Tag: Iowa beer releases

More Drekker brews coming from Pequod!

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Braaaaaaains Mango / Lemon / Lime  Double Fruit Sour We loaded this summer crusher up with mango, lemon, & lime and then hit it with our double secret smoothie treatment of sea salt, lactose, and vanilla beans and it’s just as refreshing & delicious as you’re imagining it is right now.

Chonk Banana Split
Banana Split Chonk is back! Our loveable hefty boi is all smothered in a preposterously tasty pile of banana, strawberry, & chocolate 

Frose Braaaaains – Collab w/KINGS Brewing Co!
big ol’ fruity collab with our pals @kingsbrewingco! We loaded up Frosé Braaaaaaaains with watermelon, lime, & guava then gave it our double secret smoothie treatment of sea salt, lactose, and vanilla. 

NEW Style – Good Platoon DBL IPA 
Goon Platoon is brewed with oats and loaded up with Citra, Belma, and NZH-107 hops for a super balanced flavor with notes of kiwi, guava, and strawberry candy.⠀

NEW – Pizza Toots IPA 
Pizza Toots is an IPA brewed with oats & spelt and hopped with Rakau and Ekuanot and it’s crazy delicious.

NEW version – Slang Du Jour Lemon Bar 

We raided Grandma’s recipe box and then got a little weird with it of course, so we stuffed this Slang with lemon, pear, a little banana, vanilla soft serve ice cream, granola and a whole pile of shortbread cookies for a lemon bar flavor that’s totally Grandma approved!

NEW – When life gives you Prrrrts!
When Life Gives You PRRRTs all you can do is laugh at the PRRRTs. It’s also going to be better if you’re laughing at the PRRRTs while drinking a When Life Gives You PRRRTs. This Strawberry, Guava, Pink Lemonade is hella tasty, 

NEW – Synaptic Cleft DBL IPA 
Synaptic Cleft, a big, soft double IPA built on a huge base of oats and wheat and hopped with Motueka, Moutere, Citra, and Belma for some massive citrus, stone fruit, & berry flavors with just the right amount of bitterness to perfectly balance it all out.⠀

Clock House announces “Bake and Shake” series with the release of “Orange Dream” this Friday (7/1)!

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A new series of 3 pastry sours titled “Bake and Shake” will be released by Clock House this Friday with the debut beer being “Orange Dream”! Here’s more on this release from Clock House, stay tuned for future releases in this series!

New Beer and series coming at you! Our Bake ‘N’ Shake series will be featuring 3 brand new pastry sours.

This Friday, July 1st will be the debut of Orange Dream. This sour features a plethora of White Sheet Cake, Glaze, Vanilla Beans and Orange Purée. This will be available in cans and on draft!

Backpocket 10th Anniversary set for June 11th!

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Set your calendars for Saturday June 11th and get to Backpocket’s 10th Anniversary party featuring the release of their 10th Anniversary stout and much more! Complete lineup below:

Mark your calendars and help us celebrate TEN YEARS!!

Special releases include:
TENTH Anniversary Stout, BA Tiki Sour, Mallow Vibes, and Black Hive!

11AM-12PM Hits and Hops Kickboxing inspired workout with 9Round Fitness

12PM-7PM Albatross Food Truck

1-3PM Live music with James Tuston

1PM Elida’s Bakery

4-6PM Live music with Harvest

7PM Marco’s Food Truck

7-9PM DSM Silent Disco

Yard games ALL day!

Clock House releasing “Integrity Wheat” on April 15th!

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A refreshing wheat beer will be coming from Clock House brewing this Friday as they prepare to release “Integrity Wheat” using locally grown wheat and locally milled malt! Here’s more on this beer courtesy of Clock House’s Facebook page:

Integrity Wheat: Bursting with Blood Orange flavors, our newest Wheat Beer is ready for warmer days. Integrity Wheat is brewed with locally grown Iowa Wheat and Genie Vienna Malt from Miller Malting Co in Cascade Iowa. At Miller Malting Co they are passionate about creating a solid connection with sustainable growers for the best quality grain possible, ultimately producing the best brews! They take pride in empowering the local farmer to explore other growing opportunities right here in Iowa.

Available on draft, and in growlers to go.

