There will be a few new bottles hitting shelves in Eastern Iowa soon. Go along with what our local breweries have been pushing out and some things already on the shelves that are tasting mighty fine, I’d say we are sitting pretty good in our Midwest Beer Heaven. With Big Grove making a new double IPA every 2 weeks (Death was excellent), Lion Bridge going oak-aged IPA and a new Citra IPA coming this weekend, and Another Road and 3rd Base doing a collab IPA, it isn’t going to be hard to support our local breweries and stopping in for a pint or two while we go shopping for a few six packs. Anyway, on with the list!

*Stone Points Unknown IPA – a collab beer along with Wicked Weed Brewing and Ecliptic, Points Unknown will be a double IPA barrel aged belgian style tripel aged on Tequilla barrels and will come in at 9%. Here’s more from Stone on this release:

In creating our latest collaboration beer, It wasn’t easy deciding how best to pool the resources of brewers from three spatially distant points within the brewing universe: Portland, Oregon brewing legend and Ecliptic Brewing founder John Danis, and Luke and Walt Dickinson, the hop-and-funk brewmaster duo behind Asheville, North Carolina’s Wicked Weed Brewing. It seemed no single beer could adequately convey all that they and Stone Brewmaster Mitch Steele bring to the brewhouse. So, this veritable triad of power opted to brew TWO beers: a traditional Belgian-style tripel and a West Coast imperial IPA. Doing so allowed them to work within the parameters of all styles while taking things in interesting directions, adding a touch of Southern Califomia style and petting into the spirit! The tripelwas transferred into barrels that originally housed red wine before finding a second life as vessels for aging tequila. Four months later,that beer was excavated, then blended at a one-fifth to four-fifths ratio with the freshly brewed double IPA to create the beer you now hold: a hind of the traditional and the new, presenting a variety of diverse flavors that coalesce into something more unique than any one beer our trio could have conceived. Its eventual flavors were a mystery to even the group of master brewers who created it, but now they await the palates of those thirsting to venture to points unknown within the rapidly expanding craft beer galaxy. In other words: You.

*Quarter Barrel Brewing, Cedar Rapids – very excited to see that Quarter Barrel will have 3 of their beers available at Benz Beerfest this Saturday in Cedar Rapids. If you will be in the area this weekend, make sure you stop and grab a ticket (if still available)!

*Deschutes Foray IPA – this belgian style IPA will be released this month coming in at 6.4% in 22 oz bombers. Here’s more from Deschutes:

Foray is all about the journey. Belgian yeast delivers hints of apple and pear which blend with the citrus hop aroma for a clean even finish. So no matter where you’re heading, this a trip worth taking.

Malt: Pilsner, Carapils
Hops: Nugget, Amarillo, Mosiac, CTZ, Galaxy
Other: Belgian Yeast Strain

Big Grove Brewery – A lot going on one of my local breweries. Bill and crew have been nailing it with their beers and their latest venture, 8 Horsemen of the Hopocalypse, will be sure to please hopheads all around! Death was terrific and I saw Bill’s schedule posted on Facebook, hope he doesn’t mind me sharing, but here’s what’s in store at Big Grove:

With most of Death missing, presumed drunk, it’s time to start ramping up to the next Horseman. War rides in 12 days.

We’ll cover your hop fetish for the interim period. IPA, Arms Race, Buster, and Red Headed Stranger online this week (I hope).

Batch 300 will show up soon too. I’m thinking of this as a tag line: “It ain’t sloppy bein’ hoppy.” I’ll have to see what Lion Bridge Brewing Companyhas to say about it…

*Lion Bridge Brewery – one new beer already tapped, Trudy, and it’s very good! And another coming this weekend! Here’s what’s happening at Lion Bridge:

Trudy (Oaked IPA, 6.0%) – Named in honor of our favorite dog who is omnipresent at our favorite independently owned beverage depot (Benz Beverage Depot). Releasing to coincide with the 11th year of the wildly successful Benz Beerfest. Slightly more body and caramel backbone than a standard IPA, this beer was heavily hopped with Wakatu and Topaz. The result was then aged in stainless steel tanks with light toast French Oak Spirals. This rustic, yet elegant brew has an aroma of candied orange and grapefruit zest with a slightly tannic mouthfeel backed by notes of vanilla and tropical fruit.

And what has me really excited is their brew Citra IPA, Yard Sale!

Remake of Disaster at Meux this morning because I didn’t get enough before. & Dry Hoppin our new Citra IPA,“Yard Sale”.

*Another Road Brewing and Third Base Brewing Collab IPA – still waiting word on when and where this beer will be available. Excited to see what Jim and Alex cooked up for us! Stay tuned for more!