Brrr Fest brings out some amazing beers and sometimes only the lucky festival goers are the ones who get a taste. Thew Brewing out of Cedar Rapids will be tapping a speciality beer that they brewed over Christmas specifically for their Thew Crew members, but will now be made available to Brrr Fest attendees!
Here’s more from the brewery on this brew:
Thew Brewing will be doing a special tapping at BrrrFest at 3 PM! They made a stout at Christmas for their Thew Crew members and will be sharing it with lucky BrrrFest goers. This imperial stout has chocolate, cherry, and vanilla rested on oak spirals.
Another Wednesday and a more wonderful beer for Barrel-Aged January coming from Lion Bridge today! Following the release of one of the greatest beers brewed in the state, Home Baked, and 2022 GAZPROM! and the decadent Monkey Tail GAZPROM! Lion Bridge will be releasing “Remembered Time”, this 1st ever Barrel-Aged January Collaboration brewed with Clock House Brewing and is an English Barleywine. Not only that, they will also be releasing “Fragaria” a farmhouse ale brewed with strawberries! Here’s more on these two brews courtesy of Lion Bridge’s newsletter:
Remembered Time! Release Wed 1/19Β (Barrel-Aged Strong Ale, 12%) – Our first Barrel-Aged January Collaboration ever! We worked with our friends at Clock House to brew a rich Barley Wine and then blended it with some strong stout from our cellar to make something entirely new and amazing!
FRAGARIA! Release Thurs 1/20Β (Farmhouse Ale with Strawberries, 5%) – We took a selection of spelt beer aged in neutral french oak with Brettanomyces and put the blend on diced strawberries. This beer has a rocky, meringue of foam and beautfiul pink hue, while the nuanced flavor and aroma of strawberries emerges more as it warms.
The next XXplosion beer from Clock House Brewing in Cedar Rapids will be released this coming Friday, December 17th starting @ 3:00 p.m.! Here’s more from the brewery on this beer:
Join us this Friday as we bring back the very first variant of our XXplosion series! We took loads of raw Blackberries and added them to our base kettle sour. Fruity, sweet, and delicious!Available in 16oz 4-packs and on draft!
Friday night, December 3rd, sitting on a high raise table overlooking some of the best chefs in the state, maybe even the country, put on an absolute clinic on cooking, plating, and presenting some of the most wonderful food I’ve ever had put in front of me, all the while sipping on the yet to be released Richard the Whale Well Baked and Shadeshine IPA….I thought to myself…all food/beer lovers need to experience this one day and how lucky I was at that moment to get to take part in it. Big Grove has been the upper echelon on their releases, especially the Richard the Whale release, and every year they make it even more enjoyable with their food and beer offerings, but the one thing that shines even more than those things is just how amazing their staff is. Friendly, helpful, and just overall looking like they are happy to be there. This setup was a spectacle, setup like an Iron Chef type feel, video displayed on TVs showing the chefs plating, the amount of work and thought put into everything was evident. I won’t be breaking down every dish, I’ll trickle some pictures here and there, take a look and let your mouth water.
Watching the chefs put their talents on display for a 15 course dinner of foods that elegant was the ultimate treat. The care about what they serve, the interaction with the diners, and pure joy and smiles they had throughout the night was reflected in every dish. I do want to implore you, that if the chance to go to a Big Grove beer dinner is ever on the table for you, no matter what..do it…it’s worth it..it will be completely worth it….do not hesitate…this group of people simply do it the best!
Thank you Janelle for having me, thanks to all the chefs especially Ben, Sean, and T.J., thanks do Doug and Matt, thanks to Andy for sampling out some of their amazing beers…now it’s time to make your mouth water with some pictures! Cheers and thank you BG!
