Iowa Breweries making Quality Beer for Quality People--IOWA CRAFT BEER TENT

The Almost completed tent

Its the day before the fair, all the work has been done, and now there is only one thing left to do, drink. I have traveled over 1,300 miles this summer visiting the amazing people that are providing the beer, cider and root beer for this event. As I sit here writing this I realize, Iowa we are one lucky group of people. We have some very talented brewers in our state along with a bunch of people that are working very hard to progress craft beer in this state. A number of these brewers could work anywhere in the country, but they choose to stay in Iowa making quality beer for quality people. Events like the Iowa Craft Beer Tent take hundreds of quality volunteers and a couple of people with the smarts to get the job done right. Scott Carlson, is the man with the idea he is the owner of the tent and along with his general manager Steve Linn, they have made this event awesome.

The beer of course is the most important atraction at the tent. With thirteen Iowa breweries  bringing twenty-eight beers and a hard cider there wont be any shortage of high-quality beverages. If there wasn't already enough, the tent is also having three regional breweries, Lucky Bucket, Goose Island and Summit. Yes I know they're out of state but us Iowans are always an inviting bunch so we might as well let them join us. Root Beer from the various Iowa breweries will  also be rotated throughout the fair also.



Marge the cow

         But whats a good beer without something to do while enjoying said beer. Well how about some music the tent will be hosting a band each night of the fair to keep all of you lovely drinkers preoccupied. Open everyday of the fair from 9:00 AM to 12:00 AM the tent will become a hotspot for drinkers at the fair. With t-shirt giveaways, temporary tattoos and an online store packed full of  Craft Beer Tent Shwag to keep everyone looking nice, there will be more than enough to keep you entertained. Oh, and remember that great group of brewers I was telling you about earlier, how about you get the chance to sit and listen to a brewer talk at 10:00 and 2:00 and pick their brains with all sorts of  beer questions. Well thats about all there really is to know about the Tent I hope to see you all tommorrow morning right by the big slide at the IOWA CRAFT BEER TENT,look for the logo above. Check in later on "My Brewing Adventure"

Thriving Downtown makes for thriving Brew Pub ---Court Avenue Brewing Co.

Brewpubs are a thing of wonder, they pop up in every sort of location and Court Avenue in downtown Des Moines just happens to be one of those great locations. Started in 1996 by the KC Hopps group Court Avenue Restaurant and Brewery has become a local hot spot in the downtown bar scene. Which is probably why it was later bought by now managing partner Scott Carlson in 2001. It serves as a place to grab a high quality lunch or dinner for bar goers and employees of the many downtown businesses. But even though it's located minutes away from the business district, and has a daily happy hour and delicious food you don't come to a brewery for any of that, you come for the beer. That is where Court Ave.'s brewer Mike Gauthier comes in.
Mike got interested in beer like many other people before him, he drank it. Not only did he drink it but he worked in bars around it. He basically turned into a beer geek, learning everything and anything he could about beer. He started working at Great Divide brewing in Denver Colorado and worked there for three years before coming to Court Avenue to become the assistant brewer. It wasn't long before Mike had moved from an assistant brewer to head brewer with all the creative control in the world. This control has allowed him to create five core beers brewed year round on his 7 barrel system. The beers include Two Rivers Light, Belgian White, Pointer Brown Ale , Honest Lawyer IPA and their Black Hawk Stout. They also have two premium beers their 21st amendment Ale, aged in Templeton Rye barrels and their Infatuation fermented with raspberries. They have an awesome line of seasonals, cask, and reserve beers. They also have a root beer that is used in their ever famous Root Downs, a drink consisting of Root Beer and Jagermeister a great way to start the night off. Court Ave. has become one of the best places to come and enjoy a beer in the Des Moines area, I encourage you to make your way downtown to enjoy one or two of their amazing beers.They will be at the Iowa Craft Beer Tent bringing their IPA,  and seasonals Sophie's Mild and Corn Dog Ale a Belgian style saison. I am excited to come out and by a few pints of each and I feel you should be too. Check in Later on "My Brewing Adventure"

From Wine to Iowa Made Beer--Madhouse Brewing Co.



How does a person with a degree in grape growing and wine science go from being in charge of a successful winery to being the head brewer at a craft brewery, he likes beer. Mason Groben went to UC Davis like many other brewers before him have done, but Mason went for a completely different reason; wine not beer. His parents, Jean and Paul Groben started growing grapes on their property in Newton in 2000. Once Mason had graduated from UC Davis, Jasper Winery was formed, in a refurbished warehouse. After the winery had outgrown its location in Newton and moved to Des Moines, Mason decided to start a brewery in the old winery in Newton. So after working hard to change outdated laws that prevented a person to work in two different businesses that produced alcohol, let's say a winery and a brewery, Madhouse brewery was opened in  January of 2010. With twenty investors tanks were bought and a brewery was formed in the buildings that once housed the historic Newton Maytag Corporation.

