Tag: iowa craft beer

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

Drink This! Lion Bridge King Cake…Happy 5 year LB!

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It really can’t be a surprise that this beer is my latest Drink This! addition. The winter months have been draining and soul sucking at times, but Lion Bridge has been able to lift us by the chin and say, “drink our beer, everything will be ok”. Not sure they would actually say that but Quinton does kind of look like the next coming of Jesus and actually, if he would run for President, I would vote for him or maybe Ana would be a better fit..??? any hoo…it’s no secret the demand that this beer has received, and that’s not why it’s my Drink This! choice. Publicity plays a big role into a sale, and this beer has been pubbed by many (yours truly included), but when your background has delivered and delivered on numerous occasions you can understand why at a 3:00 release on Tuesday afternoon, on your 5th Anniversary party you have line snaking almost outside your door, you have now hit that upper echelon of expectation.

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Expectation has always been there for Lion Bridge for every beer they’ve made. They expect quality, always have, and their gold medals show that. Now, however, they’ve hit the ever demanding beer lover, beer trader, beer connoisseur level of the craft market. When you’re a brewery that makes a wonderful pils (ziva voda returns soon), a terrific IPA (yard sale), a gold medal English Mild, and a hazy IPA that I can’t wait to see again (Majestic Beast), and now pair that with their Barrel-Aged January greatness that included the January mainstay Gazprom! and it’s variants along with my beer of the year nominee Home Baked, you’ve set yourself up to be an in demand brewery. Which leads us to….

**King Cake** – 5th Anniversary beer, brilliantly released on Fat Tuesday and a beer that dominates your tastebuds. It’s so easy to critique the things you don’t care for in a beer sometimes, but it sure is nice to appreciate the beauty of an amazing beer and taste what the brewers intended for you to taste. Decadence is the word used by Lion Bridge and that is spot on. That’s the perfect word to describe this beer, a caramel, chocolate, toffee, masterpiece really. So, for those who got it, sit back, sip on it, maybe share a taste with a buddy or loved one and just appreciate it.

McClain family…what a joy these last 5 years have been. Your class and focus on local has been such a welcome addition to the community and I’m very thankful I’ve had the opportunity to converse with you both. I would be remiss not to involve Alec Travis in this post…hard working, talented, class act who has been at Lion Bridge since the beginning…..such a great crew, with great leaders. Happy 5 Lion Bridge, King Cake was the perfect beer for this anniversary so it’s time to Drink This! beer!

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

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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

This Week from Abu Nawas: Huge Prairie Drop!!

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A huge Prairie drop will be coming next to Eastern Iowa courtesy of Abu Nawas. There will be some new releases as well as some familiar faces, check the list below!

  • Prairie Okie Bottles – Imperial Brown Ale aged in Whiskey Barrels. 12% ABV.
  • Prairie Flare CAN – Gose brewed with orange and coriander. Perfect while yearning for Spring. 5.4% ABV.
  • Prairie Imaginary Friends CAN – American IPA bursting with Tropical and citrus notes. 7% ABV.
  • Prairie Vape Tricks CAN – Sour ale aged on cherries. 5.9% ABV.
  • Prairie Hulk Hands – ***Iowa First*** Gose dry hopped with Falconer’s Flight and Cascade Hops. 5.4% ABV.
  • Prairie Phantasmagoria CAN – Double IPA that’s big on the late boil and dry hopping. 8.0% ABV.
  • Prairie Picnic CAN – A Delicious Sessionable Pale Ale. 5.5% ABV
  • Prairie Standard Bottles – Light, crisp farmhouse ale dry hopped with Motueka hops, a lovely New Zealand hop with a spicy lime like flavor and aroma. 5.6% ABV.
  • Prairie Bomb Bottles – The Beer that started it all for Prairie. Imperial Stout aged on coffee, cacao nibs, vanilla beans and chili peppers. 13.0% ABV.
  • Prairie Bible Belt Bottles – Prairie Version of A Collab of Epic Proportions. Bible Belt takes elements we love from Prairie Bomb! and combines them with Evil Twin Brewing’s world-famous stout, Even More Jesus. 13% ABV.
  • Prairie Deja Vous 750ml Bottles – Bottle conditioned farmhouse ale with Hibiscus and Brettanomyces Bruxellensis.

Madhouse Announces Carpe Diem Release for March 15th!

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Another highly anticipated beer release from an Iowa brewery has been announced as Madhouse Brewing has slated March 15th for the release of their wonderful Carpe Diem! Here’s more deets on this release:

The official release event for the following beers-

2019 Carpe Diem- Bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Breakfast Stout with oats, chocolate, Kona coffee, and bourbon barrel-aged Iowa maple syrup. 13.5% ABV. Available draft and 375ml bottles. $12/bottle. Limit 6.

Coffee Diesel- Collaboration with Mars Cafe. Dark sour ale with cold press coffee. 7.4% ABV. Available draft and 375ml bottles. $8/bottle.

