Tag: iabeerbaron

New Green Flash Beers hitting the Market in November

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soul styleComing in November, Green Flash brewing will ship out Soul Style IPA and Jibe Session IPA. Here’s more below on each brew courtesy of www.thefullpint.com.

About Soul Style IPA

Confident that the brewing team would develop an outstanding single IPA, the name “Soul Style” refers to the grace of the rarely seen, soul style surfer who leans way back on the board, making each difficult maneuver appear effortless. Soul Style is the Green Flash approach the art of crafting the perfect IPA. Citra, Simcoe and Cascade hops are layered to allow bright tropical citrus to mingle with waves of floral notes that break gently on the palate. Soul Style IPA is 6.5% ABV with 75 IBUs.

Brewmaster, Chuck Silva’s Tasting Notes for Soul Style IPA

Appearance – Orange Gold with bright white beer foam

Aroma – Very floral with tropical fruit including ripe mango and a hint of orange blossom honey

Flavor – Starts with a mellow pale malt sweetness then transitions to pungent hop flavors with grassy notes and a lingering but clean bitter finish. Dominant flavors – Clementine, Mango, Orange-Blossom

About Jibe Session IPA

With the wind at their backs, the Green Flash brewers made a sharp change in direction producing “JIBE”. But true to form, the Session IPA was brewed in an extreme way. Green Flash set out to produce to lowest ABV possible and still achieve bold, complex IPA flavor and body. Jibe Session IPA is a 4.0% ABV, 60 IBU “session” beer made with layers of Simcoe, Cascade and Amarillo hops. The flavor profile and mouth feel will satisfy consumer demand for a full-flavored Green Flash interpretation of the popular style.

Brewmaster Notes – Jibe Session IPA

Appearance – Yellow Gold with fluffy white beer foam

Aroma – Fresh, woodsy pine, eucalyptus, and Oroblanco grapefruit.

Flavor – Verdant hop leaf flavors dominate the lean body with a crisp mouth feel and lingering Oroblanco pithy bitterness.

Beer Review #119: Great Divide Oatmeal Yeti

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photo (1)A new brewery that has hit Eastern Iowa Shelves is Great Divide. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting downtown Denver on multiple occasions and sitting outside at the brewery and enjoying a few Yetis after a Rockies’ game. A brewery that has a really solid arsenal of beers I had never had the pleasure of enjoying an Oatmeal Yeti until this past weekend. I can’t remember the price tag on this brew, but it’s matched beers I’ve paid $15-20 for easily. This beer is brewed with rolled oats and raisins.

Here’s more on this brew:

Much like its legendary predecessors, this Yeti is big, bold and dark.  The addition of rolled oats softens Yeti’s notoriously roasty backbone and the small amount of raisins added in the brew kettle create a unique dark fruit character.  Just as admired as those that came before it, Oatmeal Yeti Imperial Stout is a softer beast.

Now, for those big beer drinkers that have had or would like to have Cigar City Marshal Zhukov, this brew would be the perfect warm up for you. For me, Marshal Zhukov had too much dark fruit flavor to go along with that viscous stout consistency, glad I tried it, don’t need it again. However, Oatmeal Yeti, brewed with raisins, has that dark fruit, but not overpowering and then the creaminess of a fantastic oatmeal stout. The only that sucks is that this is only a seasonal brew. I’m kicking myself for not grabbing a few more bottles of this to enjoy during the fall months.

STYLE: Imperial Stout

ABV: 9.5%

PURCHASED AT: Oakland Road Hy-Vee

POUR: Dark black with a thick, tan head.

AROMA: Dark chocolate and coffee.

TASTE: Dark chocolate and coffee with a touch of dark fruits.

Ratebeer.com rating: 99/100

Beeradvocate rating: 93/100

Overall: B+

My recommendation: Really enjoyed this brew! My kind of dark fruit stout, not too much, just the right amount. I would like more of this!