Fermentation tanks and Kettle

Luckily wine making is seasonal, which allows Mason to split his time  between the brewery in Newton and the winery in Des Moines. Splitting his time roughly 50/50 Mason brews on a 15 bbl system and has developed 6 different beers. Which is quite a feat for a person with the majority of his experience in wine who also has to split his time with a winery.  Madhouse now has its Pastime Pale and American Wheat both bottled in 12 oz bottles and a Hopburst IPA in 22 oz bombers. But most impressive is their three beers that use Iowa produced products. Sticking with his parents appreciation of Iowa grown products, Mason uses locally roasted coffee from Java Joes in Madhouse's Coffee stout, Iowa grown hops in their seasonal Iowa IPA and most recently his use of Ebert Farms honey in their summer seasonal Honey Pilsner all sold in 22 oz bombers.

Flagships Pastime and American Wheat

Madhouse can be found throughout Iowa from Okoboji to Ames, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids and of course Des Moines. Jasper Winery is being used as their unofficial tasting room, located mere minutes from downtown Des Moines right off of Fleur Drive. Jasper Wines and Madhouse beer can be tried daily along with various cheeses and even chocolate pairings. But if your busy schedule doesn't allow you to get to the winery to try some Madhouse beer or you can't seem to find that beer your looking for in the store your in luck, they'll be at the Iowa Craft Beer Tent which is just a few days away. Madhouse will be bringing their Pastime Pale, American Wheat and of course the summer seasonal Honey Pilsner. Come and try them all. Check in later on "My Brewing Adventure"

Freedom the Key to Great Beer for Rock Bottom--Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery

Eric checking his serving tanks

Rock Bottom got its start in no other place than the Mecca of craft beer in the USA, Colorado. Frank Day, who had already started the Old Chicago in 1976, started Rock Bottom in 1990.  Both are now part of a merger with Craftworks Restaurants where Day sits as chairman of the board on the company that now owns Rock Bottom, Old Chicago, Gordon Biersch Brewery and Restaurants and a number of other chains of restauants. As cool as this company is and as awesome as Frank Day's story is it's not what makes Rock Bottom Des Moines or any of the other Rock Bottom locations as awesome as they are, it's of course the brewers. Rock Bottom unlike many other brewpub chains, give their brewers the freedom to create whatever masterful brews they want.This is probably why they have won as many awards over the years as they have, and Eric Sorensen the head brewer at Rock Bottom Des Moines is no exception.

Outside Rock Bottom Des Moines

           Eric has won many awards over the years but doesn't want to be judged by what awards he has won; instead he'd rather see people enjoy his beer. Eric has been brewing for 19 years and has attended UC Davis and the Siebel Institute for brewing, but like many other brewers he didn't start out wanting to be a brewer but just fell into it. Eric attended the University of California, San Diego for anthropology and Spanish Literature. He then went on to the University Of Virginia for his masters in Anthropology, but quickly realized he it wasn't what he wanted to continue to do. So moving back to California and meeting his wife Eric was at a loss for what he was going to do and like many others he loved drinking beer and decided he was going to make it for a living. Starting out as an assistant brewer in northern California and eventually moving up to head brewer he was making his way as a brewer. He worked at various breweries and even a winery in the California area before deciding to move Iowa, where his wife was originally from.
         He shortly became the brewer at Rock Bottom in 2004 and we arrive where we are now with Eric making amazing beer. Eric has up to 16 different beers on tap at anytime and I while making my visit  tried every single one, including some barrel aged beers. But sadly enough when you attend the Iowa Craft Beer Tent you will not be able to get all of the 16 beers that Eric and Rock Bottom has to offer, so you'll have to go Rock Bottom in West Des Moines right off of University. He is planning on bringing his Liquid Sun Wheat, the Rock Bottom white and the Rock Bottom IPA. Come out to the Iowa Craft Beer Tent which is less than a week away, and try all three. Check in later on "My Brewing Adventure"

Brewery Starts with a Curious but Blurry Mind- Olde Main Brewing Co.

Brewer "Puff" Irvin

I met brewer Jeff "Puff" Irvin (pictured right) and sales manager Martin Fox late in the evening after many beers at the Iowa Craft Beer Festival, in a similar setting as what their brewery Olde Main got its start; intoxicated. Puff who got his nick name at birth, sat one night after a few beers with Ames bar owner Scott Griffen reminising of a ski trip they had taken to colorado, and all the awesome beer they had drank. Puff who was a mere bartender at the time along with Scott decided they should send Puff, a recent graduate from Iowa State's Biology department, to The University of California Davis Brew Masters program  and open a brewery right in their very own Ames Iowa.
Puff got his interest in everything alcohol while bartending at the Corner Pocket just down the street from where Olde Main now sits. He would get questions about this alcohol or that beer and to as he said "not look stupid" he learned about it all. So what else to do but head to California and open Olde Main Brewing Co. which he did in October of 2004 when they opened their doors to many thirsty beer drinkers.

