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!
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.
*Big Grove Brewery Buster
*Pulpit Rock Mr. Hoppy Pants
*Exile Raspberry Bohemian
*Turner Alley Czech Village Pilsner
*Firetrucker Black Walnut Alcova Brown Ale
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:
*Boulevard Chocolate Ale w/Raspberries
*Stone Americano Stout
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:
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:
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 
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.
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 
The following review comes from Meat, excellent review that leaves your mouth watering. I NEED SOME FRIED CHICKEN!! Here it is, thanks again Meat!
For the first course we ordered a crab cake. I have not had great experience with crab cakes recently (I wanted duck tacos but she insisted). As per usual, she made the right call. The crab cake was tender and full of jumbo lump crab meat with very little binder. It sat on a carrot romesco sauce and topped with a cranberry fermented fennel. The combination of the sweet crab meat, earthy and spicy romesco, and tangy/pungest fennel made this a home run. I only got two bites!