The following tweets have been sent out by Toppling Goliath Brewing out of Decorah, IA and the news is very exciting to say the least!
“
@RKMetheny:@TGBrews@TGVectorizer you messing with us this morning?” Nope big news for you. We should be canning by mid-summer.Hey
@TGVectorizer how is that art coming for the 16 oz#pseudoSue can? 🙂
The latest venture from the folks at Reds Alehouse/Big Grove/30 Hop/Blackstone brings us a retro diner feel with an eclectic menu consisting of a burger to fried chicken to bone marrow. Add in a nice tap list of craft beers and the IC/CR area just got another gem of a restaurant to go to.
When any announcement that a group consisting of the Swifts are opening up a new restaurant, the excitement hits right away and your counting the days down to opening. That was the case with Pullman. My first experience was a Friday afternoon for lunch and luckily the only two seats open in the place were at the bar. Upon entering you get the feel of 50-60’s diner, from the old school stereo, the visibility of the chefs cooking up your meals, and some things on the menu with a new age twist.
Usually when I go to a new restaurant I usually try a burger if it’s on the menu. I was recommended the burger here by a few folks on Twitter and that’s what I went with. My wife opted for the Quiche Lorraine and I was happy to see Big Grove Brewery arms race on tap. The burger was double patties with american cheese, house made bread and butter pickles and a “special sauce” which seemed like a garlic aioli. I’ve made many Top 5 lists in my day, Top 5 beers, top 5 books, top 5 movies, etc. Well, if I had a Top 5 burger from area, this Pullman Burger might be at the top, or at least close to it. Juicy burger, the sauce and cheese seem to melt together, and their hand cut fries were crisp on the outside and nice and soft in the middle. Paired with the arms race it was close to a perfect lunch. The Executive Chef is Benjamin Smart who is the chef at Big Grove Brewery so you know the meal is going to be of supreme taste and quality.
As we paid our bill I was very happy with my selection for lunch…….until I saw the fried chicken come out. My god! Two big pieces of chicken, fried until crispy as hell. I was tempted to sit back down and order but I’m trying to put a damper on my gluttony. I do know what I’m going to order next though. For all those folks waiting in line for 3 hours to get yourself some Popeyes, maybe take a trip to Iowa City and try Pullman’s fried chicken. I guarantee it will be 100 times better.
Overall, a wonderful addition to the downtown Iowa City area. The food was wonderfully prepared, beer selection was good, and the atmosphere makes you want to come back and bring friends and family next time. What’s next for this group of investors? I don’t know, but I can’t wait for the next announcement if there is one. Check out the menu items here: http://pullmandiner.com/
Here is the lineup and tapping times for the 3rd round of Tap Wars presented by Blackstone Restaurant. After 2 very successful tap wars, this one pits 2 west coast powers against each other. Get to Blackstone restaurant on February 28th to try the following beers:
Tap Wars – Round 3 – puts two west coast powerhouses to battle!
Saturday
02.28.15
11:00 AM
Lineup with aprox. tapping times:
Stone:
Green Tea IPA 11:00
Enjoy by 3.14 11:00
Old Guardian w/hops 11:00
12.12 Vertical Epic 12:12
Arbalest 12:30
Bang Bang 1:30
Deschutes:
Hop Henge 11:00
Chainbreaker 11:00
Fresh Squeezed 11:00
Black Butte 25 11:30
Super Jubel 2015 1:00
2012 Abyss 2:00
West Coast themed entree specials will also be available as well as custom cali inspired t shirts for sale.
A few highly limited and rare bombers will be on hand for samples throughout the day as well.
I just received the following email from Madhouse Brewing. The food sounds amazing and the beer sounds even better. Check it out if you are in the area!
When: Fridays, 5-9pm.
Where: Madhouse Brewery, 501 Scott Ave Des Moines, IA 50309
What: This winter, Madhouse will be releasing 4 barrel-aged beers in subsequent weekends, each representing a particular country of origin. These brews will be available on tap throughout the weekend of their release (Thurs-Sat), and thereafter will be available in 750ml bottles at Madhouse Brewery. (el Hefe will be distributed to select retailers on a very limited basis)
The Friday evening of each weekend, HoQ restaurant will be onsite serving paired dishes from 5-9pm. Food options will cost around $6 and the cuisine will draw inspiration from the featured beers country of origin.Feb. 20: Mussel Frites paired with High Tucker Belgian Dark Ale
Feb. 27: Seafood Shepherds Pie paired with London Harlot English Stock Ale
March 6: Potato Fritters paired with Weak Ender Scotch Wee Heavy
March 13: Big Steak Tacos paired with el Hefe Mexican Stout
Also Check out our Deal on Living Social Here!
