Clock House brewing out of Cedar Rapids will be releasing cans of their latest release, “Drinking Buddy”, tomorrow (4/9) from 3-6 at the brewery location. Call ahead to order yours and also grab some Witch Slap while you’re there! They will be doing this from 3-6!
Drinking Buddy is a New-England IPA dry hopped with mosaic hops!
Big Grove in both Solon and Iowa City will continue their popular drive thru for folks who need a burger and fries and some might fine ales to wash them down with! 4 new beers will be available along with many others. You will have until 8 p.m. on Friday to place your order and pick up times will be Saturday and Sunday from 11-2! Click HERE to place your order! What are the new brews? Here we go:
• Norwegian Demon (16oz 4-pack): hazy IPA with Simcoe, African Queen, Mosaic, and Ekuanot 🇳🇴
• Apricot Pistachio Torte (500 mL bottle): our Sugar Bottom Series continues with this delicate, sour, dessert beer 🍰
• Tropical Wheat (32oz crowler): wheat beer with pineapple and mango 🍍
• Passion Fruit Gusher (32oz crowler): a Que Será with an irresponsible amount of passion fruit (3x our usual amount for fruited sours) 👀**Also available: Boomtown | West Main Wheat | Que Será | Arms Race | Big Grove IPA | Burch the Bear | 1939 Amber Ale | Easy Eddy | Strawberry Cherry Swirl | Iowa City Lager | Coffee Shop Series: Coffee Oatmeal Stout | Color TV | Turtle Hunter | Red Wedding Wheat | Brew Berry | Passionfruit Vanilla
Abu Nawas will be getting us a whole bunch of Evil Twin beers in the coming week! Anyone else missing sitting at your local watering hole and enjoying a fine beverage? Hopefully we can do that again soon! Here’s the drop:
EVIL TWIN
Big Grove Brewery continues to stay busy getting us beer amid this difficult time and this coming Saturday (4/4) they will once again be getting some fresh and delicious beer into our remarkable washed and clean hands. Here’s what’s coming this weekend:
*Turtle Hunter – this popular hazy IPA is back; featuring citra, mosaic, and ekuanot and checking in at 7.4%!
*Into the Woods – a collab with Copper Kettle brewing brings us kettle sour with lactose, blackberry, and raspberry and checks in at 6.4%.
*Boysenberry and Coffee Sour – this will be crowler fill only and is another beer brewed with JBC Coffee Roasters. For this particular beer they have used San Sebastian Colombia beans.
*Red Wedding Wheat – checking in at 4.7%, this fruited sour ale, brewed with blood orange and plum, is the perfect addition to your banquet table. Big Grove sends its regards
Stay tuned for more as a beer, burger and fries drive thru may happen again as well. Cheers everyone!
Grab some of your favorite Iowa brewed beers and join your fellow Iowa beer lovers, Iowa beer brewers, and Iowa beer workers as the Iowa Brewers Guild is hosting a “BYOB Virtual Beer Festival” on March 28th with all proceeds will go to Iowa’s brewing industry staff. Here’s more on this great event:
A BYOB virtual beer festival to raise money for Iowa’s brewing industry staff. Though we love to drink beer in the company of friends, the future of one of our favorite pastimes—beer festivals—is tenuous. And so are the livelihoods of our Iowa breweries and their teams. To help our industry staff in their time of need, the Iowa Brewers Guild is holding a BYOB “virtual beer festival,” and you’re invited to join us!
Here’s how it works:
1. Buy a ticket
2. Pick up some of your favorite Iowa beer
3. Join us on Twitter, Facebook, and/or Instagram on Saturday, March 28, so we can drink beer together (from a safe distance), with the help of our hashtag, #virtualbeerfest
ALL proceeds will go to affected Iowa Brewers Guild member breweries’ staff that have lost jobs or significant hours!
