing.

It had a bit of creaminess to it that added a smooth note. Overall, it’s a great beer that can be found in local liquor stores, but we enjoyed it much more on tap.

JHB – IPA (6.4%)

Next, we moved on to Caden’s realm, the single IPA on tap at Third Street. JHB stands for “Juicy, Hazy, Brut.” As the only IPA option, it represented the category very well. JHB was very citrussy on the nose, with notes of lime and grapefruit. The lime came through strong on the front end of the flavor with a grainy note on the back.

It had low bitterness for an IPA and that paired with low carbonation made JHB a very smooth and refreshing choice, certainly a good introductory IPA.

Minnesota Gold Micro Razz – Light American Lager w/ Raspberry (4.2%)

The last two beers we tried were in Third Street’s line of fruited light lagers.

They take the Minnesota Gold Light Lager and add fruit notes to the beer to create a fruity and refreshing spring and summer drink.

The Micro Razz had a strong raspberry smell with a hint of sourness, but that sourness was completely absent on the palate. The raspberry flavor came across strong on the front end with the Minnesota Gold’s green grain note on the back. It gave us a similar vibe to a raspberry tea, light and refreshing flavor without being too thick or sweet.

This is a great summer choice and was Andrew’s favorite of the day.

Minnesota Gold Micro Lime – Light American Lager w/ Lime (4.2%)

Similar to the Micro Razz, the Micro Lime had a strong lime smell. It reminded us of when you put a lime in a corona and get a lot of lime smell over the bready smell of the beer.

The lime was light, sweet and refreshing on the palate.

It’s not a seltzer so you get a full lime flavor, but it is one of the easiest drinking beers we have ever had.

This is definitely the choice for someone who doesn’t like beer, they may not even be able to tell that there’s any beer flavor behind the lime.

We would also like to mention that the third fruited variety of Minnesota Gold, Micro Peach, was another fantastic choice that Andrew enjoyed