Category: Restaurants/Bars/Pubs

Restaurant Review: Need Pizzeria; Cedar Rapids, IA

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needSo many great restaurants in the Eastern Iowa area that it is difficult to choose at times. During a latest trip down to Benz Beverage Depot for some fine ales my wife and I decided to give a newer pizza place in the downtown area a try. So off to Need Pizzeria we went! Here’s more about Need:

Need Pizzeria was founded by David Stephan and Robert Wagner.  David is a native Cedar Rapidian, Washington HS Grad.   Robert is from Cascade, Iowa and has lived in Cedar Rapids for many years. Their industry relationship began following high school; working together at CR Country Club.  Each owner has cut their teeth in multiple restaurant/bar locations with a combined 20+ years of experience in 3 states.

IMG_2216.JPG.jpegThere was a lunch special of a bratwurst pizza with sriracha glazed bacon and mashed potatoes that struck my interest right away. Upon walking in I noticed the uniquely designed coolers for the Iowa beer taps. Old refrigerators that were housing beers from Lion Bridge, Big Grove, Backpocket, Exile, etc. Very cool idea.

I knew I would be getting the Brat specialityIMG_2215.JPG.jpeg pizza so my wife and I wanted to test just a basic pie so we went with a pepperoni pizza. While waiting we of course ordered a couple of brews. I went with the Lion Bridge Sorachi Liberace and my wife a coffee stout.

The look and smell of the pizzas alone told us we made the right decision for lunch. Chewy crust, excellent sauce, and a bit of spiciness from the pepperoni made this a terrific pie. Loved it! I’m a big fan of just a plain pepperoni pizza and this one hitIMG_2211.JPG.jpeg the spot! Onto the brat pizza! Sweetness from the caramelized onions, a bit of heat from the sriracha glazed bacon and the perfect amount of fattiness and spice from the brat made this a pizza worthy of ordering again and hopefully them making again!

Overall, a great lunch, plenty of leftovers as the portions were very big. A trip we will be taking again very soon! Check out Need if you are in the downtown Cedar Rapids area!

Oskar Blues Brewing Coming to Iowa!

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oskar bluesMultiple sources have confirmed to me that Oskar Blues is indeed ready to hit the Iowa market. From what I am hearing it sounds like it will be in January of 2015. Rumors and speculation have been going on for the last few years about Oskar Blues hitting our state; especially since Stone, Deschutes, Green Flash, Founders and others have done so well here. Another great brewery adding to our shelves, making the decisions even more difficult than they already are! A great problem to have. If you want to know more about what beers Oskar Blues has to offer visit their website at this link:

http://brew.oskarblues.com/

Mellow Mushroom Pizza and Beer Coming to Coral Ridge Mall

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mellowI noticed a big sign where the former Bennigan’s used to be at Coral Ridge Mall advertising that the Mellow Mushroom will be opening in that location in the future. Mellow Mushroom offers “southern style” pizza and also a beer club which sounds very similar to Old Chicago’s beer club. They advertise 100 beers 64 on tap? I believe. That number might be a bit off. Here’s a link to their menu:

http://mellowmushroom.com/corpmenu

Kona Brewing Coming to Iowa

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konaKona Brewing will be one of few craft breweries to be available in all 50 states as they fill in their final 9 states with their products. They should be available in Iowa starting in early 2015. For a full list of their lineup check out their website at:

www.konabrewingco.com

From an earlier press release and courtesy of the Sioux City Journal:

“In early 2015 we are approaching our 21st anniversary of brewing high-quality craft beer, and this national push is a perfect tribute to that milestone,” said Kona Brewing Company brand manager Aaron Marion.

”It’s been two years since Kona first touched down in the heart of the country, and the reception of our Hawaiian brews has provided a nice groundswell. We look forward to bringing some warmth and a taste of Hawaii to the growing market of craft beer drinkers in the central U.S., especially during these cold winter months,” Marion said.

Their award winning Longboard Island Lager and Big Wave Golden Ale will both be represented, available on draught and in six-pack bottles.

Coming to Shelves: Deschutes Pine Drop? Bells Planet Series Continues..

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Deschutes-Brewery-Pinedrops-IPA-960x715

 

Something that hasn’t been 100% confirmed but looks to be inevitable is a new Deschutes beer being added to their Bond Street Series lineup. Go along with Hop in the Dark, Chasin’ Freshies, and Foray, Pine Drop IPA will soon be bottled. What was once a draught only offering, as the name suggests, will be a Piney IPA that will use chinook, millennial, centennial, and northern brewer. More from the brewery courtesy of beerstreetjournal.com.

This lively IPA delivers a crisp and light malt body with ample citrus and pine notes from Chinook and experimental hops. Inspired by the aromas and silence we experience when exploring the scenic pine forests just up the road from our brewhouse.

