Join us at Rock Cut Brewing Company for a conversation with J. Ryan Stradal, author of The Lager Queen of Minnesota. Let’s pour one out for one of the 2024 One Book One Valley finalists! J. Ryan will be joining us virtually – we’ll host him on the big screen with casual conversation and audience questions (so bring yours!). Oh, and did we mention that the folks at Rock Cut are offering $2 off every pour from 6-9 PM? Great beer, an amazing author, a novel about brewing, and good company–sounds like the recipe for a perfect evening.

J. Ryan Stradal is the author of New York Times bestseller Kitchens of the Great Midwest and national bestseller The Lager Queen of Minnesota. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Granta, The Rumpus, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. His debut, Kitchens of the Great Midwest, won the American Booksellers Association Indie’s Choice Award for Adult Debut Book of the Year. His latest novel, Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club, was released in April 2023, and was an instant national bestseller.

J. Ryan grew up in the Midwest, in the southern Minnesota town of Hastings, where he often failed his driver's license exams, and graduated from Northwestern University, where he often slipped on the ice. He does not own a gun and a motorcycle, which makes him unique among the men in his extended family. He likes books, wine, sports, root beer, craft beer, and peas.

Learn even more about J. Ryan here.

Two sisters, one farm: a family is split when their father leaves their shared inheritance entirely to Helen, his younger daughter. Despite baking award-winning pies at the local nursing home, her older sister, Edith, struggles to make what most people would call a living. She can’t help wondering what her life would have been like with even a portion of the farm money her sister kept for herself. With the proceeds from the farm, Helen builds one of the most successful light breweries in the country, and makes their company motto ubiquitous: “Drink lots. It’s Blotz.” Edith has a heart as big as Minnesota, while Helen’s is as rigid as a steel keg. Yet one day, Helen will find she needs some help herself, and she could find a potential savior close to home. . . if it’s not too late. Meanwhile, Edith’s granddaughter, Diana, grows up knowing that the real world requires a tougher constitution than her grandmother possesses. She earns a shot at learning the IPA business from the ground up–will that change their fortunes forever, and perhaps reunite her splintered family? The Lager Queen of Minnesota introduces a cast of lovable, funny, quintessentially American characters eager to make their mark in a world that’s often stacked against them. In this deeply affecting family saga, resolution can take generations, but when it finally comes, prepare to be surprised, moved, and delighted.

This author talk will be held at Rock Cut Brewing Company, located at 390 W Riverside Drive.

A "PEN-demonium" program to promote and celebrate writing in the Estes Valley. Click here for a list of all our PEN-demonium programs.