I'll be in Des Moines for a few days this week. Wondering if there are places to pick up a few good bottles, toppling Goliath, etc. Thanks
It's rare for any place in Des Moines to have TG besides Dorthy for more than a couple of days. Even the. Your talking about 4 hyvee and wine styles.
Top three stores are: 1) HyVee on Fleur Dive in Des Moines 2) HyVee at Prairie Trail in Ankeny 3) HyVee on Douglas in Urbandale Between those three stores, you'll cover everything you can get in Iowa for the most part. The first two stores listed get TG bottles, but it's been a while since Des Moines has gotten a TG delivery, so they are likely out of bottles other than Dorothy's right now. If you have the time, be sure and check out 515 Brewing, Confluence Brewing and of course El Bait Shop (who as of tomorrow will have 180 craft beers on tap year round. This is up 60 handles from the 120 they've had for years now. Pic below).
Thanks for the quick responses. I guess I didn't realize how limited it is here. Why doesn't someone open up a shop? I'm in town visiting family (today to Sunday), so I probably won't stop at the bars, but I did see El Bait Shop! Looks great. Maybe another time. Should have brought some FW brews to trade coming from Santa Barbara! Oops
It's just the nature of the market. Have you been to the Hy-Vee Wine & Spirits? The first two he mentioned (never been to the 3rd) are proper beer stores as far as selection etc. goes.
The other really great Hyvee in Des Moines is in Pleasant Hill, which depending on where you are staying could potentially be closer. Urbandale doesn't have the best selection but it's good in a pinch.
As noted by @BrettHead it's just how the market works in Des Moines. HyVee has the buying power, the space, the knowledge and the relationships with distributors to get the best beers in Iowa. Almost every HyVee supermarket has it's own dedicated Wine & Spirits department and you'll find upwards of 800-1000 beers at the Prairie Trail HyVee in Ankeny. Everything from local Iowa craft, national distributed craft and lots of Belgian/European imports...all stored cold in coolers. It's quality.
Des Moines and Iowa for that matter is a very unique market. It's unlike any market in the country. VERY chain store driven. The HyVee Wine & Spirits stores offer just as much, if not more of a selection than a lot of bottle shops around the country (considering what's offered in each state), plus 98% of all the beer is offered cold.
Thanks guys. Spoke to soon calling the market limited, sorry. The supermarkets do have great selection, trying to figure out how to get stuff home now!
Glad to hear you hit up a HyVee or two. I'd suggest shipping your beer home to yourself. Probably safer than luggage and won't have to worry about being over weight on baggage!
