Fitger's Brewhouse Brewery and Grille

On a recent trip up to the North Shore, we decided to take a break from the camping and hiking and spend a night in Duluth.  Immediately, thoughts of craft beer and good food entered my mind....so it was off to Yelp to see what I could find.  Ultimately it came between Fitger's and Canal Park Brewing...but the better reviews for Fitger's made it the winner.  While it isn't located right on Canal Park, it's a fairly short jaunt north up the boardwalk.  When we arrived, we were seated in a backroom that offered views of the brewers and their brewery equipment - cool!  We ordered a flight to sample 7 of their beers, and I ended up getting a glass of their Gooseberry Gose, and wanting to get some fish - the whitefish burger.

Positives:
-Awesome location.  It's not smack in the middle of the touristy Canal Park, but a close walk if you're in that area.
-Fantastic and unique food.  The whitefish burger was fresh and crisp...very tasty.  The Elk burger sounded good too, but I'll have to save that for next time.  Beer battered fries were quite good as well.
-Great beer and wide selection.  If you're a big beer guy like me, Fitger's is heaven...and they have a gose beer, which definitely is not a style you see a lot of.
-Head downstairs for a brewery tour, or go to the shop to buy a growler and some Fitger's shirts.

Negatives:
-None....this is exactly what I'd want in a brewpub.

Great food and brews within walking distance of Canal Park?  Fitger's has made my list of must-stop places while up on the North Shore.

I'd have to say the Brewhouse is a pretty good place to eat.  The wild rice burger is tasty and the elk burger also constitutes a good meal.

They frequently have live music at the Brewhouse which is usually entertaining.

I seriously can't get enough of this place. Every time I head north, whether to the beautiful city of Duluth or further, Fitger's is always ALWAYS a stop. I love the hip atmosphere as well as the neat retail building it is a part of. The servers are young and cool always with excellent customer service.

I must start with the beer obviously, which is fantastic! They have very clever brew masters who know how to whip those hops and wheat into shape!

They usually have 12-14 beers on tap (and one root beer!) with about half of them never changing. They offer a few cask choices as well as one tap on nitrogen. The beers are $5 unless it's happy hour (which may have changed from 241s to just a buck off), but they are worth it.

Some of my standard favorites include the Wildfire Ale-beer infused with chilies (not for the weak), Apricot Wheat-yay fruit, and El Nino IPA- just perfect. I've had countless others that rotate, the most recent one being Red Wheat and Blue, a beer created using 500 pounds of blueberries and raspberries, it's like sparkling juice with a kick!

They have some good whiskey and wine choices if beer isn't your thing, but I suggest you try a different place if you aren't going to get beer at a brewery.

Oh now the food, while I really haven't ever tried anything else here, the Wild Rice Veggie Burger is probably one of the best foods I've ever eaten. It is big, thick, flavorful and amazing. You can choose three different styles, I've had the Gale Force-blue cheese, jalapenos, onions, garlic mayo, and greens, and the Pub Style-mushrooms, onions, swiss cheese, and the best ever chipotle pepper sauce. Both freaking awesome and completely different. A huge side of beer-battered fries comes with it (but you can sub tortilla chips w/salsa, salad, veggies for no cost). These are the only fries I will eat anymore, they are just so damn good. All this for $9.99, yes.

On top of all this, they have a stage, usually with calming blues or folk. Charlie Parr plays there all the time! Very intimate and romantic for late night.

Aw, beer, blues, and Lake Superior.