Category: Beer

Weekend Releases: Big Grove + Pulpit Rock – Sours, IPAs, Stouts, + more

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The Beer Gods continue to smile upon us even in this trying time as our wonderful brewers, brewery employees continue to get us great beer every damn week! Big Grove has been releasing 4 beers, many of them new, every week for the past how many weeks for their drive thru weekend operation and Pulpit has been pushing at least two releases every Friday! So, what do these breweries have for us this weekend?

PULPIT ROCK

JACUZZI MOVES

This beer has the moves, dancing with 600lbs of fresh strawberries and lemonade mix to give it that refreshing summer taste. Jacuzzi Moves – a strawberry and lemonade mix kettle pastry sour, $6.50/16oz. can, no limits

BLUSTERY

Blueberries, marshmallows, golden sandwich cookies oh my! Who could ask for a better combination? This blueberry sour will blow you away. Blustery is available this Friday. $6.50/16oz.can, no limits

Big Grove

BIG GROVE

TAILWIND

 The official beer of RAGBRAI is back! This light and crisp golden ale rolls into town with a hot, new look and four new pals.⁣

PEACH MOSH PIT

Gose featuring peaches, apricots, and plums. Sweet, tart, and the perfect patio beer.⁣

ALL NEW EVERYTHING

Hazy double IPA delivers bright, juicy, and fruity greatness by way of the all-new experimental cryo hop blend and pilsner malt. Get ready… this one shines!⁣

BOSTON CREAM PIE

Is a pie that’s actually a cake that’s actually a beer! Chocolate, vanilla, and lactose come together for decadent dessert in a can.⁣

TROPICAL FREAK OUT

Is our latest Gusher. Highlighted by a Snowbird sour ale base, we added heaps of pineapple and tangerine to take you straight to the tropical paradise of your dreams.

If you have a release coming up and would like me to post just shoot me an email! Cheers everyone!

Drink This! Reunion DDH Dr. Dank!

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Another first time to can release (I think anyway) of a wonderful Iowa brewed IPA is double dry hopped Dr. Dank from Reunion brewery in Coralville. Reunion has been very strong in their pale ale/IPA game as their Juice Factory and Tank Puncher grace our shelves and our beer fridges regularly. Yes, it is available in cans right now but….if you go to my favorite place in the area to have a beer, Mr. Jeremy Freerks has a keg he is going to tap at Club 76 in North Libery, so you can fill a growler with this goodness…so stay tuned for that tapping! TBA!

I remember the first time I had Dr. Dank on tap and it was at Need Pizza in downtown CR and thought to myself, if they can this beer up I’d be all over it….well, here we are! Another example of our amazing Iowa breweries continuing to meet the need of the beer drinkers during this pandemic. Let’s get to the details of this beer courtesy of Reunion before we delve too deep:

It’s madness!!! He can’t be serious?!?! Sheer lunacy! He’ll destroy us all!!! Double dry hopped with Columbus, Citra and Mosaic, DDH Dr. Dank reeks of dank resiny goodness and heady, musky, tropical, juicy fruit. Oh, the humanity!!!

POUR
Clean pour, no floaties, dark yellow with some orange hue. Nice thin head and as your pouring you get the waft of the hops. Citrus and resin galore! Just what your looking for in this beer.

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TASTE
With the haze craze upon us, which I do enjoy, I love the bitterness that comes with this beer. Yes, you get the fruit and you get the dank, but the wonderful old school IPA bitterness also shines. The combo is terrific and makes 7.5% ABV beer seem like you need another…and then maybe 1 more…

OVERALL
Reunion had me sold with Tank Puncher and now Dr. Dank has me ready to head back to the store for a few more 4 packs, unless they are already sold out. If you are a hop head and like the dank stickiness that Mosaic and Citra bring and mix that with the resinous from Columbus than you need to Drink This!

Mickey’s Irish Pub in IC w/ crowler + growler sale this Saturday (5/9) featuring: Big Grove Richard the Whale Coffee!

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More great beer news as we approach this weekend. Not only will Big Grove be hosting another drive-thru with some new beers for us, but you also have a chance at landing a crowler of Richard the Whale Coffee crowler, among other beers, if you head to Mickey’s Irish Pub in downtown Iowa City! Here are the deets and beers they will have at Mickeys:

This Saturday, May 9th, we are selling some special 32 oz crowlers from our friends at Big Grove for carryout only starting at 11am.

-Big Grove Richard the Whale Coffee Variant, 1pp, $28

-Into the Woods Fruited Sour, Big Grove and Cooper Kettle colab 1pp, $16

-Pineapple Mango Main Street Wheat $12

We are also going to have growlers available of the following:
-Big Grove Iowa City Lager
-Big Grove Starcourt hazy IPA
-Big Grove Strawberry Cherry Swirl
-ReUnion Hefewizen
-ReUnion Juice Factory
-Exile Ruthie
-Single Speed Hard Won not Done
-Barn Town Cherry Limeaide

We also have a very limited amount of fresh ReUnion Dr. Dank cans for sale, $3.75 per can.

Add our famous pretzel bites with house made beer cheese, and stone ground mustard for $5 with any beer purchase.