For more info-
Brewing phone- 515-988-5535
info@madhousebeer.com
This post is as much of a restaurant/bar review as it is a celebratory article on the success of craft brew in Iowa. Just a couple years back, I would “hate on” a place like this because the beer selection was terrible and it was popular. And most places that would have fit the criteria of that kind of establishment wouldn’t have cared that people like me thought the place sucked because they don’t need my money; they do just fine on their own.
The following comes from Founders Brewing company’s Facebook page:
Today we are bottling Blushing Monk. Look for it beginning March 2!
Blushing Monk is part of the Founders Backstage Series and is a Belgian style ale fermented with raspberries. From beeradvocate: Essentially an “Imperial Rübæus,” this ale contains four times the amount of raspberries as Rübæus and is fermented with a Belgian yeast strain.
Scores from ratebeer at 100/100 and from beeradvocate at 95/100.
Sours seem to be the new big thing in the beer world. In Eastern Iowa we’ve seen a handful of this style. Big Grove in Solon is making some terrific sours, Destihl has cans and draft show up sporadically and now Evil Twin has given us Nomader Weisse.Thanks to sLim for taking the time out for a review. If you’re in Des Moines you might find him slinging some suds at El Bait Shop! Always good to have sLim keep us posted with Central Iowa happenings in the beer world.
A new beer from a new central Iowa brewery is Firetrucker’s Under Lager: Search and Rescue IPL. Once again, Firetrucker takes on a style that is hard to find on shelves and in drinking establishments. They’ve previously brewed a California Common, a smoked sour porter (collab with C.I.B), and a hard ginger beer. The hops that were used during the boil were magnum and cascade. It was dry hopped with cascade and northern brewer.The india pale lager is a style that is best described as a hybrid type of brew.TIt was dry hopped with cascade and northern brewer. Per Greg Kitsock from Washington Post, It’s brewed at colder temperatures like any lager would be; but then is hopped much past the point that a typical lager would be. One has to be careful during that process as a lager cannot withstand too aggressive of hopping.
Here’s more on this beer from the brewery: “Our India Pale Lager has a complex flavor profile with sweet grapefruit and citrus up front that leads into a lingering minty bitterness”
My personal opinion…I get more of the citrus flavor than anything else. It’s a balanced, hoppy front but the back end is where this beer shines. It has a lasting, floral taste that creates a merge between a fine pilsner and a flavorful, sessionable ale. I applaud Firetrucker’s efforts to think outside the box and release a beer that no other local breweries have tried their hand at. This beer is a hit and I look forward to seeing them try their hand at various other styles…sour, imperial stout perhaps? We can only hope but the word on the street is the next seasonal to be released is a double-mango IPA; which I’m extremely excited for. Des Moines already had some breweries come out with great double IPA’s like Confluence’s Rock Dodger and 515’s Hopititus C. It’ll be interesting to see how Firetrucker’s take on this highly popular style goes over.
STYLE: India Pale Lager (IPL)
ABV: 4.9%
PURCHASED AT: Firetrucker Brewery, 716 Southwest 3rd Street in Ankeny
POUR: Dark gold with a thin, white head.
AROMA: hoppy with a touch of grapefruit.
TASTE: definitely hoppy up front but with a thicker, malty finish that more resembles a lager than an ale
Untappd rating: 3.4/5
My rating: 3.75/4
My recommendation: I enjoy this unique style. At 4.9% ABV it’s sessionable and delivers plenty of hoppy, ale flavor.
Just received the following info from Cedar Rapids Oakland Road Hy-Vee and by the sounds of it, they aren’t expecting Hopslam to last to long. Here it is:
It’s that time of year again, we are gearing up for our annual Bell’s Hopslam release this coming Tuesday, February 3rd. Starting at 4:30 we will hand out tickets good for one 6 pack of Hopslam, once the tickets are gone so is the beer for this year. We are also going to offer an extra incentive with this as well, if you buy 3 six packs of Bells Two Hearted and 1 six pack of Bells Hopslam, you will receive a 10 % discount on the case purchase. See you then and good luck.
1 ticket per person!!
