Restaurant Review by sLIM: Raccoon River Brewing Company, Downtown Des Moines, IA
A restaurant/brewpub I talked about going to ever since I had moved out to the Des Moines area was Raccoon River. It’s just never seemed to work out that we made it down there to check out their offerings. It’s slightly off the beaten path. Most of the damage in downtown DM gets done in the Court Avenue District around 3rd and 4th street. Raccoon River is on 10th which is a bit of a walk from there. But sLIM decided enough was enough and piled in to his VW and set course for the fairly young (est. 1997) but buzz-worthy brewpub known as the Raccoon River Brewing Company.
I was not disappointed. A dimly lit and elegant setting greeted me upon entering. It reminded me a little of Court Ave Brewing Co but the main dining area was more open and had a bar area immediately where you walk in and right up the stairs. The expansive 2nd floor area is what caught my attention and sold me over. This is a place that values serving good food and brews but also provides a cool hangout where you and your buddies can lounge even if you’re not necessarily out for a nice meal. Upstairs, they provide several high quality billiards tables and seating which is perfect if you’re looking for a more chill environment. Sometimes at nice places like this, I feel pressured to order a ton of things and spend a lot. Not the case here.
Onto the brews: the first I tried was their Chocolate Porter. The name escapes me, but maybe that’s because it wasn’t anything special to begin with. Not a bad brew, still very drinkable, but I didn’t get any aroma or hint of chocolate. Perhaps it was just a bad batch, I would consider trying it again but it was a little disappointing. The next I tried was their Bandit IPA. The bartender informed me this was their most popular along with their Homestead Red, which I did not get around to trying. Bandit more than made up for the Porter. Very hoppy and contained a high ABV that gave it a little extra kick. Solid IPA, overall. Ole’ Slim could have kicked back and slammed these all night but he didn’t want to wake up all sluggish and shitty come the next morning.
Finally the food, I didn’t bring my full appetite but I had to at least try an appetizer. They had some unique but affordable dishes that you can check out on their website (http://www.raccoonbrew.com/), but I settled on the Bean and Corn Fritters. At fist look, they just appeared to be glorified hush puppies. If I want hush puppies, I won’t come to RRBC, I’ll just zip down the road to the Long John Silver’s on Douglas thank you very much! But I was pleasantly surprised, the fritters were money! Very tasty and they came with a jalapeno dipping sauce which complemented them nicely.
Raccoon River is a winner in my book. I was only there for a little over an hour but enjoyed myself quite a bit and I’ll be back. They cater to just about anything you’re looking for in a night out. The location allows for a more sophisticated crowd that wasn’t debating between there and Buffalo Wild Wings for their evening eating options. I didn’t used to say this, but now I’m convinced that a trip to downtown DM is not complete without a stop to RRBC…Cheers!
Esquire Article: Best Canned Beers to Drink Now
Found this article on yahoo.com. Esquire released an article about the best canned beers to drink right now. After looking over the article I can easily agree on some and disagree on others. Here’s the link: http://shopping.yahoo.com/articles/yshoppingarticles/805/best-canned-beers-to-drink-now/
The LIST:
Dale’s Pale Ale– I absolutely agree with this pick. Might be the best canned beer in America. If you get a chance to get your hands on this, you must!
Porkslap Pale Ale– I have never had this beer, but I love the brewery name: Butternuts. Makes me smile everytime.
Brooklyn Lager– Haven’t had this out of a can but I have had it in the bottle. A solid pick.
Fat Tire Amber– Hefty price for canned beer, and not nearly as good as out of the bottle. Too expensive for my tastes, my advice: Move on to something else.
Surly Cynicale– I’ve had many Surly beers and they have all been great, haven’t had Cynic yet but if it is anything like their other products; it’s a must try.
Anderson Valley Boont Bomber– Haven’t had this one yet but I’ve heard good things about Anderson Valley’s products.
Pabst Blue Ribbon– On the list because it’s cheap; there’s a lot of cheap shit out there, not sure I would put this on the list just because of the price. This list is missing quite a few good canned beers and they wasted time on this.
Simpler Times Lager– Can be purchased at Trader Joe’s for $3 a sixer and I’ve heard it is pretty solid. Actually, a lot of cheap beer and wine is available and Joe’s and has been said to be very good.
What’s missing? Some 21st Amendment ales should be on the list as well as more from Surly. Once Sierra Nevada Pale and Torpedo go to cans that will surely be a must buy. Also, Moose Drool definitely needs a spot on this list; one of the best brown ales around.
What are your thoughts? Is there something missing?
