I didn't realize they were canning on that big of a scale, other half has some great beers, i've never been that impressed with sweetwater's offerings.
Iowa Beers Release/Distribution Thread
- Thread starter Malty Flannel
- Start date
Not sure if this thread (below) caught on last year, but yeah... maybe a thread per month. I know that Iowa Brewing in CR has already released a canned version of Stone City's Aaah Bock!. They also have a ... was it cherry and orange(?) sour that they placed on tap this past week. I think it would be exciting to see what different area breweries had available as NEW or revived seasonal offerings over the year!
While not the cheapest option all three of those breweries are frequently available on Tavour for those that can’t get it. Blackstack is in my list of three breweries on Tavour I pretty much buy every time they are listed (Anchorage and Adroit are the other two). I’ve had 10 different beers from Blackstack this year through Tavour
Shameless plug if you don’t use Tavour and want a referral code PM me
Hahaha I have a good friend that gets Tavour so I'm familiar. I also really like Adroit's stouts. The selection is really impressive, I'm just too cheap for that. I'm not far from Illinois or Wisconsin which is nice for different selections when I want to splurge.
I thought they were already in the state? i know i've seem mirror universe at the ankeny hyvees.
4 heavy hitters are coming to Iowa in the next few weeks.
Untitled Art-According to my wife, pretty much the best seltzers made. I'm taking a trip to Madison in a few weeks and plan on visiting.
Modist-I've only had one from them but it was solid
Fair State-Pretty good overall. I've had mirror universe and BBRR, which were decent.
WELDWERKS!-This is the big dog that I've been waiting for. On our way to Yellowstone last year had a bunch of Weldwerks and everything I had was top notch.
Untitled Art-According to my wife, pretty much the best seltzers made. I'm taking a trip to Madison in a few weeks and plan on visiting.
Modist-I've only had one from them but it was solid
Fair State-Pretty good overall. I've had mirror universe and BBRR, which were decent.
WELDWERKS!-This is the big dog that I've been waiting for. On our way to Yellowstone last year had a bunch of Weldwerks and everything I had was top notch.
Oh snap! Weldwerks is something I will actually seek out. For what its worth it looks like SweetWater actually sent fresh beer (something that other bigger brands have failed to do in the past); I'm sure it will shelf turd in the future so now would be the time to buy if you're curious about them.
Yes, Maccabee's Kosher Deli in Des Moines will often have Schmaltz beer (I've picked up the Hanukkah and Passover releases there). Unfortunately they couldn't get any this past Hanukkah because of COVID disruptions. I get to Maccabee's one or twice a year so I don't know what they carry outside those two Holidays.
I was in the Ankeny South Hy-Vee a few years back and I asked the Wine and Spirits manager about Schmaltz (He'Brew is really really good btw but at this moment I don't see it listed on their web site) and a distributor rep was there at the time. I don't recall the distributor but I could have gotten some that day. I didn't because the distributor wanted to sell me his entire supply.
I did have some at El Bait Shop a couple of years ago.
I will definitely have to keep Maccabee's in mind. Maybe I'll give them a call or just walk in someday.
I didn't think the day was possible that we'd get Weldwerks here, wow! They are killer for IPAs.
I've only maybe had one UA but yearn for more, they seem to do great at the stouts and IPAs as well.
The other two I'm not familiar with at all.
I just saw this posted by Confluence, limited availability:
Most Untitled Art products are collabs so it's a mixed bag. The pixie mix seltzers suck but the smoothies seltzers are really good. Good IPAs and stouts too.
I've never been a huge fan of Weldwerks. I've had most of the variations of juicy bits, they're decent. I like their stouts the most.
I've had a few Modists and they were all solid.
I actually wasn't a huge fan of straight Juicy Bits, but happened to be there for Extra-Extra-DDH Citra Juicy bits, that was straight fire good.
A friend of mine happened to drive out to Colorado a couple months ago and surprised me with a mixed four-pack from Weldwerks. I haven't had a bad one yet. Latest fave was a DIPA called "Zeros and Ones" and it was quite fantastic. There's one in there featuring Strata hops that I'm looking forward to having soon.
Overall I guess what I've learned is that we have nothing to really yearn for here in Iowa. Just among (of course) TG, Confluence, Barn Town, Dimensional, Adventurous to name a few...here are so many amazing local beers right here that getting out-of-state beer is a great treat but not required to have outstanding beer.
I am really enjoying Batch 1387 from Confluence right now, it's wonderful.
A friend of mine happened to drive out to Colorado a couple months ago and surprised me with a mixed four-pack from Weldwerks. I haven't had a bad one yet. Latest fave was a DIPA called "Zeros and Ones" and it was quite fantastic. There's one in there featuring Strata hops that I'm looking forward to having soon.
Overall I guess what I've learned is that we have nothing to really yearn for here in Iowa. Just among (of course) TG, Confluence, Barn Town, Dimensional, Adventurous to name a few...here are so many amazing local beers right here that getting out-of-state beer is a great treat but not required to have outstanding beer.
I am really enjoying Batch 1387 from Confluence right now, it's wonderful.
Adventurous?
I've been enjoying the one offs and limited releases from Big Grove and Singlespeed. TG is consistently good to great, but their pricing on their DIPAs and limited releases keeps me from buying more often with all the other options around.
Adventurous has been amazing from what I've had. Probably the best IPAs in the state based off the few I've been able to find. Their PB&F stout was awesome too.
TG started it all for me and I don't even consider buying their IPAs anymore.
Adventurous Brewing is what I guess you'd call a nanobrewery in QC. This triple from this past summer was amazing:
I still love King Sue, it's like a gold standard in my book. It's probably all gone now, but their latest release (collab with BlackStack) Safety Porpoises was great. If you see any Imperial Golden Nugget, it's worth a try.
But yeah, otherwise a lot of the TG IPAs often just miss the mark for me. There are so many great options out there for IPAs just in Iowa, you can usually find something a little better.
Mornin' Latte is still killer when you can find it!
