A jam packed lineup of amazing breweries from around the country will be coming to North Liberty on August 23rd! Field Day Lawgs and Dawgs will be showcasing some of the finest lagers around as well as some tasty hot dogs! Tickets available by clicking HERE! Here’s more from the brewery:
Don’t miss out on the 1st annual Lawgs & Dawgs Beer festival!
This isn’t your typical beer festival. Lawgs & Dawgs is a lager only celebration featuring an exclusive lineup of some of the Midwest best beer producers pouring nothing but refreshing lager!
8/23 12-4pm Field Day Brewing company parking lot.
Pair it with top-tier hot dogs, from classic to creative we’ve got you covered.
Expect world-class lagers made from brewers who know their craft.
Your ticket includes: • .3L branded glass to take home • Pours from every brewery on site • Access to one the most unique beer experiences around
Breweries Include: -Side Project Brewing (Maplewood, MO) -Dimensional Brewing (Dubuque, IA) -Lua Brewing (Des Moines, IA) -Little Lager (St. Louis, MO) -Urban Chestnut (St. Louis, MO) -Sway Brewing + Blending (Baileys Harbor, WI) -Wake Brewing (Rock Island, IL) -Blue Jay Brewing (St. Louis, MO) -Millpond Brewing (Millstadt, IL) -Seedz Brewing (Union Pier, MI) -Goldfinger Brewing (Downers Grove, IL) -Pulpit Rock Brewing (Decorah, IA)
What better day to hype up our upcoming Hazy Triple IPA than today?
Dropping next week, THREE FOOLS is the final release in our series of hazies with the fools at @dimensionalbeer and @wiseibrew
Hopped to the heavens with Citra, @jacksonhopfarms Pink and HBC-1019, THREE FOOLS is a creamy, tropical daydream with the ABV to bring out your inner jester.
Look for this at Lua on draft and on tap next week and at the Dimensional and Wise I taprooms in the next few weeks.
After every year I like to run down my favorite Iowa brewed beers! This year, I’ve teamed up with one of my good buddies and an all-around beer connoisseur, the great and wonderful Duke of Drinking. We compiled our list of the 10 best Iowa beers of ’24 based on the following criteria: *The beer had to be unique to 2024 *The beer had to be the first time either of us have tried *Of course it has to be Iowa brewed
Of course, we didn’t get to try them all as much as we’d have liked to, so if there’s a beer that didn’t make our list but made yours, we’d love to hear about it! In fact, shoot me your list or check out this post on Facebook – Iowa Beer page and give us your top 10!
Before I ramble on with our list, a shout out to all of those wonderful brewers/breweries/restaurants/establishments that give us the opportunity to imbibe on the wonderful drink that is beer. Thank you all very much and we appreciate you! On to the list:
**Field Day Revel** – 12.55% ABV – Oak Aged Imperial Stout blended with a Fresh Imperial Stout than rested on Almonds, Marzipan, Vanilla, & Chocolate. Revel in the Drink, makes you want to dance and party during this Holiday Season. This beer packed a ton of flavor and you get the flavor of each ingredient throughout each sip. I was worried it would be too sweet, but it had just the right amount. Wonderfully done brew.
**Dimensional Gladius** – 14.6% ABV – Blend of Imperial Stouts aged in Heaven Hill and Blaum Brothers Bourbon barrels for 21-26 months. What I loved the most about this beer is that it was just a big ass imperial stout with no adjuncts. Dimensional let the barrels do the talking and they sure did. I was worried as the nose smelled hot, but damn, the flavor was delicious. Viscous and full of that lovely barrel flavor. Fantastic beer.
**Dimensional/Field Day Dang** 8% ABV – Hazy DIPA with Nelson Sauvin, Motueka Hop Kief, and Citra. Brewed in collaboration with Field Day Brewing. One of the best Iowa made IPAs of the year, and one of the best IPAs made in the world this year. Dang packed a well-balanced hop punch, and if you have Nelson Sauvin and Citra in there, it’s sure to taste good. Hoping this one gets brewed again, delicious stuff!
