Similar to my review of Bud Light Lime will be Miller Genuine Draft 64. I know the market is pretty hot for these low calorie beers for people watching their weight and that is ok. I just think that instead of eating that cheesecake or having another order of fries you should order a fantastic tasting beer instead of something that is bland, skunking, and watered down.
Nothing left to say about this beer, thinking this might be the last of these beers I will review.
REVIEW
Pour: Golden pour, minimal head.
Aroma: Corn and skunk.
Taste: Watered down and somewhat skunky.
Overall: F
Eastern Iowa Residents: Available everywhere, but don’t waste your money.
Beer Review #56: Bell's Oberon Ale
Bells Brewery (www.bellsbrewery.com) makes some of my favorite beer, and with summer coming around the corner (hopefully) their seasonal has been released. Bell’s Oberon is a highly drinkable wheat beer that packs a nice fruity wheat taste with a little malt and makes for a thirst-quenching summer ale.
Went out with my family last night to Red’s Ale House (www.redsalehousenl.com) in North Liberty, IA and had they had Oberon on tap. I will say that besides a fantastic beer selection, Reds always has the best Bell’s beers there. The Oberon was refreshing, paired well with our meal, and the best part was that we were there for 2 for 1 happy hour. It’s hard to beat $5.00 for 2 pints of really well made craft beer.
If you are new to the craft beer scene or do not enjoy the “dark” or hoppy beers, this would be something good for you to start out on. If you consider yourself a beer aficionado this is a terrific wheat beer for a hot summer day.
REVIEW
Pour: Cloudy gold pour, really nice white head, tons of lacing.
Aroma: Smell of citrus, wheat, some maltiness.
Taste: Citrus, wheat, and some sweetness, but not excessive.
Overall: C
Eastern Iowa Residents: Summer seasonal for Bells. Drink what you can of their products, always top-notch. This pairs well with a nice fresh thin crust pizza! Great stuff!
Beer Review #56: Bell’s Oberon Ale
Bells Brewery (www.bellsbrewery.com) makes some of my favorite beer, and with summer coming around the corner (hopefully) their seasonal has been released. Bell’s Oberon is a highly drinkable wheat beer that packs a nice fruity wheat taste with a little malt and makes for a thirst-quenching summer ale.
Went out with my family last night to Red’s Ale House (www.redsalehousenl.com) in North Liberty, IA and had they had Oberon on tap. I will say that besides a fantastic beer selection, Reds always has the best Bell’s beers there. The Oberon was refreshing, paired well with our meal, and the best part was that we were there for 2 for 1 happy hour. It’s hard to beat $5.00 for 2 pints of really well made craft beer.
If you are new to the craft beer scene or do not enjoy the “dark” or hoppy beers, this would be something good for you to start out on. If you consider yourself a beer aficionado this is a terrific wheat beer for a hot summer day.
REVIEW
Pour: Cloudy gold pour, really nice white head, tons of lacing.
Aroma: Smell of citrus, wheat, some maltiness.
Taste: Citrus, wheat, and some sweetness, but not excessive.
Overall: C
Eastern Iowa Residents: Summer seasonal for Bells. Drink what you can of their products, always top-notch. This pairs well with a nice fresh thin crust pizza! Great stuff!
Iowa Beer News #2: Iowa Craft Beer Festival
Just received this email from Iowa Brewer’s Guild regarding the Iowa Craft Beer Festival.
“Celebrate American Craft Beer Week (May 16-22) at the first annual Iowa Craft Brew Festivalorganized by all your favorite local Iowa breweries, on Saturday, May 21 in downtown Des Moines.
Sample craft brews by more than 20 Iowa breweries and 80+ beers, along with a host of regional and national microbrews, live music, and food. Attendees will enjoy unlimited beer samplings along 10th Street between Walnut and Mulberry from 3-7pm. Advance tickets are available via Midwestix for $15 and day of tickets will sell for $20. The event will feature performances by Jefferson County Green Band and Seedlings. Guests can look forward to a wide variety of creative brews, including a number of collaborative beers aged in Templeton Rye barrels.
As the Iowa Craft Brew Festival winds down, guests are encouraged to stay for the official after party, Suds in the Street, hosted by Raccoon River Brewing Company. Favorite local bands The Workshy and Brother Trucker will entertain guests from 7:30-11pm. Daytime attendees receive free admission with their wristband. Tickets to the after party are also available at the gate for $5/guest. Concession stands featuring craft beer and grilled favorites will be provided.
Both events will take place rain or shine. If inclement weather occurs, the Iowa Craft Brew Festival will move to the Grand Ballroom of the Hotel Fort Des Moines. The Suds in the Street after party will move into Raccoon River Brewing Company.
The Iowa Craft Beer Festival is organized by the Iowa Brewers Guild, a non-profit with the purpose to showcase and improve the quality of beer brewed in Iowa, foster communication between the state’s brewers, advocate for the promotion of the local brewing community, and lobby for progressive changes in Iowa laws to benefit the craft brewing industry in the state.
Iowa Craft Brew Festival and Suds in the Street
Saturday, May 21
3-7pm Tasting
7:30-11pm After Party
10th Street between Walnut and Mulberry, downtown Des Moines
Tasting and After Party Tickets: $15 advance via Midwestix or $20 at the door
After Party Only Tickets: $5 at the door only
Spread the word! Invite your friends to the official Facebook event.
