A new month means new releases for many Iowa breweries. Lion Bridge brewing will be releasing two new beers this month, an imperial milk stout and an IPA (draft only). Here’s more on these two releases:
Houby Daze Imperial Milk Stout
Fungophiles rejoice! A special Houby Days release! We cold steeped the famed Lactarius rubidus, aka, Candy Cap Mushroom in this stout to produce an earthy, maple character that we thought would be a great accompaniment to a robust mix stout base,
Release date 05/12
The Eye of Thiol
Trying out a new yeast strain that accentuates hop flavors and aroma. We brewed this draft-only IPA with some of our favorite hop varietals. Enjoy!
End 2 End Burners Ver 2 – Dbl Hazy IPA – Collaboration with THE ANSWER Second annual collaboration between Beer Zombies and The Answer (Richmond, VA) for 4/20 day. Double Dry Hopped Hazy Double IPA with Citra, Cryo Citra and Galaxy Hops
OB – 1 Can-OBI DDH IPA
Grab your lightsaber! This Double Dry Hopped Hazy Double IPA is loaded with Citra and Galaxy Hops. Best enjoyed in a Galaxy far far away…
Six am Karaoke
Collaboration with Kings Brewing (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) Frose Smoothie Style Sour with Blueberry, Sweet Cherry, Black Berry and Vanilla
Arthur’s Last Journey
Last one in this Pastry Stout series. Arthur’s Last Journey is a creme brulee inspired Pastry Stout with Lactose
Checkerboard Pink – Hazy IPA – Beer Zombies collab Part of the Checkerboard rotating hop series. Checkerboard Pink is a Double Dry Hopped Hazy Double IPA with Vic secret and Mosaic Hops
Morever DDH IPA This Double Dry Hopped IPA is a delicious juice bomb thanks to a hefty hopping of Citra, Motueka, & Simcoe hops. An endless succession of juicy pineapple, grapefruit, and tangerine notes are leveled out with a hint of bitterness that resolves onto a smooth and refreshing finish.
Prince Goro Imperial Hazy IPA Coming straight from the realm of Outworld, our newest DDH DIPA will tear your tastebuds limb from limb. 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗿𝗼 is a hulking hazy that’s fatally hopped with Citra, El Dorado, Idaho-7, and NZL 32-2 hops. The nuances of this IPA is honestly quite difficult to fully describe. Sure, there’s your familiar combo string of tropical pineapple and juicy citrus that’s intermingled with a sticky resin roundhouse. However, this new breed of experimental hops fresh from New Zealand impart some unique hop flavors yet to be classified by mere mortals…so we’ll just call it “essence of dragon.” (8% ABV)
I bring you love – Oak Aged Foeder Lager You’re out in the foeders forest, a glowing green shape comes towards you, they say “I bring you love” and look at your beer… Do you share your Czech Pils with them? It’s brewed with Bohemian Pilsner malt, Saaz Hops & Czech lager yeast. Then extensively lagered & conditioned in our oak foeders. Choose your own adventure. The truth is out there but, so are the lies. D’oh!
Water Pipes DDH IPA Wwwwoooooaaaaahhh… Careful with your language there bud… They’re actually called “Water Pipes”. Comin’ in hot with piping additions of our selected Strata & extra dank newcomer Talus. Feel free to add ice, just not to the beer.
Strata and Chill IPA – Single Hop Cold IPA (7.0%) Hand Selected Strata from @indiehops, Pilsner Malt, Rice + Chico Yeast Fermented Cold? This algorithm is getting out of control… Get your comfy pants on, we made this one for you to enjoy responsibly on your next night of bingeing
Uncut James – fruit sour –Mixed Berry Sour Beer (5.3%) Finding a muse in Raspberry, Blueberry, Strawberry & Madagascar Vanilla with our Gem of a Mixed Culture Berliner Weisse.
