Tag: iowa beer

Iowa Eats: Either/Or; Des Moines, IA

Leave a comment

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, Muckraker, and Blackberry Farm coming from Abu Nawas!

Leave a comment

OFF COLOR BREWING:

  • Off Color Apex Predator 6/4/16oz CANS – Off Color famed Saison. American-Belgian hybrid style combines free rise fermentation with a traditional Belgian Saison yeast and a hefty, American style dry hopping. 6.5% ABV – IL
  • Off Color Beer for Tacos 6/4/16oz CANS – Gose brewed with Kaffir Lime Leaf, Key Lime, Orange & Pink Himalayan Salt. 4.5% ABV – IL
  • Off Color Beer for Burgers 6/4/16oz CANS – Helles Bock Style Beer Blended With Bourbon Barrel Aged Lager. This batch was entirely aged in Willet barrels which lends a more pronounced bourbon. 7% ABV – IL
  • Off Color Cherry Beer for Pizza 6/4/16oz CANS – Cherry Cola Ale Brewed with Pizza in mind. Simply Delicious. 5% ABV – IL
  • Off Color Dino’Smores 6/4/16oz CANS – Imperial Stout brewed with Marshmallow,Vanilla Bean, Molasses, Graham Flour. 10.5% ABV – IL

MUCKRAKER BEERMAKER:

  • Muckraker Dark As Your Soul 6/4/16oz CANS – Imperial Wheat Stout fermented with a Scottish Heavy yeast. No adjuncts. 13% ABV – NJ
  • Muckraker Down the Shore it’s Alright 6/4/16oz CANS – Grisette with Hallertau and Styrian Gold, dry-hopped with Mistral and dosed with sea salt. A grisette is a style that we absolutely love. It is traditionally refreshing, low alcohol beer with origins in the Hainaut province of Belgium. Grisettes are crisp, medium/light-bodied, citrusy beers. rewed to be endlessly approachable. 4.5% ABV – NJ

BLACKBERRY FARM:

  • Blackberry Farm Classic Saison 6/4/12oz CANS – Medium bodied Saison pours with a voluminous head and releases bright notes of lemon and a crisp, spicy hop aroma. Finishes clean and dry. 6.3% ABV – TN
  • Blackberry Farm Goat Hill 6/4/12oz CANS – Delicious kolsch. A German-style ale with lager characteristics, this is one of the few remaining ales of Germany. Similar to a Pilsner, fermented with ale yeast at cooler temperatures and cold lagered.  5% ABV – TN
  • Blackberry Farm BFB IPA 6/4/12oz CANS – Unfiltered IPA is a celebration of New World hops and all of their versatility. Bursting with fruit, citrus, and complex aromas, this is sure to satisfy drinkers on both coasts and everywhere in between. 7.1% ABV – TN
  • Blackberry Farm BFB Stout 6/4/16oz CANS – Robust, hoppy stout is a hearty welcome on a brisk evening, but balanced and drinkable for enjoying year-round. In addition to a complex roasted malt character of coffee and dark chocolate, a hefty addition of American hops adds bright, distinct layers of tropical fruits, citrus and pine. 6.8% ABV – TN
  • Blackberry Farm Leather Britches 6/4/16oz CANS – A Classic American style porter. An homage to a farm tradition with notes of cocoa, roasted coffee, caramel and toffee. Dark but still light in body and extremely drinkable. An old southern method for preserving late-summer green beans. The beans are harvested, left in their pod and hung up to dry. Dehydrating on the string, they start to look like leather pant legs. 6.4% ABV – TN

Lua Brewing “Sonder” blend bottles available at the taproom!

Leave a comment

Courtesy of Lua’s Facebook page:

SONDER BLEND NO. 1 (5.0%)

Sonder No. 1 was brewed with a variety of raw grains and was fermented and aged in white wine barrels with our house culture of bacteria and wild yeast for over a year, softening the edges of the bright tartness. It was then bottle conditioned for over two years.

Three-plus years in the making, Sonder No. 1 is funky and slightly tart, but more strongly steeped in oak and vanilla notes, owing to its age in barrels. It was naturally carbonated in the bottle.