Quite a bit a news this week, some great and some rather disappointing. Good news or bad news first? Let’s get the bad news out of the way.
According NewSchoolbeer.com Stone will be discontinuing two beers from seasonal lineup and they happen to be 2 very tasty beers. Their Sublimely Self-Righteous Black IPA and Levitation Amber Ale will no longer be produced. Very disheartening for me as I thought both beers were full flavored and delicious and Sublimely was one of my favorite Black IPAs on the market. With so many great beers to choose from, the market just became a bit thinner, but these two beers are still better than half of what is on our shelves. Either way, say goodbye.
Onto some good news. A few beers will be making their way to Eastern Iowa shelves in the next few weeks. We all know Hopslam is coming and Oskar Blues has hit Central and Eastern but just in time for Valentine’s Day will be Boulevard’s Chocolate Ale. The following comes from www.beerstreetjournal.com:
Chocolate Ale is full of surprises, beginning with a glowing amber hue. The aroma is given over to earthy, fruity cocoa, with just a hint of hops. Smooth layers of dark chocolate intertwine with threads of caramel, vanilla, and nutty malt as the flavor warms and rounds to a bittersweet finish.
Boulevard Chocolate Ale was first released in 2011. The demand has been so high since then, the brewery has increased the amount brewed and packaged every year. In both 2014, and again in 2015, Boulevard has brewed the maximum amount possible for the production schedule.
Style: American Strong Ale (w/ Chocolate)
Availability: 750ml Bottles, Corked & Caged
Arrival: Early February, 2014 (Seasonal Release)9.1% ABV
**Hopefully coming in March is the latest release from Stone’s “Odd Beers for Odd Years” lineup. This year it looks like it is going to be a Chai-Spiced Russian Imperial Stout. The ingredients list of this brew look stellar. Here’s more from http://www.beerstreetjournal.com:
As it stands, the classic version of Stone Imperial Russian Stout is deep, dark, rich, roasty and perhaps even a bit sinful. The ‘Odd Beers for Odd Years’ part of the journey means the coming of each odd-numbered year provides the opportunity to take this traditional beer to new and mysterious places, embarking on an exploratory odyssey enabled by strikingly flavorful elements applied to a lovely onyx canvas. This beer, the latest ‘Odd’ transubstantiation, takes inspiration straight from the spice aisle, incorporating array of ingredients assembled to emulate the flavors of authentic chai tea. Cinnamon, cardamom, clove, ginger, a dash of black pepper and a dose of black tea combine with Stone Imperial Russian Stout’s incumbent flavors to take it deep into exotic, previously unfathomed tenitory. Expect a touch of earthiness in combination with a warm, tantalizing aridness. Asa one-time brew with enduring character, Stone CHAI-SPICED Imperial Russian Stout is crafted to be contemplated fresh or cellared under proper conditions for many years so that it may live on not only in one’s memory, but on his or her taste buds as well.
Stone Chai-Spiced Imperial Russian Stout will be available in 22oz bottles, and draft. Typically arriving in March.
Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Clove, Ginger, Black Pepper, Cardamom, Black Tea, Cinnamon)
Availability: 22oz Bottles, Draft
Release: TBA
**Hitting the KC area first on February 10th and then to it’s distribution areas will be Boulevard Brewing’s Imperial Stout “X” Coffee. This will be part of the Smokestack Series and is the first of many new releases that we will be seeing from Boulevard. Seems Boulevard has really upped their game as their release schedule looks very promising in 2015. Here’s more on this beer courtesy of Boulevard’s Press release:
As a special treat for lovers of big, complex stouts, Boulevard Brewing Company offers the 2015 Imperial Stout “X” Series. The “X” factor stands for a key ingredient brewed into each of several limited releases plan throughout the year. This edition was infused with Ethiopian Sidamo Coffee from our Kansas City neighbor, The Roasterie, lending this robust Stout at subtle wine–like smoothness.
Boulevard Imperial Stout “X” Coffee will be available in 750ml bottles February 10th in Kansas City, other cities shortly after.
Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Coffee)
Availability: 750ml bottles, Draft. Limited release.
Arrival: February 10th, 2015. (KC first)11% ABV
**And the last bit of news comes from our friends up north, Summit Brewing company. A new year round can release called Hopvale Organic Ale is a session beer with lemon peel. According to mybeerbuzz.blogspot.com this beer will come in at 4.7% ABV and will be available in 16 oz cans.
TG Brews Hop Patrol 
