Big Grove posted a teaser on Instagram today announcing the impending arrival of the “Hazepocalypse”! as well as the first line in that series of beers named Peace, Freedom, Bacon & Eggs. Stay tuned for more details on this release and more on Hazepocalypse, but check out the pic below for the teaser!
Abu Nawas is at it again as they will be bringing Nightmare Brewing, a contract brewery out of New York, to our shelves in Eastern Iowa. The brews that we will be seeing are:
Along with the welcoming of Nightmare Brewing to our shelves, we will be getting some Clown Shoes beers as well:
And to cap off the week with Abu Nawas they will have the following back from Evil Twin and Stillwater:
As we countdown the hours until 2018 is behind us and we ring in 2019, it’s time to name my 2018 Iowa Beer of the Year. So many wonderful brews came to us from our local breweries across the state that it made this a challenging task. In fact, I had a hard time narrowing my list of 10 for new Iowa beers of the year…which you can see if you click here. So…without further ado, my Iowa Beer of the Year is…..
Big Grove Macaroon Richard!!
Imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels, featuring organic toasted coconut & almonds.
The Richard the Whale release of 2018 was a very memorable experience. The line of guys waiting to get in and sharing beers with everyone, the wonderful food, the great conversation, and of course….the beer.
I was expecting coffee to be my favorite just because I love coffee in barrel aged stouts. Macaroon was a bonus to get the others and then I went ahead and tried it on tap….BLOWN AWAY!!! The nose, creaminess, sweet but not over the top/coconut sugar sweet and the nuttiness from the almonds meshed so damn good together that I needed to have another glass…and then another one that night at the Solon location, and then another for lunch the next day…well, you get it, I really loved this beer and that is why it is my 2018 Iowa Beer of the Year winner! Congrats Big Grove and I’m looking forward to the 2019 Richard release!
How does this pertain to the Iowa beer scene? Well, JBC are the coffee roasters that Big Grove uses for their Coffee Richard the Whale brew. Here’s a link to the article or it is quoted below. Awesome achievement!
Forbes ranks Madison coffee roaster as one of 12 best in the nation
By Jeff Dahdah WisconsinForbes has ranked Madison-based JBC Coffee Roasters as one of the 12 best coffee roasters in the U.S.
“The pioneering Johnson family continues to set the coffee bar high in Madison, Wisconsin, always nailing the roast,” the article says about JBC.
Michael Johnson, part owner of JBC, said he was honored to be listed as one of the nation’s best.
“It just really feels good to be recognized for all the hard work that team has put forth in carrying out high grade and try to evaluate the coffee service around Wisconsin.” Johnson said.
The exposure has been good for business. Johnson said there’s been a steady stream of new people coming in to try the coffee.
With just five people working to perfectly pick, roast and brew the coffee, the company said it means a lot to them that people notice the care they put into the drink.
“We’re always trying to up our game to the next level and it feels great to be recognized,” said Danny Fallon, JBC’s brand ambassador.
JBC has been recognized in the past as one of the best small coffee makers in the nation by CNN’s Fortune Magazine. It’s also a two-time Good Food Award Winner.
Abu Nawas will be supplying our shelves with some outstanding beers in the coming week like they always do. That Evil Twin/Westbrook collab sounds mighty interesting! Here’s what they be bringing this week!
Ok, reloads first!
- Irish-ish Coffee Stout 16oz CAN – Imperial Stout, Bailey’s style, brewed with Lactose, Nutmeg, Vanilla, Coffee, & Toasted Oak Spirals. 10.3% ABV
- Hot Toddy-ish 16oz CAN – Barley-Wine brewed with Honey, Lemon, & Cinnamon. 10% ABV.
- Even More JCs 16oz CAN – Affogato-style Imp Stout. 13% ABV.
- Even More Pecan Pie Jesus 16oz CAN – Twist on Even More Jesus, Imperial stout brewed with molasses and pecan. 12% ABV.
- I Always Felt Closer To IPAs Than I Did To People 16oz CAN. Double dry hopped with tons of tasty Galaxy, Citra, Simcoe and Falconer‘s Flight, Hazy NE-IPA 7.5% ABV.
- The Check Please 12oz CAN – collab with Blank Brewing; Double Dry-Hopped Black IPA. 7% ABV.
New Evil Twin Draft!
- This IPA is Kind of a Big Deal 1/2 bbl Keg – Double Dry-Hopped DIPA brewed with Raw Wild Honey. 10% ABV Limited Release!
- This IPA is Kind of a Big Deal 1/6 bbl Keg – Double Dry-Hopped DIPA brewed with Raw Wild Honey. 10% ABV
- The Pure & Simple IPA is Rarely Pure and Never Simple 1/2 bbl Keg – Hazy NE-Style Double Dry-Hopped Session IPA. 4.5% ABV Limited Release!
