Tag: iowa beer baron
FilmScene Presents: HomeBrew Fest Saturday Jan. 30th 4-7 pm
From Joe at FilmScene:
FilmScene is putting together a local Homebrew event on-site here in our downtown Iowa City cinema, and with a few homebrewers already on tap, we’re wondering if anyone else would like to participate and share their brews?
Exact date and details are below. Admission for patrons is a donation to our nonprofit
HomeBrew Fest @ FilmScene
Date: Saturday, January 30th
Time: 4-7pm, Gallery Space
Tix: $10 (donation to FS?)
Includes: Tastings (while supplies last) + FilmScene Popcorn
Copy: Join us for the first ever Homebrew @ FilmScene event. Sample a range of classic and unique creations from talented local homebrewers. Admission includes samples and endless FilmScene popcorn.
If you are interested in joining, and sharing your brews with a crowd of connoisseurs and moviegoers, contact joe [at] icfilmscene [dot] org
Baron’s Best of 2015: Part 2
Here we go with part 2. Part 1 dominated by Iowa breweries so Part 2 I’ll mix it up a bit more. Once again, criteria has to be: 1) Available for purchase in Iowa in 2015 2) A beer I’ve ever tried before.
**Anchorage Brewing Love Buzz Saison – a style I’ve grown to love more and more and with Anchorage, Blackberry Farm (spoiler), and Lion Bridge constantly available, this is a style I’ll continue to enjoy! Roses, peppercorns, and orange peels star in this wonderful brew from Anchorage.
**Toppling Goliath Thresher – pale wheat ales were 1st introduced to me at Merkles’ Bar across from Wrigley in the form of 3 Floyds Gumballhead on tap. That was when I 1st started getting into craft so that beer and style are always exciting for me to try. Toppling Goliath takes a pale wheat and adds that TG IPAness to it. Very crushable and refreshing.
**Prairie Apple Brandy Noir – enjoyed this bottle for the 1st time at Lincoln Winebar thanks to Jesse. Served at a perfect temperature, this beer was one to sip on and enjoy. Apple cider, caramel, dark fruits and a bit of burn from the booze made this a perfect winter stout…I just wish I had more.
**Big Grove Brewery Trident XII – I think if there was a gun to my head and I had to pick my favorite beer I tried this year, this might be the winner. Melon and citrus flavors combine to bring this 11%ish double IPA seem like a deceitfully drinkable IPA.Plus, you know, I won my family beer fest with this brew.
**Oskar Blues Death By Coconut – I heard the 1st release of this was lacking coconut, luckily I got the second batch of this. This beer is an almond joy in beer form. Enjoyed it tailgating prior to the Iowa/Gopher game and hoping to see more of it our shelves. Oskar Blues outdid themselves with this one.
**515 Passe – had this all the way down in Parkville, MO at the Parkville Beer Festival. Dave and company might have made the best pale ale in Iowa with this beer. The perfect combination of citrus and tropical fruit make this one of the better beers of the year. 515 is just a fantastic place to visit and I wish I could get to Des Moines more often.
**Tallgrass Big RICC – I think if there was a vote on the best Tallgrass beer Big RICC might take home the gold. A 10.2% Russian Imperial Stout coming in a can that has a perfect balance of roasty malts, chocolate, and coffee. I hope Tallgrass keeps pushing this one down their lines!
Part 2 in the books! Let me know your thoughts!
Lion Bridge Brewery “Barrel-Aged January” Schedule
Here it it! The schedule for Lion Bridge Breweries “barrel-aged January” is here and it looks wonderful!
Tues 1/5 – CSA member private event – Oktobot 3000 pre-release party (This event is for members only. If you aren’t a member of the our Community Supported Ales Program, be sure to get one for you or as a gift for your loved ones for the holiday. It’s the gift that keeps on giving: http://www.lionbridgebrewing.com/store/)
Weds 1/6 – Oktobot 3000 public release, Barrel-Aged January glassware release and festive polka from Czech Plus.
Fri 1/8 – Oktobot 5000 release! This is our Imperial Barrel-Aged Oktoberfest, Oktobot 3000, aged in Cedar Ridge Bourbon Reserve Barrels.
Saturday 1/9 – Englert Theater Collabeeration release. Local Talent Robust Porter. Not a barrel-aged beer but a great day to come out and enjoy some a delicious new beer from Lion Bridge.