 

1st Look at Stone Master of Disguise Imperial Golden Stout

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stoneWow, this looks interesting! Back in September it was announced that Stone Brewing was releasing an Imperial Golden Stout as part of their Stochasticity Project series. Reading it is one thing but seeing it is another as this brew totally has my attention now. Stone continues to pull out all the stops and entertain us beer fans with their creativity and uniqueness while usually delivering a pretty damn good brew. More from Stone on this brew:

Things aren’t always what they seem, but not all deception is devious. Some illusions and misnomers lead to life’s most delightful surprises. Case in point—this beer, the yang to the yin that is the black India pale ale. Once revolutionary for its onyx appearance, it is now an accepted and beloved member of the India pale ale family tree. Thus we took the spirit of a dark beer—the time-honored stout—and applied a similar science of thought, brewing it to be golden-hued. That is what this experimental series and its latest creation are all about. Cocoa and coffee beans impart roastiness sans darkening to this brew, while flaked oats provide an enveloping mouthfeel. The result is a stout that looks more like a blonde, but is a raven beauty at heart.

Coming in at 8.8% it will be available in 22 oz bombers and will be available next month. The picture is courtesy of Stone’s Facebook page.

Bells Planet Series “Venus” coming next!

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venusI found the following information on http://beerstreetjournal.com/new-releases/. Bells Planet Series is coming with the follow up to Mars and 2nd of the series, according to Beer Street Journal, Venus is bottled and ready to ship. I really enjoyed Mars and and Venus will be quite a bit different but it sounds damn tasty all the same. It’s going to be a blonde ale with vanilla beans, cardamom, apricot juice, and honey. It will come in at 7.5% and be available in 12 oz bottles. Here’s more courtesy of Beer Street Journal and Bells press release:

 The second release in our Planets Series starts with spicy, fruity and light citrus notes along with herbal notes from cardamom in the aroma. Apricots contribute a very distinct tart character and sweetness from the vanilla rounds out the finish. More than 60 pounds of hand sliced vanilla beans were used to ferment this strong fruit and spice beer with a complex herbal fruit character.

New Belgium releasing Slow Ride Session IPA in cans

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slow rideThe following comes from mybeerbuzz.blogspot.com. (http://mybeerbuzz.blogspot.com/2014/10/mybeerbuzzcom-new-belgium-to-release.html)

Another session IPA hitting the market, it will be interesting to see how it matches up with the likes of Stone Go To, Founders All Day, Lagunitas Daytime. Here’s more from mybeerbuzz.

Here’s your breaking craft beer news of the day so tell your friends where you saw it first..  New Belgium will be releasing a NEW session IPA named Slow Ride IPA.  This beer will feature new artwork, it will be packaged in 12oz cans (and kegs) and come in at a sessionable 4.5% ABV.

Millstream releasing barrel-aged Schild Brau + Backroad Stout

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millstreamThe following comes from a Millstream Brewing Facebook post:

We’ve been aging our Schild Brau Amber & Back Road Stout in Cedar Ridge Whiskey barrels for the last 9 months! Now at long last we are bottling them in 22 oz bombers. Look for these very limited batch of barrel aged beers in Cedar Rapids & Iowa City next Friday for a special release.

 

Bomb has hit!

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prairie artisan alesFrom Oakland Road Hy-Vee and also got a Facebook message from Johncy’s Liquor Store in North Liberty as well. Prairie Bomb and Pirate bomb have landed!

We have 2 fantastic beers that have just hit the floor. We have reloaded on Prairie Bomb and have received Pirate Bomb as well, which is Prairie Bomb aged in rum barrels. Stop in a grab a bottle while supplies last. Thanks and have a great day.

 

Imperial Stout aged on Coffee, Cacao Nibs, Vanilla Beans & Chili Peppers

Bomb! is an imperial stout aged on espresso beans, chocolate, vanilla beans, and ancho chile peppers. All the flavors meld to create a truly unique beer. The peppers add just the right amount of heat to compliment the intense coffee and chocolate flavors.

