If you are interested in getting some of California’s finest craft brews delivered to your front door step; Craft Beer Connect might be what you’ve been waiting for. There are 4 monthly packages that you can check out here: http://www.craftbeerconnect.com/packages. Each package allows you to add different beers to your “que”. If you are currently a member please shoot a comment my way letting us know if you enjoy it. Packages range from $25-$50.
Will Iowans be able to get their hands on any of the sought after Goose Island products 
coming out? According to beerpulse.com, Iowa will be one of the states receiving both Goose Island Cherry Rye Bourbon County Brand Stout and Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout. Both products have been arriving in Chicago last week and should be making their way to liquor stores in Iowa. My recommendation would be to call ahead and reserve a bottle for yourself before trying to get their before the rush.
From beerpulse.com.
(Chicago, IL) – Some information just in from Goose Island HQ…
Goose Island Cherry Rye Bourbon County Brand Stout and Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout arrived in the greater Chicago market last week and will soon hit out-of-state markets.
A brewery spokesperson said that shipment dates vary based on location but that the two beers will be available in the following states: NY, CT, DE, MA, MD, NJ, PA, RI, VA, WI, IN, MI, KY, IA, MO, NE, MN, ME, VT and AR.
Two exceptions are New Hampshire and D.C.. Neither will get Cherry Rye but both will get Coffee.
While Cherry Rye is a brand-new release, Coffee has a rating of 100/99 on RateBeer.
Please shoot an email updating where this product can be found. John’s Grocery in Iowa City will be carrying them.
It only makes sense doesn’t it? Oskar Blues is in Illinois and Ohio, Odell in the Dakotas, 
Iowa is the next logical choice right? From a credible source it sounds like it is only a matter of time before both of these breweries will be showing their products on our shelves. Nothing can be confirmed as of yet, but it sounds like it will be happening soon and I will keep you posted! Excellent news going into the weekend and Thanksgiving holiday!
The following comes from Millstream’s website http://www.millstreambrewing.com/Brewmasters_Extreme_Seri.html.
Some new sounding beers being added to their Brewmasters’ Extreme series.
Here is what we have for the 2013 line up:
January – ?
March – Wit-less Hop Meister
June – Big Honey Hefeweissen
September – Pumpkin Imperial Stout
November – Blitzed Bliteen Baltic
Sounds interesting! Makes me look forward to next fall for their Pumpkin Imperial Stout!
It has been a wonderful year for beer in Eastern Iowa. Green Flash, Stone, and Founders have made their way to our state and have graced us with some fantastic brews. Founders was the first major brewery to re-enter the state of Iowa and they have brought some amazing beers with them. I love their Harvest Ale, Breakfast Stout, KBS, and their IPA is really solid as well. Those are all your basic style beers, IPAs and stouts, so I was a little frightened to venture into the land of Barrel-Aged wee-heavy or scotch ales. I’m not a whiskey drinker by any means so I was under the impression that I would really dislike this brew……..I was very, very, wrong.
Description from Founders:
Big and delicious for your ’perty mouth. Expect lovely, warm smells of single malt scotch, oaky bourbon barrels, smoke, sweet caramel and roasted malts. A bit of earthy spice and a scintilla of dark cherries. It’s a kick-back sipper made to excite the palate.
I think the most important thing when drinking a bourbon barrel aged beer isn’t getting a mouthfeel of bourbon to taste the balanced the booziness will be with the rich flavor of malt from, in this case, a Scotch Ale, and Founders really nails it with this beer. Is the bourbon in the beer? Absolutely, but not overwhelming, and a nice warming sensation when drinking. This is not a beer to chug in 10 minutes, but to sit and enjoy for 30 minutes or so. The dark chocolate undertones you get with the bourbon when you first start drinking transform, at least for me, into a chocolately-coconut aroma and taste. Halfway done with this beer and I thought I was drinking a liquified Almond Joy candy bar.
A rustic, old world beer that hits my Top 10 beers of the fall/winter to try. This beer would also be great for aging. When the snow starts falling and you are out shoveling like a sucker or snow blowing your drive; coming in from that and having one of these waiting for you makes it all worth it.
REVIEW
STYLE: Wee Heavy/Scotch Ale bourbon barrel aged.
ABV:10.2%
PURCHASED AT: Hy-Vee; Marion, IA
Pour: Dark red pour with a brown hue. Minimal white head.
Aroma: Malt, bourbon, caramel.
Taste: Caramel, dark chocolate, brown sugar, and bourbon. The warmer it got the sweeter the taste.
Overall: A-
My Recommendation: Awesome beer, a great winter warmer.