Crowded Cooler of Brite Tanks

Brewing on a 15 barrel system Olde Main brews 6 year round beers and a plethora of seasonals and special beers. They started distributing in 2008 after word of Olde Main spread through the state, now the shelves are littered with Olde Main beer. But I along with my grandpa and uncle decided to go check it out for ourselves. After Puff had given my two tag-alongs a brief tour and I had taken some pictures we sat down to eat a great meal and try a few beers. My grandpa fell in love with the "Dinkey" a Belgian wheat  beer that will be one of three beers they will be bringing to the Iowa Craft Beer Tent. They will also be bringing their Sodbuster Stout and Clone Ale. So if you happen to be watching the Cyclones getting beat in Ames by the Hawkeyes (go HAWKS!!) or are just passing through stop in to Olde Main and have an awesome meal or an even better beer. But if you're like me and rarely make it to Ames then stop at the Iowa Craft Beer Tent and try one of these amazing beers. Check in later on "My Brewing Adventure"

Floods, the ingredient for a dream-- Angry Cedar Brewing Co.

Brew house at Angry Cedar

When a person thinks of a brewery, most of the time they reminisce back to  scenes  from Laverne and Shirley where bottles scooted down massive conveyor belts or that trip to a local brewpub where small copper vats sparkled behind a sheet of glass, but what about a garage? That's exactly what Scott Hamerlinck owner and brewer at Angry Cedar Brewing Co., thinks of.
Scott who is an ex-marine, started homebrewing in his garage with his friends and family on the weekends. Soon enough his hobby became a passion and his basement became cluttered with glass carboys fermenting away his various ales, but that passion was nearly swept away in 2008. The floods of 2008, anyone who was in Iowa at the time remembers how devastating they were and Scott and the Waverly area were not missed. The floods caused by the Cedar River nearly destroyed Scotts house, the only thing not swept away by the flood, his glass carboys. This was a sign to Scott he knew that beer was his calling. So the next year he took a class through the Chamber of Commerce in Waverly and Angry Cedar Brewing Co. was born, toting a tag line "When life gives you water, make beer".

Fermenters at Angry Cedar

Scott didn't jump right into a full production brewery nor did he quit his job. Scott brewed on the nights and weekends, trying to perfect his craft, as he worked as a computer programmer.  He renovated a small place in Waverly to serve as his brewery, a space that would remind most of a garage before a brewery but it gets the job done. The space is being productive enough for Scott to finally quit his job as a programmer and become a fulltime brewer. Angry Cedar has done three different beers so far, a Chocolate Porter,  his Sandbagger Maibock, and his staple the Angry Amber which can be found on the shelves of Hy-vees and on tap at various places in Waverly. Scott is also in the process of making a Witte, which might show up in 15 days at the Iowa Craft Beer Tent. Which ever beer shows up, make sure to come out and taste what Scott has to offer. Check in later on "My Brewing Adventure"

"We have both kinds of beer Bud and Bud light" Changing times--Racoon River Brewing Co.

Outside view of Brewhouse

"I walked into a bar  to eat dinner and asked what kind of beer they had and the waitress said "We have both kinds of beer Bud and Bud Light" that was the atmosphere when we opened the brewery"  That is a quote from Dave Coy brewer at Raccoon River Brewing Co. in Des Moines Iowa. Dave is a Des Moines native who moved to Colorado after graduating from Iowa State University with a teaching degree. Dave, who was an avid home brewer, got involved with the Brewers Association shortly after moving out to Colorado. During his work with the BA he met now governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper. Hickenlooper was one of the original founders of Wynkoop Brewing Co., a brewpub based in Denver Colorado. Wynkoop was opening a number of brewpubs throughout the country; they were planning one in Des Moines, Iowa. When Dave heard of this he jumped at the chance to get back to Des Moines and Raccoon River was born.

Back room at Raccoon River

Raccoon River opened in 1997 and as you saw by the quote earlier Des Moines didn't have much of a craft beer scene , but that didn't stop Dave from making what he thought would propel the brewery forward. The Bandit IPA was the hoppiest beer in the state when Raccoon River opened and it took a lot of people off guard. Now there is an even more intense version the Bandito Loco a Double IPA that barely even phases people. This is just a sign of how the beer world has changed in our state. Raccon River was a brewery who was making full flavored  high quality beers before there were many beers of that caliber in the state. Their beers have stood the test of time and along with their great food and awesome atmosphere Raccoon River is one of the best places in Des Moines to enjoy a good beer. So for you non Des Moines readers out there who have never had the chance to enjoy one of Dave's amazing beers you're in luck that they will be having their beers on tap at the Iowa Craft Beer Tent. Dave will be bringing his staple the Bandit IPA, a Pilsen that he recently just made and his wheat beer. Make sure to go try them all at the Iowa Craft Beer Tent, coming up right around the bend. Check in later on "My Brewing Adventure"

Where The River Takes a Turn --Lost Duck Brewing Co.

