Exile + Uinta team up for Brut IPA Collab! Backcountry Brut set for June 7th release!

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Here is some big news out of Des Moines as Exile and Uinta Brewing have teamed up to brew “Backcountry Brut”, a Brut IPA. Here’s more on this release courtesy of Exile!

Exile Brewing and Uinta Brewing brew collaboration Brut IPA

Exile Brewing (Des Moines, IA) and Uinta Brewing (Salt Lake City, UT) announce Backcountry Brut, a collaboration double brut IPA brewed at Exile for Des Moines Beer Week.

“Collaboration beers represent what we love about craft brewing – community, experimentation, and great beer.  We are big fans of Uinta and are excited to have them at our place to brew, share stories, and enjoy a few beers.” Said Joey Hansen, head brewer at Exile.  After deliberation, brewers at each respective brewery settled on a double brut IPA. “It would be perfect in a dry, sunny climate like Utah or a humid Iowa summer,” says Hansen.

“We love the spirit of collaboration beers and see it as a way to connect with beer enthusiasts in markets we don’t get a chance to spend much time in” said Jeremy Worrell, Director of Marketing at Uinta Brewing. “Believe it or not, there is an abundance of Iowa natives now living in Utah and we consider this their chance to tip the ‘ol cap to those back home” said Worrell. “The team at Exile have been incredibly welcoming through this whole process and we couldn’t have asked for a better experience.”

Backcountry Brut will be packaged in limited quantities of 6-pack bottles and kegs which will only be available for purchase in Iowa.  Release date is set for June 7th, 2019 and will be available on tap and in bottles during Des Moines Beer Week.

Drink This! Clock House Low Bandito Cherry/Coconut

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One of my favorite tap rooms to visit is at Clock House Brewing. Something about that space that just makes me feel comfortable, and the fact that they are turning out some damn tasty brews too. I stopped in on a relatively slow Sunday afternoon and was lucky enough to have a pour of their Low Bandito Cherry/Coconut barrel-aged stout.

Low Bandito is their imperial stout and they’ve made some different variants of that tasty brew. I’ve had the vanilla, chocolate, coconut variant and really enjoyed that but the Cherry Coconut really stood out! Here’s more on this brew:

Driftless Glenn Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout. Aged on tart cherries and coconut

Wonderful aroma from the barrel that blends really well with the subtle coconut flavor. Cherry wasn’t prevalent right away but after it warmed the cherry really shined through. I ordered a Hazy Clock Tease while I let the Bandito sit for a while just to get more from that tart cherry. This checks in at a 9.6% but it was trying not to order a second draw.

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I’m not sure how much of this brew Todd and Clock House have left so you might want to make the trek to downtown CR to get yourself a taste of this delicious brew. It is CR Craft beer so that can be your reason to get out and Drink This!

Big Grove Releasing “Morgan Horse” barrel-aged maple imperial stout on 4/20! + 3 others!

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Big news from Big Grove this week as they prep to release “Morgan Horse” barrel-aged maple imperial stout on April 20th along with 3 variants of that brew. With that, they will be releasing “Color TV”, their double dry hopped New England style IPA as well. Both Big Grove locations will be participating in the release. Hope to see you there, check below for more info!

If you’re a fan of our Richard the Whale parties—or fond of fun parties in general—here we go again! Saturday, April 20 is the release of our new Barrel-Aged Maple Imperial Stout, Morgan Horse + 3 AWESOME variants.

Joining Morgan Horse at the party is the second coming of Color TV, our Double Dry Hopped New England Style IPA brewed with galaxy hops. Arrive early for brunch and stick around for what will be an all-day party. 9:00AM Doors Open. Free coffee for anyone in line.

No tickets required. This event will be hosted at both the Iowa City Taproom and Solon Brewpub. More info to be released in the coming weeks. Thanks for the support!

Thew Brewing 1st Anniversary Party announced for 3/16!

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Thew Brewing will be celebrating their 1 year anniversary on Saturday, March 16th starting at noon. They will be releasing “Darkest Corners”, a barrel aged imperial stout at 5 p.m. Check below for more details. Happy Anniversary Thew!

Celebrate our first anniversary with us!

– Bottle release of Darkest Corners, barrel-aged imperial stout at 5 p.m. $20 each, limit 2 per person
– BOGO River Kings Kölsch all day
– Imperial stout in the Randall (infuser)
– $4 full pours of all other beers on tap (does not apply to kölsch or Randall)
– Free cake while it lasts
– For each beer purchased, receive an entry for prizes (you choose which prize you want to be entered for). Drawing will be at 10 p.m., you don’t need to be present to win.

