Tag: iabeerbaron

Beer Review #116: Central Waters Satin Solstice Imperial Stout

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centralEven when warm weather approaches I still like to kick back on the deck on a summer evening and enjoy some stouts. Imperial stouts are usually associated with cold weather but I would consider them year-round. There are quite a few good ones out there right now and with Central Waters Brewing entering our market (www.centralwaters.com)

Smooth and creamy with the nice flavor of chocolate, coffee, and  the nice warming sensation you get from the alcohol makes this an imperial stout that will frequent my fridge. More from Central Waters:

This smooth, creamy stout and a crackling fireplace are the perfect answer to a wintry evening in Wisconsin. The rich coffee flavor compliments the “warm, fuzzy feeling” you get from the abundant alcohol. Formerly a winter seasonal, named Satin Solstice.

While barrel-aged stouts are all the rage it is nice having this along with some Old Rasputin to keep on hand. Maybe not the best to age too long, but it will last a while in the fridge or cellar and not have too much of the flavor compromised. Central Waters is doing some really great things and it’s great to see their brews on our shelves here in Eastern Iowa.

REVIEW

STYLE: Imperial Stout

ABV: 7.5%

PURCHASED AT: Johncy’s, North Liberty, IA

POUR: Deep black pour with a medium tan head.

AROMA: Coffee sticks out in this Imperial stout.

TASTE: Coffee, chocolate, and hint of caramel sweetness.

Ratebeer.com rating: 96

Beeradvocate rating: 86

Overall: B

My recommendation: A nice imperial stout to have as an option.

Boulevard Saison-Brett coming back shelves!

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boulevardThe following information is courtesy of http://www.beerpulse.com. The popular Smokestack Series from Boulevard is welcoming back Saison-Brett, my favorite from the series, and it should be hitting shelves very soon. More from beerpulse:

Boulevard Saison-Brett releases today in the Kansas City area. Other cities will see this Smokestack Series Limited Release soon.

Here’s more info on Saison-Brett from ratebeer.com:

Saison-Brett, based on our very popular Tank 7, is assertively dry hopped, then bottle conditioned with various yeasts, including Brettanomyces, a wild strain that imparts a distinctive earthy quality. Though this farmhouse ale was given three months of bottle age prior to release, further cellaring will continue to enhance the “Brett” character, if that’s what you’re after.

Coming to Shelves: Bells Cans, Sierra Nevada Hoptimum/So. Hemisphere

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bellsEastern Iowa should be seeing some familiar faces on shelves soon but in a different form. Bells will be releasing Oberon and Two Hearted Ale in cans, (who’s ready to tailgate?). Did everyone get some Blacknote? I have one and am looking forward to popping the top! Also coming is Sierra Nevada’s Hoptimum and Southern Hemisphere Fresh Hop IPA. Here’s more courtesy of http://www.beerpulse.com:

Four-packs of both Oberon and Two Hearted (16 oz. cans) have begun shipping from our brewery.

Sierra Nevada:

Five hop varieties conspire for flavor domination inHoptimum®, our hopped, dry-hopped and torpedoed Imperial IPA. We’ve made every one of its 100 IBUs count, so hold tight on the whirlwind journey of grapefruit rind, pine, herbs and tropical fruit.

sierraThe second of five beers in our 2014 Harvest series, Southern Hemisphere Harvest®capitalizes on the springtime hop harvest in New Zealand—yup, opposite of our fall hop harvest! Several varieties are picked, dried and shipped to us within just seven days, and we pack their fresh floral and herbal flavors and aromas into this complex, kiwi-inspired IPA.

Lion Bridge Brewery Updates: Beer Dinner + Patio

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lion bridgeI just received the following from Lion Bridge Brewing’s newsletter. A beer dinner is coming up and the menu looks absolutely specular! A lot of great things happening at Lion Bridge and the Czech Village in Cedar Rapids, check them out! Here’s more:

Hello from Lion Bridge Brewing Company!


