National Beer Day
Our resident expert on drinkable hops and barley has a few suggestions to celebrate the best day of the year
It's National Beer Day once again! Time for another survey of some of the finest Iowa craft beers I've had the pleasure of tasting in recent months. With
so many great local brews to choose from, it gets harder and harder to keep this list short. Again, some of these may be in short supply, so if you
can't get your hands on these I've included selections that should be easier to come by.
Carpe Diem - Mahdouse Brewing Company, Des Moines
A welcome yearly released bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Stout with cocoa nibs, Kona coffee, and barrel-aged maple syrup, this beer feels like a decadent
Sunday brunch in a glass. Thick and just a bit sweet, this one's not just for breakfast, but you may need a nap afterward as it clocks
in a 13% ABV.
Consolation prize: El Jefe barrel-aged Mexican Stout
Lutris - Alluvial Brewing Company, Ames
This American Pale Ale is one in a series of Alluvial SMaSH beers (Single Malt and Single Hop), featuring Citra hops and Marris Otter malt. Lots of citrus
on the nose and tongue, backed up well by the malt to give it good mouthfeel and keeping the bitter in check.
Consolation prize: Helix IPA
Jesus on a Forklift - Exile Brewing Company, Des Moines
An Imperial Rye Stout, this was aged for a year in Cedar Ridge Rye Whiskey barrels. The base beer brings a good deal of sweet chocolate to the table to
balance out the whiskey. The result is pleasantly devoid of most of the heat the rye barrel could impart and makes for a smooth drinking experience.
Their cask conditioned variant, Jesus on a Coconut, was aged an extra 4 months on 150 pounds of coconut. Good stuff.
Consolation prize: Sir Moch-A-Lot
Unholy Trinity - 515 Brewing, Alluvial Brewing, Pulpit Rock Brewing
Unholy Trinity is the love child of three Iowa breweries in collaboration. A hazy Wheat Pale Ale made with four types of wheat, the real stars are the
Mosaic, Columbus and Cascade hops. Dank, yet oh so easy to drink and gone altogether too soon. Hopefully one of the breweries stashed a keg away for
a rainy day.
Consolation prize: 515 Brewing Mediocrè Pale Ale
Richard the Whale - Big Grove Brewery, Solon
Richard is a big, bold bourbon barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout with tastes of dark chocolate and vanilla with lots of bourbon flavor remaining. The
booze tends to come across a bit more in this one than the other aged beers on the list, while clocking in at around 11% ABV. This beer has an amazing
mouthfeel that makes you almost want to swish it around gargle with it. Big Grove tends to do a lot of variants of this, such as coffee, hazlenut and
praline. Whichever you get, make sure to let it warm up to get the full flavor.
Consolation prize: Que Sera Berliner Weiss
Bonus round:
While there are lots of new breweries in various stages of planning and construction, I'd like to feature some those existing breweries that are expanding their reach in the state with very cool second (and third) locations.
Peace Tree - the recently opened Des Moines branch in the East Village is a great place to hang out and will also
be the location of Peace Tree's sour beer program. Peace Tree will also be opening a third taproom in Grinnell later this year.
Big Grove - Big Grove brings the great ambience of the Solon location, along with great food, to a somewhat more accessible Iowa City
address.
Backpocket - Backpocket's Pilot Pub has taken up residence in Cedar Rapids and serves as a pilot system for Backpocket to test out new
creations and small batches. Backpocket will soon be opening another taproom in a large renovated space in the Dubuque Millwork district.
Got a favorite that's not on the list? We'd love to talk about it, or better yet, get together to sample one or two.
Written By
Rick VanderLeest
Published In
Share
Related Articles
- Our Top 5 Ways to Build an Effective Content Marketing Strategy That Gets Attention
- Vimeo or YouTube...what’s the best video platform for your business?
- The 10 Best Films of 2018
- The Buyers Journey
- 10 Lessons in Table Manners We Learned at the Movies
- "Night of the Living Dead" Turns 50: The Zombie Effect
- Applied Art Celebrates 25 Years - 90s Style
- Build Your Business Site With Must-Click Web Copy
- Celebrating 25 Years: Top 10 Best (And Worst) 90s Fashion Trends
- Celebrating 25 Years: Six Films from 1993 You Need to See Again
- Central Iowa Studio Continues to Evolve as it Celebrates 25 Years in Business
- 10 Must-See Films from the First Half of 2018
- 12 Steps To Improving Trade Show Booth Traffic
- Video For Fundraising
- Explaining Explainer Animations...with an Explainer Animation
- The 10 Best Explosions in Film History
- IGTV: What You Must Know as a Marketer
- Six Ways to Use Animated Explainer Videos
- Four Reasons To Schedule Your Outdoor Shoot Now
- Applied Art & Technology Wins 2018 Telly Awards
- Four Video Marketing Trends to Keep an Eye On
- Applied Art 'Embarks' On New Venture: VR for Dogs
- Des Moines AAF Award Winners
- 6 Ways to Make a Great Pre-Roll Video
- Drawing in Space
- Creating a Killer Spot With Measurable Results
- ARKit: The future of marketing
- Website Accessibility - Is Your Site Compliant?
- Applied Art's Ryan Snaadt Wins Recognition for Sonic Drive-in Marketing Solution.
- Should Your Website Have a Blog?
- Iowa Museum Week
- 8 Types of Content You Should Be Creating
- VR, AR or MR...What’s the Difference & Why Should I Care?
