Tag: iabeerbaron

Eastern Iowa Tropical Burn sightings courtesy of Slim

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Short’s Burger and Shine-Iowa City

shortsAs you may have already seen, the Mango DIPA is tapped and flowing at Short’s Burger and Shine in Downtown Iowa City. If you’ve never been, you need to change that soon! As if this wasn’t already one of the prime dining locales, you can add one more reason to the laundry list of great things that this restaurant offers; TROPICAL BURN! A limited brew by Firetrucker Brewery, Tropical Burn is a Mango double IPA that comes in at 9.1%. It features 4 types of hops including the Australian Galaxy and Citra. What results is a hazy, orange pour that reminds you of fruit juice. There’s loads of mango in the nose as well as the taste which goes down smooth and carries a mild, lingering bitterness.

It was tapped this past Monday and it’s really tough to think of a better venue to enjoy one of these at than Short’s. It’s the diverse and interesting combinations of the burgers and chicken sandwiches that make this place great. The names are catchy by themselves and then you read what makes up each burger and it’s on. My personal favorite is the Tingley, with Green chili, pepper jack, avocado mayonnaise. You can’t go wrong with any of them. Especially once it’s served to you; you know you’re in for a tremendous dining/brew experience.

Brr Fest-Marriott Coralville

It’s been confirmed that Tropical Burn will be available at Brr Fest. One of the premier tasting events in the state of Iowa, Brr Fest is Saturday, January 30, at the Coralville Marriott Convention Center. There’ll be nearly 100 breweries this year! Look for the logo and enjoy some delicious Mango along with some of our other beers!

Baron’s Best of 2015: Part 2

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best ofHere 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.

 

 

love buzz**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.

thresher.jpeg**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.jpeg**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.

photo (2)**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.

 


ob.jpeg**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**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.

 

talggrss.jpeg**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!

Lion Bridge Brewery “Barrel-Aged January” Schedule

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lion bridgeHere it it! The schedule for Lion Bridge Breweries “barrel-aged January” is here and it looks wonderful!

Tues 1/5 – CSA member private event – Oktobot 3000 pre-release party (This event is for members only. If you aren’t a member of the our Community Supported Ales Program, be sure to get one for you or as a gift for your loved ones for the holiday. It’s the gift that keeps on giving: http://www.lionbridgebrewing.com/store/)

Weds 1/6 – Oktobot 3000 public release, Barrel-Aged January glassware release and festive polka from Czech Plus.

Fri 1/8 – Oktobot 5000 release! This is our Imperial Barrel-Aged Oktoberfest, Oktobot 3000, aged in Cedar Ridge Bourbon Reserve Barrels.

Saturday 1/9 – Englert Theater Collabeeration release. Local Talent Robust Porter. Not a barrel-aged beer but a great day to come out and enjoy some a delicious new beer from Lion Bridge.

Weds 1/13 – The Royal Wee (Wee Heavy aka Strong Scotch Ale) release. Aged in Cedar Ridge Peated Whiskey, Apple Brandy and Dark Rum Barrels. Music by IrishJam

Sat 1/16 – Cherry Wood Stave Royal Wee release. A portion of the Royal Wee batch aged in Cedar Ridge Cherry Stave Whiskey Barrels.

Weds 1/20 – Cabernet Saison. We took a batch of our Untitled Saison and aged it in single-use Cabernet Sauvignon barrels from Piña Napa Valley. Some lively accompanying jazz music provided by Traffic Jam.

Sat 1/23 – Maple Disaster – Our GABF Gold Disaster at Meux re-fermented with copious amount of Great River Maple dark syrup and barrel aged. Great River Maple will be on hand to sample maple products, and Eduskate will be printing Maple Disaster t-shirts on demand.

Weds 1/27 – GAZPROM! release. Our Russian Imperial Stout aged in Cedar Ridge Single Malt Whiskey barrels with a re-fermenation from a lot of maple syrup. Our favorite Grateful Dead tribute band, Winterland, will be closing out the month.

Cheers and hope you can join us for a great January!

Baron’s Best of 2015 Part 1

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best of.pngI always enjoy looking back on a year of great beer drinking and this year was probably the best. So many great beers to choose from and what makes it even better is that there are so many great beers brewed here in Iowa that will makes this list. Don’t get me wrong, tons of good stuff on the shelves, but bringing home a growler of fresh Arms Race or Workman’s Compensation makes it that much more special to live in Eastern Iowa and have the opportunity to support our local breweries.