Stop by in person, or call us at 319-338-6860

Iowa Beer Sneak Peek! Clock House Low Bandito!

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low bandito

Before I get into the details of this brew from Clock House I just want to share the release info for it which is coming this Wednesday!

*For the first time Clock House will be offering their delicious imperial stout in 16 oz cans starting this Wednesday, May 6th starting at 3:00 p.m. Low Bandito is an imperial stout aged with habanero peppers, limes, cacao nibs, vanilla beans and cinnamon. This is what you think a Mexican hot chocolate would taste like. This bad boy checks in at 11% ABV. Pick yours up at Clock House curbside starting this Wednesday!

Alright, there are the deets for the release. Onto the tasty brew itself. Was very grateful to Clock House staff for hooking me up with one first of all, so thank you to them! I’ve been spending a lot of my time driving over and picking up Pineapple Witch Slap on what seems to be a daily basis but this Wednesday I’ll be driving over for Low Bandito.

POUR
Dark viscous pour, aroma of cinnamon and cocoa take center stage with vanilla on the back. Nice looking tan head on this thing this dissipates.

TASTE
Cinnamon, chocolate, and vanilla right away and then a small shot of heat from the habanero, the lime is very subtle, but you can definitely get some faint citrus from it.

OVERALL
I can’t wait to get more of this. A few to sip on when the spring evening gets a tad cool and the sun goes down and maybe a few to store to see what the flavors do. Clock House has been upping their game constantly; IPAs, Sours, stouts, etc…they’ve been pushing it and they’ve been delivering! Get there this Wednesday folks and if you get some I’d love to hear your thoughts! Cheers!

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Abu Nawas drops! Pohjala, Labietis, Evil Twin, Stillwater, and Omnipollo!

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Porters and barrel-aging are the focus of Pohjala brewery out of Estonia and Abu Nawas is getting us some of their delicious sounding beers! Check out this week’s list:

Pohjala

  • Pohjala CocoBanger 24/330ml Bottle – A banging imperial stout brewed with coconut and A Caturra coffee from Costa Rica. 12.5%.
  • Pohjala Jouluoo 24/330ml Bottle –  A silky smooth chocolate-vanilla oak aged Imperial Porter aged on cacao nibs, fresh vanilla pods, and French oak for a heady chocolate dessert character with a luscious vanilla taste and aroma. 8% ABV.
  • Pohjala Karneval 24/330ml Bottle – An Imperial Dessert Stout with fresh flavors from raspberries, passionfruit, and toasted coconuts. Brewed in collaboration with Mother Kelly’s London. 10.9% ABV.
  • Pohjala Leevike 24/330ml Bottle – A spiced sour ale brewed with fermented cranberries, hibiscus, heather honey, toasted cinnamon and cloves. Translation: The Bullfinch. 6.5% ABV.
  • Pohjala Meri 24/330ml Bottle – A classic Gose, brewed with Himalayan rock salt and coriander seeds. 4.4% ABV.  Translation: The Sea.
  • Pohjala Must Kuld 24/330ml Bottle – A rich porter with smooth notes of milk chocolate. Enjoy on its own, or as a decadent dessert. 7.8% ABV. Translation: Black Gold.
  • Pohjala Ohtu 24/330 ml – An easy-going porter brewed with oats and rye, bursting with vanilla and chocolate flavors. 8% ABV. Translation: Evening.
  • Pohjala Oo 24/330ml Bottle – An Imperial Baltic Porter as dark as the Estonian nights. 10.5% ABV.
  • Pohjala Prenzlauer Berg 24/330ml Bottle – Raspberry Berliner Weisse. A rich and creamy sour wheat beer, brewed with raspberries. 4.5% ABV.

LABIETIS

  • Labietis Aroniju Ragana 12/500 ml – BERRY ALE. A wonderful ruby red beer dry fruited with Aronia berry juice and hopped Citra Hops. 5.1% ABV. Translation: ARONIA WITCH.
  • Labietis Mezs 12/500 ml – HERBAL BARLEYWINE. Inspired by Latvian folk songs on juniper berry beer, this one will be refreshing in a resinous fashion, balancing with slight malty taste and nice reddish color. Dry-hopped with a variety of hops derived from Eastern Europe wild hops – Kazbek. 5.5% ABV. Translation: FOREST.

EVIL TWIN

  • Evil Twin Brewing 60 Day Dry Aged Stout 24/16oz CAN – Oatmeal Stout brewed with 60 days dry-aged malt. 6% ABV.
  • Evil Twin Brewing 90 Day Dry Aged Stout 24/16oz CAN – Milk Stout Brewed with Dry-Aged Malt. 9% ABV.
  • Evil Twin I Always Felt Closer to IPAs Than I Did to People 6/4/16oz CAN – Double dry-hopped with tons of tasty Galaxy, Citra, Simcoe and Falconer‘s Flight, Hazy NE-IPA 7.5% ABV.
  • Evil Twin Sour Sun Saft 6/4/16oz CAN – Mosaic DIPA brewed with Black Currant & Mint. 8% ABV.
  • Evil Twin Rhubarb Compote 6/4/16oz CAN – Fruited Berliner Style Ale brewed with Rhubarb & Vanilla. 4% ABV