Enchanted Island v1 – Imperial Tiki Sour ale – 16oz cans
Enchanted Island v1 is returning in 16oz format featuring pineapple, orange, coconut and nutmeg
Coastal Sunshine v3 – 16oz cans The return of one of the best sellers – version 3 features Tangerine, Passion fruit, mango and Soursop
ElectroJet Hazy IPA 6.8% This herculean feat of haze-craft is an IPA of singular bomb-diggityness, packed to the rafters with Galaxy and El Dorado hops, and just enough Simcoe to tie the room together. The result of this lupulin-laden trifecta is an unquestionably choice adult beverage that explodes with thunderous notes of juicy peach flesh, bright citrus, ripe mango, and stone fruit. It’s a breathtaking bouquet that’s going to ignite your sensory synapses in a rapturous conflagration of pure pleasure.
Dingo Magic IPA
Should you choose to unleash the contents of this can, you’ll be met with an unrelentingly delightful barrage of bright citrus, guava, peach, and sundry tropical radness, all coming together to form a liquid palanquin upon which to gently deliver your tastebuds into the loving arms of the flavor gods. Should you choose not to open this can, that’s also totally fine. We respect your agency.
German Chocolate Cake Stout 8% ABV A Collaboration with XUL brewing, this beer features Cocoa Nibs, Coconut and Pecan Nuts to give a delightful and dessert filled experience. It unsurprisingly tastes just like cake.
Double Mango Sour – 6% ABV
Next up is Double Mango sour, made with both Mango Puree & Mango juice… Untitled art does Mango incredibly well, so I’m personally excited to sip on this one and enjoy the upcoming weather.
This past weekend I had some time to hang out with my oldest and I asked him where/what he wanted to eat. He simply responded, “Bar food”. So after a quick trip to Big Grove in Solon we headed to Shueyville, about 10-15 minutes from Solon, and hit up Shuey’s Restaurant and Lounge.
We were greeted right in by a very friendly staff and had drinks ordered within seconds. Easy Eddy for me, root beer for the lad. Tap lines were typical of your small town bar with some craft on, Easy Eddy seems to be an option no matter what bar you hit and tastes good all the time so the choice was relatively simple.
Although I wasn’t very hungry, their menu has a lot of intriguing options. I let my sign go crazy, if queso is on the menu, he’s going to order it, that with an order of sliders and a mushroom swiss burger. A lot more than I anticipated but was game to try it all. Queso came out first and was delicious, warm and crispy tortilla chips. Paired well with the beer. Sliders and burger next, meat quality tasted wonderful, perfectly seasoned. The crinkle cut fries served as the side also went well with the queso dip.
Overall, so much more I want to try. The food was delicious and tasted fresh, the staff was friendly and welcoming, the feel of your small town bar was definitely there but also a place you could bring your whole family for a delicious meal. A place I will frequent and a place you should check out too!
A refreshing wheat beer will be coming from Clock House brewing this Friday as they prepare to release “Integrity Wheat” using locally grown wheat and locally milled malt! Here’s more on this beer courtesy of Clock House’s Facebook page:
Integrity Wheat: Bursting with Blood Orange flavors, our newest Wheat Beer is ready for warmer days. Integrity Wheat is brewed with locally grown Iowa Wheat and Genie Vienna Malt from Miller Malting Co in Cascade Iowa. At Miller Malting Co they are passionate about creating a solid connection with sustainable growers for the best quality grain possible, ultimately producing the best brews! They take pride in empowering the local farmer to explore other growing opportunities right here in Iowa.
Ice Ice Prrrty 6.2% ABV Ice Ice PRRRTY is a Slushy Style Sour that’ll grab ahold of you tightly, then flow like a harpoon daily and nightly. Will it ever stop? That’s up to you to put down this absolute banger stuffed with lemon, cherry, plum, coconut, and lemon slushy mix. ⠀
Lizard People IPA DBL IPA The world is run by interstellar lizards in people suits, and as a nod to those who are really pulling the strings is Lizard People. Our reptilian overlords concocted this soft, juicy, & citrusy double IPA in some smoky back room of a super secret, non-descript, possibly government building – we don’t know or really care to know for that matter. It’s delicious and we don’t want to find out what happens when you ask too many questions.⠀
Slang Du jour Cranberry/Raspberry/Lemon/Strawberry Y’all ever had a Cranberry Raspberry Lemon Strawberry Cobbler? Ok, us neither. But we thought it sounded amazing so we loaded up this Slang with Cranberry, Raspberry, Lemon, Strawberry, Granola, Cinnamon, Brown Sugar, Lactose, & Vanilla Beans. This cacophony of awesomeness is the cobbler mashup that dreams are made of and we’re pretty sure you’re gonna dig it as much as we do.⠀
Struggle Bus – Breakfast Sour 6.4% ABV a Breakfast Sour with Orange, Brown Sugar, Vanilla, a little Coconut & cinnamon, and Maple Syrup seems a little weird but not THAT weird, right? So we’re bringing it back and we think it’s goddamn delicious, and we can’t wait to hear what you think!