**Clock House Orange Stripe** 13% ABV – Long-Boil Imperial Stout aged in a Driftless Glen Bourbon De Naranja barrel for 12 months. Rested on a bed of Madagascar Vanilla Beans and Ghana Cacao Nibs. Tasting notes of Orange Cream and Dark Chocolate. The perfect timing of this release as it tastes just as those chocolate covered oranges you see during the holidays do. Clock House always does a wonderful job with their stouts, long boil which equates to a viscous bottle of greatness. The orange was the perfect subtle flavor at the end of your sip. Another winner from Clock House!
**Dimensional Survey Says** – 10% ABV – Hazy Triple IPA with HBC 1019 Cryo, NZH 105, and Citra. Brewed in collaboration with G5 Brewing. You want to talk about a scary triple IPA? Survey Says is just that…absolutely delicious and scarily drinkable for a Triple IPA. This was well-balanced and smooth. Just an outstanding job by Dimensional.
**Clock House Veltross** – 8% ABV – Sanction #2. Double NEIPA dry-hopped with premium lot selected Nectaron and Citra. Not only does Clock House excel at the big boy stouts, their IPA and double IPA game are always on point as well. This year they gave us Veltross, a definite beer of the year contender, part of their “Sanction” series, which hopefully doesn’t mean we won’t see it again. Maybe if we ask Todd and Blake nicely they will brew this baby up again? Pretty please?
**Big Grove Richard the Whale: Golden Ticket 2024** – 13% ABV – The 2024 Richard the Whale Golden Ticket variant is inspired by coconut almond macaroons and we blended this extra special batch of Richard The Whale infused with toasted organic coconut and almonds. Year after year this is an extremely sought after brew, and year after year Big Grove delivers it’s decadence. Hard to get, but if you’re lucky enough, savor this baby, it’s delightful.
**Pulpit Rock Alma Mater**- 5.38% – Alma Mater pale ale is the official craft beer of Luther College. A portion of proceeds support The Luther Fund. Skal Norse! The official craft beer of Luther College should maybe be the pale ale of the state of Iowa! Extremely crushable, wonderfully refreshing, and full of flavor. Pulpit Rock really nailed this pale ale!
**Lua Respiro** – 16% – Made for Iowa Craft Beer Fest 2024. Aged in bourbon barrels for 21 months, then conditioned on Teddy Graham’s, coconut, Saigon & Korintje cinnamon, cacao nibs and vanilla soft serve. I was lucky to be in Des Moines when Lua tapped this brew. All the flavors shone and blended extremely well. Was hoping the cinnamon wouldn’t be overpowering and it wasn’t. Subtle, spot on brew. Excellent for dessert!
**Pulpit Rock BA $ticker $Shock** – 13% ABV – $ticker $hock 2024 is a blend of 35 and 38 month barrel aged imperial stouts then rested on copious amounts of toasted coconut and almonds. Pulpit wows with this one, extremely thick and full of coconut flavor, not too sweet, just the perfect amount and the barrel and chocolate blend perfectly. Another taste of decadence.
There you have it! Our “Pours of ’24”! Let us know what you think and what your list would look like! 2025 should be outstanding for Iowa Beer! Cheers! Join the Iowa Beer Facebook group by clicking HERE:
Wow!! We can’t believe it’s been almost 6 years since we opened our doors. Come celebrate with us on November 23rd! -Tony Schmitt and Robbie Bahr are playing 2-5pm Here is a sneak peek at 2 big beers we will be releasing: 2024 ANNY is a decadent 14.4% ABV imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels then infused with roasted pecans, toasted and raw coconut, and chocolate cake! – Public online sale for ANNY will be on Sunday, November 17th at 7PM on the OZNR app. – Bottle pick up will start on November 23rd at 11am. -2024 ANNY will be sold in 500 ml bottles with a limit of one bottle per transaction (meaning you can buy additional bottles after you buy your first bottle as long as they are available.). -Proxies are allowed for bottle pick-ups. -Proxies MUST be assigned on the OZNR app to retrieve bottles. -Anny bottles can be picked up during normal business hours. -Bottles of 2024 ANNY must be picked up by you or your proxy by 7pm on Sunday, December 8th, so please only buy bottles if you or a proxy can pick them up.
