New to Shelves this Week: Shlafly, O’Fallon; Founders news

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Will start of this weeks post updating the Founders release. There will still be the release parts at Reds Alehouse in North Liberty, (www.redsalehousenl.com) but Founders products won’t be in Eastern Iowa stores until the 20th. If you see it beforehand, please let me know. Onto what’s new on shelves.

Schlafly Irish Extra Stout– not really new, but I forgot to post on this last week. For this beer, think Guinness but with an 8% ABV. Sounds tasty! Here’s the brewer’s description:
“This full-bodied and full-flavored rich, dark ale has a malty sweetness balanced with plenty of hops to create the perfect stout.”

Available in 12 oz 6 packs.

O’Fallon B.D.S. Belgian-Style Dark– Brewer’s description:
“We brewed this Belgian-style dark ale (ALC:10% by VOL., SRM: 20, IBU:42) in July, 2010 and transferred it several weeks later into freshly drained Port barrels. For the next 11 months the beer worked in and out of the French oak barrels as the temperature in the brewery fluctuated with the seasons. In June 2011 we bottled the beer and put it aside to allow the flavors of the wood and the beer to marry and mellow. The result is spicy-sweet with hints of raisin and caramel that mingle with the dark fruit notes and oak from the barrels. We love this unique brew and hope you will too!”

Available in bombers.
*If you see anything new on the shelves please let me know or if you try ones that I have listed let me know what you thought of them. Drink up.

Reds Alehouse Release Party!!!! Founders Brewing; March 15th

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According to Reds’ Alehouse Facebook page, they will be hosting a Founders Brewing release party on Thursday March 15th. Beers to be available are their year round beers along with the highly anticipated release of Kentucky Breakfast Stout, Curmudgeon’s Better Half, Double Trouble, Breakfast Stout, and many more. With college basketball tournament kicking off that day this might be an opportunity to be the greatest day ever!

Beer Distribution News: Founders coming to Iowa March 19th!!

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According to a couple of the beerbaron’s sources it is 99% positive that Founders Brewing will be on shelves in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City locations starting March 19th. Great news for beer lovers! Add this date to your calendars and stock up!
Unfamiliar with Founders’ products: Let’s take a look at some of their year-round brews:

*Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale – 8.5% abv – Founders website description: “So good it’s almost wrong. Dark ruby in color and brewed with seven varieties of imported malts. Complex in finish, with hints of smoke and peat, paired with a malty richness and a right hook of hop power to give it the bad attitude that a beer named Dirty Bastard has to live up to. Ain’t for the wee lads.”

*Centennial IPA – 7.2% – Description from Founders: “Get ready to bask in the glory of the frothy head’s floral bouquet. Relish the citrus accents from the abundance of dry hopping. This one’s sweet, yet balanced. Malty undertones shake hands with the hop character for a finish that never turns too bitter.”

*Red’s Rye PA – 6.6% – “Serious hop bitterness, along with an unyielding grapefruit bouquet from the Amarillo dry hop, balances the malty richness of four varieties of imported Belgian caramel malts. Pours a spectacular crimson with a creamy tan head. A generous addition of rye malt accentuates a spicy, crisp finish.”

*Pale Ale – 5.4% – “A testament to Cascade hops in a bottle, this medium-bodied pale ale has a refreshing citrus flavor and a distinctive floral hop aroma due to the aggressive addition of hops during fermentation. You’ll notice a slight malty sweetness with a balanced hop finish. Perfect to enjoy anytime, anywhere.”

*Porter – Pours silky black with a creamy tan head. The nose is sweet with strong chocolate and caramel malt presence. No absence of hops gives Founders’ robust porter the full flavor you deserve and expect. Cozy like velvet. It’s a lover, not a fighter.

Check out  http://www.foundersbrewing.com for more of their seasonals and info about the brewery.

Guest Review: SLIM reviews Raccon River Brewery; Des Moines, IA

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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?

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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!