The taproom has been open for about 6 weeks now and we have been overwhelmed by the positive reception, and overwhelmed by the amount of beer we have gone through.

We would like to thank everyone who has been able to come in for a beer and look forward to seeing you again in the future.

Look for a full battery of acoustic panels the next time you come in (should help make our old grocery store a little quieter), a patio will be put in here soon, and we are installing a projector so we can get a movie night up and running in the not-so-distant future.

We will keep you informed as we add new beers to our line up and we are excited to have our first beer dinner coming up.  The dinner includes 5 courses and 5, half-pints of Lion Bridge beer.

Where: Lion Bridge Brewing Company
             59 16th Avenue SW
             Cedar Rapids, IA
             52404
When: Tuesday, May 6th @ 6:30pm
Cost: $50

Contact us at: info@lionbridgebrewing.com or reply to this email if you want to reserve a spot. Please include the number in your party and a contact phone number.  We will call to confirm your spot later this week. 

This is spur of the moment, and we are keeping it small, so please don’t hesitate.

Menu for this dinner is:

-Bar Snack of toasted barley with mixed nuts
(Belgian Amber Ale)

-Homemade Brewer’s Grain Bread with Local Butter and Radish

(Živá Voda: Pilsner)

-Asparagus Soup with Pistachio Cream
(Mad Maximillion: Belgian IPA)

 
-Beer Braised Brisket with Herb Sauce and Baby Potatoes in Browned Butter and Chives
(Sticke Altbier)
 
-Strawberries and Cream with Pretzel Crumble
(Smoked Chocolate Stout)
 

Now that our schedule is stabilizing, look for more email updates (but not too many) about new beers and events for the summer and beyond. 

Thanks for your interest in local beer.

Cheers!
The LBBC

Stone Smoked Porter w/Chipotle Peppers hits May 5th

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stoneThe following comes from beerpulse.com:

(Escondido, CA) – Stone Brewing Co. has released a new beer just about every week it seems and the first week of May will be no different. Stone Smoked Porter with Chipotle Peppers arrives in stores the week of May 5th. More below on the beer…

In 2006, Chris Carroll, a longtime member of Team Stone, took that adage literally, proposing that we produce a one-off version of our venerable Stone Smoked Porter made spicy from the addition of chipotle peppers. We gave it a shot and found that those smoked jalapeños melded quite naturally with the smoldery peat-smoked malt that gives the beer its flavor and moniker, creating a deep, roasty quaff with a carefully restrained tingle of tasteful capsaicin heat in the finish.

Hops bill: Columbus & Mt. Hood
Malt Bill: Pale Malt, Crystal 75, Chocolate Malt, Peat-Smoked Malt
Packaging: 22oz Bottles and Draft
Stats: 5.9% ABV / 53 IBUs

 

Toppling Goliath 2014 Assassin Release Details

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toppling goliathThe following comes Toppling Goliath’s website: http://www.tgbrews.com:

Assassin Gold Label 2014

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Clark

Soon, our barrels of Assassin (our barrel aged imperial stout) will be ready to be blended and bottled.  We had been planning on having a brewery only release at our taproom brewery, but have decided against it.  As those of you know that have visited us, our taproom is quite small and has very limited parking.  Although we have offered all we can, we have been unable to secure any additional parking for this years event.  That fact, coupled with the number of our loyal fans that make the trek, have left us with the tough decisions of deciding against a release.  Not wanting to let you down is the main reason we are doing this.  We have decided that when the time comes and the beer is in bottles, most of it will be released to distribution.  This will undoubtedly disappoint some local people, so we are going to offer all mug club members the chance to purchase one bottle each, at cost.  The details of this will be emailed to all members after we bottle it.  Also, to pay back all the loyal locals who come in on a daily basis, I will from time to time just bring a case over with out announcement and it will be for sale at cost while supplies last. Who knows, maybe even a keg or two will show up too!