More info and how to get a limited edition shirt at www.virtualbeerfest.org
According to an article posted on the Gazette’s website today, Big Grove Brewery is among many things being pitched for a 80-100 million dollar Kingston Landing renovation in downtown Cedar Rapids. Definitely an article worth checking out so give it a read by clicking here!
Backpocket Brewing will be prepping beer drinkers for St. Patricks Day by hosting a “St. Practice Day” bar crawl on March 13th starting at 7 pm. The event will take place at Backpocket’s Iowa River Landing location. Here’s more on this event:
St. Patricks Day is right around the corner! Are you ready?!
Join us in the Iowa River Landing for a St. Practice Day bar crawl! Tickets are just $7 through the Eventbrite page and $10 at the door! Participants who make a purchase at each stop will be entered into a raffle for a prize basket containing a variety of gifts from 30 Hop, Backpocket Brewing, Vesta, and Marquee Pizzeria.
Tickets also include exclusive drink specials at each stop throughout the night!
Here’s the plan…
*Starting at 7:00 p.m. meet us at 30 Hop to get your raffle punch card.
*At 8:30 p.m. we will move to Marquee Pizzeria.
*At 9:00 p.m. Vesta will have a selfie station set up to capture you and your friends having the time of your lives!
*At 10:00 p.m. end the night at Backpocket Brewing. DJ Poison Candy will be mixing up some tunes. The winner of the raffle will be drawn here and you must be present to win!
Drops coming from Abu Nawas this week includes one of my favorite breweries, Blackberry Farm. Has anyone ever been to Walland, TN and had the opportunity to check the place out? Looks like heaven, and definitely on my bucket list. On to the brews!
BLACKBERRY FARM
- Blackberry Farm Classic Saison 12 oz CAN – Belgian-style Saison features European noble-type hops, authentic Belgian Saison yeast, and the finest European two-row malt. 6.3% ABV.
- Blackberry Farm Boundary Tree 12 oz CAN – This hop-forward Belgian-style ale features notes of citrus fruit that complement its bready malt undertones. A soft bitterness, reminiscent of orange marmalade, balances delicate spice notes that result from a warm fermentation. 6.5% ABV.
- Blackberry Farm Fenceline12oz CAN -Belgian-style ale brewed with generous portions of wheat malt for a creamy mouthfeel and hazy straw color. Generous additions of Huell Melon hops lend notes of melon and strawberry, along with a balanced bitterness. 5.9% ABV.
- A variety of cool 375 and 750ml Limited editions!
DUGGES
Dugges Daylight 24-716oz CAN – A beer to salute the never-setting sun. Follow our journey as we tweak our way towards the perfect IPA. Step by step, beer by beer, on and on and on. Forever! For our third IPA brewed on US soil and our first IPA brewed at the all-new Twelve Percent Beer Project brewery in North Haven, CT, we wanted to bring Sweden. During a couple of months every summer the northern parts of Sweden experience a never-setting sun. Literally daylight 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is that daylight in a can. Cheers! 7% ABV.
Evil Twin
- Evil Twin Brewing I GREW UP IN NIVA 16oz CAN – IPA Brewed with Motueka, Galaxy, Falconer’s, and Citra. 7% ABV.
- Evil Twin Brewing I ALWAYS LOOK FORWARD TO MY I-95 16oz CAN – Triple Epic IPA with Nelson, Galaxy, and Citra. 11% ABV.
- Evil Twin Brewing All Galaxy Diane 16oz CAN – Small batch edition of Consumed 15 today Diane, all Galaxy IPA from Twelve Percent Project. 7% ABV.
- Evil Twin How Cool Is This? In The Catskills We Can Get That True Upstate Experience 16oz CAN – DDH DIPA brewed with Citra, Simcoe, Ekuanot. Notes of peach, melon, lime zest and pine sap. Medium-bodied. Creamy mouthfeel. Subtle bitterness. Soft carbonation. 8% ABV.
