16 @ 5:00 Bricks Bar and Grill

May 9, 2016May 9, 2016Leave a comment

sour showdown.jpg This Friday night at Bricks Bar and Grill in Cedar Rapids is the SHOWDOWN OF THE CENTURY!!! Well, maybe not the showdown of the century but there will be some amazing beers on hand as two of Iowa’s finest, Big Grove out of Solon and Exile out of Des Moines square off in a “Sour Showdown”! I was able to try some of both breweries beers this weekend at Benz Beerfest and if that is any indication of what’s to come then this showdown will not disappoint!

Exile has been dominating the sour scene in retail and their latest addition, Blood Orange Bohemia, has been a hot sell. I was able to try their Peachberry Beatnik and was blown away; one of the best beers at the festival.

Big Grove has had people rolling through their doors for their terrific beers, and one of those responsible has been the Que Sera. I would expect some offshoots of this beer at the showdown. I had their cucumber mint que sera pin at the beer festival and thought it was absolutely terrific.

This should be a great event, with two great breweries, at an excellent beer bar. Don’t forget to say hi to the bad ass mothers in the picture below! They are out for blood! Cheers!

Benz Beverage Depot Beer Festival Sneak Peek: Big Grove Brewery

May 4, 2016Leave a comment

What beers will be getting tapped this Saturday at Benz Beverage Depot? There will no doubt be some tremendous beers available but today we have a sneak peek into what Big Grove Brewery will be bringing to the event. Two new beers, two fantastic sounding beers, two beers that you will probably love! Here’s what’s tapping for Big Grove on Saturday:

*Cronos DIPA – 8.7% double IPA with sweet malt body that is balanced with Green Bullet with additions of Simcoe and Mosaic in the dry hop. Flavors and aromas of dried apricot, pine, and citrus rind.

*Que Sera Pin w/cucumber and mint – berliner-weisse that gives the tart and sour with the additions of cucumber and mint. Be prepared to become addicted to this.

Hope to see you there on Saturday!! Should be a great day!

Big Grove Brewery Releases “De Facto” Pale Ale

April 22, 2016April 22, 2016Leave a comment

Another new release coming from Big Grove brewery today as they have released De Facto Pale Ale. Here’s the description from Big Grove:

A pronounced malt character featuring Rye to highlight its unique flavor & subtle spice. Balanced with an addition of honey at the end of the boil for a soft bitterness. Dry hopped with Centennial, Wakatu, and Mosaic for an aggressive flavor of tropical fruit and a big bouquet of floral and citrus in the aroma.

Arms Race and De Facto? Sounds like the perfect patio beers! Cheers!

Big Grove Tapping “Hop Lopper” Double IPA this Friday! (4/8)

April 4, 2016April 4, 2016Leave a comment

Big Grove Brewery will be adding another IPA to their already impressive portfolio when they tap Hop Lopper Double IPA this Friday, April 8th when the doors open! Here’s more on this beer:

Brewed using honey and wheat malt, local honey, and decapitating amount of Cascade, Wakatu, and Green Bullet in the Dry Hopping. This beer will come in at 8%.

The rollout of this beer will start next Tuesday, April 12th, at the Bar’Ber Shop in Coralville.

Get out and get yourself a taste!

And the Best Pale Ale in Iowa is……

March 28, 2016March 28, 2016Leave a comment

gold

1st Place – Big Grove Brewery Arms Race Pale Ale

silver

2nd Place – 515 Brewing Passe

bronze

3rd Place – Toppling Goliath Pseudo Sue

Once again, congrats to the winners. Next poll will open either tonight (Monday) or tomorrow and I’m thinking it will be double/triple IPA category. Are there enough browns/porters/saisons/pils to do individual categories for those? I’ll research a bit and hopefully we can do all of those. Thanks for voting, thanks for the interaction and cheers!

And the best IPA in Iowa is……

March 11, 2016March 11, 2016Leave a comment

Big Grove Brewery IPA

big grove

silver

Toppling Goliath Pompeii

Turner Alley Mays Island IPA

**Thanks to all those who voted, congrats to the winners, maybe I can get some medals made up. This was fun and I had a lot of feedback! Thank you! After the barrel-aged/imperial stout voting ends on Sunday we will take a bit of break and pick back up with pale ale category! Cheers!**

Big Grove Head Brewer, Bill Heinrich, Leaving Big Grove

February 8, 2016Leave a comment

Big Grove Brewery head brewer, Bill Heinrich, will be leaving the brewery. His last day will be April 1st. Since Big Grove has opened Bill has been the head brewer and has supplied us with some amazing beers. You will have until April 1st to get over to Big Grove to taste his terrific beer. On a personal note, every time I would visit the brewery, Bill was always gracious enough to talk beer, give samples, and was always interacting with customers. I want to wish Bill the best in whatever he decides to do next, and hopefully he continues making some amazing beers! Cheers Bill!

