Des Moines this weekend

Others can chime in here as I'm more of an IPA/stout/sour guy, but I would suggest either Hessen Haus or Royal Mile. Hessen Haus will have a good selection of German lagers, and I'm pretty sure Royal Mile has some good Belgians.

 

Unless you are specifically looking for imports (Hessen Haus, Red Monk) I would just go to El Bait. They have most of the (albeit limited) local options in the categories you mention, plus many others from around the state and country.

Some of the local Oktoberfests are already showing up, but otherwise I can't think of a lager from a DSM brewery that you should seek out. You should have plenty of opportunity to drink Exile's mediocre lagers around town and I'm guessing their fruited kettle sours are not worth your time (although their hops have been good lately!) Madhouse has some decent sours, but not traditional Belgian. Confluence dabbles in some Belgian styles, particularly barrel-aged, but it looks like you can get some of these at El Bait. 515 does have a basil/cucumber saison and a Quad--neither of which I've tried. Maybe Peace Tree is worth a stop if you want to try their spontaneous ferment or get wasted on their 8.5% Belgian Blonde.

Outside of DSM, Single Speed's Saison de Waterloo is pretty solid. And I tend to prefer the lagers coming out of eastern Iowa better (Lion Bridge, Millstream, Iowa Brewing). You can sample most of them at El Bait, plus Urban Chestnut, etc.

p.s. If you decide to go to Hessen Haus, prepare to be disappointed when most of the special/limited imports (e.g. Zwickels) are no longer available.

 

Well stated, I should have clarified that Hessen and Royal Mile will mostly just have imports and not technically "craft beer." I don't even think of local craft breweries when I hear styles like German lagers and Belgians...

 

Des Moines brewers seem to be focused lately on IPA and sours - not that they don't do other styles well.

Since you inquired about "local," I's recommend the Iowa Taproom. All Iowa-brewed beers, that will give access to some very good non-hoppy beers and lagers that are not packaged or otherwise in the Des Moines market.

My immediate thought for a good DSM non-hoppy beer would be Confluence's Farmer John's.

As to non-DSM, I echo the above regarding Millstream, Lion Bridge and Iowa Brewing.

 

I had a pint of Exile's Oktoberfest today and I would say it's worth a tick. Me calling Exile's lagers "mediocre" was maybe a bit harsh. G.G. is a decent dunkel. Wish they would experiment more with their lagers to capitalize on the fact they are one of the few in DSM doing them.

 

Confluence is pretty good, but if you're looking for such a specific beer you'll be hard pressed to find much variety in DSM. Confluence did have a Corn Lager when I was there in June that was really good (had the chili pepper version).

And, if you get the chance at the weather is nice, the Farmer's Market on saturday mornings is really f'ing fun. I'd honestly go to that, and you can walk to El Bait from there in 10 minutes.

 

I thought that pilsner Exile put out last year was really good. Plus, I always manage to bring back some Ruthie when I venture south of the border.

 

This. And if you're looking for a great breakfast spot hit up Mullets.

 

Just in case anyone visiting the area is viewing this at a later time...

I would argue that Confluence's lagers, the Czech pils in particular, are just as good if not better than what Exile is doing these days, and that your earlier assertion that Eastern Iowa breweries are doing lagers better is accurate as well.

But since Urban Chestnut now distributes here, and are so much better, there's not much reason to go local, at present. And in fact, the "problem" is further exacerbated whenever fresh Summit Keller Pils and/or Firestone Walker Pivo/Lager and/or Sierra Nevada Summerfest/Oktoberfest land in town. Or getting further afield, Boulevard Kolsch, all of which are generally superior to Iowa-brewed equivalents.

G.G. being a notable exception because who else is even doing dunkels?

 

Are you talking about Over the Ivy? I guess if it’s that good I’ll have to get over my irrational hate of all things Cubs and try some.

 

It's good.

 

That’s the one

 

Staying in downtown Des Moines on Friday night. I am familiar with the better places to visit for good beer.

Not so much for restaurants.

Looking for suggestions for a nice casual spot for 5 people to eat. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Eatery A pretty nice if you are into tapas/small plates or pizza.

 

-Urban Chestnut Dorfbier
-KC Bier Co. Dunkel
I don't know if KC Bier Co. distributes in Iowa or not, but the Dunkel is their flagship beer and it's solid as far as I'm concerned. If I had access to both of those I would buy a half case of each, and reload when I ran out. I haven't had the chance to try them back-to-back yet though to compare.

 

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen either beer here in Des Moines. Urban Chestnut is a fixture in my fridge so hopefully someday?

 

The Cheese Bar is one of the best restaurants in town and it’s my favorite place to drink beer.

And it’s casual.

Eatery A, Bubba and Django are all in the nexus of casual with higher quality food.