- Evil Twin Everyday, Once A Day IPA 16oz CAN – Double dry-hopped Imperial IPA brewed with lactose and vanilla beans. 9% ABV.
- Evil Twin Molotov Cocktail 12oz CAN – Jeppe’s Legendary Triple IPA. 12% ABV.
- Evil Twin Molotov Cocktail Peach and Grapefruit and Passionfruit 12oz CAN – Jeppe’s Legendary Triple IPA with a surprise twist. 12% ABV.
- Evil Twin Molotov Lite 16oz CAN – Lite version of the Triple IPA is a Double IPA at only 8.5% ABV.
- Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Break 16oz CAN – Imperial Stout with Almonds, Espresso, Vanilla. 11.5% ABV.
- Evil Twin Even More Jesus 16oz CAN – Jeppe Legendary Imperial Stout. 12% ABV
Schramm
- SCHRAMM VALENTINE 375ML – Black Currants and Maravilla Red Raspberries. Valentine marries the focused acidity and crisp flavor of whole red raspberries with the unmistakably deep and rich aromatics of black currants. A combination of two of our most popular flavors, we are certainly sweet on Valentine. Pair someone you love.
- SCHRAMM MARIONBERRY 375ML – Marionberry is a Melomel made purely from Willamette Valley Marion Blackberries. Like our ‘Blackberry’, Marionberry has a full, natural fruit acidity that is balanced by premium Orange Blossom honey sweetness to create an extremely flavorful mead. Very dark in color, the Marionberries provide a jammy, juicy fruit-forward character. This mead has great aging potential for many years, though it’s pure fresh fruit character may make it difficult to leave alone for long. 14% ABV.
- SCHRAMM CRANBERRY 375ML – Cranberry Mead takes the distinct tartness of the earthy, fragrant and penetrating cranberry and matches it with the sweet, yet balanced style for which Schramm’s Mead is known. The pronounced acidity of the fruit demands to be offset by substantial sweetness, and the vast number and throaty nature of the berry’s flavor compounds requires pairing with a complex, full-bodied honey.
- SCHRAMM LUTOWKA STATEMENT 375ML – This unique incarnation of The Statement is made with Lutowka Morello-type cherries from Poland. The taste is definitely cherry, but more focused, brighter and with a touch more acidity than our standard Balaton version. It is delicious in its own singular way and is demonstrative of the subtle but notable differences in flavors that can be achieved by using different fruit variations.
- SCHRAMM RASPBERRY 375ML – Schramm’s Raspberry is a mead made from whole Michigan raspberries. The flavor is unmistakably fruity raspberry, reminiscent of Michigan summers, and is balanced by honey sweetness. Due to the high level of acidity from the berries, it can age gracefully for many years. A tribute to our home state’s strong fruit growing tradition, this was the first mead made by head meadmaker Ken Schramm. It holds a special place in our history as well as our cellar.
- SCHRAMM THE STATEMENT 375ML – The Statement is our Balaton cherry mead – made with the highest quality Traverse City Balaton cherries, carefully selected honey and twenty years of experience – having gone through more than a dozen iterations. Living up to its name, this mead truly makes a statement due to its incredible expression and depth of flavor and character rendered from honey and Michigan tart cherries. A natural complement to chocolate and sharp or blue cheeses, The Statement also pairs well with grilled pork and makes a terrific reduction sauce for desserts.
- SCHRAMM MADELINE 375ML – Schramm’s Madeline is our boysenberry mead, made with whole boysenberries and Michigan honey. A cross between European raspberry, common blackberry and American dewberry, the boysenberry has a unique tannic flavor which combines wonderfully with carefully selected premium honey. The resulting mead is thick, jammy and extremely flavorful and pours dark purple with a very smooth, lightly tart finish. This mead is a tribute to our favorite, tiny release to date, Madeline June Schramm Naeger. Ten percent of sales of this mead are donated to the Royal Oak Beaumont NICU, where Madeline spent nearly the first three months of her life. She was beautiful when she was born, but we know she will continue to mature beautifully with age. 14% ABV.