Weds 1/13 – The Royal Wee (Wee Heavy aka Strong Scotch Ale) release. Aged in Cedar Ridge Peated Whiskey, Apple Brandy and Dark Rum Barrels. Music by IrishJam
Sat 1/16 – Cherry Wood Stave Royal Wee release. A portion of the Royal Wee batch aged in Cedar Ridge Cherry Stave Whiskey Barrels.
Weds 1/20 – Cabernet Saison. We took a batch of our Untitled Saison and aged it in single-use Cabernet Sauvignon barrels from Piña Napa Valley. Some lively accompanying jazz music provided by Traffic Jam.
Sat 1/23 – Maple Disaster – Our GABF Gold Disaster at Meux re-fermented with copious amount of Great River Maple dark syrup and barrel aged. Great River Maple will be on hand to sample maple products, and Eduskate will be printing Maple Disaster t-shirts on demand.
Weds 1/27 – GAZPROM! release. Our Russian Imperial Stout aged in Cedar Ridge Single Malt Whiskey barrels with a re-fermenation from a lot of maple syrup. Our favorite Grateful Dead tribute band, Winterland, will be closing out the month.
Cheers and hope you can join us for a great January!
Baron’s Best of 2015 Part 1
I always enjoy looking back on a year of great beer drinking and this year was probably the best. So many great beers to choose from and what makes it even better is that there are so many great beers brewed here in Iowa that will makes this list. Don’t get me wrong, tons of good stuff on the shelves, but bringing home a growler of fresh Arms Race or Workman’s Compensation makes it that much more special to live in Eastern Iowa and have the opportunity to support our local breweries.
This year’s list will be dominated by Iowa breweries, these are all beers that were/are available for purchase in Iowa that I had for the FIRST TIME EVER in 2015. You won’t see the Bourbon county’s or the KBS, I know that they change year by year but I’m going to leave them off this list. I haven’t visited a few newer breweries in Iowa which I know I need to. Everyone has their favorites, let me know what I need to try! 30 beers on the list this year and it was difficult coming to just 30. This is Part 1 of 5, let’s roll!
*Lion Bridge Brewery GAZPROM! – a russian imperial stout aged in rye and brandy barrels that Lion Bridge gets to us in the months Iowans need to be warmed up! January and February in Iowa suck, but Lion Bridge’s release of GAZPROM! makes them a little more tolerable. Plus, the tshirt released was badass too!
*Big Grove Brewery Buster – let’s keep the Iowa breweries rolling with a triple IPA that was released last Spring. Big Grove had a dominant year with their IPA releases and their Richard the Whale releases. This triple was juicy as hell and scary drinkable. Coming in at 11.3%, this bad boy could lead to a good night’s sleep.
*Pulpit Rock Mr. Hoppy Pants – one of the newer breweries in Iowa is located across the street from Toppling Goliath in Decorah. I was lucky enough to stop in and have a pint and loved what those breweries are brewing up. Mr. Hoppy Pants is a double IPA brewed on a rotating hop schedule so this brew might change from time to time. Not sure of the hops in the draw I had but I loved it. Aromatic and crushable, visit Pulpit Rock, they are an up and comer to keep an eye on.
*Exile Raspberry Bohemian – this one might keep some talk stirred as I picked this over their Cherry Bohemian and I think many folks enjoyed the cherry more..not me. I think I just enjoy raspberry in my beer more than cherry flavor, just a personal preference and that’s why Raspberry gets my nod over Cherry. Either way, both beers were great and I would venture to say that Exile nailed it with both of them.
*Turner Alley Czech Village Pilsner – a style that’s not as “sexy” as the imperial IPAs or the barrel-aged beers of the world, but a style that seems lost in the mix is pilsners. Travis at Turner Alley has taken what some would consider a boring style and made a crisp, refreshing, balanced pilsner that I would put up against most out there. Looking forward to see what Turner Alley has in store for 2016.
*Firetrucker Black Walnut Alcova Brown Ale – another “basic” style that seems like it got lost in the shuffle of beer styles, gets amped up with the addition of 100 black walnuts. This is a beer I can drink anytime of the year and that nutty aftertastes shines through making this beer a perfect example on how to make a great brown.
**Part 2 coming soon! Iowa brewery dominant so far. Let me know your thoughts!
Coming to Shelves: Rubaeus Cans, Boulevard Chocolate Ale w/Raspberries, Stone, Ballast Point
Some new beers should be gracing our shelves in the near future, some we’ve seen before and some with a slight twist. Let’s get on with the update:
*Founders Rubaeus Cans– Founders’ popular raspberry beer will be coming in 12 oz cans and I believe is now going to be a year round offering.
