Tin Whiskers Brewing Co. is set to take on Lynlake Brewery in its second Brew-Off challenge in September.

The first Brew-Off featured Tin Whiskers taking on fellow St. Paul brewery Urban Growler in a brewing competition mimicking Food Network show “Chopped”. The Happy Gnome hosted that even on May 27, and it ended in a draw after all 104 votes were tallied—something this soccer player and fan is totally fine with as both breweries are fantastic [Full disclosure: I am an intern at Tin Whiskers].

Those interested in the challenge should stay tuned to social media for the chance to cast their vote on what ingredients they want used in the Brew-Off. The first challenge saw about 100 odd ingredients suggested–especially a lot of meat–before coconut, mango, and ginger was chosen.

Urban Growler’s Sticky Rice (made with the trio of ingredients and jasmine rice) proved to be so popular that it was recently put on tap at Urban Growler’s taproom so more people could imbibe the beer.

Our take: Tin Whiskers co-founder, president, and brewer Jeff Moriarty told me when I interviewed him for the first event (read that story at the fantastic Growler Magazine website) that the Brew-Off would come back, but he didn’t know when. I’m glad it’s coming back sooner rather than later. It’s not so much about the competition, but more about creating new ways to include the community and try new things with beer. Tin Whiskers makes some damn fine beer (jalapeno Wheatstone Bridge and habanero Parity Pilsner–both infusions–are two of my favorites). I’ve only been to Lynlake once and didn’t taste anything that wowed me, but word on the street is they’ve improved greatly in the past months and have some unique beer for patrons. Perhaps another trip is in order to properly assess Tin Whiskers’ rookie challenger.