Ectogasm IPA Ectogasm is a juicy, hazy, and soft NE IPA brewed with Citra & Mosaic hops. The Flagship IPA of Drekker brewing!
Berry Prrrrty Paradise he newest PRRRT, a fruited sour loaded up with Blueberry, Blackberry, Plum, Key Lime, and Cream of Coconut for a stupidly tasty tropical berry flavor!⠀
Braaaaaaains Lemon Apricot – 7.3% ABV a new Braaaaaaaains! We stuffed this one with all of the lemon & apricot we could find and then hit it with our double secret smoothie treatment of sea salt, lactose, and vanilla beans.⠀
Garbage People DBL IPA – 8.5% ABV Don’t know about you guys, but we were always a little more Garbage Pail Kids than Cabbage Patch Kids. We grew up (technically, but not really) and we aren’t kids anymore so we’re just Garbage People. This Double IPA is hopped with Mosaic, Galaxy, Citra, and Vic Secret with some serious dank, orange zest, bubble gum, & apricot flavor and aroma. So crack one of these and decide which Garbage Pail Kid you feel like? Nasty Nick? Maybe a little more like Spacey Stacey? Let us know, we’ve got a feeling you’re Garbage People too.
Heaps – Coconut Milk Stout Heaps is a Coconut Milk Stout brewed with a big, smooth, chocolatey malt bill with a chef’s kiss of lactose to pump up that body and then it was conditioned on cacao nibs and heaps on heaps of toasted coconut! Heaps, we tell ya! ⠀
A new month means new beers and Lion Bridge Brewing will get the partying rolling on April 6th when they release the first of 2 new beers! Lemon Lime Cream Cheese Bar will come our way April 6th and then will be followed by Mount Trashmore Trail Mix on April 13th! Here’s more on these two beers:
Lemon Lime Cream Cheese Bar
An Ale with fruit, graham cracker and cream cheese flavor! Bright and tangy Meyer Lemon and Key Lime blend with a cream cheese finish and a graham cracker crust. Save room for seconds! The potluck dessert of your dreams.
Release date Wednesday 04/06
Mount Trashmore Trail Mix
A kettle sour with granola, vanilla and blueberry. A beery love song to the Cedar Rapids Mountain we all love so much. Raise your glass to a successful summit or fortify your body before the attempt. We love you, Mt. Trashmore!
When local breweries/restaurants get involved in raising awareness for non-profits, it sure makes your heart full. Clockhouse Brewing continues this wonderful tradition as they have teamed up with the “I Know Jack” foundation to raise awareness for cancer patients and their families. Let’s drink this beer, let’s keep this fight going…here’s more from Clockhouse:
We’re very excited to announce we recently teamed up with the I Know Jack Foundation and brewed a delicious NEIPA to help spread awareness and raise funds for this incredible local non-profit. By raising funds, they support cancer patients and their families through survivorship. We are collaborating to help further their goal to raise awareness about cancer, support those affected by cancer, assist with cancer research, and improve the survivor’s quality of life. We understand that cancer affects the entire family and that it takes a community to beat cancer. With that in mind we be donating a part of the proceeds of I Know Jack NEIPA back to the foundation. I Know Jack NEIPA is dry-hopped with Azacca, Nelson, and Strata which leaves notes of white wine, lemon peel, and citrus. Available in 16oz 4-packs, growlers, and draft.
