Big Grove Brewery Richard the Whale Bottle Release set for Saturday, December 2nd!

Leave a comment

richard

Huge news from Big Grove Brewery today as they have officially announced the release of Richard the Whale bourbon barrel aged stout bottles. Click HERE to get the presale event website!

Here’s more on this event from Big Grove:

Event

Richard The Whale Release – 2017

On Saturday, December 2nd, 2017, we unleash 2017 Richard the Whale, our imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels. Pre-Sale Tickets to this event are $50 (plus taxes and fees).  Please read everything carefully; there will be no exceptions to the rules below.  The event will take place at our Iowa City location.

PRE-SALE EVENT
Pre-Sale Ticket holders will be guaranteed:

-Admission to the event
-TWO 12 oz. bottles of 2017 Richard the Whale
-ONE 12 oz. bottle of 2017 Richard the Coffee Whale with JBC Roasters Karuthi Kenya Coffee (95 points Coffee Review)
-ONE exclusive Richard the Whale glass

In addition, the first forty (40) people through the door will receive a Golden Ticket, which will give them the opportunity to purchase ONE 12 oz. bottle of Richard the Coffee Whale with JBC Roasters Ninety Plus Gesha Estates Limited Batch #227 Coffee (97 points on Coffee Review). JBC’s Panama Geisha coffee is, perhaps, the most sought after in the world.  For this batch, JBC released only 140 four-ounce packages.  This particular batch of Geisha won the 2017 World’s Brewer’s Cup in June 2017 in Budapest.  We were fortunate enough to get our hands on a small amount.  Please be aware that these bottles of Richard the Coffee Whale were extremely expensive to produce. They will be $25 for those with a Golden Ticket.  You do not need to have a regular Pre-Sale Ticket to receive a Golden Ticket; the first forty people through the door are eligible.
More information on Ninety Plus Gesha Estates Limited Batch #227 coffee can be found here: https://www.jbccoffeeroasters.com/ninety-plus-gesha-estates-227.

We will be loading up our Beer Trailer with some of our favorite barrel-aged beers during the event (which we’ve dubbed our “Barrel-Aged Trailer”), including 2017 Richard the Whale, 2017 Richard the Coffee Whale Karuthi Kenya, Jean Luc Richard, Lagunitas High Westified, Sierra Nevada Coconut Cocoa BA Narwhal, and some special surprises.  We will also have a breakfast buffet available for a small additional charge.

SCHEDULE FOR THE EVENT:
7am – Doors open to Big Grove Brewery & Taproom (Iowa City). The first forty people through the door will receive a Golden Ticket to purchase Richard the Coffee Whale with Ninety Plus Gesha Estates Limited Batch #227 for $25. Our main bars and the “Barrel-Aged Trailer” will be open and pouring.  Growlers and crowlers will be available for purchase of to-go beers at the main bars.

8am – Breakfast buffet opens (additional charge).

9am –  Pre-Sale Ticket holders may begin picking up their bottles of 2017 Richard the Whale and Richard the Coffee Whale.  Golden Ticket holders may begin purchasing their bottle of Richard the Coffee Whale with Ninety Plus Gesha Estates Limited Batch #227 for $25.

10am – Each year we do a special Richard the Whale variant.  This year’s–Jean Luc Richard–is Richard the Whale with Vanilla, Cinnamon, and Nutmeg.  Jean Luc Richard will be tapped and available for purchase at 10am.

12pm- Bottle pick up ends. Event continues with barrel-aged beers and cheer.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
-The event is open to the public.  We will serve breakfast starting at 8am and our regular menu starting at 11am.
-2017 Richard the Whale and 2017 Richard the Coffee Whale Karuthi Kenya bottles will be available only to Pre-Sale Ticket holders. No additional bottles will be available for public sale during the event.  Pre-Sale Ticket holders may pick up their bottles between 9am and 12pm during the event.  Pre-Sale Ticket holders who fail to pick up their bottles during this time period will forfeit their bottles.  We will not hold bottles past 12pm.
-2017 Richard the Coffee Whale with Ninety Plus Gesha Estates Limited Batch #227 will be available for purchase for $25 to the first forty people through the door (regardless whether they have a Pre-Sale Ticket).  Golden Ticket holders may purchase a bottle of Richard the Coffee Whale with Ninety Plus Gesha Estates Limited Batch #227 for $25 between 9am and 12pm.
-If you plan to come early and wait in line, please clean up after yourselves.  We will provide trash cans.  Please do not bring open bottles into the taproom.

