Drink This! Reunion Tropic Nightmare DDH Brett IPA

March 2, 2022Leave a comment

When Reunion was teasing this release and having Wake involved in the brewing process, I was already sold. Reading further about this release and being a fan of Brett IPAs, I was super excited to have the chance to get my hands on some of these brews! Here’s the description from Reunion:

Brewed in collaboration with the wizards of WAKE BREWING. This nightmarish IPA was fermented with Brettanomyces Claussenii for a funky and tropic twang and dosed with heaps of Cryo Mosaic, Citra Lupomax and El Dorado Lupomax.

There have been a few Brett IPAs that I’ve really enjoyed. I was lucky enough to score Allagash’s “Little Brett”, which I enjoyed, but wanted a bit more hop presence. The Stone Enjoy After Brett IPA was tasty and I did purchase multiple bottles and enjoyed them. Crooked Stave has been a favorite brewery of mine and their Hop Savant was outstanding, tons of barnyard with a splash of hops….and then Tropic Nightmare came along….

First of all, this beer is beautiful..I’ve had a fresh pour from Reunion and multiple cans and it’s a stunning beer. Orange juice look with a thick frothy white head. Aroma is hops up front, dank and lovely. If you keep your nose in the glass for a bit longer you get that barnyard funk that brettheads love and desire!

Extremely refreshing! The funk shines and is wonderfully balanced with the hop bill. Tartness from the brett on the back of the tongue but also that refreshing and juicy splash of hops. Complex and delicious. Lots of flavors going on in this beer and for me, all of them wonderful.

This has been such a sight for sore eyes release. Something different, something new and a tip of the cap to Reunion and Wake for going in on a style that hasn’t necessarily dominated the market and totally crush it with Tropic Nightmare. Worth seeking, I’ll need more! Get to the brewery on the Coralville Strip and Drink This beer!

Reunion Brewery releasing “Lucid Lemur Dreams” Hazy IPA this weekend!

February 16, 2022Leave a comment

Reunion Brewery will be debuting “Lucid Lemur Dreams” hazy IPA this coming weekend on tap lines and shelves throughout Eastern Iowa! Here’s more on this release courtesy of Reunion’s Facebook page:

Lucid Lemur Dreams is about to drop! Our newest hazy IPA brewed with a dreamy blend of Mosaic Lupomax and Zappa hops hits taps and shelves this weekend. Laced with juicy, tropical flavors and a uniquely green twang from Neomexicanus Zappa hops. You won’t want to sleep on this one!

Reunion releases 4 new BA Stouts!

December 13, 2020Leave a comment

A busy week for Reunion Brewery as they released 4 new barrel-aged stouts this past week, 2 of which are exclusive only to certain stores. Below are the details of these 4 new brews and where you can find them! Cheers!

*Imperial Banshee w/ vanilla + almond – 13% ABV – A veil of inky blackness. Roast soaked in booze and oak. Distant screams in the dark. The Banshee has been waiting. The Banshee is calling. Vintage 2020 of our feared Imperial Banshee Imperial Stout aged 10 months in Cedar Ridge Bourbon barrels. 30 cases of this variant, visit your local liquor store to find it!

*Imperial Banshee – 10% ABV – Our 10% abv Russian Imperial Stout is an inky black, roasty, barrel aged monster. Aged in Wild Turkey and Four Roses bourbon barrels for 7 months this ale is layered in rich notes of bourbon, vanilla, toasted coconut, and cocoa. 30 cases of this variant, visit your local liquor store to find it!

*The Knob Diablo – 12% ABV – This one we’re really excited about. Our buddies @waterfronthyvee were kind enough to hook us up with a 15 year old Knob Creek barrel. We pulled some of the base beer for our Cocoa del Diablo out of the cellar to rest in this extremely special barrel. This single barrel Imperial Stout is thick and creamy with 15 years worth of bourbon notes. Available EXCLUSIVELY @ Water Front Hy-Vee in Iowa City!

*I Already Had This Last September – 12% ABV – Another barrel aged stout you say? But I ALREADY HAD THIS LAST SEPTEMBER! This is a very special stout collab we did with the goons down @johnsgrocery last September. A long boil RIS that was rested for a full year in a single Jefferson Reserve barrel. This silly stout will be at John’s Grocery this weekend so go snag some before they drink it all! Available EXCLUSIVELY @ John’s Grocery in Iowa City!

Drink This! Reunion DDH Dr. Dank!

May 7, 2020May 7, 2020Leave a comment

Another first time to can release (I think anyway) of a wonderful Iowa brewed IPA is double dry hopped Dr. Dank from Reunion brewery in Coralville. Reunion has been very strong in their pale ale/IPA game as their Juice Factory and Tank Puncher grace our shelves and our beer fridges regularly. Yes, it is available in cans right now but….if you go to my favorite place in the area to have a beer, Mr. Jeremy Freerks has a keg he is going to tap at Club 76 in North Libery, so you can fill a growler with this goodness…so stay tuned for that tapping! TBA!

I remember the first time I had Dr. Dank on tap and it was at Need Pizza in downtown CR and thought to myself, if they can this beer up I’d be all over it….well, here we are! Another example of our amazing Iowa breweries continuing to meet the need of the beer drinkers during this pandemic. Let’s get to the details of this beer courtesy of Reunion before we delve too deep:

It’s madness!!! He can’t be serious?!?! Sheer lunacy! He’ll destroy us all!!! Double dry hopped with Columbus, Citra and Mosaic, DDH Dr. Dank reeks of dank resiny goodness and heady, musky, tropical, juicy fruit. Oh, the humanity!!!

