Been banished by your best mate and drinking buddy? Worried you’ll spend St. Patrick’s Day with none but yer sister and miniature donkey? Avoid a mental breakdown (and/or an Oscar nomination) and grab a pint at your neighborhood brewery, where you’ll find Iowa twists on Irish beer styles. From crisp reds to stormy stouts, these […]
Confluence
Posted inFood & Drink
Iowa beer picks inspired by new and classic horror movies
Whatever movies you watch this October, don’t just sit there with glazed eyes dipping your hand into the Halloween candy bowl over and over again until you realize the trick-or-treaters are knocking and all that’s left for them are a few Tootsie Rolls and orange Starburst. Drink some local beer as well! The concepts are […]
Posted inFood & Drink
For Iowa brewers, water quality is ‘a really big deal’
According to Iowa brewers, a beer is only as good as the water used to make it. Inside West O Beer’s taproom in West Okoboji is a poster that proudly states, “To us, the water is a really big deal.” West O owner Matthew Matthiesen said the poster has been there since the taproom opened, emphasizing how important clean water is to
Posted inBread & Butter Dining Guide
LV Recommends: Irish stouts
On St. Patrick’s Day, you’re entitled to a pint of Guinness (it’d be un-Irish not to) but if you’re looking for something a little different, give these U.S.-born Irish stouts a chance.
Posted inFood & Drink
LV’s February Beer of the Month: ChewBOCKa by Confluence
The “chew” in the beer of the month — Confluence’s ChewBOCKa — is the unintended but delicious result of a common brewing complication. One of the problems that can vex brewers is what is known as a “stuck mash.” When separating the mash — a hot porridge of crushed grains and water — finely ground […]