We’re giving away:
* Brewmaster level Thew Crew membership (eight free beers a month for a year)
* $50 Thew Brewing gift card
* Four River Kings tickets to game of your choice
* Two field-level River Kings tickets to the April 20th game vs. Bismarck Bucks

Moco Game Room + Hot Dog Bar brings new meaning to having a Beer + a Dog

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Cedar Rapids’ newest restaurant takes a classic pairing and adds their own twist. Moco Game Room and Hot Dog Bar is the latest culinary adventure from Tim Kindyl and Justin Zehr, who have given has Bricks Bar and Grill and what is probably Cedar Rapids’ best new restaurant from 2018, Local Pour Street Food.

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At Moco they have taken the simple food of a hot dog and have jacked up the ingredients to give us many delicious and fresh options on the popular tubular meat. Located in an older Cedar Rapids neighborhood, right next to Old Neighborhood Pub, E Ave NE, this place has the feel of going to your dad’s local watering hole.

I took my 3 kids in for an early Sunday lunch and all 3 have been raving about it since we left. My son enjoyed the Frito Chili Cheese dog which was an excellent chili dog, my daughters shared a walking nacho platter which was enough for 3-4 people if not more. I went with a New York dog which comes with sauerkraut, onion, and mustard but also had to try the Bahn Mi dog which comes loaded with pickled veggies, fresh avocado and cilantro. The Bahn Mi was my favorite as those flavors always taste fresh and delicious to me but I think I’ll be dreaming of that Frito dog as well. This place has enough options that you can try a different dog almost every time you visit.

With hot dogs there has to be beer and Moco has a nice lineup of brews. I had the Barn Town Peach Milkshake IPA and my go to Bells Two Hearted. Any beer can pair well with a dog.

Overall, just a great place to take your family and have a dog, nachos, and a couple of brews while the kids play foosball or shuffleboard. Check out Moco folks!

 

This Week from Abu Nawas: Hoof Hearted and Abomination Launch in Iowa! +Stillwater and Omnipollo

Two new breweries will be launching in Iowa in the coming week through Abu Nawas as Hoof Hearted Brewery out of Columbus and Abomination join the fray. Here’s more on these two new breweries courtesy of Abu Nawas:

ABOMINATIONis the brainchild of Josh Arno & Joe Feldman – two nomadic and extremely talented young brewers based out of eastern PA. What drew us to Abomination from the start is their exuberant, modern take on traditional beer styles. We think their approach to craft beer making is the perfect balance of educated skill, based on years of brewing experience with a strong background in chemistry, combined with a youthful irreverence for beer normalcy. Abomination are boundary pushers, and we think they are some of the guys who are most capably set to carry us to the next horizon of craft beer. To kick March Madness off in style, we have for you one brand new, superb (albeit VERY limited)

HOOF HEARTED. We could not be more thrilled to welcome these guys to the Abu Nawas Family. A cult-status, rockstar brewery from Columbus, Ohio, Hoof Hearted (in our humble opinion) is making some of the very best beer out there, and combines that with absolutely genius artwork. HH will be a big focus of ours for 2019, and as such we are beyond psyched to kick the March off with a couple of superb, new releases…

Along with those new breweries here’s what else is making the rounds this week:

Stillwater:
  • Action Bronson 7000 16oz CAN – Dry-Hopped Sour Ale brewed with Muscat Grapes. 4.5% ABV
  • Extra Dry 16oz CAN – A Saison brewed with sake rice and dry hopped with Citra, Hallertau Blanc, and Sterling. 4.2% ABV.
Off Color.:
  • Dino’smores 12oz Bottle — Imperial stout brewed w/ graham flour, marshmallow, molasses, cocoa nibs & vanilla bean. 10.5 ABV.