Baron’s Best of 2015: The Final Chapter

January 12, 2016January 12, 2016Leave a comment

best of Let’s finish this drug out list off once and for all. With 2015 in the books, 2016 is starting out on a great foot as Lion Bridge’s Barrel-aged January has kicked off and the tapping of Royal Wee is a day away (Wed. 13th). Buster from Big Grove is getting released at the end of the month and Quarter Barrel has opened their doors. Lots of great things in store for Iowa in 2016.

*Big Grove Brewery Desperate Measures – this golden sour ale aged in Opus One wine barrels was released along the same time that Richard the Whale was for Big Grove. A well balanced sour that gives you that sour pucker but some fruit sweetness and bit of barrel that help this beer make the list. Would love this for a summer brew too!

*Alpine Nelson – I never had the opportunity to try any Alpine beers prior to Green Flash acquiring them but I’m guessing that Nelson couldn’t have been much better than what we got in bottles…I could be wrong but I really enjoyed this beer. The Nelson Sauvin hop shines in this beer and goes perfectly with the rye malt. Lots of flavor, excellent balance, and extremely drinkable!

*Lagunitas Born Yesterday – bottled and shipped the very same day? Yes, Lagunitas pulls this one off and the freshness of this beer really showed. Citrus and tropical fruits shine in this 6.5% beer and if it was readily available this would always be in my fridge. I hope Lagunitas releases this one again….so good.

*Lion Bridge Brewery Yard Sale – so happy to see this beer back on tap at Lion Bridge as another citra hop forward brew makes the list. I had this for the 1st time back in May and remember getting two growlers filled after my first taste. Such a great brew.

*515 Brewing The Basil Protocol – I’m a sucker for a good farmhouse/saison which this beer is, but I admittedly am not the biggest fan of basil. I like it ok, just not a bunch, so when I tried this beer I went in thinking I wouldn’t dig it. I was totally wrong. The basil is there but it meshes so well with the cucumber and pepperiness of the saison to make a wonderfully refreshing beer. Not to mention enjoying it when it was 100 degrees outside…another perfect summertime beer!

*Firetrucker Tropical Burn – might be one of the hottest (popular) beers made in Iowa right now and rightfully so. Huge mango and tropical fruits on the nose and on the palate. Galaxy and citra with fresh mangoes makes this a well-balanced double IPA. Very drinkable, but be aware of that 9.1% ABV.

*Big Grove 15 Minuteman – part of the “Citra Triad” release from Big Grove. 15 Minuteman once again showcases the citra hop. Super smooth and refreshing, this is another beer that can get you into trouble because of it’s drinkability. Minuteman and Trident made for a fun couple trips to Big Grove over the holidays!

*Bells 30th Anniversary Stout – I really loved this beer. It wasn’t barrel-aged but man, this was packed with flavor. Tons of dark chocolate, some dark fruit, and as with many stouts got better as it warmed. I wish I would have the restraint to have aged a couple but I saw them, salivated, drank them.

*Big Grove/3rd Base Que Amarillo – am I homer for Iowa beers or what? That wasn’t the intention but it’s hard not to be when so many of our local brewers are kicking out great beers and Que Amarillo is one that stood out to me. I could be wrong, but I believe this was brewed with Jim at 3rd Base Brewery…feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. A Berliner-weisse that is hopped to high hell with Amarillo hops. If you don’t like your Berliner-Weisses’ too sour, this one’s for you. Tasty and refreshing. Maybe if I ask Bill and Jim nicely they will keep brewing it?

*Boulevard The Calling – Boulevard did a major overhaul of their portofolio in 2015 and some where hits and some not so much in my opinion. One beer that they did a great job on was The Calling. I admittedly am not a huge fan of their Single-Wide IPA so when I saw that they were adding a double IPA to their Smokestack 4 pack series I was excited to try it. Oranges and pineapple with a bit pine round out this heavily hopped double.

*Central Waters Space Ghost – an imperial stout that is brewed with ghost peppers. It sounds like a one and done beer as some of these can be overwhelming with heat, but this is beautifully balanced and gives you just enough heat but not overpowering to go along with the richness from the stout.

*Big Grove Famine – I got to pour for Big Grove at an famiine event in Dubuque last spring. I got to pour Arms Race, IPA, Que Sera, and….FAMINE! What a treat that was. Introducing a community to this beer and to Big Grove was exciting and I would love to do it again. When people asked what it tasted like, Collin (fellow pourer) and I had to take a drink just to remind ourselves how good it was. Part of the Hopocolaypse series this past Spring. I hope to see a return this year as well!

