By the time Minnesota became the nation’s 32nd state, in May of 1858, Yoerg Brewing Company had been turning out brews in downtown Saint Paul for nearly a decade. Like other young Midwestern states with robust German immigrant populations, the Gopher State embraced brewing with gusto during the second half of the 19th century. By the late 1880s, Minnesota was home to more than 110 breweries.

The good times didn’t last, of course. As the temperance movement picked up steam, dozens of outstate counties went dry. Minnesota’s own Andrew Volstead played a crucial role in the passage of the 18th Amendment. One after another, storied breweries—Gluek, Schmidt’s, even beloved Hamm’s— scaled back their operations, accepted buyouts from larger competitors, or closed altogether.

The tide began to turn in 1986, when Mark Stutrud and his co-founders took a chance on craft beer and launched Summit Brewing Company near Saint Paul’s riverfront. Enthusiastic startups like Brau Brothers Brewing Company in Lucan, and the Brooklyn Park-based Surly Brewing Company followed. The floodgates opened with the 2011 passage of the taproom-friendly Minnesota Pint Law or Surly Bill.

The Surly Bill didn’t singlehandedly create the seemingly insatiable demand for quality local brews, but it certainly facilitated the demand. Like the long-gone drinkers who turned Schmidt’s and Hamm’s into household names, the region’s beer enthusiasts put a premium on quality ingredients, expert craftsmanship, and a local pedigree. It’s worth spending $2 or $3 extra for a pint or six-pack, the thinking goes, when the product you’re paying for is the fruit of a local craftsperson’s labor. It doesn’t hurt that the Twin Cities, like many other craft beer meccas, have a robust economy that’s powered by entrepreneurs and knowledge workers with ample disposable income.

Few organizations have done more to connect locally minded craft-beer enthusiasts with the startups that drive Minnesota’s resurgent brewing industry—and the food-truck operators, homebrewers, and other entrepreneurs who benefit from its growth—than the Beer Dabbler. The Saint Paul-based company sells branded merchandise, publishes a popular trade magazine called The Growler, and is holding its annual big event, Beer Dabbler Winter Carnival, this year on January 25.

This year’s event promises to be a doozy. Having outgrown its former home at the Lowertown Farmer’s Market, the Carnival is moving to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. The organizers expect 10,000 attendees and more than 100 breweries to show up at this year’s event.

Beyond “yellow fizzy water”

How did The Beer Dabbler become the region’s premier thrower of craft beer-themed parties? After a “false start” as a promotional firm that would connect rural beer enthusiasts with the nation’s best craft beer brands—“We quickly realized that the idea of a rural tour was perhaps a bit ahead of its time,” says Growler editor and Beer Dabbler project manager Joe Alton—the Dabbler made its name by organizing and promoting a series of increasingly successful beer festivals. Founder Matt Kenevan leaned on wife Jeannie’s work as a sales manager for Summit, and Alton’s experience as a B2C marketer and beer list curator.

The company’s inaugural event was a 450-person shindig in a windswept parking lot at the Burnsville Mall, but lucrative partnerships with Highland Fest and the Saint Paul Winter Carnival soon followed. The Growler launched in mid-2012, and the Beer Dabbler Store on West 7th Street has collected a formidable lineup of beer-themed apparel, hardware, and knickknacks.

The rapidly growing store is handling all the merchandising for the January 25 event. Attendees who pay an extra $15 will receive a T-shirt in addition to their complimentary tasting glasses. The company is also working with dozens of local breweries and artists to sell branded shirts, cold weather gear, merchandise, and beer-themed prints.

New brews

The Beer Dabbler is just one of the startups that has capitalized on Minnesota’s craft beer boom. The Winter Carnival is showcasing the talents of dozens of young entrepreneurs, including some who will be reaching potential customers for the very first time.

Take Minneapolis-based Lake Monster Brewing. Fresh off its first commercial keg sales, in late September of 2013, Lake Monster has yet to slap labels on its first bottled brews. “We realize, as a brand-new outfit, that most consumers in the Twin Cities have no idea that we exist,” says founder Matt Lange. “So events like this give us a chance to get a bunch of people to try our beer.”