PRE-SALE RULES:
-All ticket buyers must be 21 years of age or older at the time of purchasing the Pre-Aale Ticket.
-Individuals may purchase only one Pre-Sale Ticket. If an individual’s name appears on more than one ticket, all tickets and bottle sales will be null and void.  This is to ensure more people have access to this release.
-NO PROXIES. The individual who purchased the Pre-Sale Ticket must be present with a valid ID and print out or mobile confirmation of his/her Pre-Sale Ticket.
-Pre-Sale Tickets are non-transferrable. You must enter the name of the person attending at the time of purchase.
-We will be monitoring the line to ensure the first forty people receive Golden Tickets.  Please be respectful of all attendees. If different members of your party arrive at different times, please do not invite them to join you at the front of the line.

 

Madhouse Brewing Updates Beer Portfolio

Leave a comment

madhouseMadhouse Brewing has updated their beer portfolio with a list of new releases and the discontinuing of some as well. Below is their Facebook post of their updated beer lineup:

Free and open to the public.

Madhouse Brewing Company is releasing several new beers and making an official change to our flagship brews. Take a look at our new lineup:

-Honey Pilsner- No changes!! This is our best-selling flagship beer, and we will continue to brew and distribute our Pilsner.

-Pastime Pale Ale- Discontinued. This was the first beer we ever released. We know there are some people who really enjoy the Pastime. This has not been an easy decision.

-Hopbust IPA- Change of recipe. We will continue to brew and sell our flagship Hopburst IPA. We have changed the malt used in the beer, however, and are now using 100% Falconer’s Flight hops. The ABV has been dropped to 6.2% (previously 7.2%) to increase drinkability. We have spent a lot of time developing this new recipe, and are really excited about the new version.

-Oak-Aged Imperial Red- Discontinued. Another beer we have enjoyed making, but have decided to stop production for now.

-Sumatra Coffee Stout- Discontinued. A great coffee stout, but has become over-shadowed by our barrel-aged stouts such as the Carpe Diem.
NEW RELEASES!!!

-Monk Town- Belgian-style Dubbel Ale. This beer will join the Pilsner and IPA in our lineup of flagship beers. Legend has it that the city of Des Moines was born of the French colonial name, Riviere des Moines, literally meaning “River of the Monks.” Dark malt flavors and Belgian yeast aromas of banana and spice. Check out the design work by Flying Hippo! 6.8% ABV. Available 4-pack, 12oz bottles.

-Citra Storm IPA- Double New England-style IPA. 100% Citra hops. Hazy, juicy, and aromatic. You’re gonna want to try how Madhouse does the beer style that is taking the nation by storm! 7.8% ABV. Draft only. Look for this beer at your local growler station.

-Fountain of Youth- Oak barrel-aged, wild yeast sour ale made with “super fruits” including acai, pomegranate, and locally grown aronia berries from Berry Meadows. Design by Flying Hippo. 7.2% ABV. Available 750ml bottles.

-2017 Bourbon Barrel-Aged Wee-Heavy- Imperial Scotch-style ale aged in bourbon barrels. The first of our winter release barrel-aged beers. Caramel and toffee aromas with sweet malt flavors. 13.5% ABV. Available 750ml bottles.

-Alexander-Heavy- Wee-Heavy variant with chocolate and nutmeg. Flavor profile inspired by the classic cocktail, the Brandy Alexander. 13.5% ABV. Draft only, tap-room only.
Barrel-Aged release schedule-
Looking ahead, here is our 2017-2018 Bourbon barrel-aged beer release schedule:
-VIP- December release. This will be released on Friday, Dec.15th at the annual holiday party at Jasper Winery.
-Freedom Toast- January release. We will be bottling this for the first time.
-Carpe Diem- February release.
-El Jefe- March release.
Sour Barrel-Room-
Our sour barrel-room/events space is now complete. Keep us in mind for groups up to 50 people. Contact events@madhousebeer.com or 515-988-5535 for more info.

Marquee Pizzeria Opening End of October in Coralville’s Iowa River Landing!

Leave a comment

maquee.jpeg

The newest addition to Coralville’s Iowa River Landing location, Marquee Pizza, will be opening its doors to the public at the end of this month. While pizza made in a Modena, Italy brick oven will be featured, their menu will offer appetizers, salads, sandwiches, and entrees. A few pictures below of some of Marquee’s menu items…mouth-watering looking!

