Monday, June 15, 2015

Now for some serious heartland: Dempsey's Brewery in Watertown, South Dakota

   A side trip on the way home included soup and a pint in Watertown, S.D., pop. about 21,000 and a few miles from the Minnesota border. Farms, looking green in early June, are the main thing, Among other attractions, Watertown is  home of Dempsey's Brewery. founded in 2000 and thus the second oldest brewery in the state.
Founder and brewer Bill Dempsey says the locals are not keen for the hop bombs so popular on the west coast.  A pale, a stout, a blonde, a lager, and my choice, a Valkyrie Red Ale (5.4% abv per the chalkboard, nice balance with a bit of hoppy tang in the finish) were in the rotation.  Behind the restaurant a brick oven for pizza baking could be seen, and son Sean Dempsey was listed as the only certified pizzioli crafter in the state, based on a course he took in San Francisco.

The beers are brewed on a ten barrel system, parts of which Bill was able to re-source from other uses in the food and dairy business.  Fifteen years sounds like a long enough time to conclude that the Dempseys will be selling good beer for this end of South Dakota as long as they wish.  As the folks here at North Sound Brewing and any others with a good Irish theme, Slainte'!




(Visited 06/09/15)

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