A few new beers hitting shelves in Eastern Iowa this week. More bastardness from Stone and Sierra Nevada and maybe on the last pumpkin beers out there from Jolly Pumpkin. Here we go:
STONE
*Lukcy Bastard – (and yes, I know the spelling is all messed up; that’s Stone’s way!) 8.5% ABV
“Oepn yuor mnid. Use a craobwr if you msut. Snice 1997, Arorgnat Basartd Ale has denemdad taht tyrnianacl micredioty rleax its girp of opprobrium on our ciollectve couniescosnss. Few pessoss the ruiereqd isinght or detph of piversceptve to crdiet the Liuqid Arorgnace for initatgsing the rlveoituon in tsate taht it has. Hevweor, taht’s pfecertly fnie, as our hlurecaen erffots in thirstung the larlegy unlliwing wolrd farorwd rquereis no exrtneal vaditilaon. We ralieze it’s hmaun nautre to bleeive taht pregorss trowads getreanss is one’s own ieda.
The mree fcat taht yuo’re hdoinlg tihs bttloe in yuor hnad ianidctes taht yuo’re pyiang antteiton, wihch ideitammley stes you arpat form the msseas. It aslo mkaes you one Lukcy Basartd. Hewover, lcuk faovrs the blod… and the arorgnat. The trmiraivute of Arorgnat Basartd Ale, OEKAD Arorgnat Basartd Ale and Dbolue Basartd Ale are all in paly in this cvueé de Basartd you now hlod, and wihle it is idneed a Lukcy Basartd, lcuk had ntohing to do wtih it.
Taody, wihle nueomrus iendicrlby dinistcitve chcoies are now alavaible, msot popele sitll fucos tiehr attntieon uopn msas mdiea’s isscenatnly banal ehco cheambr, keenpig thier hdeas frimly buerid in the maross of mecridioty. To beark thurogh tihs cophocany, to gsarp enitghnelnemt anmog the mnid-nmubnig culettr, rerequis itnent. Coinscous itnent. For mnay, this aictve piticipataron in the wolrd is unomfacbtorle. Prerrifeng inasted for oethrs to mkae teihr chcoies for tehm — be it a shioutng pindut or a toelievisn ciommecral — sheeple apccet the cmmoitozdied nrom wioutht thoghut. And to thsoe we say: “Setp asdie, and get the hlel out of our way.
*Double Bastard – 10.5% ABV
“This is one lacerative muther of an ale. It is unequivocally certain that your feeble palate is grossly inadequate and thus undeserving of this liquid glory…and those around you would have little desire to listen to your resultant whimpering. Instead, you slackjawed gaping gobemouche, slink away to that pedestrian product that lures agog the great unwashed with the shiny happy imagery of its silly broadcast propaganda. You know, the one that offers no challenge, yet works very, very hard to imbue the foolhardy with the absurd notion that they are exercising ‘independent’ thought, or attempts to convey the perception it is in some way ‘authentic’ or ‘original.’ It’s that one that makes you feel safe and delectates you into basking in the warm, fuzzy, and befuddled glow of your own nescience. Why so many allow themselves to be led by the nose lacks plausible explanation. Perhaps you have been so lulled by the siren song of ignorance that you don’t even notice your white-knuckle grip on it. You feel bold and unique, but alas are nothing but sheep, willingly being herded to and fro. If you think you are being piqued in this text, it is nothing when compared to the insults we are all asked to swallow streaming forth from our televisions and computers. Truth be told, you are being coddled into believing you are special or unique by ethically challenged “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” marketers who layer (upon layer) imagined attributes specifically engineered to lead you by the nose. Should you decide to abdicate your ability to make decisions for yourself, then you are perhaps deserving of the pabulum they serve. Double Bastard Ale calls out the garrulous caitiffs who perpetrate the aforementioned atrocities and demands retribution for their outrageously conniving, intentionally misleading, blatantly masturbatory and fallacious ad campaigns. We demand the unmitigated, transparent truth. We demand forthright honesty. We want justice! Call ‘em out and line ‘em up against the wall… NOW.”
SIERRA NEVADA
Estate Ale – 6.7% ABV
“Estate Ale is one of the world’s only estate-made beers, brewed with 100% all-natural, hops and barley grown on-site at the brewery in Chico, CA.
Inspired by the renowned winemaking region of its Napa and Sonoma neighbors, Sierra Nevada is the first brewery to develop its own terroir. This beer is brewed with ingredients that reflect the flavors of the environment and the seasonal rhythms of nature.
The wine industry is fond of speaking about the individual flavor characteristics that it takes from its environment. This terroir is present in all growing things that are tended with passion and care. The environment that builds flavor is more than simply the soil or the climate: it is also the passion and commitment of the grower. Sierra Nevada’s location near the convergence of the mighty Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges—and its roots in the heart of California’s fertile Central Valley—offer an environment unique in the world. This volcanic backdrop and productive earth each lend character to the water, hops, barley, and yeast.
Estate Ale is the product of years of tending the soil, building an environment around the brewery, and even more years of planning. It began in 2003, with the planting of the first experimental hop yard in the field adjacent to the brewery. Over the years the field grew, and the hops along with it. The quality improved: the rhythm of planting, tending, and harvesting was established. In 2008, the brewery released Chico Estate Harvest Ale for the first time, utilizing the fresh-green flavors of these homegrown hops. The brewery was so pleased with the result that it decided to take it further than anyone else and produce a 100% estate-made beer.”