ABV 13%

 

pirates

Restaurant Review: Iowa Chop House; Iowa City, IA

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iowa chopIt’s always great when a new restaurant or bar with an exciting new concept opens up. I’ve been reading about the Chop House for a few weeks and finally had an opportunity to be around downtown Iowa City and decided to give it a go. It’s located right next to the Englert Theater, can’t miss it. Here’s the Iowa Chop House statement:

At the Iowa Chop House, we believe that great food starts with local, fresh ingredients. That’s why we source only the finest sustainable seasonal ingredients from hard working local farmers. Located in historic downtown Iowa City, we proudly carry on the tradition of culture and quality that is unique to our community.

photo 1The hostess offered us a quick tour before showing us our seats. She pointed out that the tables and part of the bar are from a refurbished barn. The “beer barn” was also made to look like a rustic old barn. More on the beer barn later, a terrific concept.

We were shown to our seats, people were starting to filter in for lunch so I’m glad we got there right at opening. The menu had everything from burgers to steaks with some great sounding apps as well. Here’s a link to the menu:http://theiowachophouse.com/iowachophouse_menu.pdf I thought the prices were very fair and I believe the food is locally sourced and then I was told about “The Beer Barn”! The Beer Barn is such a refreshing idea, especially for a craft beer lover as I am. If you want to order from the Beer Barn wall you are given an electronic wrist band. The wall had about 8 Iowa-only beers on tap, a fephoto 3w of which I’ve never had. The band gives you a max of 28 oz of beer. You have several glass sizes to choose from so you are not stuck with a 12 oz pour of something you didn’t care for. You put your band over the electronic sign for the beer you want, get a blue/green light, and start pouring your beer. You can use the 28 oz on whatever beers are on the wall. A fantastic concept! I got to try Firetrucker brewery (http://www.firetrucker.com/)for the first time, they had Exile beers (http://exilebrewing.com/) as well and finished with a Lion Bridge saison (http://www.lionbridgebrewing.com/) and Big Grove arms race http://www.biggrovebrewery.com/)!

photo 2The good news is if you want more than 28 oz you can get your band reset as well and if you don’t want what’s on the Beer Barn wall they have a huge selection of bottles and more tap lines. The barn was just a great interactive way for people to talk beer and get to try some new brews as well.

Onto the food! The burger was great! One of the more flavorful burgers I’ve had in a while and went well with the Firetrucker porter. I got to talk to the manager for a while and he was very friendly and he did say that they photo 5are pretty much booked up for the next few weekends, so if you want to get there to check it out, head for lunch or make an online reservation. Overall, a place I will be heading to when I find myself downtown and want to escape what can be the madness of college bars and shitty beer or escape the unoriginality of fried chicken fingers and ground beef nachos. Check it out, keep these new places going!

Founders Harvest Ale and Schlafly Taz IPA hitting shelves soon!

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harvestA couple of really good brews will be making their way back to Eastern Iowa beer shelves in the coming weeks. Founders Harvest Ale is just coming off the bottling line and should be hitting shelves soon.

Another favorite for many folks is Schlafly’s Tasmanian IPA. This beer should be hitting Eastern Iowa by next week. Here’s more on each brew:

Founders Harvest Ale
Ratebeer: 99
Beeradvocate: 95
ABV: 7.6%
This liquid dream pours a hazy golden orange straw color with a large puffy white two-finger head. First sip of this beer rewards with a super juicy hop presence bursting with fresh orange and lemon citrus then continues to introduce toasted malt undertones.

tazSchlafly Tasmanian IPA
Ratebeer: 99
Beeradvocate: 95
ABV: 7.2
Schlafly Tasmanian IPA is brewed with 100% Australian hops. The Tasmanian hop, Galaxy, is a strong, aromatic variety that is different from traditional strains of the Pacific Northwest. Our brewers developed a recipe that showcases the hop’s unique flavors of citrus and pineapple.