Nissa Mitchell

2 weeks ago | racketmn.com | Nissa Mitchell

As of this column, I have written about beer for Racket for two whole years. Not counting the beers I often mention in addition to the five I actually “feature” each month, and the many beers I try but don’t end up mentioning at all, I have sampled 120 beers for this website. I don’t know about you, but I think that’s a whole lot of beers, bro. Like, whoa. And, over the last two years, I do believe I have done a decent job of not letting y’all on to the fact that I am, at my core, a basic bitch.

1 month ago | racketmn.com | Nissa Mitchell

A funny thing happened when I went to write this column: I realized that my top five beers this month all had something in common. What's that? Well, for one, they’re all delicious. Duh. Somewhat more notably: None of them advertise an IBU. Not on their cans, not on Untappd. Their breweries just do not report them, Sam-I-Am. And, I think that’s pretty neat. Why?

2 months ago | racketmn.com | Nissa Mitchell

March is such a weird time for me when it comes to writing a beer column. Sure, there’s St. Patrick’s Day, and local breweries release the occasional dry Irish stout or Irish red to correspond with that, but there just aren't enough of them doing a St. Paddy’s release for it to be a thing in the way that would make it easy to write about. Plus, let’s be real, a St. Patrick’s Day spent drinking anything other than Guinness is just sparkling binge drinking.

Feb 20, 2025 | racketmn.com | Nissa Mitchell

February is a month of many celebrations. Black History Month, to start. Of course there’s Valentine’s Day. Maybe even Presidents Day, if you’re nasty. But here in Minnesota those celebrations are accompanied by a feeling deep in your soul—one that can only be awoken by sub-zero temperatures—that maybe Mother Nature doesn’t want us to live here after all.

Dec 9, 2024 | racketmn.com | Nissa Mitchell

We’ve all heard of “hygge” or “koselig” at this point, so we know we’re supposed to lean into the winter season. Make the most of it, you know? Bust out the blankets and long underwear. Start a fire in the fireplace. Carry around a mug of coffee or tea. Watch Gremlins while wearing a Die Hard-themed Christmas sweater. But this is also the season for big beers. Bold beers. Flavorful beers. And above all, boozy beers. If it’s not over 8%, what’s the point? You don’t get cozy drinking light lagers.