Beer Trip: Downtown Des Moines, IA

1 Comment

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

2 Comments

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!!!!

Leave a comment

We are one week removed from the Brrr Fest that took place in Coralville, IA at the Marriott 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.

New Eastern Iowa Beer Releases: New Belgium Dig Pale Ale and Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA

2 Comments

Gonna try something different and try to post new releases to the Eastern Iowa area; not sure if I will be able to keep it updated so any help would be great.

The first beer we will talk about is New Belgium Dig Pale Ale. I had this at Brrrr Fest but I must say, it was after about 14,240 other beers I had there so I cannot fairly or accurately describe this one. However, here is the company’s product description:
“Unearth your bottle-opener because this Pale Ale is something you can Dig. Sorachi Ace hops provides a fresh Spring zing with incredible lemon aroma. Nelson Sauvin is next in line with bursts of passion fruit, mango and peach. American favorites, Cascade and Centennial round out this crisp, clean Pale Ale. Dig in!”

The second beer is a beer I’ve had on tap at Red’s Alehouse in North Liberty and instantly took a liking to it; I hope it will be as good out of the bottle. Sierra Nevada always has strong products and this one is no exception: combining a great balance of the rye flavor with the hoppiness of an IPA. Here is the commercial description.

“Ruthless IPA is brewed with this rustic grain for refined flavors – combining the peppery spice of rye and the bright citrusy flavors of whole-cone hops to create a complex ale for the tumultuous transition to Spring. ”

*Like I said above, this could be difficult for me to keep up with but please help out and drop me a line if you find something new to the Eastern Iowa area. Both of the beers have been spotted in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, and Ruthless Rye is even available in my small grocery store, Gary’s, in Mount Vernon. If you try these, let me know what you thought!

Drink up!

2012 Brrr Fest; Coralville, Iowa; Saturday January 28, 2012

1 Comment

We are one day away from the Brrr Fest at the Coralville Marriott. Description of the event from website:
“Coralville Brrr Fest celebrates the beers of winter and the brewers who make them.  Brrr Fest features breweries from across the Midwest and focuses on winter seasonals.  A portion of the proceeds will benefit Coralville’s annual 4th Fest celebration.”

Tickets have been selling very well which is an excellent sign. If you bought your tickets in advance you have opportunity to tour the new Backpocket brewery. Tickets are $30 at the door. The event will be held from 1-4 p.m. If you go to the Brrr Fest feel free to give me a write-up of your favorite beers, least favorite, overall experience; etc.
Here is a list of breweries scheduled to participate:
From Colorado:
Breckenridge
New Belgium

Illinois
Bent River
Goose Island

Iowa
Angry Cedar Brewing Company
Backpocket Brewing
Court Avenue Brewing Company
Depot Deli
Granite City Food & Brewery
Great River Brewery
Hub City Brewing Company
Keg Creek Brewing
Lost Duck
Madhouse Brewing Company
Millstream Brewing Company
Olde Main Brewing Co.
Peace Tree Brewing Company
Raccoon River Brewing Company
Rock Bottom Brewery
Sutliff Cider Company
Third Base Brewery
Toppling Goliath Brewing Company
Worth Brewing Company

Michigan
Bells

Minnesota
Brau Brothers
Crispin
Shell
Summit

Missouri
Boulevard
O’fallon
Schlafly

Wisconsin
Capital
Lakefront
Potosi
Sprecher
Stevens Point

Beer Review #75: Boulevard Irish Ale

1 Comment

Product description from brewery”
Irish Ale, Boulevard’s spring seasonal beer, is our Midwestern tribute to the legendary red ales of old Ireland. Our recipe combines six kinds of pale and roasted barley malts to provide a rich, toasty flavor and tawny reddish hue. Whole hops are added to enhance the beer’s complexity and to produce a pleasing balance.

I would say that this is a typical Boulevard product (www.boulevardcom). Nothing over the top but what you’re given is just a nice solid brew. A very smooth Irish ale that doesn’t have as much bitterness as other Irish ales. The hoppiness and malts go well together. Boulevard continues to be a standby for me and their Smokestack Series continues to produce some really intense brews.

 

Nothing overally complex about this beer, just nice and easy to get into. You could easily down a few of these during a sitting and it comes at a very affordable price.
Style: Irish Ale

ABV:5.8%

Purchased at: Hy-Vee; Marion, IA.

REVIEW
Pour: Amber pour with a medium tan head.
Aroma: Grainy aroma with the malts really coming through.
Taste: Mild fruit flavor and almost a grain cereal like taste.
Overall: C

Recommendation: An enjoyable beer that comes at a reasonable price tag. Max $8 a sixer. Most Boulevard products come in that price range and usually are very enjoyable.

Beer Review #74: O'Fallon Cherry Chocolate Beer

Leave a comment

With the Christmas season being over and the time  on winter ales coming to an end I thought I would do a review of a beer I would consider a guilty pleasure. I would like to think that I have a pretty broad mindset when it comes to trying different beers, there are a few styles that I’m not particularly fond of and there are some that I favor but overally sweet beers are not usually my thing. Saying that, however, I do enjoy O’Fallon’s Cherry Chocolate beer during the holiday months. It satisfies my sweet-tooth craving and is also very light and refreshing.

