Big Grove 2024 release calendar unveiled!
Category: new releases
Aslin, Blackstack, MORE, 56 Brewing, and Mason Ale Works coming from Pequod!
Aslin Brewing
- Tyson’s Grandma- Pecan Pie IPA
- Pinkies Up- %18 AVIPA
- Master of Oranges- Dbl IPA
- Totally Cannon- Holiday Smoothie Sour
BlackStack Brewing
- Case of the Mondays NEIPA
MORE Brewing Co.
- More to Life- American Lager
- Cherry Chocolate Dbl Marbles
- Hophorescent- TDH Hazy IPA
56 Brewing
- Uncharted Territory- Stout
- SSippi Squeeze- IPA
Mason Ale Works
- Hop Smash IPA
- Hazy IPA
- West Coast IPA
- Wonky Kong IPA
- Zombie zWhip Fruited Sour
September releases coming from Backpocket!
Pretzel Stout – Chocolate stout that was infused with pretzels with a splash of peanut butter.
Oatmeal Stout – Experimental oatmeal stout that has a touch of vanilla (draft only/taproom release)
Cereal Killer – Hazy IPA with loaded with lactose, marshmallow and mosaic, azacca and equinox hops then infused with hundreds of pounds of fruity cereal.
Saturday Morning Raspberry/Feijoa – One of our favorites in the Saturday Morning smoothie sour series with the return of Raspberry and Feijoa which is a mix of strawberry, guava and pineapple fruit flavors.
Introducing Urban South Brewery via Pequod! Plus Untitled Art, and MORE!
Combo Plate Double IPA
Extremely crushable and vibrant double IPA with the perfect balance of soft juiciness and hop bitterness. Dry Hopped w/ citra and wai-iti
HTX IPA (from the former head brewery of Other Half)
New Recipe – Hazy Double IPA featuring Citra and Strata hops
Sur Urbano – Mexican Lager
Bright Mexican style lager, perfect for crushing some tacos or grilling Brats.
Spilled Candy Paint Job – J Wakefield Collab
We had so much fun at Wakefest with our homies at J.Wakefield that we just had to bring you a 2nd iteration of our Spilled Paint Job collab. Remember Ice Cream Paint Job? Now introducing Spilled: Candy Paint Job, a heavily fruited sour with strawberry, mango, passionfruit and over 100lbs of mango gummi bears!!
Double Spilled Caribbean Mix
Our downright delicious Double Spilled Sour base conditioned on enormous amounts of Pineapple, Mango, and Strawberry Puree paired with Coconut to complete
Song of Rice and Fire
This little summer crusher is made with drinkability in mind. We brewed up this batch with rice then fermented with a neutral lager strain to keep it light and refreshing before dry hopping with Wakatu
Rocket Popsicle Seltzer
Making it’s annual return is Rocket Pop our sparkling blue friend. That famous Blue Razz flavored seltzer sure to tickle your nose and remind of simpler days.
Pixie Mix Citrus Punch
Who wants some alcoholic Sunny D in their lives? This is the next in line for their “nostalgic series” hard seltzers.
NEW- Clamp & Gasket DDH Hazy IPA
DDH IPA with Amarillo, Citra, Strata, and Idaho-7. This batch we’re tasting notes of pungent florals soaked in mango marmalade sodden with darjeeling tea, crushed goose berries, and zested red grapefruit. Tangy citrus is also at the forefront and gives way to a nice sophisticated bitterness that is anything but overpowering.
To the trees IPA
American West-Coast style IPA that’s a bit boulder…err…bolder than your every day IPA. Brewed with a lush combo of Amarillo, Centennial, CTZ, and Simcoe hops, this IPA is a hoppy trailblazer who’s not afraid to take the lead and set the trend.
Open Fields Cream Ale
This all-day, light-bodied beer is brewed with flaked corn to lend a crisp, dry finish. Soft, ultra-pure water helps yield a delicate mouthfeel, refreshing taste, and lingering fruity notes from the hops that makes this easy drinking ale so crushable, you might even forget to hit a home run.
Agra Pina Colada Seltzer This fresh, juicy seltzer is awash with fresh coconut juice and tangy pineapple that surfs over an extremely clean and soft water base. Clocking in at 5% ABV, our seltzers are made with REAL FRUIT while still maintaining extreme crush-ability. Brewed naturally gluten & dairy-free with virtually no bitterness.
Untitled Art, Blackstack, Aslin, and Urban Artifact coming from Pequod!
NEW – Tiki Sour
Berlinerweisse with Pineapple, Mango, Coconut, and Key lime juices. This beer reminds of tropical cocktail beach drinking times.
