2013 Brrr Fest Tickets On Sale!

October 30, 2012Leave a comment

The following comes from http://www.coralville.org

Brew Up a Celebration of Craft Beers

Coralville Brrr Fest celebrates the beers of winter and the brewers who make them. Sample craft beers showcased by more than 40 breweries from across the Midwest. A portion of the proceeds benefit Coralville’s annual 4th Fest celebration.

2013 Brrr Fest

Date: Saturday, January 26, 2013
Begins: 12:00 pm (Brewmaster), 1:00 pm (regular and non-drinking)
Ends: 4:00 pm
Location: Coralville Marriott Hotel and Conference Center Exhibit Hall

300 E. 9th St., Coralville, IA | View map

Food: Available for purchase at Brrr Fest, or within walking distance from Iowa River Landing restaurants
Restrictions: Must be at least 21 years old to enter. IDs will be checked.
Seating: A seating area will be available inside the Exhibit Hall.

Participating Breweries
Our list of breweries for 2013 is growing! View the listing of breweries from 2012 which participated in Brrr Fest.

Ticket Prices

$40 Brewmaster	Opens at 12:00 pm	Limited to 400 tickets, sold online only. Includes a special glass and access to talk with brewers about their beers and the craft of brewing.
$25 Regular	Opens at 1:00 pm	Tickets available online and at ticket sales locations.
$5 Non-drinking ticket	Opens at 1:00 pm	Tickets available at the door only.

Purchase Tickets
The 2012 Brrr Fest sold out. 2013 Brrr Fest tickets go on sale beginning November 1 at the following locations:

Online
Backpocket Brewing, 903 Quarry Rd., Coralville
Coralville City Hall, 1512 7th St., Coralville
Coralville Hy-Vee, 1914 8th St., Coralville
John’s Grocery, 4401 E. Market St., Iowa City

Learn More
Like Coralville Brrr Fest on Facebook!

It's Time to talk Winter Brews……but this is good news…. I think!

October 24, 20121 Comment

Usually, when Fall winds down I fall into a deep depression that I’m facing the seasonal hell of winter brews; probably my least favorite besides summer brews. I know I can continue to drink stouts, porters, etc. but coming off a high of fantastic Octoberfests and pumpkin ales it’s tough to get excited about winter ales…..until now…………. Just got my newsletter from Sam Adams and they are bringing two new brews to their winter lineup. A new white ale and a gingerbread stout! Check it out!

Source: Boston Beer Company Newsletter

“As the temperature continues to drop and we inch closer towards the winter season, we have been busy brewing a variety of styles that perfectly suit these colder days. Early November will mark the beginning of one of our long standing favorites, Winter Classics. This year’s lineup will include Samuel Adams Boston Lager®, Winter Lager, Old Fezziwig Ale®, Holiday Porter, Chocolate Bock and a brand new holiday brew, >White Christmas.

An unfiltered white ale brewed with holidays spices (cinnamon, nutmeg and orange peel), White Christmas brings together the familiar citrus and wheat characters of a white ale with classic warming holiday spices. This limited edition winter brew can be found in the Winter Classics variety pack as well as in its own 6-pack.

We’re also excited to introduce Samuel Adams® Merry Mischief, a gingerbread stout, as the latest addition to our small batch brews. Only available for a short time starting in November, this rich, dark gingerbread stout bursts with the aromas of the holidays. The smooth sweetness and heartiness of dark roasted malts and a touch of wheat combine with rich warming spices like cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, & ginger to create the essence of gingerbread for a spicy and festive holiday treat.”

It’s Time to talk Winter Brews……but this is good news…. I think!

October 24, 2012October 24, 20121 Comment

Source: Boston Beer Company Newsletter

New to Shelves this Week: Bells, Founders, Rogue Pumpkin, Stone!

October 23, 20121 Comment

Hitting Iowa shelves this week are a slew of beers from Bells and a few things from Founders and Stone as well. I can recommend the Double Cream, Expedition, Ruination, and the Pumpkin Patch. Get the pumpkin patch while you can and the only place I’ve seen it is at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.

