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Guest Review by sLiM: New Glarus Apple Ale

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Thanks to sLiM for another great review!

ABV: 4%

Style-Fruit Ale

As mentioned in earlier articles. New Glarus Brewing makes some of the best beers available in the country. I always make sure to get some anytime I am near Wisconsin. On my last trip, I visited Prairie Du Chien with some friends. I was planning on getting some various WI brews but I ended up leaving only with New Glarus products. One of them was a beer I haven’t tried before; Apple Ale. It is a thumbprint series beer that the clerk informed me is only available for 2 months a year. I sometimes enjoy the products of Woodchuck Cider which I do not believe is actually considered beer. This is, however, so I was hoping it would be a little different. It ended up being quite similar. It did not have as strong of an apple taste as the cider does, which I liked, but it still didn’t taste like I was drinking a beer. New Glarus makes some great fruit beers (see Belgian Red review) , but I don’t think this was quite on par with those.

Pour-Copper/light brown pour with very little head
Aroma-Nice apple aroma, no hints of anything else
Taste-Good solid apple taste; not too overbearing (Those of you who have ever tried Wild Blueberry Ale from a brewery that I can’t name right at the moment, it’s available around Iowa; will appreciate not getting flooded by alcohol and fruit flavor), unfortunately not much of what makes a beer taste like a beer.

Overall- C+. This is a good change of pace brew but nothing remarkable. Still, you have to appreciate how many different offerings a smaller brewery like New Glarus is consistently making available. A big reason they have been so successful is their creativity. A big part of brewing is and always will be a trial and error. This would still be considered a god beer by many peoples’ standards. But since I knew it was from New Glarus, I was kind of disappointed, guess that shows just how far they have come as a brewery.

Iowa Beer News: Another Brewery?

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Just received an emai from Reds’ Alehouse with news that they plan construction on brewery starting in 2012. Here is the offical quote.

“As we wind down 2011, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank each of you for giving us another great year at Reds. Lots of good times at the alehouse were had by old friends and new. We will continue to bring you the best food and service in the area, but most importantly we appreciate your continued encouragement of our growing niche in the craft beer world. 
 
2011 was highlighted by some great events like our first tap takeover, first beer breakfast, sold out beer dinners, and just for fun, a couple more tap takeovers. 2012 is looking to be an even bigger year for Reds with the anticipated construction of our own brewery right next to the restaurant. Things are looking up, and we have all of you to thank for it!”
 
Awesome news for those in and around North Liberty, IA. Keep the beer coming!

Beer Review #58: Boulevard Single Wide IPA

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Boulevard Brewing in Kansas City (www.blvdbeer.com) is known for making pretty solid beers. Their IPA isn’t a punch you in the face hopmonster that most IPA’s nowadays are, and I would almost consider it being a really good pale ale. It does have that hop bitterness in there, but not the extent that most IPAs have. Another thing that makes Boulevard great is their distribution. In Iowa we can get almost all of their beers here and they are usually remarkably priced. The product is usually anywhere from good to great, and you are putting money in the pocket of a hard-working craft brewery and not a mass-produced bottle of swill. The ABV is a nice 5.7%,  have a few and enjoy them!
REVIEW
 Pour: Amber, copper pour with a nice white head. Great lacing that sticks on the glass.
Aroma: Citrus fruit and pine.
Taste: Nice and smooth, a little hop bitterness.
Overall: C+
Eastern Iowa Residents: Available everywhere. Support Boulevard and all other craft beers!