Fugazi – Italian Pilsner
Italian-Style Pils dry-hopped adoringly with Czech Kazbek. It’s the Real Deal.
It’s Legal There DIPA w/ Michigan Hops (8.0%)
Positively packed with the fruitiest/stankiest/stickiest/ickiest Michigan Chinook & Michigan Copper from our buds @hopheadfarms
Can you smell that? I’ve heard it’s legal there.
Working Title – Wheat AleThis beer has gone many monikers since being one of the 4 beers on tap when we opened. Brewed with a touch of Coriander & Orange Peel. This time around fermented in a French Oak Foeder.
Baby Shark IPA – 5.5% ABV
Baby Shark, our most favorite shark, if we’re being honest returns today!
This fresh lil’ Baby is dry-hopped with Citra & bursting with ripe flavors of grapefruit, stone fruit & soft clementine. Ultra thirst-quenching and ready for a swim down to that belly.
Volcano sauce Fruit Sour ale 6% ABV
Each sip of this fruity, smooth, satisfying sour is packed with blueberry & blackberry. Milk sugar & vanilla bring in bursts of creamsicle smoothness.
Laser Raptor DBL IPA 8.3% ABV
One of our classic DIPAs made with oats and wheat, it’s got a satisfyingly creamy mouthfeel. Double-dry hopped with Mosaic, Chinook, and Simcoe giving it notes of berries, pineapple and pine.
NEW – Adventure Sour Mixed Variety pack Version 2
A brand new 12pk containing 4 different beers! Those four include3 of each:
- Chariot – Cherry fruit tart
- Teak – American Fruit tart (pineapple and passion fruit)
- Spyglass – Lemon Lime fruit tart
- Photobooth – Grapefruit Gruit tart.
NEW – SqueezeBox Fruit Tart – Strawberry
Strawberry Midwest Fruit Tart. Brewed with over 3,000 lbs of strawberries per 30bbl. 8.6 % ABV
The Gadget – Blackberry Raspberry Fruit Tart
A Midwest Fruit Tart Ale with 1,280 lbs of blackberries, 1,280 lbs of raspberries & 30 g of vanilla beans per 30 BBL batch
- Case – 6/4pk/12oz Cans – $64.50
Blackstack, Drekker, Equilibrium, and Untitled Art coming from Pequod
NOT WITH THAT ATTITUDE – TIPA (10.1%)
Our selected Citra, Cascade Cryo & Cryo Pop from our buds @yakimachief is never gonna work. Too many punchy fruit aromas to be contained. Well… Certainly not with that attitude
REAL ESTATE West Coast IPA w/ Crosby Estate Comet (7.0%)
The first of several fun collaboration projects we have dropping this week for the impending Craft Brewer’s Conference in Minneapolis. Reminiscent of musk melon & citrusy sunshine, this crispy & extremely dry lil’ number was dreamt up with our buds @crosbyhops in Oregon to celebrate the magic that is their Estate Grown Comet.
Bloody Hell
Bloody Hell, our blood orange pale ale made with real blood… oranges. We brew Bloody Hell with oats and wheat, hop it with our hand selected Citra, Sabro, & Mosaic, then load it up with Blood Orange for a ridiculously refreshing & delicious burst of citrus.
Chonk – Strawberry chocolate coconut
a brand new Chonky absurdity! Our lovable hefty boi is back and as usual he’s preposterously decadent. This time around he’s stuffed with strawberry, coconut, and cacao nibs. Lots of heavy breathing happening right now.⠀
Braaaaaains Strawberry Pineapple Dragonfruit
A new Braaaaaaaains! We stuffed this full of Strawberry, Pineapple, & Dragonfruit and then hit it with our double secret smoothie treatment of sea salt, lactose, and vanilla.⠀
Dangerous Night Crew DBL IPA
Our buds from Oliphant Brewing came to visit a few weeks ago and over some beers and sloppy steaks we discovered our mutual love of slicked back hair and a shared desire to use Talus hops in a crushable pale ale. So we got right to work and Dangerous Nights Crew, a hazy pale ale hopped with Centennial, Mosaic, Talus, Azacca, & Enigma was born. ⠀
Jolly Prrrrrrters
a Blue Razz Slush Style Sour packed with Blueberry, Raspberry, Pineapple, Blue Raspberry Jolly Rancher® candies, and Blue Razz Slushy Mix. We could go on and on about how amazing and fruity it tastes, but these flavors blend perfectly together to taste exactly like a blue razz Jolly Rancher®
Master manipulator – DBL IPA
a brand spankin new double IPA! Master Manipulator is loaded up with oats and spelt and hopped to the hilt with our hand selected Citra & Vic Secret for some serious citrusy & peachy vibes.
