Weeks ago the unfortunate news came out that many popular and delicious craft beers where seeing their last days on shelves in Iowa due to their distributor pulling out of Iowa. With such a wide portfolio of beers it was just a matter of time before some of those breweries would be picked up by others. We’ve seen Weldwerks get picked up, Untitled Art as well, and I can now tell you that Phase Three will also be coming back to Iowa. Stay tuned for distro confirmation and dates as well! Cheers!
We are proud and grateful to call Marika and Aaron @ScratchBeer dear friends. We are not kidding when we say we truly consider them one of the most creative breweries this side of the Atlantic and perhaps, dare we say the world over both in philosophy and process. A farmhouse brewery near the Shawnee National Forest in Ava, Illinois. Named one of the top four breweries for foraged beer by Outside Magazine, and one of the most beautiful places to drink beer in the world by All About Beer Magazine, Scratch Brewing Company focuses on farmhouse beers and other styles brewed with home grown and locally farmed and foraged ingredients. The brewery has an ever rotating selection of styles enhanced by the innovative addition of local ingredients, such as nettle, elderberry, ginger, dandelion, maple sap, hickory, lavender, juniper, and chanterelle mushrooms.
Trust us when we tell you, the place is magical, the on premise bread is legendary and the Serpent Room and the artwork by Brett Douglas Hunter is a bucket list experience.
SCRATCH BREWING BOTTLES:
Scratch Wild Carrot & Nettle Farmhouse Ale 12/500ml BOT – Blonde farmhouse ale brewed with wild carrots, lemongrass and lemon basil and fermented with our wild house culture. Easy drinking with a spicy, herbal, lemony finish. 5.2% ABV – IL
Scratch Foeder-Aged Porter 12/750ml BOT – Robust porter brewed with a hefty dose of chocolate malt and sweet cicely, then aged in our 7 bbl oak foeder from Foeder Crafters. Velvety smooth with a strong oak backbone and a hint of licorice and a very light acidity. 7.4% – ABV – IL
Scratch Basil IPA 12/750ml BOT – One of their all-time classics! This beer’s aroma comes from basil rather than hops, but plays with the chemical compounds present in both to make a beer that tastes intriguingly familiar. Brewed with lemon basil, sweet basil, and tulsi basil from our garden; honey from our friends at Royal Bee in Steeleville; grain from Sugar Creek Malt; and fermented with our house culture. Bright basil and hop-like aroma that tastes fresh now but stands up well to aging. 6.7% – ABV – IL
Scratch Roselle 12/750ml BOT – Farmhouse ale brewed with grain from Sugar Creek Malt and Southern Illinois-grown wheat and roselle plants and flowers from our garden. Lightly tart and earthy with a hibiscus-like aroma and flavors of cranberry and cherry, this beer has the terroir of late summer in Southern Illinois. 4.3% – ABV – IL
Scratch 131 – 12/500ml BOT – This unique farmhouse ale is an imprint of its place and time. Brewed with 131 different leaves, roots, bark, flowers, seeds, and fungi from the height of the growing season. It conveys a subtle earthiness and spice that is characteristic of our location in Southern Illinois. Scored a 97 in Craft Beer & Brewing’s 2023 ratings of Saisons: “Herbal and minty in the sip, with lemon zest, eucalyptus, and a vast range of herbal spice. Thorough but quirky and fast moving.” 5.3% – IL
Scratch Wild Grapevine Saison 12/500ml BOT – Farmhouse beer brewed with wild grape leaves and green grapes, and toasted grapevine; and fermented with our wild house culture. White wine-like fermentation character with a hint of tannin and a toasty vanilla-like finish from the grape vines. 5.2% – IL
Courtesy of Field Day Brewing:
Join us for Baltic Fest on February 17th at 4pm!
A release day party for our Baltic Porter with stick pokes on the patio! A red hot iron stick poke caramelizes the sugars in your beer creating a unique experience for the drinker. Firepits and burners will be placed all around the patio with tabletop firepits.
