Sisyphus Brewing & Comedy — Restaurant in Minneapolis

Tucked between the bustling Lyndale-Hennepin mess by the Basilica and Dunwoody college sits Sisyphus Brewing, a hidden gem of Minneapolis. With their comically named delicious beer and their weekly comedy nights, this brewery is sure coming up in the Minneapolis brewery scene and finding its niche. In this reviewer's opinion, Sisyphus is consistently a top 3 brewery in Minneapolis.

If the taproom looks like it used to be some kind of gutted warehouse or factory, it's because it is. But not without its charm. The exposed brick walls offers a classic vintage feel, the bar itself is an old bowling lane (I think), and they recently put in some rather spacious wooden booths. The shuffle boards and board game offerings make it the perfect place to hangout with friends and family.

Sisyphus is still a smaller brewery, but I think that comes with a big advantage for them: an ever-changing tap list. They typically only have 6-9 beers on tap, but when one runs out, they almost always have a backup ready to go, so you might see a changed list over one weekend. This, of course, has some drawbacks. If you really REALLY like one of their beers, there's always a chance it won't be on tap for a few weeks. But that means you get to try one of their another delicious beer. And that you have to come back, because it will be different again and again (gotta catch 'em all!).

They always try to offer a tap list with varying styles and strengths so that every kind of beer drinker gets what they want. What kind of beers do they make?

They make lighter beers like their "Anitsocial Apple Ale" (named by Sociable Ciderwerks), the traditional Belgian blond (recently made with various fruit infusions), or the citra hop session ale. And drinkable malty beers, like their Kentucky Common, or the "Argyle Penguin Amber" ale. And dark beers, like the "Safe Lady Peanut Butter Stout" (get it?), a traditional chocolatey-sweet porter, or their imperial brown. They make a whole slew of IPAs (I like to think that Sam, the head brewer, is a wizard with hops), like their all citra hopped IPA "The First Beer We Named," the west coast IPA made with wheat called "Isaac the Fax Man," an east-coast style that can only be named "Cloudy with a Chance of Yeastballs," or my personal favorite the "Bottlecap Mosaic" which is a pilsner brewed with mosaic hops (it is real good). They make amazing barrel-aged and imperial beers, like their birthday "Cake" beer, which is actually made with chocolate cakes.

I could go on and on here, but the point is, they make traditional beers that are perfect within their own style, they play around with different hops and make vibrant IPAs highlighting each hop's unique flavors, they try and tackle all sorts of styles, and watch out because some of them are higher in ABV than you might think (delicious and dangerous).

The staff are always friendly, the managers are awesome, the owners are so kind, the brewers know their stuff. I walked into Sisyphus on their opening day two and a half years ago and was stunned by how delicious their first beers were and they've been making some of the best beer in the...

I'm a restaurant manager, I care deeply about our industry and the people who work in it. If there were a way to contact you directly to share my thoughts instead of publicly reviewing your establishment, I would have. Regardless, my desire is for Sisyphus to be successful and I felt compelled to express my experience.

Yesterday a friend and I went to check Sisyphus out for the first time. We were jazzed and brought my dog, a 5 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Luna. For anyone who knows her, she is the sweetest, most docile dog on the planet and goes virtually everywhere with me. Dogs + Beer = My dream come true. And I'm certain that's the ultimate intention of Sisyphus, plus shuffle board, yes.

However, upon arrive and walking 5 steps into the door, a medium sized brown dog comes up to us off of a leash(I'm realize later is the owners dog), nips at Luna, then grabs her by the scruff of her neck like a chew toy and proceeds to swing her back and forth until I'm yelling at the dog (not wanting to get bitten myself) and my friend swoops Luna into her arms.

Needless to say, my dog is shaking and terrified. I'm in shock and have caused a royal scene. Everyone is staring, the bartenders are trying to help, we are looking around for blood. Luckily, there was no blood. My dog was ok.

We bring my dog to the car, and I come back in to talk to the dog owner, who had not seen the incident because he was not in the taproom where his dog was. His words were "That's how my dog plays, he's in here all the time and that hardly ever happens."

At this point- in shock because my dog was attacked by a dog I do not know- I am crying. How embarrassing, to be in a public establishment where people are trying to have a good time and you're crying with someone giving you excuses about how their dog plays.

How was I supposed to know that? And to be honest- if a dog grabs a smaller animal by the back of the neck, picks it off the ground and swings it around- the intention is to snap the smaller animal's neck and eat it for dinner. We are dealing with animals here- not rational beings. And as dog owners we must be responsible for our pets' behavior.

It probably also would have been the responsible thing to do to get my name and number so that if anything had happened to my dog and I had to take her to the vet, I could have contacted you.

For the sake of all of our beloved pets, I want to please urge you to keep the dogs on leashes, in your direct supervision, or contained in some way. I don't want anyone to go through the terror my dog and myself went through. For everyone's guest experience at Sisyphus, so you that you fine folks don't end up with legal action taken against you, and can continue to have Sisyphus be a place where people can bring their dogs.

It is my firm opinion that the only way to help others become better is to share honestly with them. I truly hope that this review is helpful. I am only writing it because I care so much about the Food and Beverage industry and our pets. I think what you're doing is so effing rad, and I want...

This is a review for the overall experience here, not simply for their beer. The full "taproom" experience is incredible- you've got great people behind the bar (Here's looking at you Alvin, you dog whisperer), great patrons alongside you, an awesome and totally chill space that is never full, its DOG friendly!!!!!, and of course they are pouring some good beers out of their taps. They have a second space adjacent that is a comedy club, and it seems to be happening over there. If you want to chill out and relax on your own, arrive around 7:50/8:10, as the comedy gets going at 8 and the main taproom thins out. But, if you're feeling social the patrons and barkeeps are all friendly folk and are happy to have a conversation. Every time I've been here I've felt welcome and comfortable, and that my business is appreciated. This goes really far in my book, there are some great people running this place. And, lets not forget the reason we come here, to drink some good brews. There is literally something for everyone on their taplist. It's so good to see a brewery doing a wide range of beer, especially so in this age of extreme specialization. Not here at Sisyphus (badass name by the way, these folks must have been humanities majors!!!), no here if you want a traditional German Marzen, you've got it. Feeling trendy? They've got you covered with milkshake IPA's (definitely not my thing, but maybe it's yours?), they even have Belgians (my personal favorite) and this is admirable because as a brewer myself I know how much space and time these beers take up in the brewhouse. Way to go Sisyphus for having saisons and dubbels on tap for us!!!! If you've read this far you get the idea that this place is special. Just stop reading and head to Sisyphus and experience it...