Deschutes Pinedrops IPA will be available in 12oz bottles as a part of the Bond Street Series. Other offerings in the series include Chasin Freshies, Foray, and Hop in the Dark.

Style: IPA
Hops: Millennial, Northern Brewer, Chinook, Centennial, Experimental
Malt: Pilsner, Pale, Munich, Crystal, Cara Pils

Availability: 12oz bottles, Draft.
Arrival: TBA

mercuryAlso coming to shelves is the third Bells Planet Series offering. Mercury will be hitting shelves in December and is a Belgian Single. Here’s more from Bell’s Brewery:

MERCURY

The Winged Messenger

STYLE: Belgian Single

RELEASE DATE: December 2014

ABV: 4.8%

COLOR: Pale, straw

GLASSWARE: Snifter

TASTING NOTES: Light and sessionable like its namesake, the third release in the Bell’s Planet Series, Mercury: The Winged Messenger, was inspired by the Belgian Single, a style traditionally brewed by monks in Belgium for their own consumption.

This interpretation has bready and grainy notes from Belgian malt, herbal and balanced characteristics from the hops and a subtle, but spicy character from the Belgian yeast. Fruity notes of pear are also present in this light, bright and complex session beer.

Bells Brewery Kick Off to Christmas Dec. 19th @ Reds Alehouse

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redsI just received the following email from Reds Alehouse. Sounds like Bells is bringing some heavy hitters on the 19th! Some things we haven’t seen in Eastern Iowa before and Oracle on tap will be really nice! Hope to see you there! Here’s the list of brews:

Iowa Breweries Gift Giving Guide 2014

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santaDid everyone survive Bourbon County day?! We can now get back to a little normalcy in the beer world. Hope Thanksgiving went well and everyone drank some tasty brews but now it’s on to Christmas! And what better way to show someone you love them than with some great Iowa beer and apparel! (I was going to use the word swag but I think I’m too old). Below is a list I’ve compiled with the help of some great Iowa breweries of items that they have for sale. I’m a sucker for glassware and shirts from breweries so this stuff is right up my alley. The links that follow should take you to each breweries store, please let me know if a link is not working.

millstreamMillstream Brewing Company – Amana, IA:
*Clothing – shirts and hats ranging anywhere from $10-$50
*Glassware – pint glasses to growlers from $4.25 – $35.
*Miscellaneous – signs, koozies, coasters and more!
Baron’s pick: The new Millstream tshirts are pretty sweet and a good price at $17.50, but I think their old school metal sign is the way to go especially if you have a nice little Beer Cave to hang it in. Sign clocks in at $15.70.
http://shop.millstreambrewing.com/

firetruckerFiretrucker Brewery – Ankeny, IA: 

*Clothing – this upstart brewery has 2 t-shirts, a sweatshirt and kick-ass looking biking t-shirt to choose from ranging from $25-$135.
*Glassware – a 16 oz pint glass with their sweet looking logo at $12.
*Miscellaneous – stickers and coasters from $2-$5.
Baron’s pick: Going with the sweatshirt for $55 and the pint glass for $12. Love the logo on both, especially with a nice stout poured behind it.
http://www.firetrucker.com/swag.php

singlespeedSinglespeed Brewery – Cedar Falls, IA:Shamefully I haven’t been to Singlespeed yet, but I’ve heard great things are happening in Cedar Falls. My New Year’s Resolution is to drink more at all Iowa Breweries! 🙂
*Clothing – t-shirts, hoodies, and brewers shirts ranging from $20-$50.
*Glassware – pub glasses, flasks, growlers ranging from $6-$60.
*Miscellaneous – gifts cards and bottle openers.
Baron’s pick: The beer glasses. Gift cards are available in any amount as well.
http://www.singlespeedbrewing.com/gear/default.aspx

lion bridgeLion Bridge Brewery – Cedar Rapids, IA: A spot you can probably find me at on any given weekend. So thankful that they have opened up so close to home. Along with great beer the food is damn good as well (pork nachos anyone?).
*Clothing – t-shirts ranging in color. Nothing on the website yet but they do have a little shop setup in the brewery. I believe I got the last powder blue and red!
*Glassware – If you are a beer glass junkie like myself Lion Bridge can set you up. Taster glasses, pint glasses, snifters, etc. All there, all for sale…I believe. Along with growlers and meowlers.
*Miscellaneous – CSA. Their community sponsored ales program. A one time fee gets you discounts, a t-shirt, growler, 1st growler fill, and growler fills on speciality beers all for $80 I believe.
Baron’s Pick: Well, I’ve already picked up a shirt, glasses, and the CSA will be joined soon. So I guess I’ll recommend all three!