POUR
Clean pour, no floaties, dark yellow with some orange hue. Nice thin head and as your pouring you get the waft of the hops. Citrus and resin galore! Just what your looking for in this beer.

TASTE
With the haze craze upon us, which I do enjoy, I love the bitterness that comes with this beer. Yes, you get the fruit and you get the dank, but the wonderful old school IPA bitterness also shines. The combo is terrific and makes 7.5% ABV beer seem like you need another…and then maybe 1 more…

OVERALL
Reunion had me sold with Tank Puncher and now Dr. Dank has me ready to head back to the store for a few more 4 packs, unless they are already sold out. If you are a hop head and like the dank stickiness that Mosaic and Citra bring and mix that with the resinous from Columbus than you need to Drink This!

Best “New” Beers of 2016

January 3, 2017January 3, 2017Leave a comment

Oh yes, another Top 10 list. Everyone loves to read a top 10 list; either to trash it, agree with it, discuss it, or do all of the above. My top 10 list of favorite “new” beers of the year has certain criteria to meet. The beer must:

1: Be a beer I had not tasted previously

2: Must be available for purchase at Eastern Iowa breweries, restaurants, or liquor stores.

That’s it.

This list could easily be 25-50 beers deep, but I finally got it down to 10. Last year my list was a tad excessive so I refocused, recollected, and thought long and hard. This is purely subjective and I know I probably left one off that made your list so feel free to respond with your top 10, top 5, or just your favorite of the year. So, without further ado, in no particular order, the Baron’s Top 10:

**Prairie Pirate Noir – I just had this beer this past weekend and was absolutely blown away. Part of 4 variants released recently in Eastern Iowa and this one was my favorite of the 4. All very good, but this one stood out. Rum barrels shine a bit more in this beer than in Pirate Bomb! A very viscous stout and perfect for a chilly Iowa day. I would love more of this!

**Reunion Tank Puncher – I hope folks were able to try this beer from Reunion and I hope they decide to make more of it as well. This was my entry into my family beer festival and eventual gold medal winner (back to back for me :). This is the perfect beer for the tropical hop crazed beer lover. Reunion was out the last time I checked, let’s hope they get this one up and rolling again!

**Lion Bridge Gobble Wobble – take a traditional style brown masterfully done by Lion Bridge and age it on Wild Turkey barrels…what do you get? An excellent cold weather brew! The taste from the barrel pairs well perfect with the nuttiness of the brown to give you the a great companion to warm you up this winter.

**Kickshaw Pipo– watermelon shines in this sour/blonde beer from Kickshaw. Stocking up on this one as I’m looking forward to a few glasses of this during the summer months but damn it sure is tasty along side a salad and even better with some fish tacos! Looking forward to more from Bill and Kickshaw!

**Summit Unchained: Dark Infusion – this beer made my Drink This! write up. You can view that here: https://iabeerbaron.com/2016/11/05/drink-this-summit-dark-infusion-coffee-milk-stout/. Summit gave us one of the best stouts of the year IMO and luckily I’m still able to grab four packs of this from the shelves. Almost chocolate covered caramel with some coffee splashed in. Stout lovers will rejoice for this brew. No need for barrels, this is perfect as is.

Odell Jolly Russian– I must have a thing for rum that was apparent until drinking this and Pirate Noir. So many great barrel aged beers available to us this year and I was happy to get a chance to try this one. The dark roast and coffee flavors blend nicely with the rum barrel. I would love a few more bottles of this!

**Big Grove Brewery Richard and Pralines – keep the barrel-aged year going with a brew from a local brewery. Big Grove has made their mark with some great pales/IPAs and their popular Richard the Whale and variants. This variant adds a bit of sweetness to Richard. If you can still get a pour of this, order yourself an Arms Race as this warms and then you’ll be in for a real treat. With the opening of the new brewery on the horizon it will be interesting to see what Big Grove has in store for us!

**Pulpit Rock Loopy Lynn – a relative newcomer to the Iowa beer scene and right across the street from TG, Pulpit Rock has become a big time player making some awesome brews! I had this double IPA at a Pulpit tap takeover at Blackstone Restaurant in Iowa City and was blown away. City shines though on this juicy double. I really want more of this!

**Pulpit Rock For the Joy of Almonds – liquid Almond Joy. Amazing beer on its own or for dessert. Pulpit takes their milk stout and ages it on toasted coconut, cocoa nibs, and almonds to give you silky, smooth, delicious stout. Pulpit brews are starting to pop up more in the Eastern Iowa area. Need Pizzeria in Cedar Rapids has had them on frequently and Reds Alehouse is starting to get some kegs as well. Great things coming out of Decorah.

**Toppling Goliath Double Dry Hopped Sue – How do you make an already impressive and sought after beer more impressive and sought after? Double Dry hop that bad boy and that’s what Toppling Goliath did with PseudoSue. More hops equals more hazy goodness from this beer. Hopefully this makes a return this summer as this would make a fine companion to some grilling in the Iowa heat.

Honorable Mentions:
Odell Elephunk, 3rd Base Friends Forever, Pulpit Rock Mighty Fine, New Holland Dragon’s Milk Coconut Rum Reserve, Lagunitas High Westified, Prairie Apple Brandy Noir, Big Grove Raspberry Que Sera.

There’s the list. There were some beers I wish I could’ve tried but missed out on, there were some that would make many lists and some that made mine but not even scratch the surface of yours. My New Year’s Resolution is keep trying to get to the Iowa breweries. I would love some more Alluvial and 515 in my life. I would love to see what beers made your list. Maybe it’s time for another Best of Iowa poll? Happy New Year!