In November we brewed a 10.5% Baltic Porter that lagered in Silver Oak California Cab barrels that aged 15 year Weller for 10 months brewing a really complex, malty, high ABV, highly drinkable porter.
Let’s drink some beers around the fire! Tickets are available now for $10 or $15 day of and include your first beer, a smores buffet (with boozy marshmallows), and a hot chocolate station for 21+.
Tickets HERE!
Press release:
The Cedar Rapids Brewing Society’s Drink Local Festival, previously held in August, is combining with Benzfest and will be moving to the second weekend in May.
The Cedar Rapids Brewing Society Benzfest will be held at Benz Beverage Depot on Saturday, May 11th. The event will include beers, ciders, meads, and spirits from a variety of vendors from around the Midwest and from homebrew clubs from around the state.
“We are very excited to continue our partnership with Benz. Combining these two great festivals will allow us to bring in even more vendors, while still featuring the many great homebrew clubs from around the state,” said Haley Rosendahl, Vice President of the Cedar Rapids Brewing Society. “Moving the event to May will hopefully result in more temperate weather than the previous Drink Local festivals in August.”
Look for tickets for the Cedar Rapids Brewing Society Benzfest to go on sale soon and stay tuned for announcements on vendor lineup. Follow CRBS on Facebook for announcements. https://www.facebook.com/CedarRapidsBrewingSociety
We’re breaking this one out of the cage… it’s been constricted for too long.
Join us today for the release of Boa Constrict. A true to style West Coast IPA showcasing Citra and Cascade hops. Crystal clear in appearance with a clean 95 IBU’s. Expect classic Cascade floral notes with a nice compliment of citrus.
Available in 16oz 4-packs and on draft.
I wrote this review for Little Village Magazine which you can check out by clicking HERE:
The latest venture from the group that brought you Lua Brewing company has seemingly taken over Grand Avenue in West Des Moines! Either/Or restaurant (6222 Grand Ave. Des Moines) opened their doors in early Fall of 2023 and has been consistently busy since.
“Lua is about craft beer and food. It was our first, so it’s always our baby, but it’s small. Either/Or is bigger on just about every scale. We still do craft beer and handmade food as well as we can, but we have cocktails, we have a private event space, we have a huge patio with green space and a playscape and five fire pits. We have twice as many team members and so much more space. At Either/Or, you can do date night or you can do family night or you can do Friendsgiving. It’s really flexible for any occasion,” said owner Scott Selix.
Their cuisine can be described as elevated American fare with the focus being on the quality of the food that they put out. All of their burgers are ground in house, juices squeezed fresh for their amazing cocktails, and the always fresh and never frozen concept. “We have a great team. Our head brewer, Zack, did the draft beer list with input from all of us. Our chefs, James and Cesar, did the food menu. And then it was a group effort on making high-end cocktails. So it was a collection of people. And the one thing they all had in common was we created what we like. The beer list has Bierstadt and Sierra Nevada and Confluence and Lua, but also High Life and Duchesse, because that’s what we like to drink. The food menu was a collection of foods we’ve been inspired by. Cesar, our chef de cuisine, is of Mexican heritage, and so there’s some fresh Mexican inspired dishes. But he and James love Asian food as well, so there’s some Asian influence. We also make homemade bologna, which is a very lengthy process and is distinctly European/American. We grind our own burgers everyday, and we only source 100% Iowa-sourced Certified Angus Beef. We pretty much said “let’s create a restaurant we’d want to dine at,” and that’s what we did! So the food is approachable, but unlike stuff you’ll find elsewhere and always homemade (see the Bologna).”
On why the ownership group chose this particular location for Either/Or, Selix responded, “It’s actually just barely east of the WDM border, so still in Des Moines by about 100 yards. But I played soccer at the soccer fields just south of Either/Or. Some partners on the building showed us the space and once whit and I saw it, we were set on it being a restaurant. Those partners live within walking distance, so they saw potential in the building. And then we saw it right away too. The huge patio, the connection to my old soccer club, the great location on Des Moines’ front porch from WDM, it all came together pretty quick with the tremendous team we have.”
