Another re-release coming from Lion Bridge as they are bringing back “Zach Morris Cellphone” on April 13th! Here are the details from Lion Bridge on this brew:
Zack Morris Cell Phone (Hazy IPA, 6.8%) – This beer is based on a mixed drink of the same name that maybe never existed. Back in days of yore, Quinton, founder of LBBC, was told by a barfly to order a ZMCP and that it contained orange. When he went to order it, the bartenders shrugged their shoulders, and the barfly had vanished. In an attempt to bring closure to this mystery, we have made a massively dry-hopped hazy IPA with orange puree and hope that it brings Quinton some peace.
Taproom opens at 3pm, available on draft and to-go packs!
A big weekend of beer, music, food and fun is coming up at the Lion Bridge Brewery taproom in the Czech Village in Cedar Rapids as the brewery celebrates their 8th Anniversary! They will be releasing two new beers, Crushberry Sour and Shindig Hazy IPA, Winterland will be playing, there will be free cake and of course their tasty food menu! Party starts when the doors open at 11 a.m., band starts at 5!
Here’s more on the two new releases:
Crushberry Kettle sour – 6.7% – For our 8th Anniversary, we wanted to come up with something that embodies the “terroir” of Cedar Rapids. When Crunchberry Day gives its sweet aromatic embrace to our fair city, we are children again; innocent and giggling. We hope this beer if fun for you. Drink on Crunchberry Day for extra enjoyment.
Shindig – (Hazy Double IPA with, Idaho 7, Galaxy, Bru-1, Sabro, Vic Secret 8.8%) – 8 years is no small feat for a small business. We are grateful for your support and we are grateful for super pungent tropical hazy IPAs. Cheers!
Another Wednesday and a more wonderful beer for Barrel-Aged January coming from Lion Bridge today! Following the release of one of the greatest beers brewed in the state, Home Baked, and 2022 GAZPROM! and the decadent Monkey Tail GAZPROM! Lion Bridge will be releasing “Remembered Time”, this 1st ever Barrel-Aged January Collaboration brewed with Clock House Brewing and is an English Barleywine. Not only that, they will also be releasing “Fragaria” a farmhouse ale brewed with strawberries! Here’s more on these two brews courtesy of Lion Bridge’s newsletter:
Remembered Time! Release Wed 1/19 (Barrel-Aged Strong Ale, 12%) – Our first Barrel-Aged January Collaboration ever! We worked with our friends at Clock House to brew a rich Barley Wine and then blended it with some strong stout from our cellar to make something entirely new and amazing!
FRAGARIA! Release Thurs 1/20 (Farmhouse Ale with Strawberries, 5%) – We took a selection of spelt beer aged in neutral french oak with Brettanomyces and put the blend on diced strawberries. This beer has a rocky, meringue of foam and beautfiul pink hue, while the nuanced flavor and aroma of strawberries emerges more as it warms.
Another year in the books, and like every year since I’ve been doing this blog and releasing my Top 10 I was once again blown away by the amazing beers that our Iowa brewers and their staff have made for us this year! Not only that, the resiliency shown by breweries/restaurants/bars during the past few years cannot be overlooked and huge thank you to all service industry workers! Cheers to you! Onto the TOP 10! LIST CRITERIA *Beer must have been brewed in Iowa *Beer must have been released in 2021 *Annual releases not counted unless a new adjunct had been added to that particular beer
Like every list, I know opinions will differ and I’m looking forward to reading what your top 10 list was for this year! Once again, so many beers, so little time, and I know I wasn’t able to even scratch the surface as to the beers I wanted to try!
**Big Grove Richard the Whale Chocolate Coconut Cake– – this year’s “Golden Ticket” beer during the Richard the Whale release, and like every year, it does not disappoint. Chocolate and coconut shine as this is wonderfully balanced, great for any time of the day, another win for Big Grove with this beer!
**Lion Bridge Silvia – Farmhouse ales are a style that goes overlooked and thankfully is making their way back to some breweries, and Lion Bridge not only made a great one, but possibly my favorite beer of the year. It was a perfect accompaniment to the Thanksgiving dinner table..not just one bottle either…If you’re a saison/farmhouse ale fan this is one to definitely try!
**Pulpit Rock Island Life – first enjoyed on a guy’s trip to Decorah and was blown away by the wonderful tropical flavor this beer brought. Maybe the setting had a lot to do with it, but I’m pretty sure it’s just a great beer to drink!
