I did a search before posting this and didn't find a ton. I saw a thread from last year about bottle shops and there was a bit of conversation about brewpubs etc. That said, a lot can change in a year. What are the top couple of places with the best beer?
I make it down there a few times a year and Bent River is probably my favorite brewpub to hit up. I think they still do cheap lunch baskets as well as daily beer specials unless anything has recently changed. Rock Island Brewing Co has the best tap/bottle selection I've seen in the QC (although they don't make their own beer.) When you going to be in town? I'll be in the QC for about a week and a half around the 4th of July and was going to see if I could pull some other locals out of the woodwork for a beer some night.
In my opinion the best places to drink beer in the QC aren't brewpubs. Of the brewpubs Bent River is pretty decent. Against the Grain in Rock Island plans to brew their own beers but right now is a craft beer bar. They generally have an interesting selection of bottles and on tap. They do not have food but you can bring in food or have it delivered. As Torgo says RIBCO is also pretty good. I liked the food at both Bent River and RIBCO. Finally Crust Stone Oven Pizza in Bettendorf generally has a very good selection of draft and bottled beers, but it can be expensive and if you order food it can add up pretty quick. What you might want to do is check out the above places on beermenus.com and see what they have when you're in town.
I would reach out to GraniteSkunk in a beermail as he is heavily involved in the local beer scene and is a great guy and will not steer you wrong. RIBCO (Rock Island Brewing Co.) is a good place for beer geeks. Although they do not brew beer, one of the better beer bars in the area. People working there are good beer lovers. I have mixed feelings with Bent River. The food has improved immensely, but the beer and especially the service, has lagged. Ever since I started to go to the Quad Cities back in '01, I always stop at Bier Stube. I like German food, and especially German beer, so it has a soft spot in my heart. You can also do Bent River and Bier Stube in one night as they are next door. I understand Great River does special casks at their taproom but I never made it over there.
QCA resident here. RIBCO and Against the Grain have the best bottle selection and Bent River is probably tops for the brewpubs, but Front Street in Davenport is also pretty good and always has a good crowd and great food. Great River is hit and miss.
Are there any good bottle shops in QC? Best I have found are the local Hyvees and even then I mostly go to ones in Illinois.
They're pretty comparable but will change from week to week, so at any given time one might be better than the other.