Strawberry Prrrt – a – Colada
This PRRRT is loaded up with Strawberry, Pineapple, & Coconut and it’s super tropical & tasty like something that would be brought to you in a big weird glass with some of those tiny umbrellas in it while you’re chilling in a shaded cabana on the beach. ⠀
Limited Release – Barrel Aged Chocolate flavored Kisses Stout bottles
Choco Flavored Kisses is back with a new single origin cacao nib to showcase! This big ol’ imperial stout was aged in Old Fitzgerald bourbon barrels and conditioned on a ridiculous amount of single origin Ecuadorian cacao nibs for a rich, fudgy chocolate flavor and aroma we can’t get enough of.
Light at the end of the tunnel – IPA 6.8% ABV
Light At The End of The Tunnel uses Photon as its inspiration with some modifications and upgrades including an all Survivable hop blend for the whirlpool and a large dose of Lupomax Citra in addition to a supersized Photon hop bill. Aromas and flavors of soft pineapple, navel orange, stone fruit, EQ’s rainbow melon, and lime juice radiate with a touch of pine resin at the finish making it an easy drinker
Stacked Science – Blackstack Brewing collaboration – DDH DBL IPA 8.5% ABV
We had some fun in the lab with Murph from Blackstack to bring you stacks on stacks on stacks of flavor! We blended in 2-row, Flaked oats, White wheat, and Flaked wheat as the foundation for a Citra Incognito, Citra Lupomax, and Idaho 7 whirlpool before a big dry hop of Mosaic, Strata, Eclipse, and Galaxy.
Strata Points – DDH Dbl IPA 8% ABV
A Strata Point takes our Data Points grain bill and replaces ALL of the hops with our hand CY 2021 selected Strata. Pouring vivid yellow in color, aromas of OJ, rainbow melon, and a blueberry strain of the devil’s lettuce lead into dank flavors of passionfruit juice, ruby red grapefruit, Frankenberry cereal, melon, complex concord grape, and strawberry.
Tie Dye Science IPA 6.5% ABV
Tie-Dye Science starts off with a nice base of oats and wheat before a T90 and Lupomax Citra and Mosaic hop bill for both the whirlpool and dry hop. Aromas and flavors of orange slices, papaya, pink starburst, lime gummies lead into a bright juicy finish with a touch of hoppy bitterness all wrapped up in a creamy mouthfeel.
Peanut Butter Smores Imperial Stout – Limited release
While engineering our S’mores sandwich stout which has Marshmallows, Cacao Nibs, and Graham Crackers, we to bring you Peanut Butter S’mores Blueprint. Draw up a blueprint and follow the design carefully, engineering a S’mores sandwich is serious business and requires precision! Following the plans from the first batch, we took a thick and fluffy base and conditioned it on Peanut Butter, Marshmallows, Cacao Nibs, and Graham Crackers.
NEW – Kiwi Coconut Mango Smoothie Seltzer
Hello summer weather! This new smoothie seltzer is packed with Mango puree, Kiwi puree, cream of coconut and passion fruit juice.
NEW – Florida Seltzer Vareity pack Version 2
New vareity pack with 2 brand new flavors!! Gluten Free & Vegan approved. Each pack contains 3 cans each of the following flavors per 12pk:
- Meyer Lemon/Watermelon
- Apricot/Kumquat
- Strawberry/Kiwi
- Navel Orange/Yuzu
Drekker beers coming from Pequod!
Ice Ice Prrrty 6.2% ABV
Ice Ice PRRRTY is a Slushy Style Sour that’ll grab ahold of you tightly, then flow like a harpoon daily and nightly. Will it ever stop? That’s up to you to put down this absolute banger stuffed with lemon, cherry, plum, coconut, and lemon slushy mix. ⠀
Lizard People IPA DBL IPA
The world is run by interstellar lizards in people suits, and as a nod to those who are really pulling the strings is Lizard People. Our reptilian overlords concocted this soft, juicy, & citrusy double IPA in some smoky back room of a super secret, non-descript, possibly government building – we don’t know or really care to know for that matter. It’s delicious and we don’t want to find out what happens when you ask too many questions.⠀
Slang Du jour Cranberry/Raspberry/Lemon/Strawberry
Y’all ever had a Cranberry Raspberry Lemon Strawberry Cobbler? Ok, us neither. But we thought it sounded amazing so we loaded up this Slang with Cranberry, Raspberry, Lemon, Strawberry, Granola, Cinnamon, Brown Sugar, Lactose, & Vanilla Beans. This cacophony of awesomeness is the cobbler mashup that dreams are made of and we’re pretty sure you’re gonna dig it as much as we do.⠀
Struggle Bus – Breakfast Sour 6.4% ABV
a Breakfast Sour with Orange, Brown Sugar, Vanilla, a little Coconut & cinnamon, and Maple Syrup seems a little weird but not THAT weird, right? So we’re bringing it back and we think it’s goddamn delicious, and we can’t wait to hear what you think!