Live Music
3:00-4:15pm – Seedlings
4:45-7:00pm – Jefferson County Green Band
8:00pm-9:15pm – The Workshy
9:45pm-11:00pm – Brother Trucker
Maybe I will see you there!! Should be a great time!
Beer Vacation #1: Chicago, IL
My wife’
s family celebrated Easter vacation by getting a few rooms in Schaumburg, IL, about a 20 minute drive from downtown Chicago and I wasn’t thinking I would get a chance to enjoy some really fine beers but thankfully I have a great wife who lets me do things like that. We started our day, Saturday, at the Children’s Museum at Navy Pier, which was great for the kids. My wife’s brothers then thought it would be a good idea to hit up a Cub game, since they are all Cub fans, and they were playing my favorite team the Dodgers. So the beer journey got kicked off at the perfect venue, a ball game at a historic stadium. We enjoyed a few old styles and my brother-in-law thought it would be great if we could stay downtown to explore some bars. So we stayed behind while everyone headed back to Schaumburg. We left the game early and the first place we went to was….
**Goose Island Wrigleyville** It was the closest bar there and I had to get over the fact that they just sold out InBev, but I put that behind me and actually thought the place was really good. We bellied up to the bar and I had their Green Line Pale Ale which is only served on tap there, and the proceeds from the brew go to some good cause or another. The beer itself was very good and smooth, and I think there would be a market for that brew if they ever decide to expand on it. My brother-in-law, let’s call him Balls, brother-in-law takes too long to type, so Balls had a Blueberry Ale which was pretty refreshing. Not overly sweet and pretty drinkable. We then headed off to…..
**Merkles** Being born and raised in Iowa it was great to find an Iowa Hawkeye bar in downtown Chicago with the TigerHawk proudly being displayed. This bar was more my style, somewhat rugged looking. The beer selection was fantastic, upon entering the bar was a display of the daily specials which showed Dogfish Head Aprihop as the draw which got me giddy and made me realize this could be the place I spend the rest of the evening. Balls and I both had an Aprihop to start which is a great, refreshing Spring beer. I noticed they had a beer that many people talk about, 3 Floyds Gumballhead. I was very excited to try this and was even happier I did. I don’t get to excited about wheat beers much anymore, but this beer made me a believer that wheat beers can still be amazingly tasty. We finished with a few more beers and the rest of the night is pretty much a blur except for the $80 cab ride back to Schaumburg.
I know I’m just skimming the surface of the places to drink in Chicago; let me know if there are some must visits around that area!
Beer Review #55: New Belgium Blue Paddle Pilsner
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.
Beer News #1: Top 50 Craft Breweries of 2010
New list compiled by the Brewers Association of the Top 50 Craft Breweries of 2010 has been released. Thanks to www.beernews.org for the list. I thought Dogfish Head would be higher on the list. No surprise at #1, but #3 wast Spoetzel, they make Shiner Bock, and I do think that is a decent beer but I was pretty surprised to see that brewery ahead of others on that list. Let me know your thoughts. Did your brewery get on the list? It would be nice to see an Iowa Brewery on there someday. CHeck out the link below.
http://beernews.org/2011/04/brewers-association-reveals-2010-top-50-breweries/#more-18881
Beer Review #54: Dogfish Head Theobroma
One of the hottest breweries in America is Dogfish Head. This brewery has become so sought after that they have had to pull out of many states because of increased demand and they can’t pump out enough of their wonderful beer. I had the opportunity to purchase some of their product while I was in Madison, WI; since then, they have had to pull out of that state also, which really really sucks because they don’t distribute to Iowa or Wisconsin.
Like most of their beers, it has a really nice back story that is too long for me to type out, so check out their site (www.dogfish.com) to get more info. The beer is very unique; it is brewed with cocoa powder, honey, chilies, and annatto (a fragrant tree seed). The flavor is somewhat sweet with a little bit of the cocoa and chilie coming through but not as much as I thought it would or as much as I wanted it to. It is very refreshing and very drinkable, at 9% abv you have to careful though.
Recommendation: With the demand so high, I highly recommend that any time you get a chance to try anything made by Dogfish you have to go for it, no matter the price or the style. Everything you will try from them will be unique and 9 times out of 10 will be very good.
REVIEW
Pour: Orange pour with a medium white head.
Aroma: Aroma was somewhat floral, a little chocolate smell, and a little sweet fruit smell.
Taste: Lots of tastes going on with this beer. You get the sweetness of the honey, a little bit of chocolate and then at the end minimal heat from the chilie.
Overall: B-
Eastern Iowa Residents:You have to get on ebay or drive to a state that distributes their brew. Check out this link to find the nearest place that distributes Dogfish (http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/fish-finder.htm). The next time you go out of state for a vacation, hit up a liquor store and see if they have dogfish.
Iowa Beer: Upcoming Events
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.
Beer Video#4: A Look at Iowa City's Beer Caves
I really hope Iowa City is able to take advantage of this finding. It would be nice to have some sort of brewery start up in Iowa City to get the craft going again. Take a look at the video.