This year’s list will be dominated by Iowa breweries, these are all beers that were/are available for purchase in Iowa that I had for the FIRST TIME EVER in 2015. You won’t see the Bourbon county’s or the KBS, I know that they change year by year but I’m going to leave them off this list. I haven’t visited a few newer breweries in Iowa which I know I need to. Everyone has their favorites, let me know what I need to try! 30 beers on the list this year and it was difficult coming to just 30. This is Part 1 of 5, let’s roll!

lion bridge*Lion Bridge Brewery GAZPROM! – a russian imperial stout aged in rye and brandy barrels that Lion Bridge gets to us in the months Iowans need to be warmed up! January and February in Iowa suck, but Lion Bridge’s release of GAZPROM! makes them a little more tolerable. Plus, the tshirt released was badass too!

big grove*Big Grove Brewery Buster – let’s keep the Iowa breweries rolling with a triple IPA that was released last Spring. Big Grove had a dominant year with their IPA releases and their Richard the Whale releases. This triple was juicy as hell and scary drinkable. Coming in at 11.3%, this bad boy could lead to a good night’s sleep.

pulpi.jpeg*Pulpit Rock Mr. Hoppy Pants – one of the newer breweries in Iowa is located across the street from Toppling Goliath in Decorah. I was lucky enough to stop in and have a pint and loved what those breweries are brewing up. Mr. Hoppy Pants is a double IPA brewed on a rotating hop schedule so this brew might change from time to time. Not sure of the hops in the draw I had but I loved it. Aromatic and crushable, visit Pulpit Rock, they are an up and comer to keep an eye on.

razz*Exile Raspberry Bohemian – this one might keep some talk stirred as I picked this over their Cherry Bohemian and I think many folks enjoyed the cherry more..not me. I think I just enjoy raspberry in my beer more than cherry flavor, just a personal preference and that’s why Raspberry gets my nod over Cherry. Either way, both beers were great and I would venture to say that Exile nailed it with both of them.

turner alley*Turner Alley Czech Village Pilsner – a style that’s not as “sexy” as the imperial IPAs or the barrel-aged beers of the world, but a style that seems lost in the mix is pilsners. Travis at Turner Alley has taken what some would consider a boring style and made a crisp, refreshing, balanced pilsner that I would put up against most out there. Looking forward to see what Turner Alley has in store for 2016.

firetrucker*Firetrucker Black Walnut Alcova Brown Ale – another “basic” style that seems like it got lost in the shuffle of beer styles, gets amped up with the addition of 100 black walnuts. This is a beer I can drink anytime of the year and that nutty aftertastes shines through making this beer a perfect example on how to make a great brown.

**Part 2 coming soon! Iowa brewery dominant so far. Let me know your thoughts!

Baron Family Beer Festival Results, Year 9: Big Grove Reigns Supreme!

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photo (2).JPGYear 9 of my family’s beer festival is in the books and it was another great year of tasting some excellent brews. The cool thing about our beer festival is that there are many different palates and finding one beer that satisfies all of them can be really tough. Most of the guys prefer IPAs/Saisons/Sours and many of the ladies prefer stouts, porters, and fruit beers.

THE SCORING
Every year it’s a blind tasting. We usually try to break it up throughout the day. Along with it being blind, here’s how we score it:

Appearance /5
Aroma /5
Taste /15
Drinkability /5

So the total is out of 30 with the highest obviously being crowned the champion. Now, I’ve never won, my wife has won 3 times, my brother twice, and even my brother-in-law has a gold medal. What beer could I bring to this beer fest that everyone would enjoy? Nothing says Merry Christmas like a 12% imperial IPA, so at the very least, if I didn’t win I can drown my sorrows and get drunk. Onto the results:

chill clinton8th Place – Exile Chill Clinton Double Hemp Amber – I liked the taste of this beer, I think for most, the aroma was what got this a low score which led to people automatically not enjoying it. My brother-in-laws entry.

 

rover truck.jpeg7th Place – Toppling Goliath Rover Truck Stout – This is an ok stout. I didn’t score it terribly low but out of the two stouts we had this one was missing something. My sister-in-law’s entry.

6th Place – Peace Tree Blonde Fatale – Ipeade tree.jpeg really enjoy this beer and scored it well. I don’t think anyone really disliked it, but I don’t think anyone was in love with it either. My mom’s entry.

stone saison.jpeg5th Place – Stone Saison – a good saison, I enjoyed it, but missing a few things for a top 3 finish. My brother’s entry.

