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!

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.

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.

I’ve been noticing people butchering the fine art of pouring a beer so I thought I would help anyone who follows this site pour the proper beer. Check out the video.  Thanks to chow.com for the video courtesy of their youtube site.

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.

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.

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.

First thing I do when drinking a beer is pour it in a glass. No drinking out of the bottle or can, it needs to breathe, get it into a glass for maximum flavor. Then check out the color of the beer and then swirl it in the glass to pull out the aromas of the beer. Next, smell it. Try to pick up some of the different types of smells coming from this particular beer. Now, the best part, taste it. Don’t just gulp it down, but actually taste the beer to see if you can pick up the flavors of this beer. After that, enjoy the rest!