Bartlett Maibock 6.2% ABV (’tis the season) 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗯𝗼𝗰𝗸 is a brand new lager brewed in honor of our future taproom in the heart of downtown Bartlett. This German-Style Maibock balances the rich, bready malt core with assertive hops for a dry and celebratory finish. Like most springtime beers, the subtle hop character is balanced toward floral and earthy making it a bold and lively lager that’s worth celebrating with your friends and family on new endeavors.
Secret Cosmos DDH Hazy IPA 7% ABV
This Double Dry-Hopped IPA is brimming with Vic Secret, Galaxy, and Mosaic hops. Crack open a can and witness the stars align with astronomical notes of tropics such as pineapple and passionfruit, alongside a cosmic medley of berries and stone fruit. Experience this supernova of flavor today. (7% ABV)
Strheum – Strawberry Rhubarb Fruit sour 7.2% ABV
Newly canned for the first time, our previously draft-only fruited sour is packaged and on our shelves today! 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗵𝗲𝘂𝗺 is a kettle sour that’s jam-packed with farm fresh rhubarb and lusciously juicy strawberries for a balanced infusion of robust sweetness followed by a refreshing tart finish.
Shadows West coast IPA 6.7% ABV Inspired by the early days of the midwestern emo music scene, this classic West Coast IPA has a dynamic blend of Citra, Columbus, and Simcoe that really showcases a bold and electric hop profile. Pensive woody resin has subtle jolt of citrus pulp quickly fades into an herbaceous ensemble that’s incredibly snappy and clean.
Infinity Polar Vortex Triple IPA – Northern Monk Brewery collaboration Click the EQ logo above for a Rad video for this label Brewery Release 3/28/22 Infinity Polar Vortex pours deep bright yellow and has a strong nose of resinous pineapple, bright citrus, grass, and a touch of apple candy. This fruit punch smoothie packs a medley of fresh squeezed OJ, deep papaya, Anjou pear, melon, and candied lime, with complex assorted berry notes throughout.
Astrophysics IPA 6.5% ABV (case only) Astrophysics pours a vibrant milky yellow with heavy aromas of starfruit, passionfruit, tangerine Pez, and dank hops. Flavors of sweet orange flesh, passionfruit juice, cantaloupe, and gummy peach rings transition to notes of berry and yuzu before a Big Bang of our #EQjuice rainbow melon finish.
dHop5 Dbl IPA 8.5% ABV (case only) Brewery release date 3/17/22 dHop5 pours a milky yellow releasing aromas of bright passion fruit, peach rings, lime, and pineapple juice all integrated with a sorbet twist. The taste is a bright creamy tropical flavor that is dangerously drinkable and balanced with our signature #EQjuice finish.
Energy Equals Dbl IPA 8% ABV (case only) We start with MC² as a base and incorporate the well received process we like to refer to as the ‘Energy Dry Hop’ which gives this beer an intense brightness and flavor. Energy Equals has enhanced flavor characteristics of mango, pineapple, citrus, and apricot. With the new technique in place, we notice a much deeper flavor profile while being extremely bright and lighter in body.
MC2 Dbl IPA – 8% ABV (case only) It pours a hazy tangerine color, releasing bright tropical notes of mango, pineapple, and apricot. MC² tastes like succulent mango juice loaded with chewy hop resins.
Gwion and the Witch – Cinnamon Bun Pastry stout 13.5% ABV Next up in this Pastry Stout series. Gwion and the Witch is a Cinnamon Bun Style Pastry Stout. Thick buy not syrupy with perfect amounts of cinnamon and notes of Frosting on the nose. Fun beer
Nelsonomicon Hazy DIPA – Ogopogo Collab Collaboration with Ogopogo Brewing (San Gabriel, CA). This Hazy Double IPA is packed full of Nelson, Citra and NZ Cascade Hops
Sweet Creams are made of these – Fruited Sour Milkshake inspired ale with huge amounts of raspberries and blueberries added with vanilla and lactose. Thick body with tart raspberry and blueberry notes.
Respeto – Mexican Style Lager (cases only) Gold medal at the Ensenada Beer Festival in the Mexican Lager Category!
Foggy Footpath DDH DIPA (Fairstate brewed) A Hazy DDH Double IPA that was brewed at Fairstate Brewing, made with Citra Cryo, Mosaic, and el dorado Cryo hops. The beer was described as bright, soft and “made with a lot of hops”.