Ectogasm IPA
Ectogasm is a juicy, hazy, and soft NE IPA brewed with Citra & Mosaic hops. The Flagship IPA of Drekker brewing!
Berry Prrrrty Paradise
he newest PRRRT, a fruited sour loaded up with Blueberry, Blackberry, Plum, Key Lime, and Cream of Coconut for a stupidly tasty tropical berry flavor!⠀
Braaaaaaains Lemon Apricot – 7.3% ABV
a new Braaaaaaaains! We stuffed this one with all of the lemon & apricot we could find and then hit it with our double secret smoothie treatment of sea salt, lactose, and vanilla beans.⠀
Garbage People DBL IPA – 8.5% ABV
Don’t know about you guys, but we were always a little more Garbage Pail Kids than Cabbage Patch Kids. We grew up (technically, but not really) and we aren’t kids anymore so we’re just Garbage People. This Double IPA is hopped with Mosaic, Galaxy, Citra, and Vic Secret with some serious dank, orange zest, bubble gum, & apricot flavor and aroma. So crack one of these and decide which Garbage Pail Kid you feel like? Nasty Nick? Maybe a little more like Spacey Stacey? Let us know, we’ve got a feeling you’re Garbage People too.
Heaps – Coconut Milk Stout
Heaps is a Coconut Milk Stout brewed with a big, smooth, chocolatey malt bill with a chef’s kiss of lactose to pump up that body and then it was conditioned on cacao nibs and heaps on heaps of toasted coconut! Heaps, we tell ya! ⠀
Meet the Brewer: James Heckathorn, Court Avenue Brewing!
Who are the people that are brewing the wonderful beer in the state of Iowa? I’m sure some of you know many of them and others, maybe not. I thought it would be great to get to know the brewers of Iowa, their backgrounds, their likes, and what they have coming up in the future. First up, Court Avenue Brewing’s James Heckathorn!
NAME: James Heckathorn
BREWERY: Court Avenue Brewing Co.
LOCATION: 309 Court Avenue; Des Moines, IA
How long have you been brewing and where have you brewed?
I will have been brewing professionally 2 years in August of this year. Before that, I worked at various other breweries in FoH positions – Twisted Vine, 515 and then Reclaimed Rails, where I was given the opportunity to brew on their pilot system. I had about 3-4 beers that were well received, especially under the tutelage of Mike Street, who gave me excellent guidance and advice throughout. It’s how we became such good buds!
Aaron Knapp, the brewer before me at CabCo, was also bartending at Reclaimed with me and when he was getting ready to take on his new adventure at Epic Brewing in Colorado, he asked me to apply for his position at CabCo. I didn’t feel ready but my friends and family rallied behind me and encouraged me to apply and the rest is history.
What is the size of your brewery?
Court Avenue Restaurant and Brewing Company is a 7bbl system. A Specific Mechanical 2 vessel that has seen its fair share of brewers, hah! We are nearing 26 years here at CabCo and this system is at least that old. Being so manual and involved, it really brings a certain aspect of romanticism to brewing that I find appealing. Most days, at least!
What beer from Court Avenue would you pick to give to complete
stranger to try and why?
I would honestly give people two beers, one to show where we come from and one to show where we are going.
Pointer Brown Ale is the oldest recipe in house, a beer that has been consistently brewed since we opened our doors in 1996. It’s an English Brown Ale, so expect chocolate, caramel with a touch of dark fruit and a full mouthfeel that is infinitely drinkable. A true Iowa classic.
Earthbound NEIPA is our newest flagship that I began developing about a year ago. Hazy IPA is the style that got me into brewing and it continues to be a style I am passionate about. This is my take on the archetypical representation that everyone has come to expect in hazy IPA. Citra, Mosaic and a bit of El Dorado, plenty of oats and wheat malt and a low flocculating yeast strain. Earthbound is the first step forward in a modern vision of CabCo.
Who would be at your drinking table, dead or alive, to share a beer with?
This is a great question! Fritz Maytag – he did so much for craft beer and it would be cool to get insight into the beginnings of modern craft beer; Christopher Hitchens – He was a witty guy and I think he’d keep drinking long after everyone else had left the table. Would be a bender for the ages; Conan O’Brien – I could be his friend, definitely.