- The Pure & Simple IPA is Rarely Pure and Never Simple 1/6 bbl Keg – Hazy NE-Style Double Dry-Hopped Session IPA. 4.5% ABV
- Øl Dorado 1/6 bbl – Double El Dorado Dry-Hopped IPA 7% ABV. Limited Release!
- Poetry is What Gets Lost in Translation 1/2 bbl Keg – Fresh batch and the latest in the Erase & Rewind IPA series brewed at Westbrook, hopped with Moteuka, Idaho 7, & Citra. 7% ABV. VERY LIMITED Release!!
- Saigon Selfie Scooter 1/6 bbl KEG – Imperial Stout brewed with Vietnamese Coffee. This Vietnamese-Style Coffee Stout is inspired by the popular Vietnamese coffee drink called “Ca Phe Sua Da” (cah–fe sah dah). It’s a thick and decadent brew just like a coffee milkshake and contains brown sugar and cream extract 11% ABV. Limited Release!
- Westbrook/Evil Twin OFYMD 1/6 bbl Keg. Piña Colada Imp Stout. 12.8% ABV.
New Evil Twin Cans:
This IPA is Kind of a Big Deal 16oz CAN – Double Dry-Hopped DIPA brewed with Raw Wild Honey. 10% ABV Limited Release!
The Pure & Simple IPA is Rarely Pure and Never Simple 16oz CAN – Hazy NE-Style Double Dry-Hopped Session IPA. 4.5% ABV Limited Release!
Øl Dorado 16oz CAN – Double El Dorado Dry-Hopped IPA 7% ABV. Limited Release!
Poetry is What Gets Lost in Translation 16oz CAN – Fresh batch and the latest in the Erase & Rewind IPA series brewed at Westbrook, hopped with Moteuka, Idaho 7, & Citra. 7% ABV. VERY Limited Release!
Saigon Selfie Scooter 16oz CAN – Imperial Stout brewed with Vietnamese Coffee. This Vietnamese-Style Coffee Stout is inspired by the popular Vietnamese coffee drink called “Ca Phe Sua Da” (cah–fe sah dah). It’s a thick and decadent brew just like a coffee milkshake and contains brown sugar and cream extract 11% ABV. Limited Release!
G is for Grapefruit 16oz CAN – Gose brewed with Grapefruit. 4.5% ABV.
Cranberry Saus Baus 16oz CAN – IPA brewed with oat, vanilla, cranberry puree and lactose. 7.8% ABV. Just in time for the Season. Limited Release!
Westbrook/Evil Twin OFYMD 16oz CAN – Piña Colada Imp Stout. 12.8% ABV.
This coming Saturday, Dec. 22nd, Iowa Brewing Company will be releasing their Barrel-aged Oja and variants. Below are the deets for this event. Cheers!
BARREL AGED OJA RELEASE INFO
Doors open at 11am on Saturday, December 22nd.
German Chocolate Cake Oja: 375ml bottle, $13, two per person.
Rye Barrel Aged Oja: 375 ml bottle, $10 each, one per person.
Available on Draft:
German Chocolate Cake Oja – $8 6oz pour (half tulip)
Rye Barrel Aged Oja – $7 6oz pour (half tulip)Bottle shares will be allowed in line, please line up at our patio door and keep any open containers inside the patio.
Parking: There is free street parking surrounding the brewery, as well as parking ramps within walking distance. Please do not park in the YMCA parking lot across the street.
Big Grove brewery will be releasing a new New England style IPA to the mix on December 22nd as “A Real Nice Surprise” will be a brewery only release! Doors open at 10:00 a.m!
Lion Bridge Brewery out of Cedar Rapids will be canning what looks like 5 new beers this coming January during their “Barrel-Aged January” and they all sound terrific. Coming off hot releases of Spice Must Flow and Majestic Beast, they will be canning their popular Gazprom, Home Baked, Disaster at Maui, Beer at Work, and then a secret release beer that they are teasing. Here’s more on these new canned brews:
*Gazprom!: Every January this is a highly anticipated beer release in the state of Iowa and Lion Bridge just made it even better buy offering it in 4 pack cans. In the past Gazprom! checked in at around 12% ABV and will probably be right around that mark again. I’m super excited for this one as this is one of my favorites.
*Beer at Work: Another hazy IPA that’s going to be brewed with Vic Secret and Ella hops.
*Disaster at Maui: what sounds like their popular Disaster at the Meux base that will have the addition of coconut, cacao nibs, and coffee. Sounds like the perfect dessert for me!
*Home Baked: another imperial stout coming to cans that is brewed with hazelnut, cinnamon, cocoa nibs, and everyone’s favorite ingredient…love!
And the fifth would be the super secret release which will no doubt but just as good as the rest. Barrel-Aged January is coming soon folks, I hope to see you down at Lion Bridge sipping on some greatness. A special thank you to Lion Bridge for making the month of January in Iowa much more tolerable because of your wonderful beer releases.