STILLWATER

  • Stillwater ASMR Frisson 001 6/4/16oz CAN – Sour ale brewed with wild blueberry, rolled oats & milk sugar. 6% ABV.
  • Stillwater ASMR Frisson 002 6/4/16oz CAN – Sour ale brewed with chamomile, lemon & wildflower honey. 6% ABV.
  • Stillwater ASMR Frisson 003 24/16oz CAN – Sour ale brewed with pink guava, flaked wheat & candy sugar 6% ABV.
  • Stillwater Artisanal Ales Wavvy 6/4/16oz CAN – Double IPA dry-hopped with SIMCOE/PACIFIC GEM/AMARILLO. 8% ABV

OMNIPOLLO

  • Omnipollo Devin the Dude 6/4/12oz CAN – Beautifully made German-style pilsner. 5.2% ABV. 💗💗💗
  • Omnipollo Beglo 6/4/12oz CAN – All-Simcoe Citrus Bomb IPA 6% ABV.
  • Omnipollo Lustro 6/424/12oz CAN – IIPA with the smoothness and haze of a New England style IPA, yet the bite and crushability of a West Coast IPA. 8% ABV.
  • Omnipollo Quadruple Dry-Hopped Fatamorgana 24/16oz CAN – 4x Dry-Hopped Double IPA. 8.1% ABV.

Big Grove releasing 4 more brews this weekend! Another Gusher cometh!

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biggrove

Big Grove keeps at it, bringing us new and tasty beers every week to go along with their already solid portfolio. This weekend will be no different, and preordering can start as early as tomorrow to get your hands on these 3 plus more!

*All Together: Hazy IPA -part of worldwide brew collaboration with $5 from every 4pk sold being donated to @IowaRestaurant Associates Employee Relief Fund

*Strawberry Rhubarb Gose: – the perfect combination of sweet, tart, and salty is the latest release in their Solon Summer Series!

*Queserita: you like margaritas? Us too. ⁣

*Tang-o-Rang Gusher: –  all that tangerine goodness that would even make Rufio proud!

Big Grove Drive Thru returns! Jabroni Pils, Katie’s Day Off, Blood Orange Arms Race, Into the Woods, Dirty Little Secret, + Snowbird for this weekend!

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big grove

5 more brews coming from the busy brewers and staff and Big Grove this weekend for their wonderful Drive Thru! You can start your preorder right now by clicking here!  Let’s get to the brews:

**Jabroni Pils – available in 4 pack cans. This is collab brew with Lua Brewing and if you’re interested, Big Grove will be going live on Instagram tonight with Lua owner Scott Selix. You can join that by clicking here:

5.2% ABV – Our collab with Lua Brewing is an Iowan’s take on an Italian classic: This beer is clean and refreshing with a crispy finish thanks to the Saphir we tossed in the dry hop. Saluti!

**Katie’s Day Off –

In honor of my day off, I asked the team to make the ultimate throwback hipster IPA for my fellow skinny jean wearing, laptop- wielding, head banging, West Coast drinking punkers out there.

This old school double IPA has the most perfect piney, dank hop build thanks to Columbus Cryo, Centennial, Chinook, and Simcoe hops.

Hazies begone! This one is bitter like your attitude and delicious like your (actual) taste in fonts and palettes.

**Blood Orange Arms Race – single can sale

Arms Race blurs the line between a pale ale and an IPA. Rich malt character offsets a massive hop punch. Citra hops steal the show with their gigantic tropical bouquet. Strong. Strong like bull. This version has blood orange added!

**Into the Woods 

Something weird happened on the way to Colorado from Iowa. Some full-bodied midwestern lactose stumbled through a berry bramble and this perfect kettle sour was born. Raspberries and blackberries give a start, fruity zing and lactose adds ideal body to this delectable treat. From the fields of Iowa City to Denver’s Rocky Mountains, we know one thing: thirsty happens. When it does, support your local brewery, grab a can, and head into the woods.

**Snowbird 

A little reminder of summer never hurts. This experimental sour gives you just that with a peach, apricot, and coconut concoction.

**Dirty Little Secret

Dark strong ale aged with raspberries. Notes of roasted coffee and chocolate.

Oskar Blues shipping inaugural “BA20 Vol. 1: All Monde” nationwide today!

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oskar blues

Oskar Blues brewing company will start shipping their new barrel aged series nationwide starting today. Their BA20 series will kickoff with All Monde. This beer will be available in 12 oz 4 pack cans. I’m assuming this will be relatively limited to certain stops, and I’m not sure exactly who will get it, hopefully I’m wrong though the footprint is a bit wider. Chees!

Here’s more on this brew:

To make All Monde, BA20 Volume 1, the shiny new Spinbot is packed with toasted almonds and Madagascar vanilla beans. A big time imperial stout racked in bourbon barrels for nine oaky months is swirled through until the nutty and sweet flavors are maximized to their full potential. The result is a barrel aged imperial stout with the toasty almond and vanilla flavor dials turned to eleven.