*Boulevard Chocolate Ale w/Raspberries – Boulevard is amplifying its winter release of chocolate ale by adding raspberries to the beer. Here’s more on this beer from Boulevard:
We’re always looking for playful new ways to approach the art of brewing, so we invited back celebrated chocolatier Christopher Elbow to reimagine our very popular collaboration, Chocolate Ale. Elbow has earned a worldwide reputation for his ability to harmonize all kinds of flavors with chocolate. For this exciting new version has has paired the bright flavors and aromas of raspberry for a fresh take on an old favorite.
*Ballast Point Ginger Big Eye IPA – Ballast Point once again taking one of their core IPA beers and adding a adjunct to it. This time it’s their Big Eye IPA and adding ginger to it. This beer checks in on 7% and will be available in 22 oz bombers.
*Stone Americano Stout – Stone Brewing will be releasing another stout. According to B.A. member Bottlecaps80 this beer will be an Imperial Stout with Espresso and come in at 8.5% ABV. More from Stone:
Founders Releases 2016 Release Schedule
Some changes to their schedule and a few unknowns but here it is:
Odell Coming to Iowa Soon
The following was passed along to me by @bdattilo on Twitter and makes it sound like Iowa will be seeing Odell on the shelf soon:
That’s right…we’re looking for a talented Iowa/Nebraska sales rep to join our team! http://odellbrewing.com/jobs/
Stay tuned for more details!
Tallgrass Brewing Announces Core Lineup Changes
The following informations comes courtesy of Tallgrass Brewing’s newsletter. Some changes to their core lineup and the addition of 3 new beers and the subtraction of 3 as well. There will be no more Ethos IPA, Velvet Rooster, 16-Bit, as well as 2 seasonals Halcyon Wheat and Ginger-Peach Saison. Here’s more from Tallgrass:
Regional Brewery Announces Changes to Core Lineup
Restaurant Review: Hudson’s Southside Tap; Iowa City, IA
A visit to a familiar area of Iowa City was in store for my wife and I as we were on our way to visit Hudson’s Southside Tap in Iowa City. We used to live in the Pentacrest Apartment complex downtown (very close to the bars….too close to the bars) and frequently visited the Pancheros on that side of town. Oh how I wish Hudson’s would have been there during that time!
Walking into the restaurant you are greeted with an inviting pub feel. Dark wood tables and a bar area that highlights the booze and taps. Very cozy, a place that I could spend hours in and feel right at home. I of course noticed the 40 tap handles on the back wall and was excited to dig into a few beers.
On the menu, I was expecting basic 
pub fare, but Hudson’s gives you more than that. An upscale pub fare if you will. When checking out new places I like to order multiple items, or I’m a fat ass who overeats, could be either of those…but anyway, I started with some basic chicken wings.
I’m a big fan of great chicken wings…not breaded (except for the Wig and Pen, love those), fried until crisp, with the perfect amount of sauce, and I must say, Hudson’s has some of the best wings I’ve had in some time. Their homemade blue cheese dressing and ranch where icing on the cake. Would go back to try their other sauces, but I would have no problem ordering the basic Frank’s sauce wings again.
There are also some slider options on the menu and I went with the pulled pork slider. Perfect amount of sauce, excellent pork with a touch of smokiness, very good slider. My wife had a short rib philly cheese steak with jalapeno cream 
cheese. It was excellent, albeit a bit messy, but something we would order again. My main dish was the shrimp po’ boy. I’m a po’ boy junky, would eat them everyday and this one added it’s own touches to a traditional sandwich. A creole spiced may addition added to this sandwich. The shrimp were huge and cooked perfect and the bread was crunchy on the outside but nice and chewy in the middle.
All of these items, (I finished everything) were washed down with a Big Grove Brewery Que Sera and then a Boulevard Tank 7. For being relatively new they did a nice job getting Iowa beers on tap and I can see more Iowa tap handles as Hudson’s continues to get their feet wet.
There hadn’t been much of a reason for me to visit Iowa City’s south side anymore, but Hudson’s has now given me that reason. Looking forward to going again….oh yeah, we took our loud 1 year old daughter and wait staff couldn’t have been more friendly and playful with her. Highly recommend a visit to this local tap!
