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Craft Brewery

Blume said. “These spirits are all great by them- the anniversary of September 11. The competition,
selves, but they really compliment a cocktail. Our which draws 25 to 30 cooking teams, is a fund-
signature drink is the Old Fashioned created from raiser for the Invisible Wounds Project. The local
our whiskey, and the sriracha-infused rum makes a charity provides services to Minnesota’s military,
great spicy Margarita or Bloody Mary.” first responders, front-line medical staff, correc-
tions, dispatch and their families relating to mental
According to Blume, it took a while for the public health, PTSD and suicide issues.
to accept his distinctive beers and spirits. “At first,”
he said, “people would say, ‘Oh, that looks weird. Blume and his staff (the brewstillery has seven
It’s different. I’m afraid of that,’ but now I can’t employees, not counting the dog) will continue to
keep those products on the shelves.” innovate, always looking for new opportunities.
“We’re always looking to grow,” he told Beverage
Customer preference is mixed, Blume said: 50% Master Magazine. “On the brewing side, we want
like the same beer all the time because they are to keep giving people something different to try.
familiar with it; the other 50 percent want some- With the sheer number of breweries out there that
thing new. It’s the same split in the liquor stores are coming out with new beers, people can literally
and bars. Blume also sees a mixture in beer ver- have a beer every day and never have the same
sus spirits preferences. “Having a taproom that beer twice. On the distilling side, we are playing
serves both beer and cocktails is huge for us,” he around with different products that people will
told Beverage Master Magazine. “We get so many hopefully like. Growth is difficult, but it’s the chal-
‘mixed couples,’ where one likes beer and the other lenge we signed up for.”
prefers spirits. Instead of drinking a beer here and
then leaving to get a cocktail, they simply stay here. For more information on Bent Brewstillery, visit
It’s been pivotal to our growth.” www.bentbrewstillery.com

Pandemic Problems...and Solutions

Like all breweries and distilleries, Bent
Brewstillery’s growth took a big hit during the pan-
demic. But, again, like others, it turned lemons into
lemonade by making hand sanitizer. Blume dived
into this project with both feet. The brewstillery
bought tankers of ethanol and produced 65,000
to 70,000 gallons of hand sanitizer. It provided
supplies to a large portion of the police and fire
departments in the state and to hospitals and sup-
port companies. Bent also offered raw materials
to distilleries at cost so those distilleries could help
their local communities. “We went all out,” Blume
said, “and it’s a great feeling to know we did so
much to help. We had a supply of beer and spirits
in our taprooms, so at least we were able to sell
products to-go. We survived just fine.”

With the pandemic waning, Blume plans to go
“full-throttle” ahead, both in creating new prod-
ucts and staging events. Traditionally, the brew-
stillery has offered a winter luau, beer dinners,
a St. Patrick’s Day dinner and car shows in their
large parking lot. This year Blume hopes to bring
back one of the brewstillery’s biggest events — a
crawfish boil that attracted 2,500 people. Bent also
plans to hold its annual barbecue competition on

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