SONDER BLEND NO. 3 (3.5%)

Sonder No. 3 is a rustic Berliner Weisse, brewed with floor malted Pilsner malt and a variety of raw grains, including Iowa buckwheat and winter red wheat. It was fermented and aged in white wine barrels with our house culture of bacteria and wild yeast for over a year before being naturally refermented in the bottle.

Berliner Weisse, a revered historical style, has gotten a bad rap lately. Slushified American kettle sours, while often tasty, are not Berliner Weisse. They’re just not. This presentation of Sonder is our interpretation of a true authentic Berliner, and we are very proud of it.

These beers, like all presentations of Sonder, are a representation of this time, of this place, and of us.

Both SONDER bottles are available to enjoy here at our taproom.

Lion Bridge 2024 “Barrel-Aged January” Lineup Announced!

Leave a comment

Courtesy of Lion Bridge’s website:

Barrel Aged January 2024 Beer Releases

Home-Baked 2024 (Imperial Stout w/ Hazelnut, Cinnamon, Cacao, Love, 11%) – Dessert for your desert island. Fudge and saigon cinnamon meld with a little bit of hazelnut goodness and bourbon barrel to produce something we liken to a cookie in beer form.

Vanilla Home-Baked (Imperial Stout/ Hazelnut, Cinnamon, Cacao, Vanilla, 11%) – We took our dessert for a desert island and dosed it with huge amounts of whole bean Madagascar Vanilla. An even more decadent treat!

Couples Skate (Barrel-Fermented Brett Beer w/whole peaches, 6.5%) – A slightly awkward first encounter that has led to happily ever after. We crushed 500lbs of Michigan peaches straight from the tree and let them rest on hand-selected wild barrels from our wood cellar for 8 months.

Oco Noco (Imperial Milk Stout w/Coconut, 11%) – We took an exceptional Imperial Milk Stout, aged it in Bourbon barrels for a year, and then put an obscene amount of toasted and un-toasted coconut into it until beer and confectionary treat melded seamlessly together. Simple, but oh so decadent.

Forgotten Time 2024 (Barrel-Aged Barley Wine, 12%) – The real deal Barley Wine. Brewed in collaboration with our friends at Clockhouse. Aged for 28 months in 10-year-old Templeton Rye Whiskey barrels. Sherry, chocolate, dark fruit for days.

GAZPROM! 2019 (Russian Imperial Stout w/Maple Syrup, 12%) – Viscous, and black. After primary fermentation this oily, Russian giant is re-fermented in bourbon barrels with Great River Maple dark syrup then blended back together to add consistency and complexity. 2016 GABF Bronze Medal Winner for Specialty Beer.

Shadow Puppet (Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout, 13%) – Aged 36 months in Cedar Ridge Bourbon Barrels and blended to bring an amazing beer out of the darkness. Notes of dried dark fruits, chocolate, sherry, oak, caramel, and vanilla.

Home-Baked Whiskey Release …. details coming soon!

Week by Week breakdown:

Week 1

1/4 Live Music – Trevor Treiber 6-8 PM

1/6 BEER RELEASE : Home-Baked 2024

1/6 BEER RELEASE : Vanilla Home-Baked 2024

1/6 Raffle for FREE Lion Bridge Merchandise!

Food Special (starting 1/3)

Pork Tenderloin with a Maple Vanilla Glaze atop Blue Cheese Macaroni

Smoked Gouda Burger

Three Layer Coconut Cream Cake

Week 2

1/13 BEER RELEASE : Couples Skate

1/13 BEER RELEASE : Cellar Release – Barrel-Aged Oco Noco 2022

1/13 Live Music – Severio Lancieri 6-8 PM

1/13 Country Night! Come dressed in your best cowboy/western look!

1/13 Raffle for FREE Lion Bridge Merchandise!

1/14 Make Your Own Face Stein (tickets) 2-4 PM

1/16 Tuesday Night Trivia 6-8 PM

1/18 Magic Show 6-7 PM

Food Special (starting 1/10)

BBQ Ribs and Cornbread / Mac & Cheese and Green Beans

BBQ Bacon Burger

Apple Turnovers with Bourbon Caramel Sauce and Whipped Cream

1/20 BEER RELEASE : Forgotten Time Barley Wine 2024 edition

1/20 BEER RELEASE : Cellar Release – GAZPROM 2019

1/20 Raffle for FREE Lion Bridge Merchandise!