Bottles shares encouraged!

This week from Abu Nawas: HUGE Evil Twin Drop!

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Abu Nawas continues to get Iowans some delicious brews and this coming week will be no different as they will be bringing a whole bunch of new and returning Evil Twin beers to Iowa; many of them new releases so will start with those:

Evil Twin – New Releases:

*Evil Twin Learn What is to be Taken Seriously 16oz CAN  – NE IPA
*Evil Twin Grand Cru 16oz CAN -21-month Maple Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout & Barley Wine Blend.
*Evil Twin Grand Cru Cuvee 16oz CAN -a double barrel-aged blend of 21-month Maple Bourbon and Marsala Wine Barrel-Aged  Imperial Stout & Barley Wine Blend.

Evil Twin – Draft Releases:

*Evil Twin A Man Who Does Not Love IPAs Loves Too Much –  8% Double Dry-Hopped Galaxy & Wai-iti DIPA,
*Evil Twin Key Lime Pie IPA – IPA brewed with Graham Crackers & Key Limes. 7% ABV
*Evil Twin Learn What is to be Taken Seriously
*Evil Twin Poetry is What Gets Lost in Translation brewed at Westbrook, hopped with Moteuka, Idaho 7, & Citra
*Evil Twin This Must Be Where IPAs Go To Die – Double Dry-Hopped Hazy IPA Hopped with Wai-iti, Amarillo, & Citra
*Westbrook / Evil Twin OFYMD  – Piña Colada Imp Stout 12.8% ABV
*Evil Twin I Love you my Stout – Jeppe Famed Stout 12% ABV

Returning Evil Twin Beers:

  • Evil Twin Even More Jesus 16oz CAN
  • Evil Twin Even More Pecan Jesus 16oz CAN
  • Evil Twin Hazelnut Imperial Biscotti Break 16oz CAN
  • Evil Twin Wet Dream 16oz CAN (Brown Ale with Kenyan Coffee!)
  • Evil Twin A is Apricot 12oz CAN
  • Evil Twin B is For Blueberry 16oz CAN
  • Evil Twin E is For Elderberry 16oz CAN
  • Evil Twin F is For Fruit Salad 16oz CAN
  • Evil Twin G is For Grapefruit 16oz CAN
  • Evil Twin Rhubarb Compote 16oz CAN
  • I Don’t Know How to Put This but This IPA Is Kind of a Big Deal 16oz CAN

 

Chocolate Covered Cherry Dessert Stout latest Sugar Bottom Release from Big Grove

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Big Grove will be releasing their latest beer from their Sugar Bottom series as Chocolate Covered Cherry Dessert stout will be available on February 13th! Here’s more on this release and other goings on at Big Grove:

Looking for a spot to to bring the ones you love this week? Big Grove has you covered! (chocolate covered that is 😉)

Wednesday the 13th marks our next release in the Sugar Bottom Series, ‘Chocolate Covered Cherry’ dessert stout! Snag a bottle to share will your gal pals or your partner! 😍
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We will have food specials too!

Risotto with Poached Lobster, Beef Tenderloin, and a dessert you won’t want to miss!

Specials will run all week starting on the 13th until they are gone!

This Week from Abu Nawas: Decadent and Fat Orange Cat!

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More new and delicious beers being brought to our shelves from Abu Nawas will be coming this week from Decadent and Fat Orange Cat.  Here’s what to look for:

DECADENT:

  • Decadent Ecto Cream Pop 16oz CAN (Tangerine, Orange Zest, Madagascar Vanilla IPA)
  • Decadent Pecan Pie IPA 16oz CAN(Pecan, Maple Syrup IPA)
  • Decadent Winter Spice French Toast 16oz CAN (Maple Syrup, Allspice, Vanilla IPA)
  • Decadent VT Maple IPA  (IPA with real VT Maple Syrup)

Fat Orange Cat:

  • Fat Orange Cat Do All Sixteen Dances 16oz CAN/KEG (Belgian Saison with Lemondrop Hops)
  • Fat Orange Cat She Drives A Plymouth 16oz CAN (Galaxy, Simcoe Citra NE IPA)
  • Fat Orange Cat Sweet Jane Blueberry 16oz CAN(Milkshake IPA with Blueberries)
  • Fat Orange Cat Severe Tire Damage 16oz CAN (Awesome NE IPA)
  • Fat Orange Cat Someone In My Head 16oz CAN (Double NEIPA with Citra, Mosaic, Simcoe, and Apollo)
  • Fat Orange Cat Write Drunk Edit Sober 16oz CAN(Citra, Mosaic, and El Dorado NE IPA)
  • Fat Orange Cat Blood Orange Billy (Mosaic NE IPA with Blood Oranges)
  • Fat Orange Cat Living In Our Own Private Idaho  (Azzaca/Idaho 7 NE IPA)