Courtesy of SingleSpeed’s Facebook page, here’s what the brewery has in store for Saturday’s event!
•𝐒𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝 – Double Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Milk Stout (11.4% ABV).Twice the barrels, twice the fun. First, 12 months in Cedar Ridge Bourbon Barrels. Second, 3 months in Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Bourbon Barrels. •𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐 – Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Milk Stout (10.9% ABV).Two cows walked into a barrel 12 months ago… and finally, they awakened. •𝐓𝐢𝐩 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐰 ‘𝐕𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐧’ – Milk Stout (6.2% ABV).All of the cocoa and espresso goodness you’ve grown to love in Tip the Cow, with an extra layer of decadence .•𝐓𝐢𝐩 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐟 – Session Milk Stout (4.5% ABV).2x GABF ‘Session Beer’ medalist… What more do you need to know?
Might want to get to Waterloo this weekend! Cheers!
Chocolate Coconut Candy – 8% ABV A Pastry Stout with Coconut and Chocolate
Beer Zombie – Hawks Blood –Horus Collab – Triple IPAHawks Blood, DDH West Coast Triple IPA 11% (Collab Horus Aged Ales) Collaboration with Horus Aged Ales (Oceanside, CA) Double Dry Hopped with Motueka, Citra, Nelson, & Hibiscus. BEER POURS A RED COLOR
Beer Zombie – Zombie Whip – 8-Bit Brewing Collab Peaches & Cream, Heavily Fruited Sour Ale 8% (Collab with 8-Bit Brewing Company) Heavily fruited with peaches, vanilla, and lactose. Collaboration with 8-Bit Brewing Company
Down with the Thiqqness – Pastry Stout 13% Pastry Stout with Graham Cracker, Vanilla, Marshmallow Fluff, Chocolate, & Coffee
Spin to win – Strawberry Banana Coconut v2: medium thickness pour Round two of this beast is hitting the taps here at the Hoosier Brewing Co soon! The first round of this beauty holds a strong 4.20 on Untapped! There is a ton of strawberry and banana in this recipe and we finish it with a light touch of coconut making this one heavenly brew.
Fruit Fusion: Limoncello Soft Serve: thin pour Our next version of Fruit Fusion comes from a super popular drink combo but with a twist! We use loads of Limoncello softserve ice cream along with tons of real Lemon, and finish with a heavy dose of Limoncello smoothie mix! This one is super unique and will please the sour beer fans for sure.
PIE FACE: Blueberry Caramel Cheesecake: medium pour Our Pie Face lineup is still our strongest brand and this new brew might hit the top of the charts! It is freak’n delicious. We paired fresh pureed blueberries with jug after jug of caramel topping and finished with our cheesecake crust treatment.
NEW – Astronaut – Imperial Peanut Butter Porter
POG – passion fruit/ Orange/ Guava Sour – (7.2% ABV) 𝗣𝗢𝗚 is our brand new fruited sour making it’s way to the market! The name stems from the blend of Passionfruit, Orange, and Guava which give it’s delicious tangy flavor. Tropical oscillations converge with a sharp acidic kick for a blast of fruit-punch! After one sip, you’ll want to play for keeps.
MORE to Life – Helles Lager – (4% ABV) A fresh batch of 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 available now for all those looking for some crispness cheer(s)! This classically brewed American Lager is brewed with American malt, rice, and corn and is truly festive during any season. Lagered in our traditional horizontal tank, this certified crisper lends an intricate yet sessionable experience that will always keep you coming back for MORE….and cheers to the good life!
Another year in the books, and like every year since I’ve been doing this blog and releasing my Top 10 I was once again blown away by the amazing beers that our Iowa brewers and their staff have made for us this year! Not only that, the resiliency shown by breweries/restaurants/bars during the past few years cannot be overlooked and huge thank you to all service industry workers! Cheers to you! Onto the TOP 10! LIST CRITERIA *Beer must have been brewed in Iowa *Beer must have been released in 2021 *Annual releases not counted unless a new adjunct had been added to that particular beer
Like every list, I know opinions will differ and I’m looking forward to reading what your top 10 list was for this year! Once again, so many beers, so little time, and I know I wasn’t able to even scratch the surface as to the beers I wanted to try!