Do you have a favorite food and beer pairing?
A pilsner and sushi or spicy wings with an IPA!
What is your favorite beer in the world not made by Court Avenue and why?
Ayinger Bavarian Pils is a beer that continues to stay with me and luckily we can get it here. Any well done German pilsner, really.
Anything you’d like to pub for Court Avenue?
We will be releasing our 4 -way collaboration with Flix Brewhouse, Reclaimed Rails and Brightside Aleworks on the 31st of March. Cosmic Bear is a massive imperial pastry stout that was aged on star crunch and marshmallow.
I also gotta mention our Mug Club – It’s the best way to become a CabCo insider and it comes with a whole mess of perks for $40 a year. 10% off your tab, 24oz pints in your mug for the same price of a regular pint, a Mug Club Party every month where we shower you with a new beer release and free food, and last but not least, exclusive bottles that are only available to Mug Club members. Rumor has it the next bottle is an Eagle Rare BA imperial stout aged on a ton of vanilla beans…..
Huge thank you to Mr. Heckathorn for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions! Make sure to say to him and the other staff at Court Avenue Brewing when you visit, sign up for their Mug Club and keep an eye out for the Eagle Rare BA imperial stout! Cheers!
Untitled Art, Humble Forager, and Blackstack coming from Pequod
Green Time Machine Pixie Mix Seltzer
Bursting with Apple and Watermelon flavors, this Pixie mix will take you back to the simpler days of riding bicycles and drinking those juice boxes, nostalgia at it’s finest.
Coastal Sunrise V6 – Fruit breakfast sour 6% ABV
This new beer is made with peaches, Pineapple, Vanilla beans. Maple Syrup, pecans and cinnamon. From Austin – “Imagine a Pineapple Peach cobbler with pecans and maple syrup.” – wonderful, just wonderful
NEW – Foggy Footpath DDH DIPA
A brand new Hazy IPA made @ Fairstate brewing featuring Citra Cryo, Mosaic, and El Dorado cryo hops!
City pages – “Best IPA” Hazy IPA 7% ABV
Despite our best efforts we’ve never got this when they were around. Hand selected mosaic & mosaic cryo with a beautiful lot of nelson sauvin from New Zealand. Figured since we were the only ones voting this year, we could do the tally ourselves!
Too Soon – Fruit sour – 8th State brewing Collab
Imperial Berliner Weisse w/ Pineapple, Plum, Rhubarb & Passionfruit (7.2%)
The second act of our collab in 3 parts with our buds @the8thstatebrewing from Greenville, SC Imposingly quantities of Juicy Pineapple, Bassy Plum, Punchy Rhubarb & Passionfruit Nectar with delightfully tart Foeder Fermented Mixed Culture Imperial Berliner Weisse Style Base. Too Tasty… Too Soon?
Drink This! Reunion Tropic Nightmare DDH Brett IPA
When Reunion was teasing this release and having Wake involved in the brewing process, I was already sold. Reading further about this release and being a fan of Brett IPAs, I was super excited to have the chance to get my hands on some of these brews! Here’s the description from Reunion:
Brewed in collaboration with the wizards of WAKE BREWING. This nightmarish IPA was fermented with Brettanomyces Claussenii for a funky and tropic twang and dosed with heaps of Cryo Mosaic, Citra Lupomax and El Dorado Lupomax.
There have been a few Brett IPAs that I’ve really enjoyed. I was lucky enough to score Allagash’s “Little Brett”, which I enjoyed, but wanted a bit more hop presence. The Stone Enjoy After Brett IPA was tasty and I did purchase multiple bottles and enjoyed them. Crooked Stave has been a favorite brewery of mine and their Hop Savant was outstanding, tons of barnyard with a splash of hops….and then Tropic Nightmare came along….
First of all, this beer is beautiful..I’ve had a fresh pour from Reunion and multiple cans and it’s a stunning beer. Orange juice look with a thick frothy white head. Aroma is hops up front, dank and lovely. If you keep your nose in the glass for a bit longer you get that barnyard funk that brettheads love and desire!
Extremely refreshing! The funk shines and is wonderfully balanced with the hop bill. Tartness from the brett on the back of the tongue but also that refreshing and juicy splash of hops. Complex and delicious. Lots of flavors going on in this beer and for me, all of them wonderful.
This has been such a sight for sore eyes release. Something different, something new and a tip of the cap to Reunion and Wake for going in on a style that hasn’t necessarily dominated the market and totally crush it with Tropic Nightmare. Worth seeking, I’ll need more! Get to the brewery on the Coralville Strip and Drink This beer!
iabeerbaron.com 