4th Place – Backpocket Wake Up Iowa Stout – a wake up iowavery good showing for Backpocket with this beer. Between the 2 stouts I thought this one had more roasty malts and good coffee flavor compared to the TG stout. My dad’s entry.

nelson3rd Place – Alpine Nelson – loved this brew! This was my 2nd place winner and it just missed out on 2nd place. Lovely addition to our ever-expanding beer options in Iowa. My wife’s entry.

2nd Place – Ballast Point Sculpin – a fresh bottle of sculpin.jpegSculpin is tough to beat and this beer was fresh! Apparently right off the truck and into our glasses and an excellent 1st showing for Ballast Point, this was my brother’s entry and he almost won, except………….THE BARON BROUGHT HIS GAME!

photo (2).JPG1st Place – Big Grove Brewery Trident XII – not only am I thrilled I actually won for once and I didn’t have to sit in the shadow of others for the 9th straight year but I won with an Iowa brewery and a place I pretty much visit every other day. Trident is on point. An excellent brew, and dangerously drinkable. My favorite moment is when tasting this, knowing it was mine, my brother looks down the table and mouths the words: “holy shit” Big Grove has won many awards since they’ve opened, but this has to be one of the better awards they’ve won 🙂 A lovely beer. I have pictures of my celebration but this is a PG site. A win for the Baron!

The wheels are already turning for next year’s beer fest. We’ve decided it will be an all Iowa brewery beer festival which will be great, so the question is, what should I bring next year?

Stone Brewing Releases 2016 Calendar

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stone
2016 STONE SEASONALS
Stone Pataskala Red X IPA
7.3% • 12oz 6pks & draft • Red IPA made w/special Red X malt from Germany. February – May
Witbier
(5-6%) • 12oz 6pks & draft • Our first bottled wit will be a modern, unconventional spin on a classic Old World style. June – September
Stone Coffee Milk Stout
5% • 12oz 6pks & draft • A bittersweet, creamy, coffee‑laced stout. October – December

2016 STONE IMPERIAL SEASONALS
Stone Americano Stout
(8.4-9%) • 12oz 6pks & draft • Espresso American Stout, inspired by (and named after) the Americano coffee style. February – May
Mystery IPA
(8.2-8.8%) • 12oz 6pks & draft • Super unique and delicious IPA. Will be revealed late spring! June – September
Stone Xocoveza for the Holidays & the New Year
8.1% • 12oz 6pks & draft • Our awesome-to-cellar spiced mocha stout returns to herald the time of year when the joyous spirit of giving is in the air and good behavior is generously rewarded. October – December

2016 NEW RELEASE
Hoppy blonde
(4.7-5.3%) • Cans & draft • Would you expect a blonde brewed by Stone to be anything less than hoppy? Neither would we. And in cans, no less. June

2016 STONE SPECIAL RELEASES
2016 Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine
(11-11.5%) • 22oz & draft • Our famous barley wine, this year dry‑hopped w/Pekko hops. February
2016 Dogfish Head / Victory / Stone Saison du BUFF
7.7% • 12oz 6pks & draft • The extraordinarily unique (and sometimes polarizing) rotating-between-the-breweries-every-year collaboration of three longtime friends: Sam Calagione of DFH, Bill Covaleski of Victory & our very own Greg Koch. March
2016 Stone Imperial Russian Stout
(10.5-11%) • 22oz & draft • Earning a perfect 100 score on RateBeer, this is one of our most cellarable beers. March
Stone Spotlight Series release
TBD • 22oz & draft • The result of a Stone Brewing Team competition. California release only. May
Stone RuinTen Triple IPA
10.8% • 22oz & draft • A stage dive into a mosh pit of hops. June
Stone Farking Wheaton w00tstout
(13-13.5%) • 22oz & draft • This righteously flavorful, partially barrel‑aged, superhero version of an imperial stout is returning for its fourth edition. July
Stone 20th Anniversary IPA
(8-9.5%) • 22oz & draft • You can bet that our 20th Anniversary IPA will be nothing short of a monumental celebration of big‑character flavor. August