Gladius is a 14.6% ABV Imperial Stout aged in Heaven Hill and Blaum Brothers bourbon barrels for 21-26 months. Gladius will be released in person on 11/23 at 11am. Limits determined on turnout.
– We will also have some old favorites and new releases available to-go. – We will open up our garage area early (around 9am), so come down, share some beers and laughs with us before we open the doors to the taproom at 11! We would like to thank everyone who has supported us the last 6 years! You have helped us live out our dream of making killer beers and giving back to our amazing community. We can’t wait to see you!
As the weather cools and summer turns into fall, tap lines and shelf space start being consumed with delicious marzen, Oktoberfest, and fresh hop beers from many of Iowa’s wonderful breweries and from breweries around the world. As fall comes into our lives our bodies are telling us to consume more hearty and energy packed foods to prepare ourselves for winter…so…I guess what the fall season tells us to do is drink beer and eat good food….with that being said, what are the favorites from the local brewers, chefs, and people working in the food and beer world for pairing these wonderful beer styles to their favorite dishes? Let’s find out:
Quinton McClain – Brewer/Owner Lion Bridge Brewery, Cedar Rapids – “For Lion Bridge’s Oktobot 3000, definitely schweinsaxe. (roasted ham hock or pork knuckle) For Lion Bridge Robofest, I would go with tailgating foods… wings, brats, soft pretzels, tacos. It’s an easy drinker, but has a beautiful European Malt Character that pairs well with good conversation and finger foods.”
Alec Travis – Brewer/Owner Field Day Brewing, North Liberty – “Festbiers are pretty good for pairing with almost anything! Marzens have a touch more of that caramel profile that I think go well with some savory fatty stuff. For me, I’d pair that with a pork chop or pork shoulder or something. Maybe some herbed risotto as a side!”
Todd and Blake Viall – Brewers/Owners – Clock House Brewing, Cedar Rapids – “We came up with a jalapeño popper chicken griller wrapped with applewood smoked bacon, side of pineapple coleslaw, and dessert of coconut flan!”
Aaron Vargas – Owner – Backpocket Brewery, Coralville – “Savory for sure. Pork, whether it is a brat or schnitzel. Something about the fat in there is where it is at!”
T.J. Lytle – Chef- Big Grove Brewery, Solon – ” Yeah, I have a few. Can’t go wrong with a pretzel, beer cheese and the spicy vinegary mustard. Literally one of my go tos. The other 2 are something my grandma always did. She passed away a couple years ago but we used to have a big family gathering at her house and she would make these, my mom still makes them every year and we enjoy them. I just tweak it a little bit . My grandma was very Polish so she always made Haluski, and pierogies. The haluski is a soft noddle with cooked down cabbage. We added bacon just because who doesn’t love bacon haha. Finish with a bunch of black pepper and butter. Sooo gooood. The pierogies was always my favorite. She would buy the store bought in a bag which I have a sweet spot for but homemade really is a game changer. In my filling I use russet potatoes, stone ground mustard, cheese, salt and white pepper. We would cook down a bunch of onions, sausage, remove the sausage and cut it thin. Throw it back in with the pierogies. A bunch of butter. Top with a bunch of scallions. Literally one of the best things I enjoy. Really reminds me of home and a lot of good memories with my family!”
Shane Knipper – Brewer- Dimensional Brewing, Dubuque – “Stateside, I tend to lean towards a basic bratwurst from a local meat locker, with a German horseradish mustard and sauerkraut. I also really like a festbier with currywurst. If you can get some authentic Brezen, Schnitzel, Rouladen, or Spaetzle, that’s definitely the way to go, but can be hard to find locally. Basically, any hearty meal.”