Fermenters within Brewhouse

Drive down to Fort Madison Iowa at the right time of the year and you'll find a large number of ducks chilling out the by the river. Fort Madison is one of the few places along the Mississippi where the river flows east to west, this little quirk in the river causes a number of confused and lost ducks. This is just the little local flare that owner and brewmaster of Lost Duck Brewing Co. Tim Benson wanted for his brewery. Tim Benson opened his small brewpub in 2003, with only a little homebrewing experience and an attitude to learn and make what he wanted. He hired a company out of Chicago, Applied Beverage Tech. to help in the installation of the brewery. Placing the 3.5 barrel  (108 gallon) brewhouse on the second floor of the building that once claimed the name of the Grandview Room. The Grandview Room was a stop for railroaders and riverboat men that needed a place to rest, a haircut or shave at the barber in the adjacent building, or a little stop up stairs to visit a lucky lady for a small price.The picturesque building all made of brick is perfect for a small brewpub.

Bar at Lost Duck

One of the techs that helped Tim sent him on his way with a few words saying "It's your system do what you want with it". That's just what Tim Benson has done with Lost Duck, made beer that he wanted to make.Tim got his start in brewing as a homebrewer in college and always loved the beer he made. So after a number of years of practicing as a chiropractor Tim opened his brewpub. He still practices as a chiropractor and brews in the evenings and weekends when he can get time. Tim has stayed with the advice from the ABT tech and brewed what he wanted, not always brewing within the style. Which is why Tim feels there needs to be a peoples choice awards, letting the people that just want a good drinking beer decide which beer is the best instead of someone searching for the perfect representation of a certain style. Tim is excited to have his beer at the Iowa Craft Beer Tent, to show off his unconventional brews. He is most likely going to be taking his Blonde Lager, a lighter beer that is crisp and clean. Hopefully you all will get a chance to try this or one of his other beers at the Iowa Craft Beer Tent, but if not you can always swing down to Fort Madison where the river takes a turn and have Tim pour you a nice big pint of beer. Check in Later on "My Brewing Adventure"

Reviving a Town with Great food and beer--Appanoose Rapids Brewing Co.

AB tiles dating early 1900's

Bringing old neighborhoods back to life seems to be a theme right now in our country, and even more so in our state. Every little town that you run into is trying to revive their town squares or main streets and that is exactly what I saw when I went to Ottumwa IA to check out Appanoose Rapids Brewing Co. The brewery is tucked away in an old building right off Main St. which is showing signs of a revival with the brewery, other restaurants and even a possible farmers market.  The building was refurbished and opened a mere 10 months ago. During the process the owners Tim and Liz found that the building had more of a connection to beer than they had thought. The building was originally used by Anheuser Busch in the early 1900's as a distribution point. Since the building sits right next to the river Anheuser Busch would ship the beer up the river and barrels and jugs would be filled and distributed throughout the area. This little historic connection made the spot even more ideal for a brewpub than they had originally thought. The original Anheuser Busch tiles still hang in the brewery.

Bar at Appanoose Rapids

But the connection to the beer behemoth that once used the building didn't have anything to do with the opening of Appanoose Rapids. The couple decided to open the restaurant and brewery after Tim had finished his career as a middle school teacher in Ottumwa. Tim had gotten into the restaurant industry while he was attending Drake University to become a teacher and had always had a want to open a restaurant of his own. So the timing happened to be right and the two opened the restaurant. The menu host many options from burgers to salads to pastas. Liz has recently taken over the brewing and drawing from her experience in baking has nailed down some good recipes. The brewery tries to keep at least three of their own beers on tap at all times, which is quite a feat since they brew on a 10 gal system. The small system makes it even more exciting to know that they will be at the Iowa Craft Beer Tent.  They are planning on bringing a summer wiess, which was definitely my favorite beer out of the three that were on tap at the brewery, this is not to say that their raspberry wheat  or their brown ale are not as delicious. The wiess just happens to be a nice clean crisp beer with hints of clove that make it perfect for a hot summer day. So make sure to come try the Summer Wiess at the Iowa Craft Beer Tent or if you're lucky enough stop into Ottumwa IA and have a pint and a delicious meal at Appanoose Rapids Brewing Co. Check in later on "My Brewing Adventure"

Moving On Up---Backpocket Brewing Co.

McGregor IA

I recently took a trip to McGregor, Iowa to talk to Jacob Simmons , the brewer for Backpocket Brewing Co. , never heard of it, there's a reason ,it's not built yet. Jacob is currently the brewer at Old Man River Restaraunt and Brewery, a brewpub nestled in the bluffs of Northeast Iowa right along the Mississippi river. This little brewpub was started in 2008 by two McGregor natives, Dave Strutt, a retired lawyer, and his wife Marcy. The 120+ year old building was originally an office space used for the Diamond Jo Casinos and went through many evolutions until it became Old Man River in 2008. Jacob did his undergrad at the University of Iowa and followed that with a short stint as a microbiology grad student in Washington, before falling into the brewing industry where he eventually landed the job with Old Man River.  Jacob Wanted to make Old Man River stick out from the rest of the breweries and he did that in a few ways. First he decided to use decoction mashing, a traditional way of brewing often used in Germany. He also decided to make German inspired beers , mainly lagers, using the German purity law. The German purity law requires you to make beer with only grains, water, hops, and yeast. So sorry you won't be seeing a shandy or any other fruit beer in their line-up anytime soon.