**Gezellig Long Story Short – 4.9%– smoothie sours/seltzers were all the rage in the beer world this past year and Iowa breweries sure made a whole lot of good ones. One of my favorites comes from the lovely folks in Newton, Iowa at Gezellig. Strawberry starbursts and pomegranate helped make this a flavor packed brew!
**Lua Brewing Dawn – 13.5% – part of last year’s “Resolution” I set for myself was trying to make it to Central and Western Iowa more often to taste what the breweries are pushing out there, especially the ones that don’t get much distro to Eastern Iowa..I kind of failed in that endeavor, however, I did get to Des Moines a few times and was able to procure some Lua brews! One that really stood out was this imperial stout. Coffee and a hint of vanilla make this decadent brew stand out, and hides that ABV very well! Looking forward to more from Lua in 2022!
**Clock House Brewing Barrel Aged Peanut Panic Porter – 12% – the base beer was one of my favorites in 2020 and then adding it to barrels and resting it on peanuts, cocoa nibs, and vanilla really added more depth to an already wonderful beer. The misconception from some was that this was a peanut “butter” beer, not the case, straight up peanuts and the balance of the flavors comes through remarkably!
**Adventurous Easy Peel (triple dry hopped Mosaic)- 8.3% – the 2nd Easy Peel I’ve had this year and I think the Mosaic barely beats out the El Dorado for me. Both very good and the combo of the mosaic hops and cryo mosaic hops really stands out. Excellent beer, any of the Easy Peel beers from Adventurous would be a safe bet!
**Lion Bridge Percussive Maintenance Macaroon – 11% – Chocolate and coconut paired with a great barrel is hard to go wrong and Lion Bridge balances this beer perfectly. There are some beers that you’ll always remember opening and pouring and this is definitely one of those for me. One to sip on yourself or share with someone you care about….a moment making beer for sure! One of the best of the year!
**Lua Pushpop: Because My Heart is in Iowa – Lua Pushpops can be hard to come by if you live in Eastern Iowa, luckily they sometimes drop a few beers off at Tin Roost in North Liberty to get us a taste here in Eastern Iowa. Mango and cherry beer, super thick and delicious. Lua dominated the slushie/sour landscape in the beer world! A trip to Des Moines in needed soon!
**Dimensional You Down with OCP – 13.1% – Pastry stouts can be hit and miss with me. Many are too sweet for my liking, and the adjuncts are too dominate over the base beer, but not with this one…Dimensional added 100 lbs each of oatmeal cream pies, oatmeal cookies, and toasted coconut to this big beer and it worked wonderfully. Not too sweet at all, in fact, if the 13.1% wouldn’t drop me I could easily see myself sipping on glass #2 letting the beer warm me up in the Iowa winter!
Two beers coming back to the Lion Bridge rotation getting re-released today! Majestic Beast and Fun Size are now available in the taproom and at select beer retailers! Here’s more on these two delicious brews:
Majestic Beast (Hazy IPA, 6.8%) – We dry-hopped our Majestic Beast with Galaxy and Motueka hops and dumped in a healthy addition of Comet at the end of boil to add even more beauty to this magnificent creature.
Fun Size (Oatmeal Porter w/Chocolate and Sea Salt, 6.0%) – Brewed with Sea Salt and then rested on toasted cacao nibs. The result is an adult treat for Halloween. No tricks needed!
Lion Bridge Brewing is ringing in the month of September with the release of two beers. Oktobott 3000 and Beer at Work will be ready for you when the taproom opens Sept. 1st @ 3:00 p.m. Here’s more on these two brews below:
Oktobot 3000 (Barrel-Aged Imperial Märzen, 8.5%abv) – A fusion brew with German and Czech roots in the recipe as well as the name (“robot” is a word with Czech origins). Munich and Bohemian Pilsner Malt are the motherboard to this amped up version of the style, while 7 months in Willett Rye Whiskey barrels greases the cogs and makes sure it all computes.
Beer at Work (Australian-style IPA, 7.0%abv) – Heavily dry-hopped with Australian Vic Secret and a touch of New Zealand Motueka, this beer exhibits strong tropical fruit flavors known to come from the land down under where women glow and men plunder.
Lion Bridge Brewery will be releasing an imperial cinnamon roll stout on May 26th! This beer will be coming in at 10.5% ABV and will be released @ 3:00 p.m.! Stay tuned for more release details!
