Denver Beer Trip: Day 2!

June 6, 20112 Comments

Day 2 in Denver started out with a trip to the mountains. My first time going up in the mountains and it was a great sight! Awesome scenery and really cool towns a long the way. We stopped in Frisco, CO which is not to far from Breckenridge. We had breakfast at the Butterhorn Bakery (www.butterhornbakery.com) which might be the best breakfast I’ve ever had. Two poached eggs in a croissant with avocado, ham, and a roasted red pepper sauce. Great meal! We then decided to stop in for a quick beer at Back Country Brewery (www.backcountrybrewery.com). We arrived a little before opening but the bartender was cool enough to let us in for a quick pint. I went with their IPA which was pretty good and refreshing.
After we picked up our buddy from the airport we relaxed a bit and then it was off to Falling Rock Tap House! This place is well-known for their huge tap selection, but I was really impressed with their homemade food. I loved their hand-battered homemade mushrooms and the club sandwich I ordered was great. Oh, yeah, their beer selection is second to none as the hardest part of ordering there is trying to narrow your choices. After Falling Rock we hit a couple of bars by the stadium and then called it a night. Great time on day 2!

Next Up: Coors Field, Great Divide Brewery, Rock Bottom Brewery!

Denver Beer Trip: Day 1

June 1, 2011Leave a comment

Group of friends and I arrive in Denver around 7 mountain time after a long 11 hour drive from Iowa. After checking in and getting settled a bit, we decided that the first place to visit was going to be Rialto. Rialto is a restaurant/bar that is inside the downtown Courtyard. We stayed there last year and we all thought it was a wonderful place. We also didn’t want to hit up any new places because we were still waiting on a buddy to fly in from Kansas City.
*Rialto was an excellent choice since we just wanted to relax and enjoy a bit to eat and a good brew. (http://www.rialtocafe.com/). Decided on the calamari for a quick snack and it was excellent. Washed it down with a Left Hand Milk Stout and the night started out great. The highlight of the night was my brother-in-law’s order of seared tuna. Great stuff! Finished off the night with a 5 Barrel Pale Ale from Odell Brewing company. Wow! Fantastic beer, refreshing and crisp! The only negative of this evening we didn’t learn until later the Rialto has two happy hours! After 9:30 they have 1/2 price all beers and $3 appetizers. I really could have done some damage if I would have known that.
*Second and last stop for me on this evening was hitting up the Sports Column. The Sports Column could be referred to as an Iowa bar I guess, with Iowa flags and memorabilia hanging up. $3 draws of Oskar Blue’s Dale’s Pale Ale also makes it great. Watched a little baseball, enjoyed a few brews and the finish to night #1 was satisfying.

NEXT UP! DAY 2: Falling Rock Tap House, a visit to Frisco, CO.

Beer Video #5: Great Divide Brewery

May 22, 20111 Comment

Heading to Denver this Friday and a place where I will be spending a good amount of time will be Great Divide Brewery. This place is ideal, nothing too fancy, knowledgable bartenders, great beer, and even better, you can actually drink in the brewery itself. Here’s an inside look at Great Divide:

Beer Review #58: Boulevard Single Wide IPA

May 17, 2011Leave a comment

Boulevard Brewing in Kansas City (www.blvdbeer.com) is known for making pretty solid beers. Their IPA isn’t a punch you in the face hopmonster that most IPA’s nowadays are, and I would almost consider it being a really good pale ale. It does have that hop bitterness in there, but not the extent that most IPAs have. Another thing that makes Boulevard great is their distribution. In Iowa we can get almost all of their beers here and they are usually remarkably priced. The product is usually anywhere from good to great, and you are putting money in the pocket of a hard-working craft brewery and not a mass-produced bottle of swill. The ABV is a nice 5.7%, have a few and enjoy them!
REVIEW
Pour: Amber, copper pour with a nice white head. Great lacing that sticks on the glass.
Aroma: Citrus fruit and pine.
Taste: Nice and smooth, a little hop bitterness.
Overall: C+
Eastern Iowa Residents: Available everywhere. Support Boulevard and all other craft beers!

Beer Review #57: MGD 64

May 9, 2011Leave a comment

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

May 1, 20111 Comment

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

May 1, 2011February 14, 20131 Comment

Iowa Beer News #2: Iowa Craft Beer Festival

April 26, 2011Leave a comment

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

April 25, 2011Leave a comment

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

April 19, 2011Leave a comment

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.