Travis Lange – Head of Sales – Iowa Brewing Company, Cedar Rapids – “Of course you can’t go wrong pairing these beers with more traditional fare, like pork schnitzel, bratwurst and soft pretzels topped with cheese, dill and smoked meats. But my go-to food pairings are carnitas tacos and venison chili. Hearty, spicy foods that meld nicely with the herbal and earthy hop edge.”
Jim Johnston – Brewer- 3rd Base Brewing, Cedar Rapids -“My favorite would be Zweigle’s White Hots on a caraway seed bun.”
Joe Dooley – Chef – Need Pizza, Cedar Rapids – “Smoked & reverse seared Iowa chops. Apple cider braised red kraut. And roasted acorn squash with enough butter & brown sugar to choke a friggin donkey. First thing I’m in the mood for when the weather turns, & it’s on the menu for tonight!”
Jeremy Freerks – Club 76 The Lodge, North Liberty – “Personally as a compliment, I’d like to say the richness of the gravy and meat of sauerbraten pairs well with the maltiness of that those beers. I also believe as a compliment oven baked brats and kraut caramelizes nicely to match most Oktoberfest/marzens. I think fresh kraut on a brat can easily bring together sweetness of the brat and sour of the kraut for the bang of fresh hop beers as a compliment and contrast. Same goes for Hot German Potato salad. Sweet and sour with the bacon backbone is a solid choice for a fresh hop IPA.”
What a year it has been! With all that is going on our local breweries still put out a ton of amazing beers and this was the toughest “Top 10” I’ve had to come up with. As the year winds down, a heartfelt thank you to all the brewery/restaurant workers out there working their butts off to get us excellent beers and delicious food while trying to keep their businesses afloat. Keep supporting local people!
List criteria: *Beer must have been released in 2020 *Iowa brewed only *Annual releases not counted unless a new adjunct was added to the beer
I know that I’ve missed many, my goal in 2020 was to get to as many Iowa breweries as possible and I was able to get to many that I hadn’t been before and hopefully that trend continues in 2021. After you read my list I would love to hear what your Top 10 is this year! Follow me on twitter @iabeerbaron or join the Iowa Beer page on Facebook. Cheers to you all!
*Richard the Whale Vietnamese Coconut Coffee – 12.5% – the last few years of the Richard release, the golden ticket addition has added excitement but also even more creativity from the BG brewers and crew to up the ante every year to produce an amazing beer and this year was no different. The balance between the coffee and coconut blends perfectly with barrel and the vanilla rounds it out perfectly. A truly decadent and delicious beer. To quote Virginia Madsen from “Sideways”, “You know, the day you open a Richard the Whale Vietnamese Coconut Coffee….that’s the special occasion”.
Big Grove Richard the Whale Vietnamese Coconut Coffee
*Lion Bridge Off Grid – 6.6% – there may not be a better beer to showcase the trying year many people have faced in 2020. Off Grid was brewed after the derecho storm left many in the Cedar Rapids area without power, shelter, etc. Brewing with generator power, not only did Lion Bridge get beer to us, they gave us one of the best IPAs brewed in Iowa in 2020 and I hope we get a taste of it again in 2021….minus the derecho.
Lion Bridge Off Grid
*Barn Town Nelson Sauvin Neon – 6.5% – as Barn Town’s Neon is becoming more available in Eastern Iowa, it has certainly taken its place amongst my ever revolving beer fridge as a staple. However, Barn Town decided to showcase different hops in their popular IPA and after tasting Nelson Sauvin Neon, dare I say I want more of this version? I love Nelson hops and the addition of this adds a nice peppery finish to an already delicious citrus IPA.
*Lua Algorithm – 4% ABV – trips to Des Moines in the last year certainly have been more common to get some to go beers from many of the breweries in that area and one certain stop has been Lua. Lua’s lineup of beers range from wonderful pilsners, hoppy IPAs, BA stouts, and one their extremely popular Pushpop lineup of brews! There were many that I really enjoyed but Algorithm was the one that stood out to me most. The combo of orange, mango and peaches can be enjoyed any time of the day! Lua is currently doing curbside only for the foreseeable future so make sure you place an order with them and pick up some amazing beer and food!