Brewhouse at Old Man River

Drawing of BackPocket brewing Coralville

Jacob has fine tuned his recipes and the brewery has become quite successful so what else to do but to distribute. Old Man River, however isn't distributing under Old Man River; they're distributing under Backpocket- Coralvill, Iowa's first brewery. Yep the crew at Old Man River, with Jacob at the helm, is moving on up and building a state of the art ,energy-efficient brewery in the Iowa City-Coralville area. The brewery will be a 33 barrel system that will quickly become one of the largest breweries in Iowa. They will be producing the same German Lagers that they do now at Old Man River but will be contracting out their excess space to other breweries until it is needed for their own production. But, it's still going to be awhile till you see Backpocket on the shelves of your local Hy-Vee because they haven't even struck ground yet on the brewery and don't plan on having bottles for sale until the spring of 2012 So if you're curious about this German inspired brewery and it's amazing beer take a trip up to McGregor and check out Old Man River (who has an amazing menu by the way), or you can catch them at the Iowa Craft Beer Tent. Backpocket will bringing five of their beers- the Slingshot Dunkel, my personal favorite the Jacknife GPA, Gold Coin German Blonde, Pennywhistle  Bavarian Whear, and their summer seasonal. Come out to the Iowa Craft Beer tent  and try them all and check in later on "My Brewing Adventure."

Granite City--Minnesota Born Iowa Raised

Every city  you go in the country there are brewpubs big ones and small ones and everyone of them has a story. Here in Iowa we house a different kind of brewpub, Granite City Food & Brewery. Granite City opened up its first brewpub in St Cloud Minnesota. Since then they have opened 25 other Granite City locations. After they opened their third brewpub they developed a special pattented brewing process , fermentus interuptus. With this process they now do the majority of the brewing in our very own Ellsworth, Iowa , making it a true Iowa beer. So even though Granite City has its roots in Minnesota it has grown as a company from its wort hub in Ellsworth. Before fermenting Granite City will send the sugar rich wort across the midwest where it is pumped into the brewpubs fermenters and allowed to start fermenting.
I had only been to a Granite City once before to enjoy their Sunday brunch and didnt have the pleasure to enjoy their amazing beers. So I thought it only neccessary to make a trip up to Clive to take a look around and try a glass or two of what Granite City has to offer. I met with Brent the brewery manager at the Clive location and he showed me how the wort was pumped into the brewery where it started fermenting and then eventually was pumped into brite tanks to be served. Brent who has been at the brewery for awhile started out homebrewing as so many that get into brewing do. He was in sales for awhile and eventually landed a job working for Granite City, where he worked his way up to become the brewery manager. Granite City educates all of their brewery managers to be able to monitor the whole fermenting and briting process. Even though Brent isn't the owner nor developed the recipes for Granite City, I could tell as he poured me samples of each of the beers that he takes pride in what he and Granite City does. Granite city has amazing food a great atmosphere and awesome beer, and if you haven't had a chance Go!!! If you can't make it to one of the three Iowa locations in Cedar Rapids Davenport or Clive then check out their website and find where you can purchase their beer on the shelves. Granite City has recently started bottling their Northern Light Lager, Brothers Benedicts Bock and the Duke of Wellington Pale Ale throughout Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, North Dakota and South Dakota.
After you have done one of the two things or both you will have to come out to the Iowa Craft Beer Tent and meet some of the people actually involved with Granite City which will be bringing their Northern Light Lager, Brother Benedict's Bock, Duke of Wellington Pale Ale and possibly their seasonal. Check in next time on "My Brewing Adventure"

Quality was key--Millstream Brewing Co.

Head on down on  I-80 take a jaunt north on highway 151 and you arive in the Amana Colonies which boasts being Iowa's Handcrafted Escape, and what better place than this historic German community to house Iowa's oldest and largest microbrewery Millstream Brewing Co. So of course I had to take a trip over to the Amanas to check out Millstream and its amazing beer myself. I was greeted by one of the three owners Teresa Albert who owns and operates the brewery with her husband Tom and master brewer Chris Priebe. The trio bought the brewery,which was already fifteen years old at the time, in 2000 and began brewing shortly thereafter.  Teresa started my trip at the brewery at the top of the three levels at the brewery where they stay true to the handcrafted experience the Amanas have to offer by hoisting up and then dumping bag after bag of grain, each weighing in at 50 lbs or more. As most of you Iowans know 50 lbs bags of grain can get heavy real quick and I began to realize that this was no automated operation. We ventured back downstairs where Master brewer Chris was finishing up brewing in the brewhouse, took a quick trip to the basement where they house the majority of their fermenters and ended up on the second floor where they have their bottling line a referbished Coca-Cola filler.