Starting with Bells you should be seeing the following:
Beer info credited to http://www.bellsbeer.com
*Double Cream Stout– Completely dairy-free, this stout blends ten different specialty malts to yield a remarkable depth of flavor. With only a touch of burnt notes, Special Double Cream Stout focuses on the softer, cocoa & espresso-like aspects of roasted malt.
*Expedition Stout-One of the earliest examples of the Russian Imperial Stout in the United States, Expedition Stout offers immensely complex flavors crafted specifically with vintage aging in mind, as its profile will continue to mature and develop over the years. A huge malt body is matched to a heady blend of chocolate, dark fruits, and other aromas. Intensely bitter in its early months, the flavors will slowly meld and grow in depth as the beer ages.
*Third Coast- Third Coast Old Ale focuses on malt, offering notes of burnt caramel & other earthy malt flavors. Designed with vintage aging in mind, the malt aspect is matched to a heavy complement of hops. Sharply bitter at first, this will fold into the malt character over time and balance out the maltiness.
*Hell Hath No Fury -Originally conceived along the lines of a Belgian Dubbel, Hell Hath No Fury… Ale morphed during development into something entirely different. Blending a pair of Belgian abbey-style yeasts into a recipe more akin to a roasty stout, Hell Hath No Fury… Ale offers up warm, roasted notes of coffee & dark chocolate together with the fruity & clove-like aromas.
*Java Stout–Java Stout uses a custom blend of coffee beans, roasted locally for us by Water Street Coffee Joint, to generate its intense flavor. Possessing an unmistakable aromatic punch, Java Stout has long been one of our most popular stouts.

Onto Stone. From the website:
*Ruination 4 Packs – So called because of the “ruinous” effect on your palate! This massive hop monster has a wonderfully delicious and intensely bitter flavor on a refreshing malt base. One taste and you can easily see why we call this brew “a liquid poem to the glory of the hop!” Those who seek, crave and rejoice in beers with big, bold, bitter character will find true nirvana in Stone Ruination IPA!

FOUNDERS

*Backwoods Bastard– 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 fruit. It’s a kick-back sipper made to excite the palate.

ROGUE

*Chatoe Rogue Pumpkin Patch Ale-The newest addition to the Chatoe Rogue series is Pumpkin Patch Ale, a beer made using fresh pumpkins grown in a patch that borders Rogue’s 42 acre hop yard. The pumpkins are picked, loaded into Rogue’s farm truck, driven immediately 77 miles to our brewery in Newport, quickly roasted, and pitched into the brew kettle to create a batch of Pumpkin Patch Ale.

Beer Review #89: O'Fallon Pumpkin Beer

October 16, 2012Leave a comment

I’ve had this beer many times over the years but this year it seems extra good. I would say that it is leaning more towards a gingerbread/snickerdoodle flavor than actual pumpkin taste, the pumpkin is there, but I’m really enjoying the gingerbread flavor that this one brings to the table. A fantastic Pumpkin beer for the fall that can be found at any good liquor store in the Eastern Iowa area. From the website:
“Like pumpkin pie in a bottle….we add 136 pounds of real pumpkin to the three barley mash and then season the finished beer with cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove.”

Hazy orange pour with a small white head. Pumpkin pie spice is prevalent in the nose, brown sugar, and maybe a touch a vanilla as well. The flavor is great! Almost taste more like pumpkin bars or gingerbread than pumpkin. Really enjoyable and not overally sweet, would make for a change for a session beer but I can see myself sitting down and having no trouble with a six pack of these.

Time is running out to get this years pumpkin beers! I would say within two weeks the shelves will be emptied which is unfortunate. This beer would be great with a big Thanksgiving dinner, and wouldn’t be bad opening presents on Christmas either. Nice job O’Fallon! (www.http://www.ofallonbrewery.com/)

REVIEW

STYLE: Spice/Herb/Vegetable

ABV: 5.5%

PURCHASED AT: John’s Grocery; Iowa City, IA

Pour: Hazy amber with a small white head. Little lacing on the glass.

Aroma: Sweet pumpkin, brown sugar, vanilla.

