Back Channel sits at the water’s edge in Spring Park, in a channel connecting Lake Minnetonka’s West Arm and Seton Lake to the big lake proper — hence the name, and hence the marina with dock attendants who tie up boats so patrons can walk right in. In 2025, the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild named Back Channel Brewery of the Year, and the taproom is stacked with recent Best in Show, Amber Lager, Hazy IPA, and British-Irish-Scottish Ales wins. Star Tribune profiled the operation earlier in 2026. Owner-operators Josh and Melissa Leddy visited fifty West Coast breweries before opening, and the throughline of everything they picked up on that trip — that great settings can’t rescue mediocre beer — shows in the taps.

On the THC side, Back Channel brews three house lines. FIZZ is the flagship — 12oz cans, 10mg THC, rotating flavors including Kiwi Strawberry, Tropical Punch, and Mixed Berry. Green Party is the CBD-balanced line at 10mg THC + 10mg CBD (Pineapple, Mango, Tangerine), and Green Party Justice Page runs a second Green Party flavor set (Plum, Pink Guava, Blueberry) named for former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice and Vikings Hall of Famer Alan Page — part of Back Channel’s tradition of naming beverages after iconic Minnesotans (Jagr, Brian Seltzer, and others live on the beer board too).

The patio backs onto the water and fills fast on summer weekends; food trucks rotate daily (Red Rocket Pizza, Russell’s Traveling Kitchen, Brick Oven Bus are regulars). Come winter, there’s a sauna and cold plunge, and the Jumbotron runs year-round for Vikings, Wild, Twins, and World Cup matches. Kid-friendly and dog-friendly, with happy hour weekdays 12–3pm ($5 tap beer, $3 N/A beer, $3 pretzels). Josh Leddy sits on the board of the Hemp Beverage Producers of Minnesota and is one of the more visible voices in the industry.

Indeed Brewing opened its doors on 15th and Quincy in August 2012, becoming the first production brewery in Northeast Minneapolis to run its own taproom. Fourteen years later it’s still one of the neighborhood’s anchors — sixteen tap lines, a Main Taproom, an auxiliary bar called The Ox for private events and slam poetry, a Rec Hall for games, and the Beeryard, a vast outdoor patio that fills up on any warm afternoon.

On the food side, chef Ann Kim’s Pizzeria Lola operates its wood-fired oven in the Beeryard every day of the week — order from your table, pick up at the truck. Kim’s signature Korean BBQ pizza (short rib, scallion, sesame) shares the menu with a Tavern Pie (pepperoni, jalapeño, hot honey), the Perfect Pickle Pie (sour pickles, ranch, potato chips), and vegetarian standouts like the mushroom Forager and the Old Reliable red-sauce cheese.

On the THC side, Indeed has been in the game since the earliest days after Minnesota legalized hemp-derived beverages in 2022. The current sparkling THC lineup runs eight cans deep and covers real range: Two Good Lavender Lemon (2mg THC / 2mg CBD, the gentlest starter drink in the state), High Fiver Citrus Grass (5mg / 5mg CBD), Chamomile Dreams Turn Down (5mg / 10mg CBN, sleep-forward), Tropical Blast Turn Up (5mg / 100mg caffeine, energy-forward), and the higher-dose Orange Burst, Pink Burst, and White Gummy Double High Fiver (all 10mg / 10mg CBD). MDS Sports rounds it out — a 10mg THC sports drink with electrolytes and 180mg of caffeine, in a category of one. THC beverages are cans only on premise. Dogs on the patio, kids until 8pm, and every Wednesday 100% of taproom net proceeds go to a local nonprofit through Indeed We Can.

Minneapolis Cider Company is where Trail Magic was born. In August 2022, weeks after Minnesota legalized hemp-derived THC beverages, the cidery’s co-founder Jason Dayton and his team went from initial idea to launched brand in eighteen days — the fastest new-product launch the company had ever done. Trail Magic became the first THC beverage sold in Minnesota, and the taproom at 701 SE 9th Street became the place to drink one at its source.

The 701 SE 9th space is a former factory in Marcy-Homes, converted into a cavernous room anchored by a working cidery, two indoor pickleball courts, board games, a big outdoor patio, and a French crêperie called Breizh Kitchen operating out of the corner. The drink menu covers craft cider (dry Brut, seasonal releases, small-batch experiments), Royale-style cider cocktails, wine, house-made craft cocktails, and Trail Magic THC beverages by the can — iced tea and lemonade in Classic, Peach, and Strawberry (5mg and 10mg), Lime Margarita (5mg and 10mg), and a low-dose Sparkling Mimosa (3mg).

In December 2022 the team ran a four-day pop-up they billed as Minnesota’s first THC beverage taproom, over at BŪCH Fermentary on Quincy Street, with 30+ drinks from 16 Minnesota companies on offer. The pop-up is over; the permanent home is here, and Trail Magic has since spread to hundreds of MN retailers and restaurants. Dogs welcome on the patio, kids at all ages during daytime, and pickleball rentals bookable by the court.