According to my source Founders Harvest Ale should be hitting shelves sometime in the next couple of weeks. I wish I could give you a definite time but start looking for it very soon. Here’s more about Harvest Ale:
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.
Just saw a post from Benz Beverage Depot in Cedar Rapids that they will be having a Big Sky Brewing tasting on Friday October 25. Big Sky is most notably known for their Moose Drool Brown Ale and it sounds like Benz will be kicking out some of their speciality beers during this tasting. Check out their beer lineup here: http://www.bigskybrew.com/Our%20Beer.
More info can be found on Benz Facebook page. Anyone making this event that can give me an overview, drop me a line.
Coming to in 2014 is the winners of the Samuel Adams Longshot homebrewing competition and the field this year sounds pretty promising. The 3 winning beers are an American Stout, a Pineapple IPA, and a Gratzer (Polish Smoked Wheat Beer). More on the winning brews courtesy of http://www.beerpulse.com.
About the winners:
Russ Brunner’s American Stout is a big malty Stout with notes of chocolate and coffee that carry through to a velvety finish with notes of roasted cocoa. The richness is balanced by hints of citrus and pine from the American hops that add a subtle bitterness to this deep and satisfying brew. Russ has been brewing for three years, but this was the first recipe Russ created from scratch.Cesar Marron’s Gratzer is a light, Polish smoked wheat beer that packs a punch of smoky sweet flavor from the heirloom smoked malt used and spicy and herbal notes from Saaz hops. This beer draws its inspiration from Cesar’s fond interest in the unusual, yet traditional, Polish smoked style.
Teresa Bury’s Pineapple IPA is brewed with four different American hops that showcases grapefruit character mellowed and complemented by the tropical fruit notes from the pineapple. Theresa made it a personal challenge to create a beer with a strong hop flavor that was balanced with her favorite fruit, pineapple.
A lot of news on social media regarding some Iowa breweries and they all sound terrific! While roaming on twitter today I noticed a conversation with Confluence Brewing (www.confluencebrewing.com) announcing they will be brewing and releasing an IPA brewed with Mosaic hops! Not sure if this will make it out of the brewery to be sold elsewhere or not, but if it’s as good as their Des Moines IPA then we can expect a pretty delicious brew. Also, check out their new blog here: http://confluencebrewingblog.wordpress.com/
Next up, some exciting news from Millstream Brewing out of Amana. A barrel aging program sounds absolutely wonderful this time of year as nothing tastes better on a chilly Iowa evening than a barrel-aged brew. Three of their beers have been again in bourbon barrels and they will have special releases for each (see picture below). You will get barrel-aged versions of their Schokalade Bock, Shild Brau Amber, Back Road Stout.
Last but not least is an update from Peace Tree. They will be releasing 22 oz. bombers for the first time with their Templeton Red and their Imperial Stout! Can’t wait to get my hands on these, loved the red last time I had it!
Exciting times for some great Iowa breweries!
I received the following email from the manager at the Oakland Road Hy-Vee in Cedar Rapids. $15 gets you a ticket and a $5 gift card to the Hy-Vee Wine and Spirits. Sounds like a great time so if you are in the Cedar Rapids area check it out!
The state of Iowa is lucky enough once again to be receiving Stone Brewing’s incredibly delicious Enjoy By IPA. We are one of 19 markets getting this shipment, so get it while you can and enjoy it (no pun intended). Arrival is today (Wednesday). More from Stone:
You have in your hands a devastatingly fresh double IPA. While freshness is a key component of many beers – especially big, citrusy, floral IPAs – we’ve taken it further, a lot further, in this IPA. You see, we specifically brewed it NOT to last. We’ve not only gone to extensive lengths to ensure that you’re getting this beer in your hands within an extraordinarily short window, we made sure that the Enjoy By date isn’t randomly etched in tiny text somewhere on the label, to be overlooked by all but the most attentive of retailers and consumers. Instead, we’ve sent a clear message with the name of the beer itself that there is no better time than right now to enjoy this IPA.
While visiting the Hy-Vee on Oakland Road in Cedar Rapids this past weekend, I noticed a six pack of Southampton Publick House beer sitting on the shelf in the walk-in cooler. I hadn’t heard of them coming to Iowa and so I asked the store manager and he confirmed that their beers will be making their way to Eastern Iowa shelves in the next few weeks. Here’s more info on Southampton Publick House beers (www.publick.com).
- One of the most award-winning breweries in America— ranked in the top 20 for GABF medals won by a brewery in the last 10 years.
- Excluding the big 4 breweries and chain brewpubs, Southampton is in the top 10 in medals won at the GABF in the last 10 years.
- Awarded Top Brewpub in 2003 by Beer Advocate Magazine.