Beer Distribution news/rumors: Green Flash Brewing; Stone Brewing
Talking with my source who gave me last weeks information about a few new breweries starting to distribute products to Eastern Iowa, he mentioned two more breweries today. I had heard rumblings about Stone Brewing hitting the area from numerous social media outlets, it isn’t confirmed yet, but it sounds very promising. The 2nd is Green Flash Brewing out of California. Both are NOT confirmed but are heavily rumored to be making their way to Eastern Iowa beer shelves by this spring/summer. If you know anything about this, please drop me a line.
Here is a link to each site, the 2nd link under each brewery is the link to their beer list. 
GREEN FLASH
http://www.greenflashbrew.com/our-company.php
BEER LIST: http://www.greenflashbrew.com/our-beers.php
STONE BREWING
http://www.stonebrew.com/home.asp
BEER LIST: http://www.stonebrew.com/beers/
New to Shelves: New Belgium Cocoa Mole, Bier De Mars; Sam Adams, Summer Shandy
A few more beers hitting the shelves this week in the Eastern Iowa area. Some of these were released last week, but I missed the releases on those. The first beer to talk about is Leinenkugels’ Summer Shandy. (www.http://www.leinie.com ) The commercial description is pretty weak, but here it is:
“Beer with natural lemonade flavor.”
Released very early this year due to popularity last year, you can find this beer in 12 pack cans or 6 pack bottle 12 oz.
Beer #2 is one that I’ve been waiting for, for a long time. Samuel Adams Noble Pils. This was their spring seasonal last year, and the great news is that this is now going to be a year-round product. A fantastic pilsner that uses 4 hop varieties. Excellent stuff! Here’s the product description: 
“2009 Beer Lover’s Choice Contestant – Sample A. Similar to a traditional Czech Pilsner, our Samuel Adams Pils is brewed with a blend of 5 Noble Hop varieties from each of the world’s only remaining Noble Hop growing regions. The spicy, herbal and citrus hop character is well-balanced by the Weyermann Bohemian Pilsner malt, adding honeyed malt character and full body without sweetness.”
New Belgium has released two more beers to go along with their Lips of Faith series. The first one is their Cocoa Mole. Description: “Say hola to a spiced up ale full of cocoa and ancho, guajillo, chipotle peppers. But don’t fear the heat, because plenty of caramel and chocolate malts bring a smooth, complex flavor. Scents of cinnamon when poured will have your saying “¡Ole For Mole!” Sounds fantastic! Can’t wait to get my hands on a bottle. 
The 2nd beer from New Belgium this week is Bier De Mars. Description: “Biere De Mars is New Belgium’s exploration of the classic French and Belgian brews celebrating the half-winter, half-spring month of March. Our bottle-conditioned version, however, goes where no BIERE DE MARS has gone before. After gazing at its cloudy, yet glowing orange hue, prepare yourself for a celestial collaboration of oats, wheat, barley malt and lemon verbena, all of which is set into orbit by unidentified flying yeast strains.”
That’s it for this week, please pass along any notes as where you can find these beers and any tasting notes. These are all available at John’s Grocery and various Hy-Vees in the area.
New to Shelves: Sam Adams Whitewater IPA; Hinterland Luna Coffee Stout
Last night I visited the Hy-Vee in Marion and came across a couple of new beers that I haven’t seen on the shelves. The first one to catch my eye was Hinterland (http://www.hinterlandbeer.com/index.htm) Luna Coffee Stout. Really unique look to the bottles as they come in pints and also 4 packs. Here is the description:
“Opaque, black, coffee-like character. Infused
with nitrogen. Very creamy, extremely clean
and refreshing. 5.8% ABV.
Available in:
1/2 and 1/6 barrels
6-4 1 pint btl pack NR ”
Let me know if you try it and what your thoughts were. I picked up a four pick and have yet to delve in.
The next beer comes from good ol’ Boston Beer Company; Sam Adams. This brewery continues to impress with its beers. Here’s the product description of the Whitewater IPA.
“Sam Adams Whitewater IPA. A wheat ale brewed with apricots & spices.
This hazy brew combines the crisp character of a white ale with the intense pine and citrus flavors of an India Pale Ale. We took the unique combination to a new level with the sublet addition of apricots, which provide a slight sweetness to balance the bitterness of the hops. Cheers!”
If you try any of these beers or see something new to Eastern Iowa please drop me a line and let me know. Drink well!
New to Shelves: Angry Cedar Angry Amber Ale
New to shelves this week in and around Eastern Iowa is Angry Cedar brewing’s Angry Amber Ale. Angry Cedar is located in Waverly, IA and is the latest Iowa based brewery to start distributing. Locations that this beer is available in might be hit and miss, since the brewer is the one that is doing all the distributing. If you have tried this beer or have found locations it is available (Marion Hy-Vee has it) please let me know. Enjoy the brew!