1/20 Open Night Mic 7-9 PM

1/23 Tuesday Night Trivia 6-8 PM

1/25 Live Music – Carson Parker Cello Duet 6-8 PM

Food Special (starting 1/17)

Hearty Beef Stew

Lamb Meat Pies

Apple Turnovers with Bourbon Caramel Sauce and Whipped Cream

Week 3

1/27 BEER RELEASE : Shadow Puppet

1/27 BEER RELEASE : Home-Baked Whiskey

1/27 Raffle for FREE Lion Bridge Merchandise!

1/28 Cedar Rapids Brewing Society Happy Hour 3-5 PM

Food Special (starting 1/24)

Pesto Flatbread with Goat Cheese and Candied Pecans

Cranberry and Barleywine Braised Brisket with Roasted Kale and Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes 

Raspberry Tart

SingleSpeed “Tip the Cow Day” set for Saturday January 13th!

Leave a comment

Courtesy of SingleSpeed’s Facebook page:

Milk stouts, milk stout ice cream floats, bourbon barrel-aged milk stouts… Oh, and did we mention 𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙠 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙨? 
Add live music, a complimentary Tip the Cow-branded Miir insulated beverage holder, and all of the cow-themed fun we could think of, and you have yourself a party.
AND, as if you aren’t already sold on the party of the century, Tip the Cow 2024 features the release of Tip the Cow Malt Whiskey in partnership with Foundry Distilling Co.

**“The Calf” Ticket ($50) gets you:

Early access to Tip the Cow Day – 9 AM!
(1) 500ml bottle of BA Two Cows 2024 (Bourbon Barrel-Aged)
An early opportunity to purchase our BA Two Cows 2024 (Bourbon Barrel-Aged) 500ml bottle for only $20 (limit purchase of 3 bottles before 10am)
An early opportunity to purchase a surprise variant of BA Two Cows 2024 (Bourbon Barrel-Aged) 500ml bottle for only $30
(limit 3 bottles before 10am)
Matte Blue Tip the Cow Branded Insulated Miir Coffee Mug
Milk stout ice cream float made with Tip the Cow Day draft of your choice
**One draw of either:
• Tip The Cow
• Coconut Migration
• BA Two Cows 2024 (Bourbon-Barrel-Aged Imperial Milk Stout)
• Surprise Variant of BA Two Cows 2024 (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Milk Stout)

**“The Cow” Ticket ($100) gets you:

Early access to Tip the Cow Day – 9 AM!
(1) 750ml bottle of Tip the Cow Malt Whiskey
An early opportunity to purchase our BA Two Cows 2024 (Bourbon Barrel-Aged) 500ml bottle for only $20 (limit purchase of 3 bottles before 10am)
An early opportunity to purchase a surprise variant of BA Two Cows 2024 (Bourbon Barrel-Aged) 500ml bottle for only $30 (limit purchase of 3 bottles before 10am)
Matte Black Tip the Cow Branded Insulated Miir Highball Tumbler
Milk stout ice cream float made with Tip the Cow Day draft of your choice
**One draw of either:
• Tip The Cow
• Coconut Migration
• BA Two Cows 2024 (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Milk Stout)
• Surprise Variant of BA Two Cows 2024 (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Milk Stout)

3 Floyds “Barbarian Haze” and “Speed Castle Lager” hitting Iowa shelves this week!

Leave a comment

**Barbarian Haze** – 6.5% ABV – “At long last, we bring you our take on a Hazy IPA. It’s no secret that most of our portfolio is hop forward, flavorful, unfiltered. With Barbarian Haze, we took the hopping protocol a bit further, using some new age brewing alchemy coupled with our old school heavy handed approach. Fans of the style will recognize the complex soft malt character that helps balance the generous hop additions for supreme drinkability.

**Speed Castle** – 5.6% ABV – “Our newest year-round beer has arrived – Speed Castle Pilsner. Using hops sourced from German farms, American Pilsner malt, and hand-selected fresh or ‘wet’ hops, Speed Castle is a crisp, refreshing and world-ending Pilsner.