On this particular Friday, I had the pleasure of taking my two daughters with me to check out this restaurant. They are both familiar with Lua Brewing as we’ve frequented that place many times, and so when I told them the owners of Lua(Scott and Whitney Selix) have opened a restaurant and we are going to get to try it tonight, they were extremely excited. Upon entering, you are greeted with colorful and eclectic decor. The bar pops and the open kitchen gives you an inside look at how your dishes are put together. A very cool, casual, and comfortable feel right away.
We were seated immediately, although the place was already very busy. The menu had many options that appealed to us so limiting what to order was a tall task for 3 hungry patrons. The beer list was loaded with delicious options, noticing that Lua had multiple beers on tap made my decision easy though.
BEER
I went with their latest double IPA, Dancer. Although it checks in at 8.6% ABV, it’s scarily drinkable and I had to convince myself to not order another. I love the hop combo on this beer and the creamy texture it brings. Lua makes some of the best beers in Iowa and this one is right up there for me as a favorite. Fantastic beer, a beer of the year candidate for sure!
APPETIZER
Quite a few delicious options on the appetizer portion of the menu, but the clear cut favorite that my daughter’s chose were the Mexican cheese curds. If cheese curds are on the menu, there’s a 99% chance that my kids would have me order them. These cheese curds, however, were very much more inspired than just your basic fried cheese curd. House battered and served with pickled fresno chiles, cilantro and a chipotle ranch dressing these were some of the best cheese curds any of us had ever eaten. The perfect bite consisted of a curd, a pickled fresno, and a leaf of cilantro with just a tiny bit of dressing. It hit all the taste buds. A great dish.
MAIN COURSE
We decided to do a bit of sharing and order a couple of sandwiches. I asked our waiter what Either/Or was known for besides the smash burgers, the fried bologna was recommended. I also wanted to try a vegetarian dish so I got the Italian mushroom sandwich. This bologna sandwich is unlike any you have had. It’s not your Oscar Meyer bologna sandwich. It’s made in house and the flavor is off the charts. Almost a pepperoni spice to it, it melts in your mouth and they stack this sandwich high with it. An excellent sandwich. The mushroom melt made you forget you weren’t eating meat. Loaded with perfectly cooked mushrooms and topped with a delicious homemade giardiniera and a side of jus, this sandwich would be perfect for not only a vegetarian diet, but even the biggest carnivores can get behind a sandwich this tasty!
DESSERT
There was no question what dessert we were going to order. My kids have been rice pudding lovers since they were little. Either/Or’s rice pudding was extraordinary. Either/Or added some apple compote and then topped their pudding off with a sesame tuile, which is a baked wafer. A great final dish to cap off a really wonderful meal.
OVERALL
I’m really excited to see what Either/Or brings to their menu and what they will come up with for their seasonal offerings. Their menu is ever changing and the way they play with fresh ingredients and the detail put into their dishes is commendable and appreciated. This place will be consistently busy, their food is delicious and approachable. This ownership group is doing all the right things and they continue to set the bar high for other establishments. If you are in the West Des Moines area, this is a must stop for a truly wonderful meal!
OFF COLOR BREWING:
MUCKRAKER BEERMAKER:
BLACKBERRY FARM:
Mango Jalapeño Sizzler is a kettle sour brewed with sweet mangos and loads of jalapeños. Expect big juicy mango notes with jalapeño flavors throughout. Sizzle level= mild for maximum enjoyment!
Available on draft, growlers, and 16oz 4-packs. Doors open at 3 PM!
Power pack includes:
Zombie Dust – Pale Ale – 6.5% ABV
Zombie Ice – Double IPA – 8.5% ABV
Foggy Geezer – IPA – 7.3%
Blinding Light Snow – Pale Ale – 7%
Trolls Trolls Trolls – Imperial Stout – 13% – barrel-aged imperial stout with vanilla beans added.
