The Dampfwerk Distillery

Location

6311 Cambridge St
St. Louis Park, MN 55416

Hours

Tues – Thurs: 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Fri – Sat: 5:00 pm – 12:00 am

Contact

612-460-8190

A Spirited Family Business

Ralf Loeffelholz, Owner/Head Distiller and native of Muhldorf, Germany, spent 25 years in the global food and beverage industry. The idea to start a distillery was formed over many years, as he wondered why so much of German food culture was lost in the U.S. This dream to recreate the food culture is Dampfwerk’s passion and the driving force behind their story to create premier craft spirits. They started with a name: Dampfwerk. Although not the easiest name to pronounce, it translates to “steam works” and it is essential to the distillation process to produce premium spirits. They imported a hand-hammered copper still, originating from the Schwarzwald in Bavaria.  And like the farmers in Bavaria, they pride themselves on building relationships with local orchards and suppliers to produce the best spirit possible under exacting conditions.  A true family-run business, Ralf’s wife Mary is co-proprietor and keeps things running smoothly, son Christian is a distiller and heads up their whiskey project, and daughter Bridgit oversees branding, marketing and the cocktail room. In business since 2016, the cocktail room opened in 2019.

Features & Amenities

the owner's family behind the bar
Reading nook at Dampfwerk Distillery
Denley the distillery dog

The Distillery

Located in St. Louis Park’s unofficial “Distillery District,” The Dampfwerk Distillery Co. is a family-owned and operated distillery and cocktail lounge making the finest European-style fruit brandies, gins, aquavits and herbal liqueurs, all with an unexpected American twist. Their spirits are designed to be enjoyed in the company of family and friends.

A 3,000 sq. foot cocktail room features a fireplace, comfy seating, a communal table for celebrating with friends, and an Instagram-worthy photo wall, featuring the lovely fruit ladies from their distinctive bottles. At the bar, the focus is on neat spirits, sipping shots, flights, and classic cocktails. Bring your dog and relax on the patio, which features space heaters and gas fire pits for cooler days and nights.

American single malt whiskey
bottles of fruit brandy
prototypes of spirits in production

The Spirits

American Single Malt Whiskey – Four years in the making, Dampfwerk’s first single malt whiskey hones in on flavors of deep fruit, chocolate, toffee and caramel notes.

Fruit Brandy – Dampfwerk practices skin-on fermentation to create full-bodied fruit brandy. All of their brandy features whimsical fruit women. They include: Tilli – Apple Brandy, Ivey – Barreled Grape Immature Brandy, Gwen – Pear Brandy, and a more mature Tilli – Barreled Apple Brandy.

Gin & Acquavit – The London Dry Gin has woodsy resinous flavor notes. The Barreled Gin is a Minnesota take on the classical juniper botanical blend. The Crane Gin is a floral gin, inspired by an old German recipe, and has flavors of rosemary, lavender, chamomile, juniper berries and clove. Their caraway Aquavit, is a Northern German representation with a traditional golden hue infused with bourbon for warm, sweet and savory notes.

Herbal Liqueurs – Dampfwerk reinvents liqueurs from 200 years ago. The Helgolander is a botanical bitter from a small island in the North Sea. The Rabbit in the Rye is a new blend of a traditional bitter liqueur from Thuringia Germany and an American rye whiskey. The Pfeffersack is a contemporary representation of a German-style herbal bitter liqueur rooted in the Old-World spice trade. The Pfefferminz3 is a Northern German peppermint liqueur.

Order spirits online and pickup at the distillery! Retail hours are Mon -Tues 10 am – 5 pm, Wed – Thurs 10 am – 10 pm, Fri 12 – 10 pm, and Sat 3 – 10 pm.

Tours

Dampfwerk conducts tours during and after closing hours, by appointment. They offer 2 private tour options:

  • 30-min tour with Distiller – $30 per person; includes a sampling of 3 products of your choice, plus receive 25% off a cocktail in their Cocktail Lounge
  • 1-hour tour with Distiller – $45 per person; a more in-depth tour with a focus on process and the science behind it; includes a sampling of 3 products of your choice, plus receive 25% off a cocktail in their Cocktail Lounge

Tours may be booked on Fridays between 4:30 and 7 pm and Saturdays between 2:30 and 7 pm.

View of main seating area in distillery

Event Space

For groups of 25 people and smaller, Dampfwerk offers complimentary table reservations. To reserve a table, simply email them with the preferred date and time of your small group gathering!

For private events and larger groups, please email/call to inquire about pricing. They would be happy to host your event!