Three of Millstreams Fermenters

After the quick tour we sat down in the small tasting room overlooking the brewhouse and I found a little bit more about how Teresa a 7-12 grade teacher her husband Tom and master brewer Chris have turned the failing Millstream Brewery into the success that it has become. At the time Teresa and the rest of her crew bought the brewery it was in bad shape, the brand was flawed the brewery was infection ridden and they had some work to do. They knew they had to be extremely cautious about the quality of beer that was going out to the stores. The brewery had a bad reputation that they had to change, so even though they produced 1,200 barrels of beer about 37,000 gallons in their first year, they had to throw out about 1/3 of the beer that first year. Quality was key and Teresa and her crew knew that they couldn't afford to send out any bad beer, they had to be dillegent about making and selling only high-quality beer. But after they worked out the infections and restored the brand Millstream Brewing Co. became an award winning brewery.

Award Winning Schild Brau

They now have five year round beers their Iowa Pale Ale, Windmill Wheat,Johns Generations White Ale,Back Road Stout , and the Schild Brau Amber a Vienna Style Lager that won a Gold at the World Beer Cup. For you non beer geeks out there, the world beer cup is a BIG DEAL, and an awesome accomplishment for Millstream. They also have four seasonals and most recently with the change in Iowa law they started producing their Brewmasters Extreme series where brew master Chris gets to flex his muscles and make high alcohol and full flavored beers. One of these beers the Big Honey a 9.5% hefeweizen with 120 lbs of honey is one of my new favorite high alcohol beers.
Teresa hopes to keep growing Millstream into a regional brewery and get into every state  surounding Iowa, three of which South Dakota, Wisconsin and Michigan they are already in. If Mllstream keeps on producing award winning beers like they have the past decade they will be right on track to that goal. So swing up off I-80 into the little handcrafted escape, and go get a tour at Iowas oldest brewery Millstream, and you probably should drink a few pints while your there too. Check in later on "My Brewing Adventure" with the Iowa Craft beer Tent.

Peace Tree Brewing Company - My Home away from home.

Peace Tree Brewing 107 Main Knoxville

Joe Patiently watching his boil

 So the first brewery that I will be writing about on this grand adventure for the Iowa Craft Beer Tent is my home away from home Peace Tree Brewing Co. I landed an internship at Peace Tree after doing an interview for a class project, and I havent left since.  Megan and Scott Ziller a husband and wife duo bought the run down  building that now houses the brewery because it was right across the street from their already established insurance agency, McKay Insurance.  After tossing around ideas of what to do with the building they ,along with Megans father Dan, decided what better thing than a microbrewery. So in the spring of '09 the Megan and Scott began developing the business plan that would become Peace Tree Brewing Co.,a name which the acquired from a local indian meeting spot.  Scott who was a homebrewer and had at first thought he would be the one doing the brewing, but the crew soon decided that they needed a professional. They hired Joe Kesteloot an ISU grad, who had been brewing with Cold Spring brewing in Cold Spring Minnesota. Joe started developing recipes and after fixing up the building and implementing their 20 barrel system Peace Tree Brewing Co. was underway in the spring of '10.

The award winning Blonde Fatale

 Since opening the brewery has expanded with more fermenters, more employees and continues to grow expanding their brand to four year round beers and many seasonals, one of which the Blonde Fatale just won a bronze medal at the North American Brewers Association. The brewery houses a tap-room open Thursdays Fridays and Saturdays where the fine people of Knoxville can come in and enjoy a pint or two of beer or even soda, but beware when drinking the 8.5% Blonde Fatale she'll sneak up on you.
Believe me when I say that Peace Tree is excited for the Iowa Craft Beer Tent and the opportunity to share their passion and their beer with the rest of the state. Peace Tree plans on bringing their Hop Wrangler IPA, My personal favorite and one of their seasonals the Hefeweizen. Come check out Peace Tree if your lucky  I'll even give you a tour if not make sure to stop by the Iowa Craft Beer Tent during the State fair and give em a whirl.

Road tripping through Iowa for the IOWA CRAFT BEER TENT

So Everybody its been awhile I know since I've been on here posting anything about anything, but guess what I'm back and in full swing. You'll be getting a blog post from me regularly now for the next month or two about an awesome event coming up at the IOWA STATE FAIR. The good people at Court Avenue Brewing downtown are helping put on the first ever Iowa Craft Beer Tent, from August 11th -21st (Fair time) there will be thirteen different breweries serving up awesome Iowa Craft beer to the many fair goers. I am one person lucky enough to know all thirteen that are going to be there, and because of just that luck I will be road tripping throughout Iowa and writing blogs on every brewery as they are announced to the rest of you lovely Iowans. Already announced Court Avenue, Rock Bottom, Back Pocket, Mad House , and Millstream all of which I will still be visiting and writing a blog about.  The rest of the breweries you will have to wait till they are announced on the Facebook page http://facebook.com/iowacraftbeertent, website www.iowacraftbeertent.com  or Twitter @IAcraftbeertent. Then you will be able to get a first hand account of the breweries, the people at the breweries, maybe a few snapshots and most importantly the BEER . Follow me on twitter @kaleblivingston or follow the Iowa Craft beer tent on Facebook and Twitter to catch more of "My Brewing Adventure" and learn a little bit more about the amazing beer Iowa has to offer.