**Big Grove Richard the Whale Chocolate Coconut Cake– – this year’s “Golden Ticket” beer during the Richard the Whale release, and like every year, it does not disappoint. Chocolate and coconut shine as this is wonderfully balanced, great for any time of the day, another win for Big Grove with this beer!
**Lion Bridge Silvia – Farmhouse ales are a style that goes overlooked and thankfully is making their way back to some breweries, and Lion Bridge not only made a great one, but possibly my favorite beer of the year. It was a perfect accompaniment to the Thanksgiving dinner table..not just one bottle either…If you’re a saison/farmhouse ale fan this is one to definitely try!
**Pulpit Rock Island Life – first enjoyed on a guy’s trip to Decorah and was blown away by the wonderful tropical flavor this beer brought. Maybe the setting had a lot to do with it, but I’m pretty sure it’s just a great beer to drink!
**Gezellig Long Story Short – 4.9%– smoothie sours/seltzers were all the rage in the beer world this past year and Iowa breweries sure made a whole lot of good ones. One of my favorites comes from the lovely folks in Newton, Iowa at Gezellig. Strawberry starbursts and pomegranate helped make this a flavor packed brew!
**Lua Brewing Dawn – 13.5% – part of last year’s “Resolution” I set for myself was trying to make it to Central and Western Iowa more often to taste what the breweries are pushing out there, especially the ones that don’t get much distro to Eastern Iowa..I kind of failed in that endeavor, however, I did get to Des Moines a few times and was able to procure some Lua brews! One that really stood out was this imperial stout. Coffee and a hint of vanilla make this decadent brew stand out, and hides that ABV very well! Looking forward to more from Lua in 2022!
**Clock House Brewing Barrel Aged Peanut Panic Porter – 12% – the base beer was one of my favorites in 2020 and then adding it to barrels and resting it on peanuts, cocoa nibs, and vanilla really added more depth to an already wonderful beer. The misconception from some was that this was a peanut “butter” beer, not the case, straight up peanuts and the balance of the flavors comes through remarkably!
**Adventurous Easy Peel (triple dry hopped Mosaic)- 8.3% – the 2nd Easy Peel I’ve had this year and I think the Mosaic barely beats out the El Dorado for me. Both very good and the combo of the mosaic hops and cryo mosaic hops really stands out. Excellent beer, any of the Easy Peel beers from Adventurous would be a safe bet!
**Lion Bridge Percussive Maintenance Macaroon – 11% – Chocolate and coconut paired with a great barrel is hard to go wrong and Lion Bridge balances this beer perfectly. There are some beers that you’ll always remember opening and pouring and this is definitely one of those for me. One to sip on yourself or share with someone you care about….a moment making beer for sure! One of the best of the year!
**Lua Pushpop: Because My Heart is in Iowa – Lua Pushpops can be hard to come by if you live in Eastern Iowa, luckily they sometimes drop a few beers off at Tin Roost in North Liberty to get us a taste here in Eastern Iowa. Mango and cherry beer, super thick and delicious. Lua dominated the slushie/sour landscape in the beer world! A trip to Des Moines in needed soon!
**Dimensional You Down with OCP – 13.1% – Pastry stouts can be hit and miss with me. Many are too sweet for my liking, and the adjuncts are too dominate over the base beer, but not with this one…Dimensional added 100 lbs each of oatmeal cream pies, oatmeal cookies, and toasted coconut to this big beer and it worked wonderfully. Not too sweet at all, in fact, if the 13.1% wouldn’t drop me I could easily see myself sipping on glass #2 letting the beer warm me up in the Iowa winter!
Keeping it Craft hits the Czech Village and gets some insight on the upcoming “Barrel-Aged January” with Lion Bridge Brewery owner/brewer Quinton McClain!
What a show! A nearly hour long chat with Lion Bridge Brewing Company’s Head Brewer Quinton McClain. From turning a brutal month like January into a celebrated holiday with their Barrel Aged January, to the history behind Lion Bridge, and the intricacies behind the barrel aging process, we cover a lot of ground. Raise your favorite beverage and enjoy the ride!
Join us this Friday, December 31st at noon as we release Clock House Black IPAComprised of carefully selected Black malts to achieve a deep, rich roasted dark malt flavor with hints of chocolate and rye. Bittered and dry-hopped with Centennial, Mosaic, and Amarillo hops that attribute to classic bitter pine notes. Available in 16oz 4-packs, growlers, and on draft.
