This Wednesday at 7 p.m., Sanctuary Pub is hosting a sour ale event with Jordan Aberman, the sales manager at Central Waters Brewing Company in… […]
12 oz Curls
Beer Reviews: Central Waters Brewing’s Glacial Trail IPA
12 oz. Curls: Deschutes’ Hop Henge IPA

While watching the second half of the NCAA men’s basketball championship game earlier this month, I enjoyed a bottle of Hop Henge Experimental IPA, brewed by the Deschutes Brewery of Bend, Ore.
According to the beer’s webpage, Hop Henge is Deschutes’ “annual exercise in IBU escalation … it’s all hop, no apologies.” Available January through April, Hop Henge is brewed with “an outrageous amount of Centennial and Cascade hops.” The beer is also heavily dry hopped, a brewing process where hops are a […]
Sucha Much IPA is LV’s April 2014 brew of the month

The Kalona Brewing Company’s signature IPA, Sucha Much, was named after a song by Paul Cebar and the Milwaukeeans titled “She’s Such a Much.” According to Lew Brewer, Kalona’s co-owner and head brewer, the song is about a girl who is “such a much.” “We just felt that way about the beer,” he said. While […]
New beer alert: Surly Brewing Company comes to Iowa

The Surly Brewing Company of Brooklyn Center, Minn., has begun selling a limited amount of beer in the Des Moines, Ames, Cedar Rapids and Iowa City areas and plans a larger rollout in 2015. Surly made a grand entrance last Thursday, taking over the taps at El Bait Shop in Des Moines. Surly spokesman Lee Jones said representatives dropped off a pallet of BLAKKR, an Imperial Black IPA, for distribution by Johnson Brothers of Iowa. […]
Dank as promised: A review of Stone Brewing Company’s Enjoy By 4/20 IPA
Frost Line Rye is our March 2014 Brew of the Month

Just as March is stuck between seasons, the beer of the month, Summit’s Frost Line Rye, is a seasonal between seasonals. Offering spice and malt alongside an invigorating and energizing tease of citrus, Frost Line Rye befits a month when temperatures rise and the days lengthen but the snow still flies, the trees are still […]
12 oz. Curls: Busch injects a little flavor into their new Signature Copper Lager
Zipline Brewing Company makes Iowa debut with tap takeover at Red’s Alehouse this Wednesday
Rare Vos is our February 2014 Brew of the Month

February’s beer of the month is Rare Vos, a “Belgian-style café ale” produced by Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, N.Y. Rare Vos (“sly fox” in Dutch) takes its name from a pub in Schepdaal, Belgium, known for being the starting point of pigeon and bike races. Rare Vos is the perfect beer to celebrate an accomplishment or to cap a long day’s efforts. According to Ommegang’s website, Rare Vos is its “most quaffable” beer and what the brewers like to drink after a lengthy shift. Indeed, this ale makes for easy drinking: Not only is Rare Vos tasty, it lacks the high ABV of Ommegang’s other Belgian-inspired brews. […]
Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale is our January 2014 brew of the month
Snowstorm is our December 2013 brew of the month

While some breweries release the same, traditional holiday seasonal year after year, others keep consumers on their toes by always brewing something new. Anchor Brewing’s Christmas Ale is most well-known for surprising beer drinkers each year, but I always look forward to Schell’s Snowstorm. The 2010 weizenbock and 2012 biere de garde were superb, and […]