I know you think summer is beer season, and maybe it is with all the lawnmower-beers and deck-chairs with kan koozies, but I think of summer beer season as a little, shall we say, light. Now fall beer season, that’s something complex and brainy, what with all the stouts and porters coming back like a hot pair of riding boots, not to mention some rauschbiers and harvesty hopped beers that just pair nicely with flannel and a wind-whipped fall day.

To celebrate this cerebral and more intelligent of beer seasons, you should come to the Ritz Theater next Tuesday night for Tastemakers, a little beer chatter soiree we’re throwing. Sure we’ll have beer sampling of some of the craftiest of crafts, but we’ll also have the beer brewers themselves on a stage, answering crafty questions about beer and the local beer scene put forth by our own Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl, so yeah, brainy and compelling is a given.

We’ve got Todd Haug, head brewer of the Surly Nation, Damian McConn leading the hot young guns at Summit, local upstart Jason Schoneman of Steel Toe Brewing who is living the dream, and farmer/beerman Joe Pond  from Olvalde Farm & Brewing Co. who can talk about things small and artisinal. Plus the MN Craft Brewer’s Guild will be there, and you and all your gorgeous beer geek friends who get to ask brainy, intelligent questions at the end (come on, all you need is a few beers and a microphone, right?)

Did I mention that tickets are only $10? It’s a small space and we’re keeping it intimate, so get your tix soon!