El Bait Shop will have a good number of Iowa crafts--not sure if there are other places that concentrate more on Iowa beers. But it has amazing selection of craft beer in general. Plus, it's downtown with so many other good beercentric places nearby.
Agreed- El Bait, hands down has the best Iowa selection. Don't miss Toppling Goliath, if EL Bait has some on tap, it's fantastic stuff.
Thanks guys, Toppling Goliath is about an hour & half a way from home, great stuff! Does anyone know any stores that have a good selection of iowa craft to take back home?
The only bottle shop we have in town is Beer Crazy. Otherwise, Hy-Vee is going to be your best bet. University & 42nd St and Railroad & Grand Ave have pretty good selections.
Which route are you taking down? There is a decent selection at a liquor store in Ankeny, the name escapes me, or you could hit dirty John's in Iowa City. Worth the detour. In Des Moines, El Bait it tops, but if you have time also hit Court Ave and Raccoon River. Tips on drinking at El Bait if you have a group: order and then take it over the High Life Lounge, the attached bar next door, much quieter. Also if you like German, English or Belgian Beer, hit up HessenHaus, Royal Mile or The (whatever the monk bar is above royal mile). Ingersol spirits isn't too bad either.
This sounds pretty similar to my beer trips to Des Moines. I usually go to Beer Crazy for bottles, in case they have something John's doesn't or is out of. My favorite brewery in the area is actually Rock Bottom as imo the brewer's stuff (not the base lineup) is usually really good. I also enjoy Hessen Haus, Royal Mile, Red Monk, Fong's Pizza (crab ragoon pizza is amazing), El Bait Shop and High Life Lounge (I believe all of these establishments are owed by the same person). At El Bait Shop you can order a flight of beer which is nice for sampling and High Life Lounge is right next door with some good appetizers (bacon wrapped tots with cheese and jalapeno). If you're in the downtown area Court Ave. is there and Raccoon River is not too far away, although imo it is the least impressive to my palate, but the brewer is really nice. If it isn't too far out of the way, depending on your route, Peace Tree is just 30 minutes south of Newton. I believe there is now a nano-brewer in Newton as well, Van Hoezen. I believe there are also a couple of new breweries open or opening in Ankeny and Des Moines.
This area has improved greatly since the days of me selling Sierra Nevada in the upper midwest. It is awesome to see. Cheers to all my old friends in the area.
Our Rock Bottom has a pretty good brewer, I agree with that. Go with one of his special brews, and not the standard Rock Bottom brews and you usually can't go wrong. However, I think Raccoon River is probably the least impressive brewpub we have here. I find all their brews a bit sub-par. If you're going downtown, check out Court Avenue Brewing Company (CABCo). They have a pretty great brewer too. And another vote for the Full Court Press bars (El Bait Shop, Royal Mile, Red Monk, Hessen Haus). They have done a fantastic job of getting craft beer available in downtown Des Moines.
Agree on RB's brewer. The last time I was there he had a cask Chinook PA that was great! Raccoon is hit or miss for me. Some stuff is great...some not so much. Court Avenue Brewing, how is the new brewer doing? I really liked Mike, and his beers, so I haven't gone since they replaced him.
Woah, when did they replace him? I haven't been down there since last summer. Didn't even know he was gone.
It was a few months ago. I talked to him after the event and our conversation left me concerned on the direction they were choosing to go. The unfortunate part is that prior to his arrival the beer was average to down right terrible depending on the beer. When he came there was an immediate improvement in terms of quality to the core brews and as he added or brewed special release beers, they were even better. He was talented and I was more concerned about losing him to another brewery, not them getting rid of him. I don't know how you run a business like that and not be crazy about the beer...
They got rid of him? That is fucking stupid. His beers were pretty damn good. If you find out where he goes to, I'd be interested in knowing. And I'm not planning to head back to CABCo anytime soon, then.
Will do. My guess is outside of the local, but I don't know what some of the planned breweries are doing with hiring brewers. I know one already has one, and is just starting to brew. The rest appear to already have brewers, or at least are being opened by homebrewers, etc.
For a surprising tap selection check out the Kegstand at Valley West and Westown PKWY in West Des Moines. They have several Founders items on tap, including Devil Dancer, for CHEAP!
