Having been a beer aficionado for many years, Iowa had become a frustrating place. Then all of a sudden our state decided to change the beer law...... Now a little recent history of my travels. Parlor City in Cedar Rapids has 56 beers on tap. These include Toppling Goliath(at least three all the time), Ommegang, Boulevard, Goose Island, Celebrator, St Bernardus, Delirium, North Coast, etc. They recently had a tap take over there and I got to drink Goose Island Vanilla Stout that was 3 years old and the orginal and only batch. We have Schera's in Elkader who always has world class beer selections. We have Red's in North Liberty who get some one of a kind stuff. Recently they had a keg that was the only one tapped in the US. I did not get to drink it but WOW. My last sampling there was something from Evil Twin. Brick's in Cedar Rapids had Piraat the other day and oh dear. They always have Founder's , Tank 7 and Toppling Goliath. Zeppelins has many of the above. A couple years ago I would have rather stayed home because I could not have gotten anything I liked in a bar. Nuff said.
No Eastern Iowa beer thread would be complete without mentioning the Lava Lounge in Waterloo, which has one of the best rare beer selections in the state.
I agree that Eastern Iowa is getting much better and with Green Flash getting here soon and Stone hopefully coming next year it just gets better. I would throw Sanctuary in there as well as it has been a well established beer geek bar for quite a while and they always have a couple English or Belgians that I haven't seen anywere else around here. Parlor City is fantastic and their GI tap takeover with Juliet and Lolita was awesome! Red's is great too and their food is top notch. After moving back to Iowa from the Twin Cities where great beer was everywhere it was kind of depressing, but you're right, now that the law has been changed things are taking off.
The places I frequent the most are Parlor City, Reds, & Mahoneys. They all support craft beer. Throw Bricks in downtown Cedar Rapids to the mix as well, Third Base has guest taps now as well, plus there is White Star Alehouse (not a fan though). Things are coming along well. Benz Beverage Depot has allot of selections to choose from. We have come a long way in the past few years.
Now we need it to spread a little further East to the Quad Cities. Seems like RIBCO is trying but not there yet.
RIBCO is far and away the best place to go in the Quad Cities. For those of us that are stuck in the middle of a craft beer desert, they are definitely the best option.
My reliable sources tell me that Lagunitas, Stone, Green Mountain(?) and several others will arrive in the next few months. Distributors tend to talk about the big guys, but additions such as Evil Twin, etc. are just as noteworthy. The beer taps "one ofs" and take overs bring some very hard to find delights. I now seek out the tap beer more than the bottled stuff.
It's Green Flash that will be here starting this Friday at Reds Alehouse in North Liberty. The event they are hosting is here: http://iabeerbaron.wordpress.com/20...e-party-green-flash-brewing-friday-july-20th/ As far as Lagunitas, they will be here sometime: http://beerstreetjournal.com/lagunitas-plans-on-going-big-49-states-big/ Stone is questionable: http://iabeerbaron.wordpress.com/20...-news-lagunitas-green-flash-stone-not-coming/ The article is from last month, so, ignore the Green Flash part as they are here.
I tried the Green Flash tonight. Wow! Intense grapefruit. So strong I had to drink a glass of water to attempt to get the taste out for another beer. I then had a Mikellaar Belgian strong ale. Another winner. In case any one in Iowa wonders, I was at Parlor City on a Wednesday night. Packed. I had to wait for a seat at the bar.
I was worried I may have let the cat out of the bag, but, they did post this on their Facebook page, and tweet about it.
