Visiting Des Moines – Advice Needed

If you can swing it, Alluvial in Ames would also be a good stop. While maybe not a must stop, maybe Exile for the sake of "checking another off the list." Decent food there.

 

I'd also back up the Alluvial rec. Exile has some really good beers (their sour program in particular) and some very forgettable ones.

I'd add Confluence as well.

 

Staying in Clive, you'll be very close to 515 Brewing, so good to see that is on your list (it would also be my #1 suggestion for a brewery you can't miss while in town). Your itinerary of 515 Brewing, El Bait (right next to the Principal Park where the Iowa Cubs play) and The Iowa Taproom is very solid. My other suggestion for breweries to hit up while in DSM would be Confluence and Exile (which has great food as well) or Firetrucker if you have time to drive a but up north to Ankeny.

Since you'll be in Clive, the closest store with the largest selection is probably the Urbandale HyVee or the Mills Civic HyVee. If it were me though, I'd take the extra time to drive up Ankeny and go to Prairie Trail HyVee (which is the best store in the metro in my opinion).

 

Forgot to mention, here is an interactive map I have created and maintain for Central Iowa (mainly Des Moines area) breweries, craft beer bars, bottles shops, etc. It's mobile friendly too. https://batchgeo.com/map/CentralIowaCraftBeerMap

 

I don't go to I-Cub games, but I think you can get Confluence Des Moines IPA there. Pretty solid IPA.

 

If you're into IPAs, I'd recommend all they have on right now. OJ IPA, Blase, and Hopititis are all great. Mexican Spring is good too. I also like Wired Heifer.

 

You can, along with about 28 other Iowa Craft Beers. There is an "all Iowa" Craft Beer stand on the lower concourse just behind the home plate (actually a bit closer to first base). Some good beers on tap, but you'll pay baseball game prices of course.

 

Not at all beer-related, but take some time to walk around the Pappajohn sculpture park. Really a nice sculpture park and an overall pleasant experience.

http://www.desmoinesartcenter.org/visit/pappajohn-sculpture-park

 

Good suggestion! Also, the park is within a block or two of some great restaurants, as well as Exile Brewing.

 

Well, I'm a bit biased so I'll not make recommendations on where to go, but if you like that hazy unfiltered, unfined murky hoppy jam, we usually have a couple of those on tap. We do a good job of keeping up the beer list on the website and Facebook and whatnot, so keep an eye on that. Mediocre is still a couple of weeks out so I'm afraid you'll miss that.

Stepping back as just a beer guy, there's a lot to like in Des Moines, and I hope you enjoy your stay!

 

my take on the breweries/beer bars in the area

-515-try all hop forward beers along with wired heifer and basil protocol
-Confluence-solid beers (DSM ipa, Thomas Beck, Milk Man, Farmer John), okay taproom environment
-Exile-excellent restaurant/atmosphere, food's pretty good, core beers are average and sours are good
-Firetrucker-good dark beers, some interesting offerings (Belgian double pale and 12% hard ginger beer), fun taproom environment
-Alluvial-great beers but Ames is a jaunt from Clive, you can try a few of their beers at Bait Shop/Iowa taproom

-Bait Shop-have a lot of good sours/saisons on right now along with always having plenty of great IPA/DIPA and stouts to pick from
-Iowa taproom-food's pretty good. order beers from the breweries that are listed above or Lion Bridge, TG, Peacetree (grapefruit IPA), Pulpit Rock, Turner Alley
-Royal Mile/Red Monk-If you like European/Belgian Beers, both fun bars/restaurants
-University Library Café-fun, novelty place to stop in, 40-50 beers on tap
-Fong's Ankeny-Great, unique pizza and 88 beers on tap, can combine with Prairie Trail Hyvee for bottle selection and Firetrucker Brewery.

Aren't really any good independent bottle shops in Des Moines. Beer crazy in Urbandale has an okay selection. Otherwise stick with HyVee's in Urbandale, Ankeny (Prairie Trail), or Waukee

 

• 515, absolutely. Hopititis is must, OJ, Blasé, Wired Heifer, and they just tapped Basil Protocol just over a week ago, it's excellent. They also have had some really great guest taps on lately from Keg Creek and Lion Bridge.
• Confluence. Nice tap room. Des Moines IPA and everyone loves Farmer John.
• Twisted Vine opened up not too long ago and the Green Banshee IPA was really good, as well as their Twisted Blonde.
• El Baitshop of course is a must.
• Keg Stand. Great stuff, a lot of beers you can't find elsewhere.
• University Library- great hours, and what 30-40 taps for such a small place? 20 ounce pours on a lot their beers!!! And you can't beat breakfast nachos on the weekend.
• If you want a decent Hefeweizen, Reclaimed Rails in Bonderant has a nice one. I think Dave has his famous vanilla cream ale on tap as well right now, but I could be wrong on that, haven't been there in a while.
• Flix Brewhouse- a lot of people don't think of this place, but some of their in-house brews our really good (Devil May Care was excellent!), and they have I think 30-40 craft beers on draft- plus...can you beat a movie and drinking a nice brew?! It's a nice setup.

Have a great trip! Des Moines is a great town for some good beer.

 

Twisted Vine is out that way in West Des Moines off Valley West Drive and Hwy I235....I am a fan of Confluence for sure. Reclaimed Rails is by my place in Bondurant but is on the other side of town from Clive. Their Twisted Silo beer is pretty solid!

 

My personal opinion would be to cruise right by Twisted Vine and keep pedaling to 515 if you are short on time. Twisted Vine is a cool space, but their beers are still being worked on (although I do like their Black IPA). If you are mainly an IPA fan, your must stop is 515 and also the Iowa Taproom, as they'll likely have Alluvial, Pulpit Rock and possibly even TG hoppy beers on tap....all which are making the best IPAs in Iowa. And yes, there are some great bike trails from the west side that can take you all the way into downtown (and beyond).

 

IMO, If you hit 515, Iowa Tap Room, and Bait Shop you'll hit 3 of the top 3 in town. Unless you plan on drinking more than 50 beers, you really can't do better.

 

I second this statement