Bartley Blume of Bent Brewstillery (which just merged with Pour Decisions Brewing Company), another brand-new Twin Cities outfit that’s making its first appearance at the Winter Carnival, is just as enthusiastic. “If it weren’t for the brave entrepreneurs that [stepped up] to create new businesses in a budding industry, there would be no festivals like this,” says Blume. “The craft industry is built by its fans.” Although there won’t be any spirits at the upcoming festival, it’s worth noting that Bent is the first local outfit that distills small-batch whiskeys alongside its craft beer offerings.

The Beer Dabbler Winter Carnival will also host the festival debut of Saint Paul-based Burning Brothers Brewing—“the Midwest’s first entirely gluten-free brewery,” says Alton.

Maybe because Kenevan, Alton, and company remember their own not-too-distant startup days, the Beer Dabbler takes pains to accommodate first-time exhibitors. Every participating brewery, from veterans like Summit to newbies like Lake Monster, must bring a special brew that isn’t part of its regular lineup.

“The Beer Dabbler...makes every effort to target its events to true beer enthusiasts who are looking to try new things and enjoy great beer,” explains Lake Monster’s Lange. “Some other beer festivals [are just] excuses for people to get drunk.”

Future stars may be on display as well. Fifty amateur brewers will have the chance to strut their stuff in a homebrewing contest that’s judged in strict accordance with Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) style guidelines. The contest is open to anyone, but there’s a separate category for first-time entrants. Alton doesn’t know of any previous contest participants who have gone on to start taprooms or breweries of their own, “but it’s certainly possible,” he says.

Alton stresses that the Beer Dabbler welcomes brewing enthusiasts who want to get input from someone other than family and friends, and see how their creations stack up against the BJCP’s protocols. It never hurts to try: The three new brewers at this year’s festival, for instance, all started out as passionate hobbyists.

Dabbling, dining, dancing

Hungry Winter Carnival attendees will come across another crop of local entrepreneurs. More than a dozen food-truck owners—who, whether because they regularly congregate outside individual breweries (Fulton and Harriet are particularly welcoming), or attend beer-soaked blowouts like the Minnesota Food Truck Fair—have grown along with the local craft brewing industry.

With a Southwestern-tinged menu that’s big on fresh, locally grown ingredients, Fork in the Road—or Big Orange, as the truck driven by owners Amy Frechette and Kari Offerdahl is affectionately known—has been a perennial favorite at Beer Dabbler events since its late-2010 founding.

Minneapolis-based Potter’s Pasties is newer on the scene: The 2013 Winter Carnival was among the first large-scale events in which founder Alec Duncan participated after hitting the road in late 2012. Since then, he’s been tooling around the metro region with a rotating lineup of English-style pasties—flaky pastry pockets filled with spiced and sautéed meats, cheeses, and veggies. For meat-free festival-goers, Potter’s offers plenty of vegetarian options.

One of the Winter Carnival’s most visible partners doesn’t make anything edible at all. Drink and Drive Intelligently (DDI), a new Saint Paul company that offers subscription services and one-off deals to revelers who want to be driven home in their own vehicles, sends designated drivers to every Beer Dabbler event. DDI gives about 250 rides per week, up from around 50 five years ago.

It’s a win-win for everyone involved. The Beer Dabbler and the Minnesota State Fair mitigate their parking woes, and festival attendees can confidently sample as many beers as they like. “One of the major reasons a person feels the need to drink and drive is to get their car home,” says owner Brian Peters. “Our drivers eliminate that need.”

Along with providing a hotbed of entrepreneurial activity, the Winter Carnival also has a stellar music lineup and a new, novel multimedia event called the “silent disco.”

“It’s a silly opportunity to dance to your own rhythm—literally,” says Alton. “There are 30 pairs of wireless headphones with multiple channels of different music streaming through each set. Which means you can participate in (or spectate) a really funny dance party—especially after folks have had a couple brews.”

The Beer Dabbler Winter Carnival is the latest in a long line of beer-inspired Minnesota get-togethers, but it's not only about the suds. From a homebrew contest that draws some of the state's most talented amateurs to a food-truck lineup that's all things to all eaters, the event celebrates the creative, entrepreneurial energy that makes the Twin Cities distinctive.

Brian Martucci is The Line's Innovation and Job News Editor.