USA, MN: Lakes & Legends Brewing Co. to open near Loring Park in Minneapolis

A desired lifestyle change drove Ethan Applen to co-found Lakes & Legends Brewing Company - a new production brewery coming to the Loring Park area in Minneapolis, Vita.mn reported on April 6th.

"I wanted to get closer to the end product and the consumer," Applen said. "To me, it's really exciting to actually talk to the person that's using whatever it is you're making and actually get that connection."

Corporate no more, Applen teamed up with his brother-in-law and ex-Red Bull marketing and events guy Derrick Taylor to enter the brew business. They hope to begin construction on their 12,000-square-foot space in the LPM Apartments building by the end of April. Applen hopes to begin distribution soon after opening.

Applen has a five-year experience in homebrewing. However, he entrusted the task of head brewing in Lakes & Legends to Andrew Dimery. Dimery has worked at Indianapolis' Sun King Brewing and more recently at Bluegrass Brewing Company in Louisville.

While they're still determining which specific styles will become core beers, the emphasis on Belgian and farmhouse ales stems from Applen's personal tastes. "They're very individual," he said. "There's not a strict uniformity that there might be to some other styles."

10 April, 2015