- Ranked #8 Specialty Brewery in the World and 3 Top 50 Specialty Brews in America by RateBeer.com in 2004.
According to Benz Beverage Depots’ facebook site, the 2013 Bells Expedition Stout is out and on Eastern Iowa Shelves. At Benz, it is selling at $16.99. I still think you can find the 2012 in select Hy-Vees throughout Eastern Iowa as well. Here’s more about Expedition Stout from Bells website:
The darkest beer we make; this Imperial stout contains double the malt and five times the hops of our Kalamazoo stout and is perfect for cellaring as its complex character will evolve over time. Available October-March.
I finally made it! After months and months of trying to find a time to get to Des Moines, my wife and I finally made it! Upon returning from a trip to Kansas City to visit some friends we made a little detour so we could hit up 515 Brewery (http://515brewing.com/). Here’s more about how the brewery came to be from their website:
Ryan’s and Brandon’s wives would tell you that it was a fabulous plan that went horribly wrong. Our wives wanted to spend more time together and plotted to have us, Ryan and Brandon, become friends — the common denominator, brewing beer. Little did they realize that bringing us together and then adding Bailey and Dave to the mix would snowball our little home-brewing hobby into an actual brewing business. Now, hundreds of gallons of beer later, we’re starting our beer adventure and can’t wait to take you along with us.
Upon entering the brewery there are a ton of seats and I noticed a lady (the beer 
broad @beer_broad) dishing up some suds to a couple who had 3 kids in there and watching the Bears/Lions game. So for my wife and I, that was definitely a positive, being able to have some good brews, watch football, and have the kids with (as long as they’re not too rowdy or loud) is nice, though we try to leave the kids at home. The Beer Broad was super friendly while I ordered a flight of four of their beers. I was happy to see they had a pumpkin brew on tap as well (not on untappd.com as of this writing though 😦
I went for whatever has been talking about when referring to this brewery and that is the OJ IPA, their Dart Dodger, Lil’ Tart, and the pumpkin. The Lil’ Tart was refreshing, the pumpkin was perfect for the fall weather, and the Dart Dodger was an excellent IPA. I don’t want to sound like everyone else, but that OJ IPA is just a really special brew. So damn refreshing, so easy to drink, I would love to be able to grab a sixer of this at my local liquor store and go to town on it. Perfect for any weather, hot or cold, this is just a really tremendous beer; one of the best in Iowa in my opinion. After the sampler I went back for another OJ and grab a sweet glass to take home as 
a souvenir. They do not have food or growlers (yet) but you can bring in your own grub to eat while you enjoy an OJ or any of their other brews.
My wife got some good pictures, (do I see an Imperial Stout in the works? YES!) and we both talked about how enjoyable it would be to have a great little brewery to be able to go to for a leisurely brew or two; so take note Des Moines area, 515 is legit, so get out and support them. Awesome brew, awesome people!
**I need another OJ ASAP**
Sweet Repute is the name of the new beer that Founders Brewing Company will be releasing this winter. It is a wheat wine aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels. The following is courtesy of http://www.beerpulse.com:
Grand Rapids, MI) – Founders Brewing Co. will introduce Sweet Repute, a wheat wine aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels, this December to mark the eighth installment in the brewery’s popular Backstage Series. Like all Founders Backstage Series beers, Sweet Repute will be sold in 750mL bottles. It has a suggested retail price of $17.99–$19.99 per bottle.
The Founders brewing team painstakingly choreographed each layer of this beer’s characteristics, starting with a healthy wheat and roasted malt base and adding clean, fragrant hops. It’s one hundred percent barrel-aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels and bourbon barrels over the course of sixteen months, then blended using carefully calculated ratios for the ultimate final product. The resulting 13% ABV liquid pours a bright warm russet with a stubborn ivory head and an intoxicatingly sweet nutty aroma. Founders put Sweet Repute in a larger bottle with sharing in mind.
“We’re excited about this one,” said Co-Founder and Vice President of Brand & Education Dave Engbers. “Every sample we’ve pulled from the barrels down in the caves has been incredible.”
Sweet Repute will join the ranks of Founders’ world-class barrel-aged beers, such as Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS), Canadian Breakfast Stout (CBS), Backwoods Bastard, Curmudgeon’s Better Half and many, many more taproom-only ales.
Founders’ Backstage Series is made up of boundary-pushing, experimental beers. The intent of the series is to take the diehard Founders fan experience to a wider audience—though all of the beers are still released in limited batches. Since its introduction in the summer of 2011, Founders’ Backstage Series beers have quickly become some of the most sought-after releases in the industry.
Sweet Repute will be released in limited quantities across Founders’ distribution footprint beginning on Monday, December 2, and will be available at the brewery’s taproom the same week. This will be the brewery’s last Backstage Series release in 2013, with more releases to come in 2014.