- SCHRAMM BLACK AGNES 375ML – Our sweet black currant mead, Black Agnes, is named after one boisterous Scottish wench who successfully defended the Scottish Castle of Dunbar during a five-month siege by William Montague, the Earl of Salisbury. While relatively unknown in the United States, black currants have been grown in the British Isles for more than five hundred years and used by herbalists since the Middle Ages. Sharply tart and acidic, the potent flavors of the fruit are perfectly balanced by the sweetness of premium honey to create a particularly unique, memorable and delicious mead. 14% ABV.
- SCHRAMM RED AGNES 375ML – Schramm’s Red Agnes is finely balanced Melomel. Red currants provide deep floral aromatics, a fruitier initial impression, more focused acidity, and a stunning cardinal hue. This mead is dangerously drinkable with a delicately balanced acidity which allows the honey and fruit to sing in harmony together. 14% ABV.
- SCHRAMM BLACKBERRY 12/375ML – Blackberry is earthy, brightly acidic mead balances the lingering tartness of whole blackberries and carefully selected honey. Intensely fruity with balanced acidity, a complex flavor profile and an earthy aroma, this mead is reminiscent of picking fruit on a mid-summer day. A strong option for the cellar, blackberry will continue to mature and develop in the bottle for years. Blackberry pairs well with creamy cheeses, duck, and veal. 14% ABV.
- SCHRAMM GINGER 375ML – Schramm’s Ginger is a full-throated, unapologetic expression of pure grated ginger and honey. Honey sweetness is balanced by full ginger flavor with a touch of spiciness, making this mead a perfect choice to pair with spicy Indian, Ethiopian or Thai cuisine, grilled Korean mackerel or flavorful sushi and sashimi. It also pairs well with dark chocolate and is a great addition to a whiskey ginger cocktail or a Moscow Mule. 14% ABV.
We are in the middle of Lion Bridge’s Barrel-Aged January and last night I was able to get a sneak peek of one of, if not, their most sought after beers, Home Baked! (Thanks Lange Brothers!).
I wouldn’t say last year’s release of Home Baked was a surprise hit since all of what Lion Bridge releases is of the best quality, but I think after a few social media posts, untappd check ins, and Iowa Craft Beer Crew posts this beer hit “best of Iowa” status quickly and the demand went through the roof! Attention from the 2019 version continued through the year and the countdown to today’s release (1/15) began! Here’s the deets from LB on their brew:
Dessert for your desert island. Fudge and saigon cinnamon meld with a little bit of hazelnut goodness to produce something we liken to a cookie in beer form
I was lucky enough to be a +1 at the early release for Lion Bridge’s CSA members and eagerly watched with bated breath as the beer tender poured my beer. Served at the perfect temperature, maybe even let sit a bit after the initial pour, the aromas of hazelnut and cinnamon hit your nose immediately. The first sip is cinnamon with the roasted hazelnut, almost a coconutty taste to it followed by hit of fudge. The second sip…. pure decadence!
The beauty of this beer is that not one adjunct dominates the flavor, they all mesh perfectly well and you get a hit of each with every sip. This is a beer to seek out, to beg a buddy to mule for you if you can’t get to CR, to pray to the beer gods that one winds up in your kitchen ready to be poured. Every sip comes with a smile!
This is one of the best beers that is brewed in Iowa…without a doubt and this year’s version may even be better than the 2019. Lion Bridge does it again…place of employment is canceled today, beer releases at 3:00 p.m…..hmm.. it looks like the beer gods want me to get more of this I believe! See you there and Drink This!
Exile Brewing showing their Christmas spirit by starting their “12 Casks of Christmas” this Wednesday with Cranberry Bohemian with pomegranate. Here’s the schedule:
