Minnesota State Fair Ranch Beer Turns St. Paul Cream Ale Into Old Ranch Hand With Dill, Onion and Garlic for 2026 Fairgoers

ST. PAUL, MN — A Minnesota brewery is serving up one of the State Fair’s most eye-catching drinks: a cream ale inspired by ranch dressing. Dual Citizen Brewing calls it Old Ranch Hand, and fairgoers can find it at Rooted and Wild by Snack House and Sabino’s Pizza Pies.

The beer has 5 percent alcohol by volume and is designed to taste creamy, savory, and a little tangy, with dill, onion, and garlic leading the flavor. It is the kind of fair-only oddity that feels right at home in a place known for trying the unexpected.

How the beer got its ranch flavor

Dual Citizen usually starts planning its State Fair lineup in December, but this one came together on a tighter schedule. In late spring, the brewery’s fair vendor, Lancer Hospitality Group, asked for something that would feel especially Midwestern, and the team landed on ranch dressing as the inspiration.

Director of sales Jake Eichenberger said the idea was sparked in part by a viral ranch moment during the World Cup, when international visitors were discovering the condiment for the first time. He said he had not seen anyone try to turn that flavor into beer before, which made it stand out even in a fair full of novelty food and drinks.

Head brewer Ben Hebel experimented with fresh and dehydrated herbs and spices before settling on dehydrated herbs alone. After a few rounds of testing, he adjusted the intensity until the flavor matched the brewery’s vision for a drink that reads like ranch without becoming an actual bottled dressing.

Where it is made and why it is different

The beer is brewed at Dual Citizen’s production brewery in St. Paul, only a few blocks from its Raymond Avenue taproom. Hebel said the process starts out much like a standard cream ale, with the ranch character added later in the brewing process.

Unlike fruitier beers that rely on ingredients such as honey or syrups before fermentation, Old Ranch Hand gets most of its identity after fermentation, when the herb blend is introduced in a finishing tank. That gives the brewery more control over the final flavor and helps the beer stay creamy while still bringing a clear ranch aroma.

Hebel said the fair is exactly the kind of place for something this unusual, since people go looking for new and interesting bites and sips. The beer is also a limited run, with the brewery planning 70 to 100 kegs for the fair.

The beer also helps local nonprofits

Old Ranch Hand is part of Dual Citizen’s broader mission, which pairs monthly sales with donations to a different local nonprofit. The brewery says it gives $10,000 each month through those partnerships.

For August, sales of the State Fair beer support Communities for Advancing Prosperity for Immigrants. September proceeds will go to FamilyWise, a nonprofit focused on safety, stability, and well-being for children. That means the novelty drink is doing more than drawing curiosity at the fairgrounds.

There is one catch for anyone hoping to take the beer home: State Fair alcohol has to be consumed on the fairgrounds. So for now, the ranch beer is a strictly Minnesota Fair experience, best enjoyed where the crowd is, the food is wild, and the rules are clear.

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