Omnipollo:

  • Beglo 12oz CAN — All-Simcoe Post-Skate IPA 6% ABV. #GlobeSkateboards
  • Maple Blueberry Pancake Bianca Lassi Gose, 16oz CAN — Blueberry Maple Pancake Lassi Gose ale brewed with blueberries, lactose sugar & maple syrup. 6% ABV
  • Noa Pecan Mudcake 12oz CAN — Legendary Omni’s Imperial Stout. 11% ABV.
Abomination:
  • Midnight Snack 16oz CAN — 10% Walnut Imperial Chocolate Milk Stout
Hoof Hearted:
  • Slø Turbø 16oz CAN — DIPA hopped exclusively w/ New Zealand varietals and a laser-focus on Nelson Sauvin. 8.5% ABV
  • Rosé Gosé 16oz CAN — Gose with Himalayan Pink Sea Salt, Coriander, Hibiscus, then soured with Lactobacillus and fermented with Saison yeast. 4.2% ABV

Abu Nawas Drops this week; Last ever call for Yellow Belly!

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If you haven’t heard or read yet, Omnipollo will be discontinuing their popular Yellow Belly beer over a trademark dispute which you can read more about here. With that being said, this spring will be the last time you will ever be able to get your hands as this will be the final release of this popular beer. Expect a late spring drop of bottles with the same pricing as last year.

Along with that here are more releases coming from Abu Nawas:

Evil Twin restocks
  • Evil Twin  Even More Pecan Jesus 16oz
  • Evil Twin  Imperial Biscotti Chili Hazelnut Break 16oz CAN and 1/6 barrel keg
  • Evil Twin  Imperial Doughnut Break 16oz CAN
  • I Don’t Know How to Put This but This IPA Is Kind of a Big Deal  16oz CAN and 1/6 barrel kegs.
  • Evil Twin  OFYMD 16oz CAN  (Westbrook collab Lactose/Muscavado/Pineapple Imperial Stout)
  • Evil Twin / Omnipollo Rainbownade 12oz CAN  (IPA with grapefruit, passionfruit, mango, raspberry and blueberry)
  • Evil Twin / Omnipollo  Coffenade 12oz CAN (Coffee IPA with a twist)
  • Evil Twin / Omnipollo  Shploing 12oz CAN   (Mango smores IPA)
  • A is for Apricot 12oz CAN  (Fruit Berliner series!)
  • B is for Blueberry 16oz CAN (same)
  • G is for Grapefruit 16oz CAN    (Yup)
  • F is for Fruit Salad16oz CAN (FRUIT SALAD!!!!)
A couple new ones from Evil Twin this week, 
  • Evil Twin Consumed 15 Today, Diane 16oz CAN and 1/6 barrel kegs-  7% Double Dry-Hopped All Galaxy IPA
  • Evil Twin Banana Immune to Good Advice 16oz CAN and 1/6 barrel kegs – 10.7% Banana Imperial Maple Stout 

Omnipollo reloads
Omnipollo Oaxaca 16oz CAN (Mango margarita slush IPA, 16oz cans)
Omnipollo Nebuchadnezzar 16oz CAN (Double IPA, 16oz cans)
Omnipollo Fatamorgana 12oz CAN (Double IPA, scaled up hombrew recipe with an according disdain for economics)
Omnipollo Lustro 12oz CAN (IIPA that straddles that east coast/west coast debate)
Omnipollo MAZ 12oz CAN (Super hopped pale ale w/oats, 16oz cans)
Omnipollo draft:
Omnipollo MAZ 1/6 ( Super hopped pale ale w/oats)
Omnipollo Oaxaca 1/6 (Mango margarita slush IPA)
Omnipollo Shoutao 1/2 (peach/lactose IPA)

Omnipollo NEW:  
  • Omnipollo Lila 16oz CAN and 1/6 barrel kegs – 8% Whipped Lemon Cream Almond Frosted Cinnamon Roll Imperial IPA
  • Omnipollo PB&J Bianca 16oz CAN and 1/6 barrel kegs   –   6% Fruited Lactose Gose brewed with Peanut Butter

SingleSpeed Releasing Cocoa Mint Milk Stout on Friday Nov. 23rd!

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Iowa breweries keep the great beers coming! Add SingleSpeed to your holiday shopping on Black Friday as they are releasing their Cocoa Mint Milk Stout! It will be available on draft and in cans at both locations! More below:

Get ready, folks.
BOTH LOCATIONS will be launching CMMS’18 at 3:00pm on Black Friday.
No fear, we made more than last year!
Draft available for on-premise consumption only – No Growler fills, please.
Cans available for retail/to-go purchase.

The utilization of Cacao Nibs, Sidecar Coffee Roasters’ Espresso, and organically grown mint leaf make this Milk Stout a true original. Milk Stouts begin more sweet than the standard American Stout and this one is no exception. A full bodied, creamy beer carrying with it wave upon wave of joyous flavor.