Goose Island 2014 Bourbon County will be put through a Dogfish Head Beer Randall crammed with toasted coconut, cacao nibs and Madagascar vanilla beans
What is a randall? – From Dogfish Head Founder Sam Calagione “it’s a sophisticated filter system that allows the user to run draft beer through a chamber of whole-leaf hops, spices, herbs, fruit, etc. so that the alcohol in the beer strips the flavor from whatever you add and puts it in the beer”
My wife and I are always up for trying new places to eat and drink in the Eastern
Iowa area and luckily the head brewer at Big Grove Brewery, Bill Heinrich, recommend a place in Monticello called the Jitney Wine Bar. This was my first experience dining in Monticello so I wasn’t sure what to expect but as we walked into the Jitney, which is in downtown Monticello, the smell of smoked meats greeted me so I knew then I was in good hands!
The interior of the place is dimly light, which I love, and my eyes go right to the bar. I noticed the tap handles and was pleased to see Big Grove, Turner Alley, Founders, and at least 4 more taps of craft beer available. I went with the Big Grove IPA to start for my wife and I, and was pleasantly surprised to find out it was their latest double IPA, Dilly Dallying, on tap! SCORE! It was a family-friendly restaurant as we had our 1 year old with and sat outside on their patio. The menu was mouth watering so whatever my wife decided for an appetizer I was game with. So chose the Bacho Melt which is a Scandinavian style baked bacon and cheese with bacon jam served on a baguette……yep….it was fantastic!
After the apps, I needed another brew and went with Turner Alley’s Czech Pils, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite pilsner style beers out there. I’m a brisket guy, so as soon as I saw brisket on the menu that was an easy choice. I got 3 huge slabs of smoky brisket served with fried red potatoes and asparagus spears. It was melt in your mouth brisket with just the right amount of smoke and the potatoes had a perfect crunch on the outside but soft and tender in the middle. Excellent stuff…but…my wife’s meal stole the show. She went with the smoked chicken sandwich which is pulled chicken smoked gouda cheese sauce, caramelized onions, with gravy au jus on a Chicago style French roll. BEST….SANDWICH…..EVER!!!! Seriously folks, get this and a side of their asian slow and it will be one of those moments after taking a bite of food that you wouldn’t forget. So great! And a sandwich I will be craving constantly!
The thing with the Jitney is, I think they switch up their menu but I think they have some menu mainstays, and every one of them sounds terrific. The people next to us had the chicken nachos and they looked amazing. I highly recommend making the trip to Monticello to go to the Jitney, you won’t be disappointed! Check out their menus here:thejitneywinebar.happytables.com
If you need your Sixpoint fix early and often you need to get to Bootleggin’ Barzini’s in Coralville, Iowa next week. They will be one of the first in Eastern Iowa doing an early Sixpoint can release. They will have Sweet Action, Bengali Tiger, Crisp, Resin, and 4Beans available. They will also be doing a tasting next Thursday (8/27/15) from 5-7 pm and Kevin from Abu Nawas will be present to talk all things Sixpoint and all things Abu Nawas! Stop in, check it out, grab some beer, and support a local beer store and an Iowa distribution company. Cheers!
Kalona Brewing is adding 2 beers to their lineup that will come in 16 oz cans. You should be seeing these soon on shelves and be sure to check out their other offerings as well. An Oktoberfest beer perfect for this time of year and a light lager to go with your Saturday morning tailgating. For more info on Kalona Brewery and their others beers and stacked food menu, go to kalonabrewing.com. Here’s more on the 16 oz releases:
Limber Legs Oktoberfest 5.4% – 16oz cans
The Oktoberfest tradition started with the celebration of the marriage of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig in 1810. Limber Legs Lager is a true representation of this style.
Kalona Classic – Light Lager 4.2% – 16oz cans
Many of the local residents in Kalona and the surrounding area enjoy lighter beer as their preferred beer of choice. We decided to bring its own unique take on the style for a beer that is refreshing, light in body and finishes with a toasty note.
Big Grove Brewery continues with their month of food and beer releases as they present a mediterranean lamb roast on Tuesday August 25th. Tickets are still available at Big Grove for $50. There will be 5 beers on the lines on the patio to go along with this roast. More info below:
Tickets on sale for the patio cookout “Lamb-o: First Blood Part 2”. It’s a classic Mediterranean cookout: eat, drink, and chill until you can’t do any of those things anymore. We’ll preview some of the cool releases for the week too.
$50, Tuesday, 8-25. 6pm. Call (319) 624-BEER to reserve your spot.
