What better way to pay respects to someone than to make a beer in their honor? Lion Bridge Brewery will be doing just that as they release Purple Rain Hibiscus Kolsch this Wednesday (4/27). Here are the specs on this fantastic looking brew:
Purple Rain! Our Super limited Hibiscus Kölsch coming out this Wednesday. We had to do something to commemorate such an amazing human. We make beer.
It’s our regular kolsch, aged in wine barrels and hit with a lot of hibiscus. Tart and delicious and purpley.
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!
Lots of updates on beers soon to be hitting our shelves here in Eastern Iowa. Onto the goodness:
*Stone Brewing* – Tangerine Enjoy By – been hearing about this one for quite a while now and it’s finally going to start making its way to the shelves. Tangerine IPA from Stone will be hitting shelves April 25th. It will be available in 22 oz bombers and 12 oz 6 packs. More from Stone:
After brewing this intense double IPA with more than 10 different hops and consistently delivering it faster than any bottled IPA on the planet, we decided to do something different with this Stone Enjoy By IPA—we took it to another level, again. Puréed tangerines were added to the batch to create a devastatingly fresh IPA with a tang of tangerine. The flavors yielded by this addition to the recipe meld beautifully with the bitterness of the hops. True to this series, Stone Enjoy By Tangerine IPA is brewed specifically NOT to last, and should be enjoyed within 37 days.
*Oskar Blues* – Passion Fruit Pinner – Oskar Blues getting into the fruity IPA mix by adding Passion Fruit Pinner to their portfolio. This beer will be available in 12 oz cans and be in at a sessionable 4.3%.
*Left Hand* – Extrovert IPA – Left Hand will be releasing 
an American IPA Extrovert. Not to be confused with their sessionable IPA, Introvert. This beer will become available in May along Left Hand’s distro footprint. More from Left Hand:
Meet Extrovert IPA. This April, Left Hand is launching a new American IPA, bringing together a blend of tropical, fruit-forward hops with a malty backbone. Brewed to be enjoyed with friends, Left Hand’s new IPA features a blend of hops and a pleasant, lingering bitterness with a dry finish. Extrovert IPA will join Introvert Session IPA as a year-round offering in six-pack and draft.
Crafted on Left Hand’s new 7 bbl pilot system, Extrovert is the result of over 6 months of development to brew a balanced American IPA that was the perfect complement to Introvert. “It’s a very crowded market, so we knew we needed to set ourselves apart.” states Matt Thrall, Director of Brewing, “Our approach was to develop a recipe that wasn’t just hoppy water, but to create a well-built IPA with complexity and depth.”
With a hopped up attitude brewed to stimulate serendipity, Extrovert is assertive with a big personality of 75 IBUs, yet reveals layers of complexity for the seasoned IPA fan. Extrovert IPA is dry hopped at one pound per barrel with a hop blend that plays well together, consisting of Jarrylo, Cascade, and Comet. Jarrylo is a new sea hop variety, full of nuances with subtle stone fruit notes. Cascade brings pineapple and citrus while Comet adds tropical flavors and aroma and is Extrovert & Introvert’s shared hop variety. In addition, rye and acidulated malt give the beer a dry mouthfeel and distinct bite. The lasting result is a hop melody like a basket of fruit with mouthwatering notes of pineapple, mango, and orange blossom, balanced by sweet biscuity malt. Extrovert finishes with a pleasant lingering bitterness.
*Central Waters*- Cassian Sunset – really looking forward to seeing this one on our shelves and my guess is it won’t be on the shelves very long. A highly anticipated release from Central Waters will makes its way to our shelves soon. Here’s more on this beer from Central Waters:
Happy April 18th everyone! You know what today is? Today is the day all of our Wisconsin wholesalers can begin selling our newest barrel aged four pack..Cassian Sunset. This week, start looking for this beer to hit your store shelves in limited quantities. All out of state markets will start selling this beer as they get it over the next couple of weeks, but Wisconsin starts TODAY!
An imperial stout aged for one year in used bourbon barrels with the additions of coffee, vanilla beans and cinnamon. The flavor begins with the locally roasted coffee, progresses to the richness of the vanilla beans, and ends with a hint of cinnamon.