This years Assassin could be one of our best.  The barrels Mike was able to acquire are yielding very exciting flavors and a smoothness in the body that helps carry these flavors to your senses when sipping the treasure.

As far as Kentucky Brunch Gold Label and Mornin’ Delight, we have not decided what to do.  Although we want to see all of you in person for a release, we may have grown too large for our current location.   Mike is guessing we may yield 200 -400 bottles of Kentucky Brunch Gold.

Our long term goal is to have releases at our new brewery, which is better suited for parking, music, bottle share, etc.  Hopefully we will be ready for that in 2015.

Thanks again for supporting us and our endeavors to please you with our creations.  Making great beer and providing you with the best possible experience when you visit is our driving force!    -Clark, Barb and Mike

Interview with David Bryan, owner/brewer New American Brewing; Ankeny, IA

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New American BrewingAnother newer brewery in Iowa is New American Brewing located in Ankeny Iowa. Brewer/owner David Bryan was kind enough to take time out from his schedule to answer a few questions about his brewery and his beer. To find out more about New American Brewing visit their website at: www.newamericanbeer.com.

Q: What was your story before opening New American? How did you get involved in brewing?
I have been in the telecommunications business for the better part of a decade both here in Iowa and in Kansas.  My wife is from the Des Moines area so we moved here to be closer to family.  I had been brewing beer at home for about 7 years and became very passionate about the process.  One of the best parts of brewing for me was always getting to share my beer with other people.  I began thinking of turning pro several years ago and really started to research what it would take to make it happen.  During this research and planning phase I met my business partner and we began planning our brewery together.  After almost a year of finding funding, shopping for equipment, leasing a space, and building the brewery we sold our first keg in Nov of 2013.
Q: Do you feel any pressure to follow beer trends and brew what’s popular?
No, I don’t feel any pressure to follow trends.  I have always brewed the beer that I like to drink and if I couldn’t brew what I like to drink, I don’t think if would have nearly as much fun.  I started the brewery to pursue my passion for creating great beer, not to do what other people expected me to do.
Q: How many beers will be available at the brewery? Any plans for seasonals or special releases?
Right now we don’t have any beer available at the brewery, we are draft distribution only.  Currently we have 2 core beers that we will offer year round.  Independence Pale Ale and 1789 Porter.  We are going to rotate our IPA seasonally.  For the spring we have Shenanigans Session IPA.  As we move through the year we will offer a Double IPA, and Black IPA, possibly a brown or red IPA for the fall.  We also have a winter only beer called Elves’ Revenge, a 9% winter warmer spiced with Vanilla, Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
Q: What is the beer that you are most excited about?
I’m really excited about changing up our IPA seasonally.  It give me a chance to brew different beers throughout the year and not get bored.  I love hoppy beers and I really like brewing and experimenting with different techniques.  Changing our IPA offering gives me a chance to do this and keeps a fresh new beer in the marketplace throughout the year.
Q: Was opening a brewery in Des Moines area pretty easy? Was their any resistance? 
No, opening a brewery was not easy.  It was very challenging and stressful with long hours and lots of  work.  With that being said, Iowa is a great place to open a brewery.  Iowa has a lot of things going for it, like self distribution, reasonable tax codes, alcohol laws that are fairly progressive, and most importantly the people of Iowa have received new breweries with open arms and are very excited to support local businesses.  There are still a few laws and that breweries would like updated and made better, but overall Iowa is a great place to be a brewer.  
Q: Can you discuss short term/long term goals for the brewery?
Short term we are looking to add growlers to the brewery.  We would like people to be able to come to the brewery, try our beer, see what we are all about and be able to take beer home with them to enjoy.
Long term we are looking to add a full tasting room with some type of outdoor space and expand our current brewing capacity.  That would mean that we would buy a larger brew house and increase our fermentation space.  Right now both my business partner and I still have full time jobs outside of the brewery, in the future we are looking to be working at the brewery full time.
**Beer not available at the brewery yet but you can New American Beers at the following locations:

~el Bait Shop

~University Library Cafe

~The Exchange

~Confluence Brewing Co. 