Astrophysics IPA Our love of Space, Science, Photons, E=MC^2, General and Special Relativity, and Galaxy hops come together in Astrophysics. Astrophysics takes the laws of physics and applies it to astrological theories to answer the hows and whys of our planets, stars, and galaxies. We find staring at the night sky and asking ourselves our own hows and whys is more enjoyable with a nice crushable IPA featuring 100% our hand selected Galaxy hops.
Maple Blueberry Lemon Grunt Sour Pastry sour ale with blueberry, lemon juice & other natural flavors. Grunts are biscuit or dumpling-topped stewed fruit desserts that are cooked on the stovetop in a covered Dutch oven or cast iron skillet. The dessert is native to New England. They are very close to cobblers in construction but the topping is steamed cooked on the stovetop rather than baked.
Mexican Style Chocolate Pot De Creme Stout Imperial stout with macadamia nuts, cinnamon, vanilla, cocoa & chocolate. This dessert is typically very creamy and pack a serious dose of dark chocolate. Spiced with cinnamon and cayenne, they have a subtle, lingering heat.
Moonguts DDH DIPA Double Dry Hopped New England Double IPA – New England double IPA w/ flaked wheat, malted oats, & barley hopped & double dry hopped w/ Citra, Nelson Sauvin, Cryo Sultana & Cryo El Dorado.
Oatrich Oatmeal Dbl Stout Oatmeal Double Stout – Double Stout w/ flaked oats, malted oats, Golden Promise, caramel malt, roasted chocolate malts. Rich in flavor and texture thanks to an extended boil and 30% oats in the malt bill.
Monogatari Gose 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗶 is a Gose with crushed Black Limes and Kabosu citrus and packs quite an elaborate palate. The black limes are dried out in the sun until they lose all water content, turning black and savory which imparts a wild citrus/smoke funk. The Kabosu carries some sharp zest character tempered with honey-like sweet undertones which all plays very nicely with the overall composition of the base sour. (6.5% ABV)
Blackberry Dbl Marbles Milkshake DIPA We’re bringing back a popular winter-friendly Marbles for you to enjoy as the temperature continues to plummet. 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗗𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀 is a doubled version of our original Blackberry Marbles recipe but with double the hops, double the fruit, and double the FUN. This Milkshake DIPA is loaded with Blackberry, Vanilla, Milk Sugar, and hopped with hefty amount of Mosaic hops. An incredibly silky mouthfeel and a delightfully hoppy finish with nearly zero bitterness makes this Marbles a juicy drupelet of fruity flavor. (8% ABV)
Intentional IPA Intentional IPA delivers the distinctly and delightfully bitter characteristics of Mosaic and Citra hops, refreshingly punctuated with pineapple and peach notes. This sessionable IPA offers a full-flavored, alcohol-free experience for any intentional occasion. Intentionally brewed to savor the moment, acknowledge the things that bring us gratitude, and inspire kindness to #RaiseWellbeing.
Hellraiser Dark Amber Hellraiser Dark Amber is the beer to drink when you are out with your friends ready to have a great time. This hop-forward amber has the perfect balance of floral aroma and spicy hops to delight the palette of craft beer enthusiasts everywhere.
Victory Wheat Victory Citrus Wheat is the first non-alcoholic craft beer enriched with a full spectrum of all-natural electrolytes, vitamins, protein, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatories. Purpose-brewed with a hint of orange zest, this functional NA beer pairs well with anytime fitness activities and post-recovery workouts to replenish hydration and quench thirst. Our crisp citrus wheat NA beer is only 85 calories, offered in 16oz cans and brewed with a hint of orange zest. Upgraded with Buoy, a formula of electrolyte supplements developed to meet the hydration standards of the World Health Organization, WellBeing Victory Wheat is worthy of the title “World’s Healthiest Beer”!
Heavenly Body Golden Wheat Heavenly Body Golden Wheat is based on a Great American Beer Festival award-winning recipe. This American-style wheat has more flavor than its light lager cousins. We add a hint of cascade and German traditional hops for a slightly citrus character that balances the lighter malts. It’s dry, crisp, and smooth with a full-bodied mouthfeel. With only 68 calories, this is the perfect NA craft beer for after sports, yoga, marathon training, or anytime you are taking care to watch what’s going into your heavenly body.