Baron’s Best of 2015: Part 3

January 8, 2016January 8, 20163 Comments

best of Man, I’m sure dragging this out! Things to do folks! Here we are with part 3 of my favorite beers of 2015. Once again, these are beers I’ve had for the first time and are available for us to purchase here in Eastern Iowa. I appreciate the comments some of you folks are leaving with your thoughts and what you liked to drink in 2015, keep them coming in! Part 3, let’s do it!

*Surly Darkness – this is just the imperial stout, non-barrel aged version as I was to slow to get to the store to get myself a bottle of the b.a. version. Even so, I really enjoyed the basic imperial version of this beer. I’m not huge on dark fruit stouts usually, but this one was so wonderfully balanced that I wouldn’t think twice about buying a few more bottles of this. Chocolate covered cherries, coffee, dark chocolate, and other dark fruit flavors round out this excellent brew!

*Toppling Goliath X-Hops Gold – the best of the X-hops series in my opinion. Lot of fruit in this beer; honeydew melon, pineapple, some citrus round out this easy drinking pale ale. I’ve heard it’s similar to King Sue in the flavor profile but I haven’t had the most recent batch of the King, but I would gladly take a few more bottles of this.

*Blackberry Farm Saison – I thought about putting their Summer Saison in and also their Fall Saison that is aged in oak barrels, but I keep going back to their regular Saison. Crisp, dry, and gives you that belgian yeast with the spiciness of black pepper and fruitiness of lemon. Lovely brew, a staple in my fridge.

*Big Grove Brewery Richard the Whale – what a great beer and the variants were excellent as well, but I’m going back to the regular Richard as my favorite of the 3 (although the Hazelnut tastes amazing right). Richard is a Russian Imperial Stout aged in Heaven Hill barrels. A lot of great chocolate notes from this beer and as it warms it tastes even better as the bourbon starts to shine. Creamy, delicious, and warming, Big Grove really knocked this one out.

*Lion Bridge Sorachi Liberace – a sorachi ace hopped saison? Yes please! I drank a ton of this beer during the fall months. Citrus flavor from the hops meshes perfectly with the saison yeast. This beer is perfect for anytime of the year and hopefully will be available for drinking a growler on the deck this summer and listening to baseball games.

Baron’s Best of 2015: Part 2

January 4, 2016January 4, 2016Leave a comment

best of Here we go with part 2. Part 1 dominated by Iowa breweries so Part 2 I’ll mix it up a bit more. Once again, criteria has to be: 1) Available for purchase in Iowa in 2015 2) A beer I’ve ever tried before.

**Anchorage Brewing Love Buzz Saison – a style I’ve grown to love more and more and with Anchorage, Blackberry Farm (spoiler), and Lion Bridge constantly available, this is a style I’ll continue to enjoy! Roses, peppercorns, and orange peels star in this wonderful brew from Anchorage.

**Toppling Goliath Thresher – pale wheat ales were 1st introduced to me at Merkles’ Bar across from Wrigley in the form of 3 Floyds Gumballhead on tap. That was when I 1st started getting into craft so that beer and style are always exciting for me to try. Toppling Goliath takes a pale wheat and adds that TG IPAness to it. Very crushable and refreshing.

**Prairie Apple Brandy Noir – enjoyed this bottle for the 1st time at Lincoln Winebar thanks to Jesse. Served at a perfect temperature, this beer was one to sip on and enjoy. Apple cider, caramel, dark fruits and a bit of burn from the booze made this a perfect winter stout…I just wish I had more.

**Big Grove Brewery Trident XII – I think if there was a gun to my head and I had to pick my favorite beer I tried this year, this might be the winner. Melon and citrus flavors combine to bring this 11%ish double IPA seem like a deceitfully drinkable IPA.Plus, you know, I won my family beer fest with this brew.

**Oskar Blues Death By Coconut – I heard the 1st release of this was lacking coconut, luckily I got the second batch of this. This beer is an almond joy in beer form. Enjoyed it tailgating prior to the Iowa/Gopher game and hoping to see more of it our shelves. Oskar Blues outdid themselves with this one.

**515 Passe – had this all the way down in Parkville, MO at the Parkville Beer Festival. Dave and company might have made the best pale ale in Iowa with this beer. The perfect combination of citrus and tropical fruit make this one of the better beers of the year. 515 is just a fantastic place to visit and I wish I could get to Des Moines more often.

**Tallgrass Big RICC – I think if there was a vote on the best Tallgrass beer Big RICC might take home the gold. A 10.2% Russian Imperial Stout coming in a can that has a perfect balance of roasty malts, chocolate, and coffee. I hope Tallgrass keeps pushing this one down their lines!

Part 2 in the books! Let me know your thoughts!