Fulton Beer and the making of the Lonely Blonde

Michelle Bruch

Move over, Miller. The Lonely Blonde is on tap at Kings.

​ There aren't many blonde ales out there on the tap line. The guys at Fulton Beer decided to fix that, and their newest drink, the Lonely Blonde, is named for its rare style.

The beer that arrived last month has been a long time coming. The part-time brewers started inventing the Lonely Blonde in their landmark Fulton neighborhood garage a little over a year ago.

Michelle Bruch

Fulton continues to expand production to accommodate a few dozen bars on the waiting list.

​ "We had a flavor profile in mind, and we had to experiment a lot to get there," says co-founder Ryan Petz, explaining that they tweaked the recipe over and over again until they had it right. They were looking for a beer with lower alcohol content and a complex flavor that would still be light enough for a baseball game.

They originally brewed the Lonely Blonde for co-founder Jim Diley's engagement party. Jim is the one who started them off brewing with a Mr. Beer kit about three years ago.

The founders are keeping their day jobs for the moment, but they're brewing five 1,200-gallon batches per month, and they have a wait list of a few dozen bars that want Fulton on their drink lists. And they're still in the garage, testing out new brews.

Watch for a beer reminiscent of a red ale to arrive next fall called the Libertine. In the meantime, you can find the Lonely Blonde at Sea Salt, the Muddy Pig, Pizza Luce in downtown Minneapolis, Kings Wine Bar, Corner Table, Bunny's and Longfellow Grill.