What a year it has been! With all that is going on our local breweries still put out a ton of amazing beers and this was the toughest “Top 10” I’ve had to come up with. As the year winds down, a heartfelt thank you to all the brewery/restaurant workers out there working their butts off to get us excellent beers and delicious food while trying to keep their businesses afloat. Keep supporting local people!
List criteria: *Beer must have been released in 2020 *Iowa brewed only *Annual releases not counted unless a new adjunct was added to the beer
I know that I’ve missed many, my goal in 2020 was to get to as many Iowa breweries as possible and I was able to get to many that I hadn’t been before and hopefully that trend continues in 2021. After you read my list I would love to hear what your Top 10 is this year! Follow me on twitter @iabeerbaron or join the Iowa Beer page on Facebook. Cheers to you all!
*Richard the Whale Vietnamese Coconut Coffee – 12.5% – the last few years of the Richard release, the golden ticket addition has added excitement but also even more creativity from the BG brewers and crew to up the ante every year to produce an amazing beer and this year was no different. The balance between the coffee and coconut blends perfectly with barrel and the vanilla rounds it out perfectly. A truly decadent and delicious beer. To quote Virginia Madsen from “Sideways”, “You know, the day you open a Richard the Whale Vietnamese Coconut Coffee….that’s the special occasion”.
Big Grove Richard the Whale Vietnamese Coconut Coffee
*Lion Bridge Off Grid – 6.6% – there may not be a better beer to showcase the trying year many people have faced in 2020. Off Grid was brewed after the derecho storm left many in the Cedar Rapids area without power, shelter, etc. Brewing with generator power, not only did Lion Bridge get beer to us, they gave us one of the best IPAs brewed in Iowa in 2020 and I hope we get a taste of it again in 2021….minus the derecho.
Lion Bridge Off Grid
*Barn Town Nelson Sauvin Neon – 6.5% – as Barn Town’s Neon is becoming more available in Eastern Iowa, it has certainly taken its place amongst my ever revolving beer fridge as a staple. However, Barn Town decided to showcase different hops in their popular IPA and after tasting Nelson Sauvin Neon, dare I say I want more of this version? I love Nelson hops and the addition of this adds a nice peppery finish to an already delicious citrus IPA.
*Lua Algorithm – 4% ABV – trips to Des Moines in the last year certainly have been more common to get some to go beers from many of the breweries in that area and one certain stop has been Lua. Lua’s lineup of beers range from wonderful pilsners, hoppy IPAs, BA stouts, and one their extremely popular Pushpop lineup of brews! There were many that I really enjoyed but Algorithm was the one that stood out to me most. The combo of orange, mango and peaches can be enjoyed any time of the day! Lua is currently doing curbside only for the foreseeable future so make sure you place an order with them and pick up some amazing beer and food!
*Clock House Peanut Panic Porter – 5.5% – Clock House has had an amazing year with their beer releases and with the addition of a canning line they can get us our favorites more efficiently and timely. Of all the beers I’ve had of theirs this year, (I think I’ve had them all), their Peanut Panic Porter stood out. I’m a huge porter fan, Founders Porter is still one of my all-time favorite beers, and when Clock House added peanuts to this beer I was sold. Now, this isn’t a overly sweet “peanut butter” beer, this is boiled raw peanuts and some added cocoa nibs making this one of the best porters I’ve had and definitely the best peanut porter I’ve ever had. Still on tap I believe, give it a shot!
*Big Grove HDTV – 9.2% – galaxy hops gone mad! Big Grove took their popular Color TV and added a bunch more galaxy hops to it to give us this baby! A wonderful welcome addition to Richard the Whale day, HDTV is not only delicious, but it’s deceptively drinkable coming in at 9.2%. You still may be able to find cans of this in the wild or certain bars (Club 76 has it on tap).
Big Grove HDTV
*Single Speed Barrel-Aged Double Donuts – 10% – aged in Cedar Ridge single malt whiskey barrels? Yes please! Single Speed took inspiration from their popular Zach’s Mexican Donuts, threw it in some amazing whiskey barrels and barrel-aged Double Donuts was born! Luckily I have a few cans left of this and I have every intention to sit by the fireplace and watch the snowstorm blow in tomorrow night and sip and enjoy this wonderful brew!