A Killer day for a Killer three weeks

Joe and Taylor standing behind our killer tap box

Sold out crowd at Iowa Craft brew fest.

After three weeks of working at Peace Tree learning and gaining a better understanding of the industry, I didnt think anything could be any more fun than what I had already done. Then came the Craft Brew Fest, what a day. After finding a parking spot I walked to the small section of street in fron Racoon River Brewing Co. where the Iowa Craft Brew Fest would be held. I found Megan and Scott and soon after are crew of sunglass wearing rock star look alikes came bouncing out of the Peace Tree truck. We unloaded our newly built tap box made from an old cooler and a spare bumper and got the kegs ready for the day. at this point everything was pretty chill me and Megan folded programs and waited for people to show up. Little did we know that the people would come in mobs. Megan was taking money and I was trying to put wrist bands on everyone. Wearing my mohawk beer helmet we kept shuffling the 100s upon 100s of people through the lines. Eventually we ran out of  programs and glasses closed the lines and the real fun began.

Me serving up some Peace Tree

Next I took over for Paul at the tap-box and started handing out samples of beer, which became exciting fast. Never having a down time I constantly gave out samples of the Blonde Fatale, Rye Porter, Hefeweizen, IPA,Red Rambler and the Rye Barleywine. Making fun of everyone that asked for a "light " beer which Peace Tree does not have and commending those that knew what they wanted, made everything fly on by. I eventually adorned a blonde wig, along with my friends Keith Mccarthy, Ethan Logsdon and Rory Hennessy. At this point I filled up a pint glass  for myself and a growler and walked around and handed out samples to everyone in the crowd. I looked for two things empty glasses and hot chicks both of which I found in the abundance, this had to be my favorite part of the day. When I walked around not only did I achieve as Taylor says "Rock Star Status" but I actually got to talk to people and ask them what they thought about our beer, the festival in general, them it was awesome I met tons of amazing people most of which I will probably never see again.
As the day wound down I actually got to sample some of the other breweries beers, which were awesome. We finished off a keg of Hefeweizen and partied the night away (we'll keep where a secret). This was the perfect event to finish an amazing three weeks with Peace Tree. Megan, Scott, Joe, Dani, Taylor and Paul have all been awesome and I've learned a lot from all of them and thank them for this opportunity. But...I'm not gone yet. I must be doing soemthing right because Megan and the crew have decided to let me stay on for the summer working in the Tap Room and helping wherever else I can. I'm excited to keep this all going and  for any of you that have been reading about what I've been doing with Peace Tree follow my blog or follow me on Twitter @kaleblivingston just in case I post something that doesn't have to do with Peace Tree. Check in later on "My Brewing Adventure".

Ethan and Keith with the Blonde Fatale wigs

CRAFT BREW FEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well this is one of the last blog post I will be putting up for my internship here at Peace Tree Brewing Co. Everything has been awesome so far the past couple of days I've done everything from filing, to inventory, to cleaning kegs. I did do a tasting Wednesday night at the Knoxville Hy-Vee Wine and Spirits, which went pretty well. I was amazed at how many people walked out of the store carrying busch light and other light beers, I guess we stell have some educating to do. Tonight Joe and Megan are doing a tasting with our distributor Fleck. Friday Peace Tree will be taking over the Hideaway in Iowa City and serving only Peace Tree products, it should be an awesome event.
Then Saturday is the grand finale of Craft Beer Week here in IA the IOWA CRAFT BREW FESTIVAL!!!!!! Which I am super excited for. I highly reccomend coming down and take part in the unlimitted sampling of 80 different Iowa beers, it's going to be epic. You can get tickets on iowabeer.org for an awesome price of $15, come check it out. I will be around look for the dashing blonde with the Blonde Fatale shirt and come over and sample some beer. I'll let everyone know next week how everything went, check it later on "My Brewing Adventure"

CRAFT BEER WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Well not much has happened that was too overly exciting since my last post. Last thursday I did a little bit of everything did some filing, cleaning etc. My good friend Devin Linn did come over Thursday afternoon and I gave him a quick tour and we had a few pints and talked with Joe for awhile. Friday I had a meeting for my senior class president duties.
Monday started off the AMERICAN CRAFT BEER WEEK with Joe and I believe Scott going down to El Bait Shop for an event with the Iowa Bewers Union. This week will have many events that Peace Tree will be doing in conglomeration with American Craft Beer Week ending in the first anual Iowa Craft Brew Festival at Racoon River brewery, which you can purchase at  Iowabeer.org The next event will be a beer tasting Wednesday at the Knoxville Wine and Spirits, that I will be working. For more information on Craft Beer week go to www.craftbeer.com Stay tuned to "My Brewing Adventure" to find out more events going on this week!!