The food will no doubt be amazing and I’m pretty stoked to try it out, but I’m also pretty excited to get into those 20 beers lines! Marquee will have 20 draft lines that will emphasize quality. There will be great Iowa made brews as well as some of the best from bigger craft breweries in the country. Marquee is also going to put emphasis on forward thinking breweries such as Evil Twin, Prairie, and Grimm. They also hope to always offer some “oh wow, I’ve had this before” beers. The everyday/frequently seen smaller breweries will play a smaller role in their draft lineup and for the domestic beer lover they will have your Coors Banquets and Budweisers offered in cans.

One thing I’m particularly excited for is Marquee’s mission to offer events.  Things such as local brewery spotlight all the way to off the radar events that will provide more meat than just a simple tap takeover. One good way to keep track of these events is to sign-up for Marquee’s newsletter here.

As the date of opening approaches, stay tuned for many more updates, pictures, and hopefully soon a tap list! Check out Marquee when they open!

Big Grove Bringing the Big Guns to Northside Oktoberfest this Saturday September 30th

Leave a comment

big groveBig Grove isn’t messing around folks. This weekend they are hauling their own BGB trailer to Northside Oktoberfest in downtown Iowa City and rolling out some amazing sounding brews to satisfy your thirsty livers. Not only are they rolling a trailer downtown but they are also having a cask rack and….AND….some sumbitchin’ growlers of Richard variants they are sharing. Jean Luc is a must try! Not messing around folks, don’t miss this. So, let’s take a look at each Big Grove station and what will be available.

ON Tap at the BGB Trailer
  1. Boomtown Premium-4.5% Simple ol’ Beer brewed as a traditional cream ale.
  2. West Main Wheat-5.2% American Wheat Ale
  3. Sidehill Sour-4.5% Berliner Weisse-style
  4. Double Blackberry Sidehill Sour-5% Berliner Weisse-style w/Blackberries & Boysenberries
  5. Arms Race-6.2% American Strong Pale Ale, Centennial, Chinook, & Citra
  6. BGB IPA-7% West Coast inspired IPA, Centennial, Chinook, & Simcoe
  7. Red Headed Stranger-6.8% Red IPA, Loral lupulin powder, Citra lupulin powder, & Mosaic
  8. Russian Imperial Stout-9% Imperial Stout
  9. War Rig-9.8% Hopocalypse Double Black IPA, Midnight Wheat & Cascade\
Cask Rack
  1. Thunderdome-8% Hopocalyse Double IPA, Mosaic lupulin powder, Citra lupuiln powder, El Dorado
  2. Arms Race-6.2% Double Dry-Hopped w/Citra then some more Citra.
  3. BGB IPA w/Amarillo-7%
  4. Sidehill Sour w/Blueberries & Lavender-4.5%
  5. Sidehill Sour Grapefruit Gose-4.8%
  6. Dirty Little Secret-9% American Strong Ale w/Raspberries & Cocoa Nibs
Growler Release
11:00am-2017 Richard the Whale
11:30am-2017 Richard the Whale Coffee
noon-2016 Barleywine
12:30pm-2017 Jean Luc Richard
Wow! Iowa beer lovers rejoice at this lineup! How the hell do you not smile looking at lineup? Cheers folks!

Pullman Bar and Diner Presents Stouts, Sours, and Oysters for post-Northside Oktoberfest Celebration

Leave a comment

pullmanPullman Bar and Diner in downtown Iowa City will have a great selection of brews available for people who are stopping in after the Northside Oktoberfest celebration this coming weekend. Starting at 3 p.m. Pullman will be putting the following brews on tap:

Evil Twin Imperial Doughnut
Evil Twin Even More Jesus
Prairie Paradise
Surly Darkness 
Founders KBS
Clown Shoes Chocolate Sombrero
Mikkeller Drinkin Berliner Blueberry
Mikkeller Drinkin Berliner Lemon
Mikkeller Drinkin Berliner Passionfruit
Mikkeller Drinkin Berliner Raspberry 
That’s a bad ass looking lineup of brews and accompanying those beers will be Chef Emily’s oysters. A can’t miss event, if you’re in the area hit up Pullman this Saturday, September 30th. Cheers!

Ska Brewing Hitting Iowa Distro Next Month

Leave a comment

ska brewing.pngA couple of sources have told me and it has been confirmed by a recent John’s Grocery photo that Ska Brewing Company will be hitting Iowa distro next month. Ska Brewing is in Durango, Colorado and is known for the Modus Hoperandi along with a few other brews. Hopefully I’ll have more details as they become available and pinpoint an exact release date. Cheers!