- National Beer Day
- Expansion News!
- What to Wear for the VR Revolution
- Tradeshow Season Is Trending
- Our Favorite Commercials
- Get to know Caitlin
- It’s Zombie Season
- “It's up to me to make that finished piece, what's coming out of the camera, look good.” - Eric Sahrmann
- What do Strong Babies, UnderArmour, and a Clio have in common?
- Shooting Drone Footage and Keeping It Legal
- Immersive Video; Creating an Experience in 360°
- Is Time-lapse Photography the Next Big Thing In Marketing and Advertising?
- High Fives For Fish Nelson & Holden
- Top 5 Iowa Beers You (Probably) Haven't Sampled Yet
- We’re growing!
- To Infinity And Beyond!
- Applied Art Goes Retro; Authenticity Is In
- The secret advantage for creating perfect Pre-roll
- Why creating Pre-Roll videos on YouTube makes great sense
- Super Bowl Commercials
- A Developer's Highlight Reel from CES 2016
- Keeping your New Year’s "Resolution"
- Insights from the Ooma Booth
- Behind the Hoopla
- How Long Should My Video Be?
- 5 Common Website Content Pitfalls
- 5 best uses for explainer animations
- 3 Reasons to Use a Drone
- It's Harvest Time
- Ever wonder how a wind turbine is built?
- Behind the Curtain
- Applied Art & Technology Selected As A Winner In The 36th Annual Telly Awards
- Beware Stats That End in Zero
- Are you smarter than a suitcase?
- How Old Do I Look?
- Is Your Website Ready?
- Music for Creativity
- Report from the 2015 Commodity Classic
- New Applied Art Spot
- Planning a Multi-Generational Interactive
- Using Video for Your Holiday Greetings
- Your Next Sales Tool
- ImageFirst Signs Website
- Responsive design for a better web presence
- Touch Table Explains Pioneer Seed Technology
- 53 Uses for Video
- Pacific Science Center Interactives
- New TV Spot for Greater Iowa Credit Union
- Maytag Commercial Meeting
- Museum Interactives
- Sauer-Danfoss Corporate Videos
- Kari & Billy's New Music Video
- Facilis Terrablock
- Applied Art and Songdish at SXSW
- Paper Cutout Stop Motion Animation
- Iowa Lottery "Game Book" TV Spot
- Hollywood Undead "We Are" Directors Cut
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Carrie Chapman Catt Multi-touch Table
- New AVDimensions Animation in 4K Resolution!
- Forest Septic Tank Service Launches New Website
- Let's Talk Page Fold
- Heart Mountain Interpretive Center, Wyoming
- What's the difference? Single, Dual and Multi Touch Monitors
- Google+ Field Trial and Review
- Mark Hawes Benefit
- Applied Art Produces Sauer-Danfoss Promotional Videos
- Civil War Mobile Exhibit Trailer
- Three C's for Good SEO
- Applied Art Develops Trustwave Multi-Touch Presentation
- Applied Art Coordinates International Shoots
- Slipknot Rocks Applied Art Once Again!
- Applied Art Develops Real-Time Applications for CNET
- Center on Sustainable Communities (COSC) Launches New Website
- New Programmer Joins Applied Art
- New Interactive Tracks Iowa's Civil War Regiments
- Keep Iowa Beautiful Launches New Web and Microsite
- Coalition to Support Iowa's Farmers Launches New Website
- DART Launches New Website
- Slipknot Download Concert
- Applied Artisans Participate in 48 Hour Film Project
- Applied Art Produces 2010 ISU Football Spot
- The German Immigrant Experience: 1845-1925 Wins National Award
- Iowa Lottery Cash Bonanza TV Spot
- Video on the Web - Streaming vs Progressive Download
- Ape House Promotional Video
- Iowa Hospital Association Social Media Conference
- ACH Food Companies Launches New Website
- Iowa Lottery Silver Anniversary TV Spot
- Applied Art Produces Kemin Rosemary Video
- Finley Alt Smith Law Firm Launches New Website
- Iowa Diabetes and Endocrinology Center Launches New Website
- Allied Insurance Website Features Applied Art Produced Flash Animation
- Applied Art Produces Slipknot "Snuff" TV Spot
- Applied Art Edits and Animates Purina Mills Video
- Applied Art Produces ISU Basketball Opener
- Darlow Christ Architects Launch New Website
- Ag Connect Expo
- Christmas eCard from Luther College
- Who knows about High Def? We do...
- Graphics Demo
- Applied Art Creates Interactives for German American Heritage Center
- The Coalition to Support Iowa's Farmers Launches Green Farmstead Partner Website
- Applied Art Assists With 2009 Ambassadors Tour Event
- Mercy Medical Center - West Lakes Launches New Website
- Camp Hertko Hollow Launches New Website
- The Danish Immigrant Museum Launches New Website
- Applied Art Launches Interactive Media Website
- Perinatal Center of Iowa Launches New Website
- Fareway Announces First Website
- New "Special Effects Demo Montage"
- LED Display Comparison
- New Iowa Lottery Ad Features Iowa Veterans
- Iowa Center for Translational and Clinical Research Launches New Website
- How to Shoot Better Blog Video
- Experiments Video
- Vein Center at Iowa Heart Ad To Premier During Super Bowl...in HD
- Follow us on Twitter!
- ©2019 Applied Art & Technology.
- Terms of Use
- Privacy Policy
- Contact