*Deschutes* Sagefight Imperial IPA – sage and juniper berries in an IPA? Sure, let’s give it a shot. This new Imperial IPA from Deschutes will be making it’s way to shelves soon. You might scoff at the ingredients, but keep in mind, this is a 2 time GABF gold medal winner. 7.3% ABV will come in six packs. Here’s more from Deschutes:
In this corner: Citrus Hops from the Pacific Northwest … In that corner, inspired by our central Oregon high desert landscape: sage and juniper! This IPA is piney, resinous, citrusy and big. Let the flavor battle begin – you are the one who wins!
*Ballast Point* Mocha Marlin – Ballast Point keeps kicking out new brews and will be adding Mocha Marlin to their lineup. This english porter with coffee, chocolate, and natural flavors will check in at 6%. Here’s more from Ballast Point:
Our Black Marlin Porter is the perfect beer for a mocha mashup. The addition of the coffee and cocoa plays perfectly off the roast, chocolatey flavors of this English porter, while a hint of vanilla smooths it all out. It’s full-bodied, but not too sweet; try it for breakfast…or dessert.
Coralville Hy-Vee wine and spirits Surly Brewing Company glass give away and tasting Thursday April 14th from 4-6pm. Sampling. Carl from Surly will be on hand sampling Blakkr Imperial Black Ipa, Overrated West coast ipa, Coffee bender brown ale, and the new Xtra citra pale ale. More info on the poster below:
An exciting beer event coming next Friday to Blackstone. Pour it Black Goose Island Bourbon County Mexican Cake. Founders KBS, Central Waters B.A. Stout and Madhouse’s Carpe Diem. Another great event hosted by Sam and the folks at Blackstone:
As part of America’s River Festival will be “The Tappening”. A beer festival mixed in with some great live music will be taking place Saturday June 11th from noon-4 in the Port of Dubuque. There will be more than 25 breweries, live music, and food. If you are in the Dubuque area make sure you check out this event! Stay tuned for more info on breweries that will be in attendance.
Participating Breweries:
Another Road Brewing
Baraboo Brewing Co
Bent River Brewing
Big Grove
Blaum Bros. Distilling Co
Confluence Brewing
Exile Brewing
Franklin Street Brewing Co
Generations Brewing Company
Goose Island
Granite City Brewing
Jubeck Brewery
Kalona Brewing Co.
Millstream
Mississippi River Distilling Co.
Paradise Distilling
Potosi Brewery
Rockford Brewing Co.
Shock Top
Stella Artois
Third Base Brewery
Turner Alley
Interested in midwest hops and would like to learn more? Buck Creek Hop Grower’s Alliance is having a meeting on April 16th @ the Coralville Marriott. Become a member also listen to guest speakers Bill Heinrich of Kickshaw Barrel Works and Diana Cochran, Specialist in Horticulture from Iowa State. More info below, sounds like a great time!:
Anytime I see Blackberry Farm news I get pretty excited. I’m a huge fan of their saisons and recently came across their Noble Cuvee Dry Hopped Saison which I absolutely loved. According to mybeerbuzz.blogspot.com they are releasing 2 more beers for distro and hopefully, and I stress hopefully, we will see them in Eastern Iowa.
The two new releases are Buckwheat Strawberry and Tennessee Cream Ale. It looks like both will come in 750 mL bottles and hit 6.3% ABV. These two beers are part of their “Native” series. Here’s more on that series from Blackberry Farm:
Our Native family of ales feature a wide range of styles and flavors that share one extraordinary, common component: native wild yeasts harvested from across Blackberry Farm’s 9,200 protected acres at the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains.
With the addition of Odell this week and Firestone Walker’s imminent appearance, the shelves of Iowa liquor stores sure have a cramping issue! A great problem for us consumers to have this many options. So, thinking of the newest additions to the state I was wondering who everyone thinks is the best non-Iowa brewery on our shelves? I’m thinking their whole portfolio that we see, or if you just have a particular favorite. Who’s the best? I know we could get into an oversaturation conversation easily here and pick the worst, but let’s look on the brightside. Your favorite brewery on our shelves? Would love some discussion on this one! Let me know if I’ve left anyone notable out, cheers!
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!