*Clock House Peanut Panic Porter – 5.5% – Clock House has had an amazing year with their beer releases and with the addition of a canning line they can get us our favorites more efficiently and timely. Of all the beers I’ve had of theirs this year, (I think I’ve had them all), their Peanut Panic Porter stood out. I’m a huge porter fan, Founders Porter is still one of my all-time favorite beers, and when Clock House added peanuts to this beer I was sold. Now, this isn’t a overly sweet “peanut butter” beer, this is boiled raw peanuts and some added cocoa nibs making this one of the best porters I’ve had and definitely the best peanut porter I’ve ever had. Still on tap I believe, give it a shot!
*Big Grove HDTV – 9.2% – galaxy hops gone mad! Big Grove took their popular Color TV and added a bunch more galaxy hops to it to give us this baby! A wonderful welcome addition to Richard the Whale day, HDTV is not only delicious, but it’s deceptively drinkable coming in at 9.2%. You still may be able to find cans of this in the wild or certain bars (Club 76 has it on tap).
Big Grove HDTV
*Single Speed Barrel-Aged Double Donuts – 10% – aged in Cedar Ridge single malt whiskey barrels? Yes please! Single Speed took inspiration from their popular Zach’s Mexican Donuts, threw it in some amazing whiskey barrels and barrel-aged Double Donuts was born! Luckily I have a few cans left of this and I have every intention to sit by the fireplace and watch the snowstorm blow in tomorrow night and sip and enjoy this wonderful brew!
*Pulpit Rock Double Dave-O – 7.6% – I remember having this beer way back in January at Marquee Pizza in Coralville during their anniversary celebration. Marquee always did a great job getting Pulpit Rock on tap (Thanks Sam!) when many places couldn’t and I remember thinking that it’s going to be nice being able to visit here, have some great food and sip on some Pulpit beers…..things have changed a bit because of the pandemic but Pulpit sure has adapted to the changing times and have done an amazing job getting their cans available in certain locations around Eastern Iowa (Need Pizza + Reds Alehouse). Double Dave-O stood out because of the hop profile. Citra and mosaic, two of my favorites made this a quenching IPA leaving me wanting another one!
Pulpit Rock Double Dave-O
*Dimensional Imperial Cinna-Man Bun – 11.7% – there are some beers that you can be a little hesitant to order because you’ve already played it out in your head how it was going to taste. With this particular beer, I thought for sure it would be way too sweet for me with over the top cinnamon, admittedly I was completely wrong. Dimensional brought balance to a beer that could have gone the complete opposite direction, especially for a pastry stout. Another great fall/winter beer to sip on, wish I had some more of it!
Dimensional Imperial Cinna-Man Bun
*Clock House Sweet Innocence – 5.2% – 42 lbs of black cherries added to this kettle sour which made for a truly refreshing beer to sip on on hot ass August night in Iowa. This is a beer that I hope to see again during the warmer months and if you haven’t tried it, if Clock House does release it again, it’s worth the trip to Cedar Rapids!
Clock House Sweet Innocence
There is the list! It’s always fun to compile but never easy to narrow down! With such a trying year in the beer/restaurant industry it is amazing on how these breweries have adapted to keep their businesses alive and to also keep us stocked with beer. A huge cheers to all of them and I hope you continue to support your local brewery and businesses. I know I probably missed your favorite of the year so please let me know what your list looks like! Cheers!
. My grandma was very Polish so she always made Haluski, and pierogies. The haluski is a soft noddle with cooked down cabbage. We added bacon just because who doesn’t love bacon haha. Finish with a bunch of black pepper and butter. Sooo gooood. The pierogies was always my favorite. She would buy the store bought in a bag which I have a sweet spot for but homemade really is a game changer. In my filling I use russet potatoes, stone ground mustard, cheese, salt and white pepper. We would cook down a bunch of onions, sausage, remove the sausage and cut it thin. Throw it back in with the pierogies. A bunch of butter. Top with a bunch of scallions. Literally one of the best things I enjoy. Really reminds me of home and a lot of good memories with my family!”