515515 Brewing – Clive, IA – Anytime I’m in the Des Moines area I make a stop at 515. Love the people here, love the atmosphere and love the beer! No online shop as of now but stop in and have a pint and grab something to take home with you.
*Clothing – last time I was there they had 3 different t-shirts to choose from. I got a sweet looking gray with the logo on it.
*Glassware – I vaguely remember a few different glasses to choose from. I bought a nice snifter, perfect for a nice stout or porter!
Baron’s Pick: – Love the t-shirt I own and my snifter, I highly recommend!

toppling goliath Toppling Goliath – Decorah, IA – Arguably the most recognized Iowa brewery has some really cool gear to pick up. I recently picked up a King Sue Teku glass (now kicking myself in the ass for not getting an Assassin Teku as well).
*Clothing – t-shirts, sweatshirts, a nice little pseudosue pack consisting of a hat, shirt, and two coasters.
*Glassware – well, the King Sue and Assassin Tekus rock the shit. Got one, want more. They also have pint glasses, chalices, snifters, with not just the TG logo, but their specific beer logos.
*Miscellaneous – openers, stickers, and coasters.
Baron’s Choice – The Teku is the obvious choice for me. These are awesome!

www.tgbrews.wazala.com

confluenceConfluence Brewing – Des Moines, IA – Confluence keeps rolling out some excellent brews. Really enjoyed Ayana’s Rhino Rye and hope to see it again in the future!
*Clothing -They have sweatshirts, bike jerseys, T’s and other apparel.
*Glassware – 64 oz and 32 oz growlers.
*Baron’s Choice – pick up a t-shirt. I’m not sure what color scheme they have as they don’t currently have an online store, but give them a call or drop them an email. http://www.confluencebrewing.com/

peace treePeace Tree Brewing – Knoxville, IA – Another brewery making big splashes is Peace Tree. Located in Knoxville, this brewery has some really sweet looking apparel and other offerings.
*Clothing – t-shirts and bicycle shirts ranging from $15-$75.
*Glassware – awesome looking glassware and even a cool pint glass and opener set.
*Miscellaneous – bottle caps, openers, patches, labels and more.
*Baron’s Choice – I love the Peace Tree Beanie found here:http://store.peacetreebrewing.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=0001013. Added to my wishlist!

big groveBig Grove Brewery – Solon, IA – nothing has been hotter than Big Grove in Solon. With the amount of attention and recognition they get you’d think they would have been open for years, but it’s only been one! So much good things being created here both beer and food wise, makes this another frequent destination of the Baron.
*Clothing – upon walking in on my last visit I saw the wall to my left had new Big Grove t-shirts made by Tailgate Clothing company! Wonderfully comfortable shirts that always look great. I will be adding all three to my collection.
*Glassware – growlers and the last I was there they still had a few 1 year anniversary tulip glasses for sale. Awesome glasses, highly recommended!
Baron’s Choice – I must own the shirts! They are awesome! You will not be disappointed! Check them out on your next visit. I have 1 year anniversary glass that I great like it’s one of my own children and a growler that I fill frequently! All great stuff!

 

**This holiday, support your local brewery. The above are a few of the wonderful places we are lucky enough to have in our state. I assume most places have gift cards available as well. Below is a link to the complete list of Iowa breweries, find one near you, go there, drink beer, and buy some shit!**

http://www.midwestmicrobrews.com/iowa.html

Baron’s Guide to Thanksgiving and Beer

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turkeyHappy Thanksgiving everyone! I thought it would be fun to breakdown Thanksgiving Day and pair some craft beers with what would be my typical meal. Now, 15 years ago, Busch Light reigned supreme and would flow freely along with some boxed wine and a few bottles of booze. Times change and thankfully so do the drinks. I saw the guys at fullpint.com do this and thought it would be good to see an Eastern Iowa version of what beers to get.

**Early and often Beers**– while watching the football game with fellow family members and waiting for the bird to finish up cooking, it’s good have other options available other than the typical light beer, and Eastern Iowa now has a plethora of excellent, low abv brews.

 

Baron’s recommendation:

*Founders Brewing All Day IPA – 4.7%
*Lion Bridge Workmen’s Compensation – 4.7% (growler only – coffee variation dynamitbig grovee as well)
*Lion Bridge Whirligig – 4.5% (growler only, a Baron Favorite)
*Big Grove Que Sera Berliner Weisse – 4.4% (growler only)
*Destihl Brewing Here Gose Nothin’ – 5% (A little higher ABV and sour but I can down a few)
*Stone Levitation – 4.4% very tasty amber.