Kumquat Mango Smoothie Seltzer (it’s pretty amazing) I’ll be honest I don’t recall what Kumquat is supposed to taste like, but the Mango in this is from the ataulfo Mango, also known as the Honey mango. It bright, tropical and bursting with true mango goodness!
Who are the people that are brewing the wonderful beer in the state of Iowa? I’m sure some of you know many of them and others, maybe not. I thought it would be great to get to know the brewers of Iowa, their backgrounds, their likes, and what they have coming up in the future. First up, Court Avenue Brewing’s James Heckathorn!
NAME: James Heckathorn
BREWERY: Court Avenue Brewing Co.
LOCATION: 309 Court Avenue; Des Moines, IA
How long have you been brewing and where have you brewed?
I will have been brewing professionally 2 years in August of this year. Before that, I worked at various other breweries in FoH positions – Twisted Vine, 515 and then Reclaimed Rails, where I was given the opportunity to brew on their pilot system. I had about 3-4 beers that were well received, especially under the tutelage of Mike Street, who gave me excellent guidance and advice throughout. It’s how we became such good buds!
Aaron Knapp, the brewer before me at CabCo, was also bartending at Reclaimed with me and when he was getting ready to take on his new adventure at Epic Brewing in Colorado, he asked me to apply for his position at CabCo. I didn’t feel ready but my friends and family rallied behind me and encouraged me to apply and the rest is history.
What is the size of your brewery?
Court Avenue Restaurant and Brewing Company is a 7bbl system. A Specific Mechanical 2 vessel that has seen its fair share of brewers, hah! We are nearing 26 years here at CabCo and this system is at least that old. Being so manual and involved, it really brings a certain aspect of romanticism to brewing that I find appealing. Most days, at least!
What beer from Court Avenue would you pick to give to complete stranger to try and why?
I would honestly give people two beers, one to show where we come from and one to show where we are going.
Pointer Brown Ale is the oldest recipe in house, a beer that has been consistently brewed since we opened our doors in 1996. It’s an English Brown Ale, so expect chocolate, caramel with a touch of dark fruit and a full mouthfeel that is infinitely drinkable. A true Iowa classic.
Earthbound NEIPA is our newest flagship that I began developing about a year ago. Hazy IPA is the style that got me into brewing and it continues to be a style I am passionate about. This is my take on the archetypical representation that everyone has come to expect in hazy IPA. Citra, Mosaic and a bit of El Dorado, plenty of oats and wheat malt and a low flocculating yeast strain. Earthbound is the first step forward in a modern vision of CabCo.
Who would be at your drinking table, dead or alive, to share a beer with?
This is a great question! Fritz Maytag – he did so much for craft beer and it would be cool to get insight into the beginnings of modern craft beer; Christopher Hitchens – He was a witty guy and I think he’d keep drinking long after everyone else had left the table. Would be a bender for the ages; Conan O’Brien – I could be his friend, definitely.
Do you have a favorite food and beer pairing?
A pilsner and sushi or spicy wings with an IPA!
What is your favorite beer in the world not made by Court Avenue and why?
Ayinger Bavarian Pils is a beer that continues to stay with me and luckily we can get it here. Any well done German pilsner, really.
Anything you’d like to pub for Court Avenue? We will be releasing our 4 -way collaboration with Flix Brewhouse, Reclaimed Rails and Brightside Aleworks on the 31st of March. Cosmic Bear is a massive imperial pastry stout that was aged on star crunch and marshmallow.
I also gotta mention our Mug Club – It’s the best way to become a CabCo insider and it comes with a whole mess of perks for $40 a year. 10% off your tab, 24oz pints in your mug for the same price of a regular pint, a Mug Club Party every month where we shower you with a new beer release and free food, and last but not least, exclusive bottles that are only available to Mug Club members. Rumor has it the next bottle is an Eagle Rare BA imperial stout aged on a ton of vanilla beans…..
Huge thank you to Mr. Heckathorn for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions! Make sure to say to him and the other staff at Court Avenue Brewing when you visit, sign up for their Mug Club and keep an eye out for the Eagle Rare BA imperial stout! Cheers!
