This past Friday evening I was lucky enough to be part of a group that was able to tour the Iowa City beer caves. Need to give special thanks to Chad Young of Big Grove for giving me the opportunity to go and also Nate Kaeding for setting up the tour.
The tour started in the Brewery Square building right across the street from High Grounds Coffee shop in Iowa City, which is now a La James hair salon. Now, you can’t just head to the building and expect to give yourself you’re own tour, so don’t show up unless you want your hair done or nice little massage.
I don’t want to try to attempt a history lesson like Marlin Ingalls gave us about the history of the caves, but a little background on these caves that I gathered from our tour guide, Mr. Ingalls, says that there were 3 breweries between East Market and Linn Streets with the Union Brewery, now Brewery Square, is still there. According to Mr. Ingalls, the tunnels were constructed using limestone slabs in a stone box method.
As we made our way to caves, our first obstacle was the 25 foot climb down a rickety-ass ladder. I’m not huge fan of heights and just the initial task of getting a strong foothold and grasping of old stone was a challenge for me. I may have been shaking just a tad but I finally made it down. As Mr. Ingalls said, it’s one thing to talk about these tunnels and to look at the 3D map of them, but to actually see them in person, and be down in spot where brewers were making their beer was just a terrific experience and seeing the history of brewing in Iowa City is something I’ll never forget.
There were a few spots where there was accumulating water and Mr. Ingalls believes this water was used to float the kegs/barrels down and made transferring of the heavy barrels a bit easier for the workers. After some questions about if the caves had exits, Mr. Ingalls did confirm they do not lead to the Iowa River but there are still a few parts of the caves that they are not sure what they were used for.
Read more on the caves at the links below and the next time you are down by Brewery Square in Iowa City think about the history that you’re walking above as you make your way to George’s for an Arms Race from Big Grove and a couple of cheeseburgers. Many thanks again to Chad Young, Nate Kaeding, and Marlin Ingalls for the great experience!
http://www.dailyiowan.com/2015/05/08/Metro/42136.html
**Stone Oakmeal Bourbon Barrel Stout**
**Destihl Wild Sour Series: Synchopathic** 
**Deschutes Jubalale** 
**Boulevard Cranberry Orange Radler**
The wait is over…The Pig and Porter has finally opened and I was able to make a trip over with wife and my 2 year old daughter (she did better than I thought she would, and yes! they have high chairs!). I’ve had my eye on this place as soon as the sign went up in front, anytime you include the fine swine, you know it’s gotta be good!
A busy night as the outdoor seating was starting to pick up, we were initially sitting where the sun was hitting but their server was kind enough to ask if we’d like to move which was a great gesture. So we moved close to the open kitchen, which I love, as you get to see the chefs in their element.
After the fries we were lucky enough to get a taste of the Red Hot Sausage with house smoked beans. The sausage was made in house as were the beans and topped with an over easy egg, homemade corn bread croutons, and some thin sliced onion! AWESOME! Loved it. The sausage was spicy so make sure you have a cold beer nearby but it was packed with flavor. The house-made beans were some of the best beans I’ve ever had. A little sweet, a little smoky and a perfect pairing with that sausage. Crack that egg yolk over the top of all of it and it could make for a heavenly breakfast. 
A beer I was unable to land the last time it was released will be making another appearance on our shelves here in Eastern Iowa starting August 1st. Stone Enjoy By 09/05/16 Unfiltered IPA will be available in 12 oz and 22 oz bottles and check in at 9.4%.
Coralville’s Mondo’s Reunion Brewery will be hosting a beer dinner Wednesday July 20th at their Coralville Strip location. 5 beers paired with 5 different courses for $40. Below is the menu for this event:
Thank the Beer Gods for Abu Nawas! They are responsible for getting Iowans a chance to try Crooked Stave whose beers always challenge and satisfy the palate. 
Kickshaw Barrel Works’ owner/founder Bill Heinrich has the list of accounts that will be selling Kickshaw’s first release which is scheduled to be happening the 1st week of August. Very excited for this release and to see what Bill has in store for us! Here’s the list courtesy of 
Big Grove Brewery will be invading Mosleys this Saturday June 25th as part of the Pig Pedal Classic Bike Ride. This ride raises money for Children’s Cancer Connection and Mosley’s is one of the stops on the tour. Here’s more info on how to become part of this great fundraiser:
Along with those stops, at Mosleys, Big Grove Brewery will be taking over the lines with these 12 offerings:
This past weekend my wife and I were traveling to Dike for a fundraiser and decided to set some time aside to travel to downtown Cedar Falls to visit SingleSpeed Brewery. I had never been to SingleSpeed but only had their white IPA at a beer festival, which I found refreshing, so I was looking forward to checking out another Iowa brewery.
Here’s what we tried:
Single Speed will be opening up another brewery in what was the Wonder Bread building in Waterloo. I believe they will still operate out of their Cedar Falls brewery as well. More on the new brewery 