Clock House is kicking out a big boy this coming Thursday as they prepare for a bomber release of a barrel aged stout! Here’s more:
FORBIDDEN The cellar doors have opened. This Monster Imperial Stout was aged for over a year in Cedar Ridge Rye-Bourbon Blended Barrels then Rested on a touch of Cacao Nibs and Vanilla Beans. Bombers of Forbidden will be available at noon on Thursday, December 23rd until supplies last. These will be sold exclusively inside our taproom. Pre-sales will not be offered. Available on draft. $22 per bottle.
BINARY CODE Bourbon- Maple Barrel aged for over one year. This Imperial Stout is as smooth as it gets. Notes of molasses and maple rounded off with sweetness on the back end. Bottles of Binary Code will be available at noon on Thursday, December 23rd until supplies last. These will be sold exclusively inside our taproom. Pre-sales will not be offered. Available on draft. $20 per 500 ML bottle
DDH Wavy IPA Our Hand Selected Mosaic and a particularly danky lot of Sultana (The hop known formerly known as Denali, formerly known as Experimental #06277, formerly known as Nugzilla… Why didn’t they stick with Nugzilla?) on a smoove oat heavy base. Lush lupulin tubes for these less than tropical conditions.
Thatz Bier Kolsch We’ve had Kölsch on the brain with our fam at Bricksworth Beer Co., so we brewed up this preposterously approachable beer inspired by the imminently crushable pseudo-“lagers” that have been brewed in Köln, Germany for generations. This version is step mashed with our beloved Weyermann Pils, a kiss of Wheat & German Ale Yeast before cold conditioning for 7 weeks to crispy perfection. That’s Beer, Alright.
The Lost World TIPA – Collab w/ Toppling Goliath Our homies from Toppling Goliath came back up to get prehistoric in our brewhouse. To Pay homage to their dino classics & the not infrequent jokes about the amount of plants in our taproom, we used earth-rattling quantities of our hand-selected mosaic & mosaic cryo, TG’s hand-selected mosaic & nelson sauvin & that new hotness, riwaka from their super secret stash. Lots of oil. Tread lightly.
Mixing With Barrel Theory Zombie cocktail inspired tiki sour ale! Brewed with passionfruit, pineapple, orange, Calamansi lime, pomegranate and our special falernum tincture. This is our collaboration with our pals from Barrel Theory Brewing Company in Saint Paul Minnesota.
Elevated Perspective – Version 7 This winter version of a hazy DDH Double IPA is brewed with winter wheat, a dash of oats and a blend of base malts. It boasts huge hop aromas and flavors of zippy citrus, dank kush, rich mango, and Bartlett pears. At 8% ABV it’s the perfect addition to any sledding adventure as it will keep you warm and toasty!
Watermelon Pineapple Lime Smoothie Seltzer To commentate the winter solstice and shortest day of the year knocking on our doors, we crafted a little bit of summer sunshine with the 5% ABV Watermelon Pineapple Lime Smoothie Seltzer. This gluten-free hard seltzer was brewed with over pounds of watermelon and pineapple puree, and a zippy dash of lime, to give you that real full flavored watermelon juice like sip.
Mr. Falcon DDH Hazy IPA – Collab W/ Barrel Theory Yippie-kai-yay, we wanted to make a beer with Barrel Theory because they’re friends and they are well-known for making hazy IPAs, and those are two super cool things that we appreciate. Mister Falcon is a DDH Hazy IPA with Strata, Citra, and Simcoe Cryo hops.
You Can Have the Crown A huge, imposing Imperial Stout, but just the beer part. No extra candy or pastry here, just a mountain of malts. We mashed twice as much, and boiled three times as long, and the resultant beer is luxuriantly chewy, chocolatey, mildly roasty, and delightful all on its own.