STONE 20TH ANNIVERSARY ENCORE SERIES
Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout
9.2% • 22oz & draft • The bitterness of hops traded for the bitterness of unsweetened chocolate, with flaked oats added to provide creaminess and body. January
Stone 6th Anniversary Porter
8% • 22oz & draft • Our venerable smoked porter cranked up a notch or three, owner of a superlative score of 100 on RateBeer. April
Stone 02.02.02 Vertical Epic Ale
7.5% • 22oz & draft • Originally only 300 cases were made. We’re upping it a little this time around. July
Beachwood / Heretic / Stone Unapologetic IPA (v2.0)
(8.5-9.5%) • 22oz & draft • Part reissue, part update. Our collaborators will use the original recipe as the jumping‑off point! August
Mixed 4pk: Stone 5th Anniversary IPA, Stone 10th Anniversary IPA, Stone 15th Anniversary Escondidian Imperial Black IPA, Stone 20th Anniversary IPA
(8-11%) • 22oz 4pk Box • Our famously seminal, groundbreaking, hoppy anniversary favorites! September
Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA
8.9% • 22oz & draft • A decidedly British and royally delicious IPA, with the hops, malts and yeast all coming from the UK. October

STONE ENJOY BY IPA SERIES
Stone Enjoy By 02.14.16 Black IPA
9.4% • 22oz & draft • This onyx yin to our golden, freshness‑envelope‑pushing yang rewards hoppy beer enthusiasts with amazingly in‑your‑face dankness and tropical & stone fruit hop flavors. January
Stone Enjoy By 02.14.16 Unfiltered IPA
9.4% • 12oz 6pks, 22oz & draft • We don’t always have a filter, so why should our beer? The hop aromas will be even more intense in this #nofilter version of Stone Enjoy By IPA. January
Stone Enjoy By 04.20.16 IPA
9.4% • 12oz 6pks, 22oz & draft • Devastatingly dank, über hoppy and, as always, made with a fresh stash of more than 10 different hops. March
Stone Enjoy By 05.04.16 Black IPA
9.4% • 22oz & draft March
Stone Enjoy By 05.30.16 Tangerine IPA
9.4% • 12oz 6pks, 22oz & draft • Puréed tangerines introduce a hop‑pushing tang to our famously “brewed‑not‑to‑last” double IPA. April
Stone Enjoy By 07.04.16 IPA
9.4% • 12oz 6pks, 22oz & draft May
Stone Enjoy By 07.25.16 Black IPA
9.4% • 22oz & draft June
Stone Enjoy By 09.05.16 Unfiltered IPA
9.4% • 12oz 6pks, 22oz & draft August
Stone Enjoy By 10.31.16 Tangerine IPA
9.4% • 12oz 6pks, 22oz & draft September
Stone Enjoy By 11.25.16 Black IPA
9.4% • 22oz & draft October
Stone Enjoy By 12.25.16 IPA
9.4% • 12oz 6pks, 22oz & draft November

STONE ENJOY AFTER BRETT IPA SERIES
Stone Enjoy After 04.20.17 Brett IPA
7% • 750ml • Really? Cellar an IPA? Yes. Brettanomyces brings about charmingly unpredictable complexities of spice, funk, acidity and more. March
Stone Enjoy After 10.31.17 Brett IPA
7% • 750ml September

Coming to Shelves: Rubaeus Cans, Boulevard Chocolate Ale w/Raspberries, Stone, Ballast Point

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rubaeus.jpegSome new beers should be gracing our shelves in the near future, some we’ve seen before and some with a slight twist. Let’s get on with the update:

*Founders Rubaeus Cans– Founders’ popular raspberry beer will be coming in 12 oz cans and I believe is now going to be a year round offering.

 

bully*Boulevard Chocolate Ale w/Raspberries – Boulevard is amplifying its winter release of chocolate ale by adding raspberries to the beer. Here’s more on this beer from Boulevard:

We’re always looking for playful new ways to approach the art of brewing, so we invited back celebrated chocolatier Christopher Elbow  to reimagine our very popular collaboration, Chocolate Ale. Elbow has earned a worldwide reputation for his ability to harmonize all kinds of flavors with chocolate. For this exciting new version has has paired the bright flavors and aromas of raspberry for a fresh take on an old favorite.

*Ballast Point Ginger Big Eye IPA – Ballast Point once again taking one of their core IPA beers and adding a adjunct to it. This time it’s their Big Eye IPA and adding ginger to it. This beer checks in on 7% and will be available in 22 oz bombers.

stone*Stone Americano Stout – Stone Brewing will be releasing another stout. According to B.A. member Bottlecaps80 this beer will be an Imperial Stout with Espresso and come in at 8.5% ABV. More from Stone:

Stone_Americano_Back_zpsk23n2l48.jpg