Beer Review #55: New Belgium Blue Paddle Pilsner

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New Belgium brewing has helped make the craft beer scene come alive in Iowa and the country with their popular Fat Tire Amber Ale. But they do make some other pretty good beers too. With summer coming around the corner (hopefully), a good pilsner goes great while grilling, cutting the grass, watching baseball, and all of the other summer activities most people do. New Belgium’s Blue Paddle Pilsner is the perfect accompaniment to these activities. It is a good transition beer from your Bud, Coors, Miller, into the foray of craft beer. 
New Belgium (www.newbelgium.com) uses noble hops for this Czech style pilsner. This is not a beer that is meant to be over the  top in flavor and knock you out with its greatness. It is meant for a nice crisp refreshing beer and it does a pretty good job at doing that.  
REVIEW
 Pour: Golden yellow pour with a medium-sized white head.
Aroma: Smell of malts, bread like smell, and a little bit of hops.
Taste: Bready, grassy, and little bitterness from the hops. Refreshing.
Overall: C-
Eastern Iowa Residents:Summer seasonal for New Belgium, should start seeing it more and more on the shelves in your local Eastern Iowa liquor store.

Iowa Beer: Upcoming Events

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Here is a list of upcoming beer events in Eastern Iowa. If I missed any please contact me so I can correct it.

Millstream always has something fun going on year-round. Here’s what is coming up in the next three months.

Maifest in Amana- Tons of activities going on and the best part is Amana brats with Millstream beer. More info go to www.millstream.com

June 4: BrewBQ and Blues – enjoy listening to some good blues, enjoying great BBQ, and terrific beer from Millstream in their outdoor biergarten.

June 25- Beer and Brat Festival- Come to Millstream brewing for beer, brats, music, and games!

July 10- 11th Annual Tour de Brew – 38 mile bike ride that starts and ends at Millstream brewery. Food, live music, door prizes and beer.

Beer Store: Benz Beverage Depot; Cedar Rapids, IA

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Just visited about a week ago and thought I would pass along my thoughts for any people in this location looking for a place to buy some good beer. The first thing I noticed about this store is that it has many beers I haven’t seen before and also has things to make homebrew. Also, a huge selection of wine and fine foods. Prices seemed reasonable and many different styles were available. Check out their website http://www.benzbeveragedepot.com/ for more info.

Beer Review #2: Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar

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I have come to appreciate most of, if not all of the Rogue products.  Rogue Ales is located in Newport, OR ( http://www.rogue.com/) and they make some wonderful beers. Known mostly for the Dead Guy Ales and Double Dead Guy Ale we stumbled upon Hazelnut Brown Nectar at our local Hy-Vee store in Marion, IA.
POUR: This beer pours a nice dark brown color with a tan medium-sized head.
AROMA: The thing that sticks out is the aroma of hazelnuts, fantastic smelling and makes you want to dive right in.
MOUTHFEEL: One of the smoothest beers I’ve had with the creamy hazelnut flavor and a smooth finish.
TASTE: The hazelnuts stick out but are not overpowering, the malts and caramel flavorings are evident.
OVERALL: This beer is damn near perfect for me A+
HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!

Keil's Bar in Bellevue, IA

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Visiting family and friends in Bellevue I was informed that this little river town has a new bar. Located on main street in Bellevue, Keil’s was refreshing from the usual wide opened bar, small beer list, and loud music that usually accompanies most of Bellevue’s watering holes. This bar is different. A small, quaint bar, nicely decorated, only serving peanuts for food, and best of all, a really good beer selection. Of course they have the usual light beers, but also on the menu were many stouts, wheats, IPAs, pale ales, and porters. A fresh change of pace and a place I recommend if you are ever in Bellevue, IA. Best of all, right across the street is some damn fine BBQ.

Keil’s Bar in Bellevue, IA

1 Comment

Visiting family and friends in Bellevue I was informed that this little river town has a new bar. Located on main street in Bellevue, Keil’s was refreshing from the usual wide opened bar, small beer list, and loud music that usually accompanies most of Bellevue’s watering holes. This bar is different. A small, quaint bar, nicely decorated, only serving peanuts for food, and best of all, a really good beer selection. Of course they have the usual light beers, but also on the menu were many stouts, wheats, IPAs, pale ales, and porters. A fresh change of pace and a place I recommend if you are ever in Bellevue, IA. Best of all, right across the street is some damn fine BBQ.