I finally made it! After months and months of trying to find a time to get to Des Moines, my wife and I finally made it! Upon returning from a trip to Kansas City to visit some friends we made a little detour so we could hit up 515 Brewery (http://515brewing.com/). Here’s more about how the brewery came to be from their website:

Ryan’s and Brandon’s wives would tell you that it was a fabulous plan that went horribly wrong. Our wives wanted to spend more time together and plotted to have us, Ryan and Brandon, become friends — the common denominator, brewing beer. Little did they realize that bringing us together and then adding Bailey and Dave to the mix would snowball our little home-brewing hobby into an actual brewing business. Now, hundreds of gallons of beer later, we’re starting our beer adventure and can’t wait to take you along with us.

Upon entering the brewery there are a ton of seats and I noticed a lady (the beer broad @beer_broad) dishing up some suds to a couple who had 3 kids in there and watching the Bears/Lions game. So for my wife and I, that was definitely a positive, being able to have some good brews, watch football, and have the kids with (as long as they’re not too rowdy or loud) is nice, though we try to leave the kids at home. The Beer Broad was super friendly while I ordered a flight of four of their beers. I was happy to see they had a pumpkin brew on tap as well (not on untappd.com as of this writing though 😦

I went for whatever has been talking about when referring to this brewery and that is the OJ IPA, their Dart Dodger, Lil’ Tart, and the pumpkin. The Lil’ Tart was refreshing, the pumpkin was perfect for the fall weather, and the Dart Dodger was an excellent IPA. I don’t want to sound like everyone else, but that OJ IPA is just a really special brew. So damn refreshing, so easy to drink, I would love to be able to grab a sixer of this at my local liquor store and go to town on it. Perfect for any weather, hot or cold, this is just a really tremendous beer; one of the best in Iowa in my opinion. After the sampler I went back for another OJ and grab a sweet glass to take home as a souvenir. They do not have food or growlers (yet) but you can bring in your own grub to eat while you enjoy an OJ or any of their other brews.

My wife got some good pictures, (do I see an Imperial Stout in the works? YES!) and we both talked about how enjoyable it would be to have a great little brewery to be able to go to for a leisurely brew or two; so take note Des Moines area, 515 is legit, so get out and support them. Awesome brew, awesome people!

**I need another OJ ASAP**