Taste: Would be great as a dessert beer, tasting a lot like gingersnap or snickerdoodle cookies or would be a decent session beer.

Overall: B

My Recommendation: Good stuff. Change from the norm, wish it was available for an extra two months.

Beer Review #89: O’Fallon Pumpkin Beer

October 16, 2012Leave a comment

REVIEW

STYLE: Spice/Herb/Vegetable

ABV: 5.5%

PURCHASED AT: John’s Grocery; Iowa City, IA

Pour: Hazy amber with a small white head. Little lacing on the glass.

Aroma: Sweet pumpkin, brown sugar, vanilla.

Taste: Would be great as a dessert beer, tasting a lot like gingersnap or snickerdoodle cookies or would be a decent session beer.

Overall: B

My Recommendation: Good stuff. Change from the norm, wish it was available for an extra two months.

Restaurant Review: Backpocket Brewery; Coralville, IA

October 8, 2012October 8, 2012Leave a comment

This past weekend my wife and I needed to satisfy our sushi fix and so we hit up Konomi (http://konomigrill.com/) which is located in the Iowa River Landing development down by the new Marriott in Coralville. My favorite place for sushi, the whole area down there is actually very nice. After enjoying a bunch of sushi, this was our opportunity to finally get to Backpocket Brewery. I’ve been wanting to head over to this place since it opened and we finally got the chance. I’ve had Backpocket’s (http://www.backpocketbrewing.com/) dunkel a few times and really enjoyed it.

Upon walking in the door you are greeted by the hostess but the first thing I noticed was how nice the bar was and how busy the place was. I was happy to see that they let the place open; they didn’t try to hide the vats or the brewing supplies, in fact, I thought their picnic table area was cool for those who didn’t need a table or want to sit at the bar. You got actually sit at a picnic table right in the warehouse. They had four of their own on tap: Their Pennywhistle is a Bavarian wheat and I saw a lot of those being poured throughout the night, their Jackknife which is a German pale ale, their Wooden Nickel which is a Scottish lager, but the winner of the night for me was their stout called “The Second Coming”. A really nice stout with tons of roasted malt flavor. Among the beers brewed by the brewery they also had Green Flash Hop Head Red, Schlafly raspberry hefe, and one that escapes me at the moment.

We didn’t intend on eating their but after looking through the menu we decided on the beer cheese served with toasted bread. A great appetizer that paired well with the beer. We watched a little playoff baseball and enjoyed a few more brews, I intended to try all of their beers, but was really digging the stout so I stuck with it. After seeing their brick oven pizzas coming out, and noticing their special was an “au jus roast beef, garlic mashed potato, with horseradish sour cream sauce” as their special of the week, there was no way I couldn’t order it; right? The pizza was absolutely terrific, their crust is up there with some of the best I’ve had.

Talking with many beer people I know I get the feeling that Backpocket has not taken a hold of them yet because of their beer style selections. There is no pale ale, porter, or even the popular IPA there yet. My advice, give it time. This facility is gorgeous and I get the feeling they are determined to make the greatest beer around and I believe that in time this will happen. They are sticking with their roots from Old Main River Brewing……for now. I enjoy their dunkel and I really enjoyed their stout, they’re not a beer that you would put in your top 5 but they are all very drinkable and overall good. The overall experience at Backpocket has me yearning to get there as soon as possible. Great to have this place 20 minutes from my home! Check it out!

Pumpkin Beer Guide: Fall 2012

October 1, 20126 Comments

This is easily my favorite time of year; football season, chilly weather, and fall seasonal beers. I never thought I would be a fan of pumpkin ales but have grown quite fond of them. Below is my list of pumpkin beers available in Eastern Iowa. I would love to include Dogfish Head’s Pumpkin, Souther Tier Pumpking, and Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin, but they are not distributed here. This is a list for people who can run to Hy-Vee and get a bottle of one these. They are not in any particular order. Onto the brews:

**Samuel Adams Fat Jack Imperial Pumpkin Ale**- 28 lbs of pumpkin are poured into this intensely flavored pumpkin brew. New to Eastern Iowa shelves this year, it comes in a bomber bottle for around $6-8. This might be my favorite of the fall or close to it. Heavy on the pumpkin pie spice and less vegetabley than other pumpkin brews, it satisfy the sweetness but also hits home with the roasted smokey malts. A must try!