Tastings of Richard as well as all you can drink Anny #2 DIPA / Batch 400 / IPA / Arms race / Que Sera and Boom
Going off of some earlier news about Big Grove Breweries 2 year anniversary party on August 29th and the highly anticipated release of Richard the Whale and variants was also the fact that they will be hosting a bottle share:
Also on the docket, we’re setting up the bottle-share glassware at 11am, so feel free to stop in with a bottle of something cool and explore the world through liquid.
Now, for this share, I can confirm that Big Grove will be kicking out some stellar kegs for tasting as well to go along with this. Here’s a glimpse of four beers will see make its way from the Big Grove cellar and to the tap lines:
*Founders KBS
*2013 Evil Twin Biscotti Break
*Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Stout
*Evil Twin NYE Hotel Room
So, bring a bottle or two of your own and stop on in! Cheers!
From an excellent source: Alpine Brewing will start to be available on tap starting next week in Eastern Iowa. Reds Alehouse will have Alpine available tentatively set for next Tuesday, August 25th and Bricks Bar and Grill will have it later in the week. Details on what will be available will be forthcoming and other locations as well, so stay tuned for more on this!
Come on out to Veteran’s Memorial Park (Kernel’s Stadium) on Friday September 11th and sample some of the finest beers from some the best breweries in Iowa. Sample over 50 beers from local breweries from 5:00-10:30! Here’s more from 7G Distributing:
TICKETS NOW ON SALE! Come celebrate all things IOWA! We had a change in venue and will now host this event at Veteren’s Memorial Stadium! Local brewfest at the ball park!
Drink Local: Sample over 50 different beers from Iowa breweries during the Beer Fest from 5-8 PM. Local beer available for purchase all festival long. Breweries to include: Millstream, Backpocket, Big Grove, Turner Alley, Kalona, Exile, Third Base, Lion’s Bridge, Another Road, Galena from Illinois, and more.
Eat Local: Food available for purchase from local food vendors from the New Bo market and the Kernel’s!
Listen Local: 8 Seconds will be performing in the evening! Another local artist will be playing during the beerfest- to be announced soon!
Shop Local: Local vendors will be selling art, jewery, and much more!
Support Local: All proceeds from the event will go directly to the MDA of Iowa.
Here’s what we’ve been waiting for! The Big Grove Brewery Richard the Whale Release information and tasting notes. The regular Richard the Whale was absolutely delicious and these variants are sounding amazing as well! I hope everyone gets a taste of what a great local Iowa brewery can do with dedicated brewers and staff. Cheers to Big Grove and I hope to see you at the 2nd Anniversary party!
Big Grove Brewery Thirsty happens.™ Richard the Whale Tasting Notes and Release Schedule
Click the link below to open up the PDF file to check the schedule!
Well, they’re here…….pumpkin beers. Now, I know that there are some people out there that despise the thought of these beers in general, some despise the thought of these beers prior to September, and some people absolutely go ape shit for these beers. Me, I’m indifferent. I like a pumpkin beer here and there, but it’s hard for me to get excited about pumpkin beers in this muggy ass Iowa humidity. However, there is a bit of a silver lining in all of the quite early pumpkin releases and that is the release of……drum roll…..MARZENS + Oktoberfest beers!! WOOHOO! Listen, I know these are “fall” beers, but honestly, I could easily drink a Millstream Oktoberfest, Staghorn from New Glarus, Ayinger Oktoberfest, Hacker-Prschorr, Bob’s 47 from Boulevard and so on. This is a style that yes, tastes superior in the fall, with the cool, crisp air while watching an Iowa football game or a…ahem…Buffalo Bills game (we will make the playoffs this year!!).
Octoberfest beers symbol the sign of cooling weather (hopefully), football season, and the falling of leaves. But, the pumpkins are also here! The spicy and in your face Schlafly pumpkin ale, O’Fallon pumpkin beer, Southern Tier’s Warlock and Pumpking, Dogfish Head Punkin, Ichabod from New Holland, Sam Adams Harvest Ale and Fat Jack, Rogues Pumpkin Patch and many more. Last year I remember Big Grove Brewery in Solon releasing Pumpkin Little Secret and absolutely loving it but that was closer to Christmas. With all this being said, I want to know, what is your favorite fall beer? What do you look forward to most? Is it a marzen, is it a pumpkin? Well, vote below? I’m limiting the options to those available in Iowa and I’ll probably miss a few of those too, so please, if you choose other, comment which one! Cheers to beers and to fall!
When: Thursday 9.3.15 – 5:00PM –
crammed with toasted coconut, cacao nibs and Madagascar vanilla beans
crammed with toasted coconut, cacao nibs and Madagascar vanilla beans