~515 Brewing Co.

~Louie’s Wine Dive

~On The Rocks

~O’malley’s 

~Praire Trail Hy-Vee 

~The Keg Stand

~OverTime

~Dublin Bay Pub & Grill

~Number 7 Brewing Co.

~Thunderhead Sports Bar & Grill

Interview with Quinton McClain; brewer/owner Lion Bridge Brewing

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lion bridgeQuinton McClain was kind enough to take time out from a very busy schedule to answer some questions about his new brewery, Lion Bridge Brewery in Cedar Rapids, IA. I’ve been multiple times now and absolutely love what Quinton and his staff is going. The smoked chocolate stout is amazing and the Mad Max is terrific as well. Check out Quinton and his beers soon!

Q: Would you classify your beers as traditional or more of a unique style?
            
  I wouldn’t say the beers I am making are traditional.  Some of them are representing specific styles, but they have subtle changes that I think make them intriguing. These initial beers are not brash. Uniqueness is often associated with brashness and rightfully so. These initial beers are subtle and I think some people equate subtlety with traditional styles. I am very proud of the beers we have now and as inventory steadies and I branch out to more high abv, etc beers, I will be excited for different flavor possibilities.
I think our uniqueness will come from my ability to improvise and grow a portfolio that represents a lot of different beer styles.  I believe a great portfolio makes a great brewery.  There need to be session beers, experimental beers, herb and spice variants, and oaked beers…all available at the same time. There are no beers I am afraid of making for fear of ruining my classification.
Q: How many beers will be available at the brewery? Any plans for seasonals or special releases?
 
Lots of plans for new beers.  We have 21 taps, and I hope to have at least 12 dedicated to my beers by the end of the year. I am aging a wheat wine in Cedar Ridge Brandy Barrels right now.  A rye IPA is coming up, and I will be doing some cask beer in a few more weeks.
Q: What was your story before opening Lion Bridge? How did you get involved in brewing?
    
   I was a brewer at the Fort Collins Brewery for a few years, took a Siebel Course before that and has an internship at Millstream.  I wore a lot of hats at FCB and helped put together a brand new facility that really helped me understand the guts of a brewery. Before all this, I worked in some craft beer stores, brewed at home a bit, traveled a lot, and really loved the stories and culture behind beverages and food. There is nothing more important in the world than getting together with friends for a beer and food.  I truly believe that. I felt the best way to live out that belief is to make beer and be around it all the time. It’s a spectacular feeling to provide people with the joy of good beer.
Q: Do you feel any pressure to follow beer trends and brew what’s popular?
     
   I think the trends are what make beer great.  We have few rules as brewers and people are always pushing the envelope. It’s important to remember that the beer that’s most popular is a macro lager…by a longshot.  I  want to bring people into the fold of craft beer; to convert them away from a light macro lager that I feel is not very fulfilling on a lot of levels. I want to have a portfolio big enough that I can brew a little bit to follow a trend, as well as keep some beers on tap to try and convert that person who comes in and wants a pitcher of Busch Light.
Q: What is the beer that you are most excited about?
I am excited about my pre-prohibition beer with corn and rye.  It’s called Usonius. It will be dry and refreshing with a little bit lactic tartness. A fun beer with a fun name that I think will pair great with summer and our patio (hopefully we get that in soon). A few IPA’s in the works and a big stout that won’t be ready until Fall. I have 1600 square feet in our basement that is just empty space right now. As soon as things calm down a bit, I might start filling it up with barrels.
About every other beer I make now is a new beer. They are all exciting.
Q: Was opening a brewery in Cedar Rapids area pretty easy? Was their any resistance? 
Opening a brewery anywhere creates it’s unique challenges, I imagine.  It’s a steep learning curve to understand the laws on local, state, and federal levels. I greatly respect anyone who goes through the process and makes it out with their own beer.  It’s easy to say, “I want to open a brewery.” It’s a big deal to actually get it out there making beer. People in our community were very supportive.  I had great mentors and advisors from many different types of businesses.
Q: What’s your favorite trend in the craft beer world right now?
I think beer and food is a growing trend that I like. It might be increased attention to detail with beer all together. Restaurants and bars care more about glassware, about serving temps, about food and beer. It gives beer more credibility. The customer is demanding a heightened experience to pair with heightened flavor, and I think publicans are responding. It raised the bar for everyone and this is a good thing for beer.
Q: Will there be food at the brewery?

