Des Moines Metro beer tiers 2021
- Thread starter dmclone
- Start date
In my 20 years of living here I sent my first letter to the city council/mayor last week. They agreed with everything I said and they said to just wait a while and things will get better.
I made the mistake of buying 4 cans sight unseen. Pro: they did a great job; tastes just like cake batter. Con: 16 oz of cake batter is a lot of cake batter. It’s a taster beer, not a drinking beer.
The way things are going right now, in 2022 this sub forum will be renamed to Seltzers. It's amazing how much they've taken off in the last couple of years. I've even noticed that some of the hy-vee have been taking away shelf space away from real beer to make room for these.
I prefer Confluence and Alluvial to Barntown.
Barntown basically brews two styles: Hazy IPAs and Fruit Sours that are basically alcoholic juice. They do both very well and have killer food, but Confluence and Alluvial are much more well rounded.
Barntown basically brews two styles: Hazy IPAs and Fruit Sours that are basically alcoholic juice. They do both very well and have killer food, but Confluence and Alluvial are much more well rounded.
Maybe i'm getting old and crotchety, but having a Milkshake-IPA drops them a tier for me.
Seriously though, I was there a few weeks ago (first time) and everything was okay. Nothing outstanding, but nothing bad. Solid mid-level brewery for me.
Beautiful space, though.
For me Confluence and 515 are tops in the metro.
My rankings:
Never had either of these:
Fenders Brewing
Kinship Brewing Company
- Lua Brewing
- Barn Town Brewing
- Gezellig Brewing Company
- Confluence Brewing Company
- Brightside Aleworks
- Peace Tree Brewing Co.
- Exile Brewing Company
- Firetrucker Brewery
- 515 Brewing Company
- Court Avenue Restaurant & Brewing Co.
- Mistress Brewing Company
- Reclaimed Rails Brewing Company
- Twisted Vine Brewery
- 1717 Brewing Company
- Flix Brewhouse - Des Moines
- Fox Brewing
Never had either of these:
Fenders Brewing
Kinship Brewing Company
I’m really tired of lactose in beer and pastry fruit sours. I get that a lot of people love these beers, and I respect the innovation, I just don’t like drinking them that much.
We went to Barntown once and my wife, who likes IPAs and fruit sours, liked their beers while I, who doesn’t like those beers, didn’t have much of a selection. Generally when we’re in DM, Confluence satisfies us both. (In the CR area, Big Grove and Lion Bridge are the once which work for us as well.)
This would be pretty close to mine. I'd probably flip 6&7 and 8&9 but not a big difference.
I do think personally there's a big gap between 3 and 4. I do agree Confluence is probably the most well rounded one on the list, but to me everything falls more in the category of "yeah that's pretty good" vs anything that is just "damn that's outstanding".
I'll also be honest Barn Town is probably #2 on the list more from a nostalgia standpoint. I was a huge fan when they were leading the charge with NEIPAs. Their sours are good, but it's just not a style I get as excited about. Neon is a nice NEIPA that they general still have when I stop in but they used to have better options. The food still kicks ass though.
I know it isn't in either the DSM or CID markets...but I just want Single Speed to continue to do well! Really enjoy their beers! Their brewery/alehouse in Waterloo is great!
This is a solid list, dmclone - well done.
For me, it’s hard to separate overall quality of beers and a single beer that I love. Like 515’s Mexican Spring is one of my all-time favorite beers but they rest are just “good”. Same with PeaceTree’s Cold Brew, but I do think they should be higher than C tier.
Barn Town is probably my favorite because they are always experimenting plus the food is delicious there. But others make better beers overall.
For me, it’s hard to separate overall quality of beers and a single beer that I love. Like 515’s Mexican Spring is one of my all-time favorite beers but they rest are just “good”. Same with PeaceTree’s Cold Brew, but I do think they should be higher than C tier.
Barn Town is probably my favorite because they are always experimenting plus the food is delicious there. But others make better beers overall.
If Barntown didn't have great food, I probably wouldn't go there as much. I used to love their beer, but now it's pretty hit or miss, and have had a few beers that are borderline undrinkable.
Confluence is great, and I used to claim the DSM IPA as one of my favorite IPAs out there, but I feel like they switched up the ingredients and it doesn't taste as good as it used to. Still good though.
I've been to Kinship several times since they've opened, and they've yet to disappoint. Very good beer.
Confluence is great, and I used to claim the DSM IPA as one of my favorite IPAs out there, but I feel like they switched up the ingredients and it doesn't taste as good as it used to. Still good though.
I've been to Kinship several times since they've opened, and they've yet to disappoint. Very good beer.
I'm pretty much solely an IPA drinker, but I'd put Neon above DSM IPA. Although there's something to be said about being able to find DSM IPA in basically every bar/restaurant in the metro.
515 has some solid IPAs (OJ comes to mind). I think they are a little underrated by many.
Haven't had a chance to visit Lua yet, but have heard great things.
515 has some solid IPAs (OJ comes to mind). I think they are a little underrated by many.
Haven't had a chance to visit Lua yet, but have heard great things.
Forgot to mention- the Frootys from Barntown are fantastic to crack open on a Saturday morning. You only need 1, but if you haven’t had one they are very good.