O’Fallon (http://www.ofallonbrewery.com/ |) makes a few sweeter beers that I do enjoy. In the summer I like to pick up a can of their Wheach and in winter a Cherry Chocolate does the trick. This beer, for me anyway, is limited to one, but it tastes great with dessert (chocolate cake) or on its own.

My first encounter with this product I immediately thought a stout or porter for sure but was surprised that it was a lighter lager. Reading further into it, it is considered a dark wheat beer. Dark wheat is coming from O’Fallon, all I taste is a chocolate covered cherry or tootsie roll; no wheat in there for me. It’s an interesting beer to try, I think you will either love it or hate it. Give it a shot; it’s only out there for a limited time.  Great to enjoy by the fireplace!

**If you liked this; try Boulevards’ Chocolate Ale! Just released!**

Style: Fruit Beer

ABV:5.7%

Purchased at: Hy-Vee; Marion, IA.

REVIEW
Pour: Dark reddish-brown pour with a medium tan head.
Aroma: Cherry, chocolates, some vanilla. Think cherry cordial.
Taste: Cherries and chocolate, not as strong as I thought it would be.
Overall: C+

Recommendation: I think it is worth a try. If you dig cherry cordials or even Cherry Dr. Pepper or tootsie rolls, I think this could be enjoyable for you.

Beer Review #74: O’Fallon Cherry Chocolate Beer

Leave a comment

With the Christmas season being over and the time  on winter ales coming to an end I thought I would do a review of a beer I would consider a guilty pleasure. I would like to think that I have a pretty broad mindset when it comes to trying different beers, there are a few styles that I’m not particularly fond of and there are some that I favor but overally sweet beers are not usually my thing. Saying that, however, I do enjoy O’Fallon’s Cherry Chocolate beer during the holiday months. It satisfies my sweet-tooth craving and is also very light and refreshing.

O’Fallon (http://www.ofallonbrewery.com/ |) makes a few sweeter beers that I do enjoy. In the summer I like to pick up a can of their Wheach and in winter a Cherry Chocolate does the trick. This beer, for me anyway, is limited to one, but it tastes great with dessert (chocolate cake) or on its own.

My first encounter with this product I immediately thought a stout or porter for sure but was surprised that it was a lighter lager. Reading further into it, it is considered a dark wheat beer. Dark wheat is coming from O’Fallon, all I taste is a chocolate covered cherry or tootsie roll; no wheat in there for me. It’s an interesting beer to try, I think you will either love it or hate it. Give it a shot; it’s only out there for a limited time.  Great to enjoy by the fireplace!

**If you liked this; try Boulevards’ Chocolate Ale! Just released!**

Style: Fruit Beer

ABV:5.7%

Purchased at: Hy-Vee; Marion, IA.

REVIEW
Pour: Dark reddish-brown pour with a medium tan head.
Aroma: Cherry, chocolates, some vanilla. Think cherry cordial.
Taste: Cherries and chocolate, not as strong as I thought it would be.
Overall: C+

Recommendation: I think it is worth a try. If you dig cherry cordials or even Cherry Dr. Pepper or tootsie rolls, I think this could be enjoyable for you.

Beer Release News: Bell's Hopslam

2 Comments

One of the most anticipated beer releases of the year is coming to a shelf near you. Originally reported as a late January/Early February release; some news that comes from http://www.beernews.org and Bells’ twitter account that they will be expecting Hopslam to arrive this week! Rejoice hopheads and beer lovers!!
In the dark about Hopslam? Here’s the commercial description:

Starting with six different hop varietals added to the brew kettle & culminating with a massive dry-hop addition of Simcoe hops, Bell’s Hopslam Ale possesses the most complex hopping schedule in the Bell’s repetoire. Selected specifically because of their aromatic qualities, these Pacific Northwest varieties contribute a pungent blend of grapefruit, stone fruit, and floral notes. A generous malt bill and a solid dollop of honey provide just enough body to keep the balance in check, resulting in a remarkably drinkable rendition of the Double India Pale Ale style.

There goes my paycheck! If you are in Iowa and have seen it, please let me know!

Beer Release News: Bell’s Hopslam

2 Comments

One of the most anticipated beer releases of the year is coming to a shelf near you. Originally reported as a late January/Early February release; some news that comes from http://www.beernews.org and Bells’ twitter account that they will be expecting Hopslam to arrive this week! Rejoice hopheads and beer lovers!!
In the dark about Hopslam? Here’s the commercial description:

Starting with six different hop varietals added to the brew kettle & culminating with a massive dry-hop addition of Simcoe hops, Bell’s Hopslam Ale possesses the most complex hopping schedule in the Bell’s repetoire. Selected specifically because of their aromatic qualities, these Pacific Northwest varieties contribute a pungent blend of grapefruit, stone fruit, and floral notes. A generous malt bill and a solid dollop of honey provide just enough body to keep the balance in check, resulting in a remarkably drinkable rendition of the Double India Pale Ale style.

There goes my paycheck! If you are in Iowa and have seen it, please let me know!