We have an appetizer and snack menu and it will always be just that. It is a conscious decision on our part to stay more of a “beer hall” and not a restaurant.  We serve beer, cider, artisan sodas, and small plates.  That will be it. Our kitchen is big enough and has enough bells and whistles to put on some elaborate beer dinners.  I see that being a time when we shine with the food. I also have some plans to bring in guest chefs to do dinners.
Q: Can you discuss short term/long term goals for the brewery?
Keep filling kegs with beer. Start doing more self-distribution which is a great part of being a Native Brewery. I will assess in September/October needs for more tanks. We have space for about 12 more 20bbl tanks and a capacity of about 8,000-10,000bbls a year if we ever decide to go full on.  Maybe thrown in a Meheen bottler or a cask canner.  Who knows.  Right now, I just want to get my beer out there as much as possible, bring people into the tasting room, and get people aware of the Lion Bridge brand. I am taking it a day at a time, but always dreaming of where I would like to see things go. 

Coming to Shelves: New Belgium, Boulevard, Founders

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boulevardHave some beers that are going to be making their way to Eastern Iowa shelves soon. Some are new and some are seasonals that we’ve seen before. From beerpulse.com.

Coming from Boulevard for the Tasting Room pack:
*ESB
*Ginger-Lemon Radler

Here’s more from the brewery:

Brewmaster Steven Pauwels encourages our brewers to brew whatever they’d like and then the best beers are given the opportunity to leave the brewery to be shared with a wider drinking audience. The two Year-Round beers featured in our upcoming package will be Unfiltered Wheat Beer and Single-Wide IPA. Rotating in from the Tasting Room series will be an ESB (Extra Special Bitter) and Ginger-Lemon Radler.

foundersFrom the Founders:
Rubaeus
Old Curmudgeon

From the brewery:

Be on the lookout for Rubaeus, our summer seasonal. It will be available in May–or earlier in some of our markets. It’s brewed with fresh raspberries added during multiple stages of fermentation.

Curmudgeon Old Ale, an old ale brewed with molasses and an insane focus on the malt bill, then oak-aged, has already started hitting shelves and draft lines. It’s our April-June specialty release.

New Belgium is releasing a familiar brew but also has a collab in the works with 3 Floyds.

From New Belgium:
Skinny Dip
FOCOllaboration w/Odell Brewing (American Pale Ale)
Gratzer Ale w/3 Floyds

gratzerGratzer is a Polish beer style composed primarily of oak-smoked wheat. More from the brewery:

NEXT WEEK:

Skinny Dip makes a comeback this summer as the Revival Beer in bottle Folly Packs. This full-bodied, highly drinkable beer made its mark as a summer seasonal.

JUNE 1ST:

We teamed up with our hometown hop heroes at Odell to brew a FOrt COllins collaboration. Our proximity allowed sharing of ingredients to create this unique Pale Ale. If only we could employ prairie dogs that in habit the space between us to courier the Fawcett malt, an Odell standard, we used to complement our favored Centennial, Cascade and Citra hops.

In the heart of the Midwest is a very small brewery with a very big reputation. In spite of their super limited distribution, Munster, Indiana’s 3 Floyds is known far and wide for beers like Alpha King, Dark Lord and Dreadnaught. We got together and brewed a gratzer with them and in June we’ll release it as part of the Lips of Faith series.