2 New Beers coming from Lion Bridge this month!

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A new month means new beers and Lion Bridge Brewing will get the partying rolling on April 6th when they release the first of 2 new beers! Lemon Lime Cream Cheese Bar will come our way April 6th and then will be followed by Mount Trashmore Trail Mix on April 13th! Here’s more on these two beers:

Lemon Lime Cream Cheese Bar

An Ale with fruit, graham cracker and cream cheese flavor! Bright and tangy Meyer Lemon and Key Lime blend with a cream cheese finish and a graham cracker crust. Save room for seconds! The potluck dessert of your dreams.

Release date Wednesday 04/06

Mount Trashmore Trail Mix

A kettle sour with granola, vanilla and blueberry. A beery love song to the Cedar Rapids Mountain we all love so much. Raise your glass to a successful summit or fortify your body before the attempt. We love you, Mt. Trashmore!

6.7% ABV

Release date 04/13

Meet the Brewer: James Heckathorn, Court Avenue Brewing!

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Who are the people that are brewing the wonderful beer in the state of Iowa? I’m sure some of you know many of them and others, maybe not. I thought it would be great to get to know the brewers of Iowa, their backgrounds, their likes, and what they have coming up in the future. First up, Court Avenue Brewing’s James Heckathorn!

NAME: James Heckathorn

BREWERY: Court Avenue Brewing Co.

LOCATION: 309 Court Avenue; Des Moines, IA

How long have you been brewing and where have you brewed?

I will have been brewing professionally 2 years in August of this year. Before that, I worked at various other breweries in FoH positions – Twisted Vine, 515 and then Reclaimed Rails, where I was given the opportunity to brew on their pilot system. I had about 3-4 beers that were well received, especially under the tutelage of Mike Street, who gave me excellent guidance and advice throughout. It’s how we became such good buds! 

Aaron Knapp, the brewer before me at CabCo, was also bartending at Reclaimed with me and when he was getting ready to take on his new adventure at Epic Brewing in Colorado, he asked me to apply for his position at CabCo. I didn’t feel ready but my friends and family rallied behind me and encouraged me to apply and the rest is history. 

What is the size of your brewery?

Court Avenue Restaurant and Brewing Company is a 7bbl system. A Specific Mechanical 2 vessel that has seen its fair share of brewers, hah! We are nearing 26 years here at CabCo and this system is at least that old. Being so manual and involved, it really brings a certain aspect of romanticism to brewing that I find appealing. Most days, at least! 

What beer from Court Avenue would you pick to give to complete
stranger to try and why?

I would honestly give people two beers, one to show where we come from and one to show where we are going.

Pointer Brown Ale is the oldest recipe in house, a beer that has been consistently brewed since we opened our doors in 1996. It’s an English Brown Ale, so expect chocolate, caramel with a touch of dark fruit and a full mouthfeel that is infinitely drinkable. A true Iowa classic. 

Earthbound NEIPA is our newest flagship that I began developing about a year ago. Hazy IPA is the style that got me into brewing and it continues to be a style I am passionate about. This is my take on the archetypical representation that everyone has come to expect in hazy IPA. Citra, Mosaic and a bit of El Dorado, plenty of oats and wheat malt and a low flocculating yeast strain. Earthbound is the first step forward in a modern vision of CabCo.

Who would be at your drinking table, dead or alive, to share a beer with?

This is a great question! Fritz Maytag – he did so much for craft beer and it would be cool to get insight into the beginnings of modern craft beer; Christopher Hitchens – He was a witty guy and I think he’d keep drinking long after everyone else had left the table. Would be a bender for the ages; Conan O’Brien – I could be his friend, definitely. 

Do you have a favorite food and beer pairing?

A pilsner and sushi or spicy wings with an IPA!

What is your favorite beer in the world not made by Court Avenue and why?

Ayinger Bavarian Pils is a beer that continues to stay with me and luckily we can get it here. Any well done German pilsner, really. 

Anything you’d like to pub for Court Avenue?
We will be releasing our 4 -way collaboration with Flix Brewhouse, Reclaimed Rails and Brightside Aleworks on the 31st of March. Cosmic Bear is a massive imperial pastry stout that was aged on star crunch and marshmallow. 

I also gotta mention our Mug Club – It’s the best way to become a CabCo insider and it comes with a whole mess of perks for $40 a year. 10% off your tab, 24oz pints in your mug for the same price of a regular pint, a Mug Club Party every month where we shower you with a new beer release and free food, and last but not least, exclusive bottles that are only available to Mug Club members. Rumor has it the next bottle is an Eagle Rare BA imperial stout aged on a ton of vanilla beans…..