**Dinner Beers** – the food has made it’s way to the table and you are looking for a bottle of something to share with some loved ones. I’m in agreement with many beer lovers that the perfect style of beer for Thanksgiving are Saisons. And being a saison lover, there are quite a few to choose from around Eastern Iowa. I also think maltier IPAs go well with the majority of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

Baron’s recommendation:

*Saison Dupont – 6.5%
*Boulevard Tank 7 – 8.5%
*Lion Bridge Untitled Saison – 6.5% (growler only)
*Deschutes Zarabanda – 6.3%lion bridge
*Sierra Nevada Celebration – 6.8%
*Bells Two Hearted – 7%

**Time for Dessert** – as with most holidays there is usually a table reserved just for desserts. Now, you should have a cooler reserved for dessert beers.  I would have loved to include New Glarus on this list and they would be at the top but they aren’t distributed anywhere outside of Wisky. So for dessert I would go with:

Baron’s Recommendations:

*Schlafly Pumkin Ale – 8% – a no-brainer here. One of the better pumpkin beers on the market.
*Big Grove Russian Imperial Stout- this beer pairs excellent with dark fruits. Had it at the brewery in Solon with some of their pickled bing cherries and was blown away. (growler only)
*Millstream Raspberry Latte Stout – ? ABV – Millstream’s newest offering has me craving more. A great millstreamcombo of raspberry and stout that’s perfect for dessert.
*Stone Xocoveza – 8.1% – if you’re lucky enough to still have a bottle this would be a perfect way to end the evening. Chocolate, cinnamon, and coffee makes this the perfect beer after a big meal and the heat does a nice job of warming you up for a chilly Iowa November evening.

**As always, I’m sure I missed a bunch of beers. Feel free to send me your list and if you hear of any news, would like a guest review post, or questions drop me a line!**

 

Restaurant Review: Iowa Chop House; Iowa City, IA

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iowa chopIt’s always great when a new restaurant or bar with an exciting new concept opens up. I’ve been reading about the Chop House for a few weeks and finally had an opportunity to be around downtown Iowa City and decided to give it a go. It’s located right next to the Englert Theater, can’t miss it. Here’s the Iowa Chop House statement:

At the Iowa Chop House, we believe that great food starts with local, fresh ingredients. That’s why we source only the finest sustainable seasonal ingredients from hard working local farmers. Located in historic downtown Iowa City, we proudly carry on the tradition of culture and quality that is unique to our community.

photo 1The hostess offered us a quick tour before showing us our seats. She pointed out that the tables and part of the bar are from a refurbished barn. The “beer barn” was also made to look like a rustic old barn. More on the beer barn later, a terrific concept.

We were shown to our seats, people were starting to filter in for lunch so I’m glad we got there right at opening. The menu had everything from burgers to steaks with some great sounding apps as well. Here’s a link to the menu:http://theiowachophouse.com/iowachophouse_menu.pdf I thought the prices were very fair and I believe the food is locally sourced and then I was told about “The Beer Barn”! The Beer Barn is such a refreshing idea, especially for a craft beer lover as I am. If you want to order from the Beer Barn wall you are given an electronic wrist band. The wall had about 8 Iowa-only beers on tap, a fephoto 3w of which I’ve never had. The band gives you a max of 28 oz of beer. You have several glass sizes to choose from so you are not stuck with a 12 oz pour of something you didn’t care for. You put your band over the electronic sign for the beer you want, get a blue/green light, and start pouring your beer. You can use the 28 oz on whatever beers are on the wall. A fantastic concept! I got to try Firetrucker brewery (http://www.firetrucker.com/)for the first time, they had Exile beers (http://exilebrewing.com/) as well and finished with a Lion Bridge saison (http://www.lionbridgebrewing.com/) and Big Grove arms race http://www.biggrovebrewery.com/)!

photo 2The good news is if you want more than 28 oz you can get your band reset as well and if you don’t want what’s on the Beer Barn wall they have a huge selection of bottles and more tap lines. The barn was just a great interactive way for people to talk beer and get to try some new brews as well.

Onto the food! The burger was great! One of the more flavorful burgers I’ve had in a while and went well with the Firetrucker porter. I got to talk to the manager for a while and he was very friendly and he did say that they photo 5are pretty much booked up for the next few weekends, so if you want to get there to check it out, head for lunch or make an online reservation. Overall, a place I will be heading to when I find myself downtown and want to escape what can be the madness of college bars and shitty beer or escape the unoriginality of fried chicken fingers and ground beef nachos. Check it out, keep these new places going!

What to drink? What to drink?

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lagunitasThree breweries have/are entering the Eastern Iowa market in the next few weeks. Great Divide is here, New Holland Brewing is on their way, and Lagunitas has had a little trickle of their beers around but a big rollout is coming. Adding those three breweries along with all the others that are currently on our shelves, the wonderful dilemma of what to buy because there are so many choices is out there. Now, I know the talk of some oversaturation is out there and that is for a different blog post, but I would like to know what beer are you looking forward to the most from these breweries? We will be able to do the same thing once Surly, Southern Tier, and whoever else decide to enter the market. Would love to hear some comments as well!