JOLLY PUMPKIN
La Parcela – Ok, so the joke was that Jolly Pumpkin doesn’t brew a pumpkin beer. Well, now we do. Just this one. Packed with real pumpkins, hints of spice, and a gentle kiss of cocoa to liven the soul. An everyday easy way to fill your squashy quotient. Guess now folks will have to find something else to joke about…
Really looking forward to this! Stone has announced that their third installment of Enjoy By IPA will be released to 12 states. The following comes from beerpulse.com. Stone once again hits levels of creativity that many other brewers are scared to try. Let me know if you come across it; where you got it, and what your thoughts are.
“Escondido, CA) – Stone Brewing Co. just announced that the third rendition in its Enjoy By IPA series will be Enjoy By 12.21.12 IPA. The beer will ship to the following locations:
Southern California
Central Coast California
Northern California
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Massachusetts
Missouri
New Jersey
New York City
Texas
Copy from the Stone site:
Let us present to you a new, devastatingly fresh double IPA. While freshness is a key component of many beers – especially big, citrusy, floral IPAs – we’ve taken it further, a lot further, in this IPA. You see, we specifically brewed it NOT to last. We’ve not only gone to extensive lengths to ensure that you’ll get this beer in your hands within an extraordinarily short window, we made sure that the Enjoy By date isn’t randomly etched in tiny text somewhere on the label, to be overlooked by all but the most attentive of retailers and consumers. Instead, we’re sending a clear message with the name of the beer itself that there is no better time than right now to enjoy this IPA.”
This would be my distribution news of the week but this is the only thing I have to report. However, some news is brewing on some very interesting breweries that might be making their way towards Eastern Iowa. Stay tuned for that. Onto New Planet. I know gluten free beers in the past haven’t been very popular flavor – wise but I do believe things are getting better on that front. With that being said here’s New Planet:
Courtesy of beerpulse.com
(Fort Collins, CO) – New Planet Beer, a producer of gluten-free beer is now available in 42 states, according to this week’s newsletter. The latest additions include: Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Tennessee. The company is working on Delaware, Texas and Wisconsin for 2013.
Finally, New Planet won a silver medal at the GABF for its Brown Ale, a beer it plans to release nationally in 2013.
Checking out the breweries website at http://newplanetbeer.com/homepage/ they currently offer three different beers.
Tread Lightly Ale – Tread Lightly Ale is a well-balanced gluten-free ale beer made from sorghum, corn extract, orange peel, hops, and yeast. It’s a bright and light bodied craft beer with a refreshing taste and doesn’t have the after taste of other sorghum-based beers.
3R Raspberry Ale – 3R Raspberry Ale is an award winning ale with the right balance of fruit flavor and aroma. Made from sorghum, corn extract, natural raspberry puree, orange peel, hops, and yeast. Not overly sweet, the Oregon grown fruit puree creates a beautiful body color with a natural raspberry flavor.
Off Grid Pale Ale – Off Grid Pale Ale is a wonderful interpretation of the classic pale ale style. It has a distinctly deep amber color and great character and body. Three varieties of hops provide a wonderful aroma and a citrus and spicy hop flavor. This smooth gluten-free ale is made from sorghum and brown rice extract, molasses, tapioca maltodextrin, caramel color, hops, and yeast.
Please let me know if you try any of these beers and what your thoughts are!
Sierra Nevada Celebration should be seen in stores between Tuesday and Friday of next week. This is Sierra Nevada’s dry hopped winter seasonal! Here’s what the brewery says about it:
“Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale represents a time honored tradition of brewing a special beer for the holiday season. There are generous portions of barley malts and fine whole hops of several varieties, creating a brew with a full, rich and hearty character.”
A wonderful beer that is a must come the holiday season!
Thanks to the Beer Counselor for hooking me up with a bottle of this. He talked it up pretty big and this beer definitely came through. Ever since Schlafly has been available in Eastern Iowa I try to taste as many of their beers as possible. It has definitely been a love/hate relationship with me and Schlafly. This beer is a perfect example. It is so good and refreshing that for the life of me I can’t figure out why I don’t see more of this and less of their Raspberry Hefeweizen. I think that some of their stuff is very mediocre but then they blow me away with something like this IPA. The problem is, the stuff I don’t care for as much is readily available and this delicious beer is very hard to find in Eastern Iowa, thankfully the beer counselor bailed me out.
A very easy drinking IPA. Poured from 12 oz bottle into snifter glass. Hazy yellow pour with a frothy white head; more clear than some IPAs, which worried me a bit, aroma showcases the hop presence with the citrus coming from the amarillo hops. A lemon flavor, very well-balanced with the bitter and the citrus. Very smooth and sessionable beer. Worth seeking out!
REVIEW
STYLE: American IPA
ABV: 7.2%
PURCHASED AT: Gift from the Beer Counselor
Pour: Hazy yellow pour with a huge head.
Aroma: Citrus, mostly lemon and a small amount of malt.
Taste: Citrus dominate but not overpowering, perfectly balanced. A well done brew.
Overall: B+
My Recommendation: Very drinkable. Perfect for a Saturday drinking session.