Beer Distribution News: Lagunitas, Founders, Two Brothers, Great Divide Coming to Iowa?
After doing some investigative work the ol’ Beerbaron has heard rumblings about some big time craft breweries becoming available in Iowa. Talking with some inside sources it sounds like we 
can plan on having Founders being available this spring and also Lagunitas sometime in that same time frame. There are also rumors about Great Divide starting to have their products on Eastern Iowa shelves along with 
Two Brothers brewing. Things are really starting to look up if we can get any and all of them! Cheers!
Beer Trip: Downtown Des Moines, IA
Headed to Des Moines this past weekend with my wife and her family. Was looking forward to hitting up the town a bit on Saturday night and get a chance to try some beers and visit El Bait Shop (http://elbaitshop.com) for the first time in my life. We decided to try to get in Fong’s Pizza for a few slices. We had never had the chance to go there and my wife and I really wanted to try the crabmeat rangoon pizza. When we arrived we were greeted with a 2-hour wait time; which was expected but we were hoping to be wrong. Since that plan feel through we hit up Court Avenue Brewery (www.courtavebrew.com/). We had been there many times and their wings are some of my favorite all-time. I started out with the Honest Lawyer IPA.
The Honest Lawyer is a very solid IPA with the citrus and bitterness being nicely balanced by the malts. A good way to start the night. I moved on to one of their premium beers which was their 21st Amendement Ale which was an American pale ale aged in Templeton Rye whiskey barrels. The flavor was a tad sweet to me but overly it was enjoyable and I was glad to try it. Court Avenue is always a good place to stop in downtown Des Moines.
After that we headed to Hessen Haus. Really wanted my wife to check this place out; looks like an old German brew hall. They had the polka music going, some great spicy pickled eggs, and then the infamous BOOT. The last time I tried the boot I spilled half the beer on myself, but we went for it and conquered it. Cool vibe and fun experience at the Hessen Haus (http://www.hessenhaus.com/the_wall.php). 
The last trip was what I was really looking forward to and that was El Bait Shop (www.elbaitshop.com). I’ve read and heard so much about this place and it did not disappoint. A dive looking place with a wall lined with tons of taps. Always great to see that. I tried for a Hopslam and they were out, which was no surprise. So I went the direction of a stout. I’ve never had a nitro beer and they had Summit Oatmeal Stout Nitro on tap. Went with that and I could have drank it all night. If a beer is on a nitro tap that means it replaces the carbon dioxide and makes your beer have a thick, creamy, head with a light, creamy texture. It was one of the best stouts I’ve ever had and look forward to trying it again. Summit needs to get some bottles of that stout around Eastern Iowa. Throw in a Sierra Nevada Celebration and finish with another stout and that was a night. My wife loved the Sam Adams Chocolate Cherry Bock. The place gets two thumbs up all around.
To top off the evening at El Bait Shop, they have a sweet pro wrestling shrine leading up to the crapper. Loved it!
The next morning we finally got to Fongs for pizza. It was as great as I had heard. The crab rangoon pizza is something that I will crave constantly and is deserving of quick trips to Des Moines just to eat. Great stuff!
New Beers in Iowa: Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada
3 news beers to report on this week hitting the shelves, thanks to Joe at John’s Grocery for the information. I haven’t had any of these yet and can really only speak on my past experience with Bigfoot Barleywine, which is a spectacular brew. We have from Samuel Adams Griffin’s Bow, which is an oak-aged Barleywine and Tasman Red, which is a Red IPA.
From Sierra Nevada we have the yearly release on Bigfoot Barleywine. Here is the product info for each:
Griffin’s Bow Oak-Aged Barleywine – “Small Batch Series: From the aroma and notes of sweet honeysuckle, pineapple, and grapefruit, to richer hints of burnt sugar, and toffee, this intriguing brew is full of complex flavors. The distinct character of toasted oak adds depth and contrasts the light fruit sweetness.”
Tasman Red– “This wily red IPA gets its character from the Tasmanian hops that are full of grapefruit, pine and earthy notes creating a bold flavor that threads throughout the taste. The hops are balanced by a core of roasted malts that give this brew body and richness with hints of 
toffee.”
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine– “Gold Medal Winner, Great American Beer Festival (Ales: Brown, Bitter and Pale 1987, Barleywine 1988,1992,1995). Sierra Nevada Bigfoot is an award winning example of the English Barley Wine style. It boasts a dense, fruity bouquet; an extremely rich, intense, bittersweet palate; and a deep, reddish-brown color. This ale is superbly balanced between an almost overpowering maltiness and a wonderfully bittersweet hoppiness. “
Review for Coralville Brrr Fest!!!!