**O’Fallon Pumpkin Ale** – O’Fallon is great to have in Eastern Iowa because there beers are usually quite tasty and little bit different than others. Their Hemp Rye is great, their Wheach is a terrific summer brew, and their smoke ale is an amazing smoked beer. Come fall, they do not disappoint with one of the better and more affordable pumpkin ales. Coming in a sixer at around $7-8, you are getting one of the easiest drinking and tastiest pumpkin beers out there; the perfect amount of cinnamon and spices.

**Buffalo Bills Pumpkin Ale**- claimed to be the first pumpkin ale on the market; Buffalo Bills using baked and roasted pumpkins added with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. If you are pumpkin pie lover; this is the pumpkin beer for you to try; pumpkin pie in a bottle. Excellent stuff.

Guest Review by sLim: Abita Jockamo IPA

October 1, 2012Leave a comment

Thanks to our good friend sLim for the following review:

ABV: 6.5%

Style-India Pale Ale

Upon completing the move into my new place in Ankeny, my old roommate graced me with his presence one night and also brought over an assortment of brews as a housewarming gift. Most of them were fall seasonals but one that caught my eye was the Jockamo IPA. It’s from the Abita brewing company which is located in Louisiana just a little north of New Orleans. I know little about this brewer but I did recall that they made purple haze. I tried it once and it’s not bad but I would say there are limited occasions where you could enjoy it. Onto the Jockamo, a decent beer. It was easy to drink for an IPA, kind of a hybrid fall seasonal/IPA. Usually I can instantly tell that I’m drinking an IPA . The hoppiness grabs my attention almost immediately but that wasn’t the case with this one. The website boasts this beer’s hoppiness but I didn’t really find that; not a bad thing if you’re not a big IPA guy like me.

Pour-An amber/red pour with a thin head that remained through most of the imbibement.

Aroma-mostly hops but with a caramel aroma and even a hint of citrus (orange perhaps?).

Taste-Good brew. Easy to drink, it goes down very well and finishes clean. It tasted like the hoppiness was overshadowed by the amber/caramel presence which almost gave it that fall seasonal kick to it.

Overall-B . Purple Haze had set the bar low in terms of my opinion of this brewer overall. But Jockamo brought it right back up to the level of respectability. I also felt a personal tie-in with them because they’re located very close to the city that is home to my favorite NFL team (who dat!). Abita also offers some of their brews in can form which is an essential for tailgating. Jockamo is definitely a beer worth a try and this brewery is for sure worth a look to anyone seriously interested in craft brewing.

Stone Brewing Release Party Locations

September 28, 2012Leave a comment

Tuesday is the big day! Stone finally makes their way to Iowa! If you are in the Des Moines area you get a shot at going to a meet and greet with Stone brewmaster Greg Koch at the Simon Estes Amphitheater. Here is the lineup for Iowa:

Oct. 2
-Simon Estes Amphitheater kickoff meet; meet and greet with Greg Koch 6-9.

Wed. Oct. 3
-Zombie Burger 4-6 (Greg Koch meet and greet from 4-5 with special release beers on a tap and new burger creation using Arrogant Bastard)
-El Bait Shop 7 p.m.

Thur. Oct. 4
-The Keg Stand (West Des Moines; 4-6:30)
-DG’s Taphouse 7-9

Fri. Oct. 5
-Mulligans Brick Oven and Pub; Cedar Falls, IA 6-8

Sat. Oct 6
-Reds Alehouse; North Liberty, IA 9-10:30 a.m. (Beer-akfast)
-Northside Octoberfest beer festival
-Parlor City Pub and Eatery; Cedar Rapids,IA
*All nine year round releases on tap and special tapping of Stone 16th Anniversary Ale and Dry Hopped Stone Ruination IPA

All of these locations will have Stone reps on hand so a great turnout would benefit Iowa’s future beer distribution greatly! If you head to any of these locations let me know how it goes, might see you at Parlor City!