*Pulpit Rock Double Dave-O – 7.6% – I remember having this beer way back in January at Marquee Pizza in Coralville during their anniversary celebration. Marquee always did a great job getting Pulpit Rock on tap (Thanks Sam!) when many places couldn’t and I remember thinking that it’s going to be nice being able to visit here, have some great food and sip on some Pulpit beers…..things have changed a bit because of the pandemic but Pulpit sure has adapted to the changing times and have done an amazing job getting their cans available in certain locations around Eastern Iowa (Need Pizza + Reds Alehouse). Double Dave-O stood out because of the hop profile. Citra and mosaic, two of my favorites made this a quenching IPA leaving me wanting another one!
Pulpit Rock Double Dave-O
*Dimensional Imperial Cinna-Man Bun – 11.7% – there are some beers that you can be a little hesitant to order because you’ve already played it out in your head how it was going to taste. With this particular beer, I thought for sure it would be way too sweet for me with over the top cinnamon, admittedly I was completely wrong. Dimensional brought balance to a beer that could have gone the complete opposite direction, especially for a pastry stout. Another great fall/winter beer to sip on, wish I had some more of it!
Dimensional Imperial Cinna-Man Bun
*Clock House Sweet Innocence – 5.2% – 42 lbs of black cherries added to this kettle sour which made for a truly refreshing beer to sip on on hot ass August night in Iowa. This is a beer that I hope to see again during the warmer months and if you haven’t tried it, if Clock House does release it again, it’s worth the trip to Cedar Rapids!
Clock House Sweet Innocence
There is the list! It’s always fun to compile but never easy to narrow down! With such a trying year in the beer/restaurant industry it is amazing on how these breweries have adapted to keep their businesses alive and to also keep us stocked with beer. A huge cheers to all of them and I hope you continue to support your local brewery and businesses. I know I probably missed your favorite of the year so please let me know what your list looks like! Cheers!
What better way to ring in December than with your very own Iowa Beer advent calendar! I was lucky enough to take part in helping pick out some amazing Iowa beers to include in this awesome calendar made by Glyn Mawr Winery in Mount Vernon, IA and now you have a chance to get one for free! Here’s what you need to do:
*Visit Glyn Mawr’s Facebook post and respond to it with your favorite Iowa brewed beer and also tag and friend and you will automatically be entered. Visit their Facebook page by clicking HERE!
*Visit Glyn Mawr’s Instagram account and respond to the post with your favorite Iowa brewed beer and also tagging a friend. Click HERE to go to their Instagram account!
*Winner will be randomly drawn and notified. Proxies are allowed for pickup, just notify myself or the winery for that!
About the calendar: We tried to include as many different Iowa breweries as possible and also tried to include as many different styles of beer as possible. There are so many great beers being brewed and I think we have a great collection included in this calendar!
GIVEAWAY TIME!! You guys have BLOWN US AWAY with pre-orders, so we have decided to have a GIVEAWAY for one of our Craft Iowa Beer Advent Calendars! ($85 value!)TO QUALIFY: COMMENT below with your favorite IOWA craft beer, and TAG a friend that might want to get in on one of our calendars before they sell out! Check out the list of breweries we have included: @clockhousebrewing, @fsbtaproom, @singlespeedbrewingco, @dimensionalbeer, @gezelligbrewing, @thewbrew, @biggrovebrewery, @tgbrews, @5ivecitiesbrewing, @reunionbrewery, @exilebrewingco, @backpocketbrewing, @sutliffcider, @lionbridgebrew, @iowabrewingco, @wilsonsorchardia We will pick a winner this weekend! It will be available to pick up 11/25, 11/27, or 11/28!ALSO, we only have 10 CALENDARS LEFT, so get online and pre-order yours today!
Lion Bridge Brewing will be adding another IPA to their lineup next Wednesday when they release “Off-Grid” IPA. Many folks in the CR and surrounding area will appreciate how this beer was brewed! 10 days without power after the Derecho devastated Cedar Rapids, Lion Bridge had to turn to a generator like many others to save this beer! Here’s more on this release:
Off Grid IPA (6.6%) – Brewed to commemorate the week of production after the Derecho Storm of 2020 where we had no power at the brewery for 10 days. A robust generator kept our production going and saved our beer. This Galaxy-hopped IPA is a delicious product of these trying times.”
You guys have BLOWN US AWAY with pre-orders, so we have decided to have a GIVEAWAY for one of our Craft Iowa Beer Advent Calendars! ($85 value!)
TO QUALIFY: COMMENT below with your favorite IOWA craft beer, and TAG a friend that might want to get in on one of our calendars before they sell out! 
ALSO, we only have 10 CALENDARS LEFT, so get online and pre-order yours today!
iabeerbaron.com 