Huge thank you to Mr. Heckathorn for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions! Make sure to say to him and the other staff at Court Avenue Brewing when you visit, sign up for their Mug Club and keep an eye out for the Eagle Rare BA imperial stout! Cheers!

Lua releasing multiple beers Saturday, April 2nd!

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Lua Brewing out of Des Moines will be releasing some amazing beers in bottles and cans on Saturday, April 2nd! This is going to be an immensely popular release and it’s first come/first serve so plan accordingly! Here are the details from Lua:

Barrel Aged Stouts and Our First Can Release

Please join us Saturday, April 2 at 11am for our first CAN RELEASE. We’ll also release two new barrel-aged stouts.

The stouts will be released in 4-packs with two 375mL bottles of each blend for $100. Cans will be in 4-packs. All will be sold on a first come, first served basis when we open at 11am. Limits TBD.

WANDER (14.2%) is a blend of imperial stout bases aged 23 months in Willett and Weller bourbon barrels. Baker’s chocolate, espresso, vanilla, barrel.

FLEETING (13.9%) is a blend of imperial stout bases aged two years in Weller and Heaven Hill Rye barrels, before being rested on a massive amount of coconut. Rich fudge and coconut.

SUN FOR MILES (6.6%) is our new *flagship* hazy IPA. Generous amounts of your favorite hops were added both in the whirlpool and at dry-hopping, giving Sun For Miles bright flavors of POG juice, white peach, and sticky cannabis.

TINY BEAM OF LIGHT (5.7%, not pictured) is our beloved all-citra Hazer Lazer™. Crushable, sessionable, yet immensely flavorful, TBOL boasts dank aromas of nectarine, melon, and passionfruit. This beer is meant to be consumed in multiples.

SCIENCE IS MAGIC THAT WORKS (9.0%) is the result of some seriously cutting edge science in collaboration with our buds at Toppling Goliath and Sapwood Cellars. We utilized a revolutionary thiol-releasing yeast strain from Berkeley and Phantasm, a new-age form of powderized grape skin from New Zealand that is loaded with thiol-precursors. Mash hops, whirlpool hops, and a generous dry-hop with some of TG’s dank, extraordinary Nelson Sauvin hops produced huge notes of passionfruit and sauvignon blanc grapes. Thanks to TG and Sapwood for pushing the envelope with us on this one.

NAPPING UNDER THE ECHO TREE (7.0%) is a fruited sour featuring dragonfruit, passionfruit, mango, and guava.

SOME GRACE (7.0%) is a berry donut inspired sour, and features Oregon marionberry, boysenberry, blackberry, blueberry, and over 2,000 Krispy Kreme glazed donuts.

“Zach Morris Cellphone” coming back April 13th from Lion Bridge!

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Another re-release coming from Lion Bridge as they are bringing back “Zach Morris Cellphone” on April 13th! Here are the details from Lion Bridge on this brew:

Zack Morris Cell Phone (Hazy IPA, 6.8%) – This beer is based on a mixed drink of the same name that maybe never existed. Back in days of yore, Quinton, founder of LBBC, was told by a barfly to order a ZMCP and that it contained orange. When he went to order it, the bartenders shrugged their shoulders, and the barfly had vanished. In an attempt to bring closure to this mystery, we have made a massively dry-hopped hazy IPA with orange puree and hope that it brings Quinton some peace.

Taproom opens at 3pm, available on draft and to-go packs! 

Lion Bridge bringing back “Peachy Keen” and “Me Time”!

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Two tasty brews will be returning to Lion Bridge brewery tomorrow (March 23rd)! Peachy Keen and Me Time make their anticipated returns when the brewery doors open at 3 p.m.! Here’s more on these two beers from Lion Bridge:

2 fan favorite Lion Bridge beers returning tomorrow on Wednesday 3/23.

Release #1 is Peachy Keen Kettle Sour with Peach Gummy Rings !

200lbs of Peach Gummy Rings had a little rest with our house kettle sour and the result is just peachy, just Peachy Keen!

Release #2 is Me Time Hazy IPA.

What’s tomorrow, Saturday? Wait, what? Wednesday!?!? Hey, it’s ok to reach for a bit of Me Time tomorrow when the taproom opens at 3pm. Let the Citra and Cashmere dry hop be your aromatherapy, and then give the can a crush when you’re done for some added stress relief!