While looking for a good Duluth craft beer, I nearly missed the green and gold signage and bright neon lights illuminating the outer brick wall of Carmody Irish Pub & Brewing. It was a wintry Sunday night and I was in need of a fun place to unwind for a bit before taking on that seemingly endless stretch of highway south to the Twin Cities. So I stopped by Carmody’s.
With four core beers and a couple of seasonals offered by the brewery, there were plenty of Carmody beers to choose from—an impressive accomplishment given the humble size of their three-and-a-half barrel system. I was in a hoppy kind of mood, so I went with the Hop Pickin’ seasonal.
An IPA that’s brewed like an amber, made with five different kinds of malt, and seasoned with hops grown by “a local friend of the brewer,” Hop Pickin’ is a hop-forward IPA with a twist. The large grain-bill adds a complexity to beer that balances well with the bitterness of the hops, and if it hadn’t been for the long drive ahead of me I would have undoubtedly stayed for a few.
Outside of the four mainstays you never really know what you’re going to find when you check out the chalkboard behind the bar. So next time you’re passing by, stop in and see what’s on tap.