We are one week removed from the Brrr Fest that took place in Coralville, IA at the Marriot
t convention center. The turn out was fantastic as we arrived 30 minutes early and there was a huge line waiting to get in and drink some brews. My initial thoughts were that if this many people showed up it can only be a good thing going towards the higher quality and a greater chance for more breweries to be opening up in Iowa. The demand is there, I just hope it is answered. Onto the beers and breweries; I’ll give my list of positives and not so positives.
POSITIVES (in no particular order)
*Back Pocket brewing – this is the brewery being built next to the Marriott. I tried the Slingshot which is a dunkel. Nice and malty beer with a smooth roasted flavor. Very drinkable. I followed that with their Jackknife GPA which is a German pale ale. Not your typical heavy hoppy American IPA but still a great balance of malts and hops, nice and smooth with that big hop flavor still there.
Back Pocket was also selling some of their memorabilia; very cool tins, signs, t-shirts, etc. Their logos are very cool and catchy and I hope this place really takes off.
*Peace Tree Brewing- Knoxville, IA- Peace Tree always seems to bring their A game with them. Their station was cool, their taps 
were unique and catchy, and they brought some of their big boy beers. Their Hop Wrangler is an Iowa staple beer in my fridge as is their blonde fatale. I went with their Hopsutra double IPA and really enjoyed it. Heavy hop aroma and flavor but still very drinkable. Their Black River Gumbo Stout was also very good and I will seek that out for purchase. I was disappointed that I missed out on their Templeton Rye Oak Age Imperial Stout but I’ve heard from a few friends that this was their favorite of the whole festival. Thumbs up to Peace Tree.
*Toppling Goliath Brewing; Decorah, IA- Long, long, line waiting to get their hands on the Golden Nugget IPA and it was well worth the wait. Not only is this a fantastic IPA, maybe the best beer brewed in Iowa, but the guys working were awesome and helpful. Everything you want in an IPA; hoppiness, bitterness, with a bit of malt to balance. Smooth and refreshing made we wish this was bottled for distribution. (Come on TGBrews! Bottle this shit!)
*Bent River Brewing; Moline, IL – These guys might have stole the show for me. Started with their Jalapeno wheat and was blown away by it. Fantastic! Refreshing, spicy, light, and smooth. If you like pepper beers this one is the best I’ve had! Well worth seeking out. Their Uncommon Stout was fantastic! Dark, creamy, coffee, flavor that is super smooth! I then went for the trifecta and had their Dry Hopped Pale Ale. So far, Golden Nugget and Jackknife were the only pales, IPAs that werent’ disappointing; Bent River was added to that list. This dry hopped pale easily made the top 5 with heavy hops and citrus flavor that would be good on any occasion. Two thumbs way up to Bent River! Will head to the QC area just to visit this place!
*Jolly Pumpkin- Dexter, MI- they only had one tapped at a time but they brought some big beers and they were very well done. Really enjoyed their Bam Bier, which is a farmhouse ale, a style I’m still getting into and learning about. It was sweet and refreshing. I would consider Jolly Pumpkin to be one of the bigger brewers at the show, but they at least brought some heavy-hitters and had them all on tap. Can’t say the same for New Belgium, Bells, or Boulevard.
DISAPPOINTMENTS
*Big Boys- some of the big brewers just brought a few cases of beer and poured them. Nothing over the top at all, not discussing their beers in-depth. At least Bells brought two-hearted I guess, otherwise, not impressed with the effort. Why try a bunch of stuff that we can walk across the street to the local gas station or grocery and purchase on any given day?
*Hub City- I’m sorry, their beers are not good. Am I missing something, I’m trying to like it but it’s not happening.
*Realization- Going through some of these small Iowa breweries and trying some of these beers made it so painfully evident that we are behind the curve when it comes to making excellent beers. Don’t get me wrong, their were some great things going on, but their were some beers that shouldn’t even be bothered to made, let alone marketed. Hopefully we are taking the right steps to get to the level other states are. Everyone around us, except maybe the Dakotas?, are making some big things, hopefully we are next.
*Food- This event could easily be a money maker for some food vendors. Corn dogs and pizza are ok, but why not have some local restaurants set up some food stands to get some great fresh and local food? I would have loved to had my Golden Nugget IPA with some of the Vine’s chicken wings or the Peace Tree or Great River stout with a nice pulled pork sandwich from The Pit. Maybe next year.
Overall, it was a great event; positives out weighted the negatives by far and like I said before, hopefully this a great step towards progressive beers in our great state! Thanks to Back Pocket and the Marriott for a great time; can’t wait till next year.