Some beer news out of Dubuque, as Dimensional is getting ready to release two new beers to us in the coming weeks! Here’s what’s on the horizon courtesy of Dimensional’s Facebook page:
We are jolly to say we have TWO barrel aged beers that are ready to come out of their long slumber in barrels. We will be doing this release the similar to way we did Anny/Lampy Rub release. Please read the following details carefully. *Hank(2021) is a 13.5% imperial stout aged for 14 months in Blaum Brothers Bourbon Barrels and then rested on peanuts, marshmallows and Cacao! Hank is a beautifully blended, rich stout that perfectly balances the adjuncts with the bourbon notes from the barrel. – Tickets for Hank will be sold online via Etix at 7pm on Sunday, December 12th at this link: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/6555720/ – Hank will be sold in 2, 500ml bottle packages.- The limit is one set per order. – If you score a ticket for Hank, bottle pick up will begin on December 18th at 11am at the taproom. – Proxies are allowed for pick up. They must have a screen shot or printed copy of the buyers ID and Etix ticket to be scanned upon pick up. *Flabongo: Blend One is a 6.9% kettle sour that was aged in a Blaum Brothers Gin barrel and then infused with pineapple, pink guava and orange puree. This tropical cocktail inspired liquid will definitely take you a warm place! – This gin barrel aged smoothie sour will be available in 750ml bottles. – Due to the low bottle count, we will be releasing this beer first come, first served at 11am on December 18th at our taproom. – Limits will be determined upon turnout and final bottle count. – For those of you lining up, we will open the garage up around 9am to keep ya’ll from getting frost bitten. Facebook event page will be up soon.
Club 76 in North Liberty has announced the date for their always amazing “Stouts, Sours, and Oysterfest” event! Saturday March 26th is the date and tickets will be going on sale on November 28th! Click HERE to follow their Facebook page with updates. Here’s more from Club 76 on this event:
Oysterfest is back. We discovered last year that most people who attended enjoyed the setup change we used last year. We also discovered it worked better for the volunteers and staff as a fewer ticketed and more intimate event with the opportunity to reserve tables. Same great food and spectacular beers selection. Tentative date for tickets to go on sale is November 28. We will update the page if that changes as we are going to try to make the process even easier this year. We will be having our Whiskey Raffle again. This is a great event for the American Legion and the proceeds helps us help the community including brand new scholarships this year locally at Liberty High School for sons and daughters of American Veterans. We also appreciate any feedback back on how we can help local organizations in the community in need especially Veteran or Children in need.
Along with the amazing food, you know there is going to be an amazing, hard to get tap list of some of the best stouts and sours that are attainable in Iowa. Here’s a list of possible brews being tapped at Oysterfest:
Stout weather is upon us and stout releases are on the horizon! Backpocket is releasing their popular “Wake the F Up!” barrel-aged coffee imperial stout on December 4th! Here’s more from Backpocket on this release:
ππ°π π΄ ππ·π΄ π³π°ππ΄ Wake The F Up Iowa 2021: Barrel Aged Imperial Coffee Stout release party will be December 4th. This BA Stout was aged in Mississippi River Distilling Barrels for boozy flavors that blend perfectly with the locally roasted coffee from Wake Up Iowa. If you love coffee and barrel aged beers, you gotta get some of this! Stay tuned for more details on the release party!
Thew Brewing in Cedar Rapids is tapping a couple of new beers today! Thew Askew Strawberry Rhubarb Sour and Pashmina Pale ale will be hitting the tap lines at the brewery today! Here’s more from Thew:
On tap today: Thew Askew #14, strawberry rhubarb. On tap only, limited quantities coming in at 6% ABV.
Pashmina Pale. Hazy pale brewed with Cashmere hops.
Reds’ Alehouse will be welcoming MORE Brewing Company to our state with a tapping of some pretty limited beers! Head on over to North Liberty on Thursday, October 7th and get ready to taste some excellent brews! Here’s what’s going to be on tap: Arketype:Coco Flux- Imerpial Stout Henna: Coconut Double Rainbow- Imerpial Stout Into the Sun: Wheet Beer Sun City: Dry Hopped Lager (HH) Morever- New England IPA (HH)
Here’s more on this event courtesy of Reds:
Join us for a special tapping to help introduce one of our new favorite breweries making their way to Iowa!More Brewing Company is located in Villa Park, IL and specializes on juicy ipas, stouts and sours. Come see what they’re all about!
Facebook event page will be up soon.