Mirror Universe DDH Hazy IPA Double dry-hopped hazy IPA brewed with wheat, oats, and lots of Citra, Mosaic, and El Dorado hops
Coastal Sunset Version 5 We’ve never met a dog or a cake that we we didn’t like! Introducing our upcoming Coastal Sunset v5 which is brew inspired by a fruity almond crumble cake and a gorgeous label inspired by our favorite four legged friends! Sourced with fresh plums from Washington, blueberries from Oregon, almonds and Meyer lemons from California, vanilla beans from Madagascar, and cinnamon from Sri Lanka; these ingredients combine for a juicy tart flavor profile with a creamy body.
A Lil’ Loud Pack DDH IPA We took our beloved LOUD PACK & shrunk it down to pocket sized, day time friendly proportions. The same hand-selected Citra, Mosaic, El Dorado & Australian Galaxyon a grain bill similar to, but scaled down from, the original. Is it getting A LIL’ LOUD in here, or is it just us?
Astronomical Axolotyl Berliner Loads of Blackberries meets a tart Berliner. Lactose rounds out the entire experience along with very generous amounts of Cheesecake flavor. A full balanced dessert experience in a can!
Power Hour Hazy DIPA Hazy Double IPA we brewed with our friends fromSouthern Swells Brewing Co. We wanted to work with a new experimental cryo hop blend that @yakimachief let us play with. “M”-blend is named for its massive Mango and Tropical nose and palate. We blended this with Citra and a small amount of Sabro to give this haze-bomb a huge flavor profile of tropical fruits and citrus.
Crispr Knockout Pils Pilsner that is dry, has a slightly sharp bitterness indicative of the style, and has a light malt complexity. It was brewed 13 weeks ago and we have been (im)patiently waiting as it “lagers”. Lagers go through an extended cold aging process. This is why lager yeast is so special. If treated properly, they are known to continue cleaning up the beer even at temperatures below freezing. This also helps make these beers “bone dry”.
Showy Stamens Hazy DIPA Spelt, Oats, Wheat, and a blend of two base malts create a nice complex background for a very expressive hop portfolio. Sabro, Bru-1, Mosaic, and Azacca hops come together into a JUICY, tropical goodness. Pineapple, passionfruit, tangerine, and mango all assault the palate in a great hoppy flavor profile!
Bistro Crumble Raspberry and Blackberry Heavily fruited Berliner weisse with raspberries, blackberries, cinnamon and brown sugar added after fermentation.
Bistro Smoothie Mango/Pine/Banana Heavily fruited Berliner weisse with mango, pineapple and banana added after fermentation.
N/A Parallel Sour Non-Alcoholic Fruited Sour Ale brewed with lactose, and massive amounts of passion fruit and raspberry purees.
Hop Rocket IPA All Citra & Mosaic Hopped IPA GalaxyIPA New England IPA brewed with Citra and Galaxy hops and just the right touch of vanilla
Friday night, December 3rd, sitting on a high raise table overlooking some of the best chefs in the state, maybe even the country, put on an absolute clinic on cooking, plating, and presenting some of the most wonderful food I’ve ever had put in front of me, all the while sipping on the yet to be released Richard the Whale Well Baked and Shadeshine IPA….I thought to myself…all food/beer lovers need to experience this one day and how lucky I was at that moment to get to take part in it. Big Grove has been the upper echelon on their releases, especially the Richard the Whale release, and every year they make it even more enjoyable with their food and beer offerings, but the one thing that shines even more than those things is just how amazing their staff is. Friendly, helpful, and just overall looking like they are happy to be there. This setup was a spectacle, setup like an Iron Chef type feel, video displayed on TVs showing the chefs plating, the amount of work and thought put into everything was evident. I won’t be breaking down every dish, I’ll trickle some pictures here and there, take a look and let your mouth water.
Watching the chefs put their talents on display for a 15 course dinner of foods that elegant was the ultimate treat. The care about what they serve, the interaction with the diners, and pure joy and smiles they had throughout the night was reflected in every dish. I do want to implore you, that if the chance to go to a Big Grove beer dinner is ever on the table for you, no matter what..do it…it’s worth it..it will be completely worth it….do not hesitate…this group of people simply do it the best!
Thank you Janelle for having me, thanks to all the chefs especially Ben, Sean, and T.J., thanks do Doug and Matt, thanks to Andy for sampling out some of their amazing beers…now it’s time to make your mouth water with some pictures! Cheers and thank you BG!
Join us this Friday, December 31st at noon as we release Clock House Black IPA