Pure Awesomeness.....I dont know May 11

 Today we did quite a bit of bottling, three whole pallets  right around 3,500 bottles if I'm not mistaken. It was crazy crazy hot in the brewery with the temps reaching the high 80's and Joe brewing I was drenched with sweat the whole day, but even with the heat it was a good day free of any set backs. I did finally find a place to have an awesome tenderloin , which is hard to do. Hometown Meats in Knoxville amazing, loved it. As I was finishing up the day I did start thinking about some things that happened during the day.
 The first, was a gentleman that came in during our lunch. He wanted to try one of our beers and he wanted one that was like a beer that he had 50 years ago while in Germany. He didn't know what kind of beer it would be, what style, or what it even tasted like.  As Taylor poured him a sample of Blonde our strongest beer in alcohol content but our lightest beer, after a quick taste he said well that one is weak. So Taylor poured him a Rye Porter one of our darker beers and he immediately before even tasting it said he'd buy a six pack. I kind of stood there taken back, he hadn't even tasted it and he thought it was going to be the beer he wanted. The next thing that happened is my good friend Jim, who is in amsterdamm right now wrote on my Facebook wall and I quote "first beer post for Kaleb...Jupiler beer tastes like busch light and keystone mixed....pure awesomeness". As soon as I saw this I was so confused how a mixture of Busch light and Keystone could be anything close to awesome. 
So as I drove home from Knoxville back to Indianola these two incidents kept my mind preoccupied. I finally came to a conclusion, that they just don't know any better. The gentleman that came in has become conditioned to the idea that any beer light in color, is most likely weak and junk and anything thats dark has to be a good beer. Jim has become acustomed to light lagers being the best tasting high quality beer.  In the end I realized that I'm around people that understand ,a lot better than me, what good beer is. The average Joe off the street most likely doesn't know the difference between a Budweiser and the Blonde Fatale , even though the latter is a lot better. I realized somtimes I need to take myself out of this bubble and think about how other people percieve beer, not me and the people I'm around. It makes me think about barrier that needs to broken to really push craft beer into a larger market. Thats all for today Check in later on "My Brewing Adventure"

Chelaxed--- May 9-10

So another few days at the brewery and things were a little different. Last week was pretty busy, I constantly had something to do. The past few days were definitely a little more chelaxed.Yes I just combined the words relax and chill. together, but that's what it was. Monday Paul and I cleaned and filled some kegs and Joe brewed that was pretty much the extent of my day. Tuesday we did some cleaning, inventory and I helped mill in some grains.Both days were pretty uneventful. Overall it made me realize that even though some days you will have to bust your but and go crazy there is some days where things are going to be less stressful and a little more chelaxed. So that's all I have to say about my past couple days check in later in "My Brewing Adventure"

Renaissance Man---- May 6-7

Plumber, electrician, sanitation specialist, scientist, artist that's just a few of the words to describe the renaissance man that is a brewer. After being with the brewery for a week now and helping Joe brew a batch of Red Rambler, I realized that it takes more than just knowing a little bit about beer to run a successful brewery. Sanitation is key, something that I already understood from my home brewing experience , but when you actually brew a large batch you realize how much cleaning you actually have to do. Everything is cleaned, rinsed and sanitized out of the 8 hours it took to brew the majority of that time we were cleaning something. Once you see everything in action you come to find out how much plumbing had to be done before the brewery was even operational along with the all the electric work that has to be done to run the the pumps augers, cooling systems you really have to be a jack of all trades to do the job successfully.The whole process of brewing was really fun and I did enjoy it I hope I can keep learning more as these weeks go on with the internship

Saturday----On Saturday I was working the tap room serving beer to the many people coming into the brewery to hear the two different bands that played. It was definitely a fun experience I loved being able to meet and talk with different people, not to mention the music was awesome. My family even came in and I limped through my first tour. I attempted to get my grandma and my step-mom to try one of the awesome beers that we have on tap but failed in that attempt. I did make my grandpa and dad Peace Tree drinkers for life. My grandfather LOVED the Blonde which who doesn't its awesome, and was already asking me where he could get it. My dad on the other hand fell for the Rye Porter. The night was pretty fun talked to a lot of people and served a lot of good beer. Well check in later  at "My Brewing Adventure"

A Day In the Office

So today was the first day that I've seen the business side of things since I started working at the brewery and it was definitely exciting."said with sarcasm btw" All joking aside the stuff I did today was actually pretty interesting, but it was very long and tedius work. Working out of my cozy little office,(a small back conference room) I entered  information into the computer on the brewery production schedule. It was pretty nuts making sure that the right fermenters were getting used and that the brite tanks were open at the times they needed to be for packaging. It was not an easy task and I commend them for doing it all thus far. It was also nuts trying to figure out what amount of beer needed to go to the distributor,self distribution and the tap room. It was a lot of looking at a calendar and making estimates on what would be needed by using what had been used in the past. It was a lot of work today but Megan got me a good meal and I survived. Tomorrow I will be following Joe (the master brewer)and hopefully help as much as I can and try to stay out of his was the rest of the time. Check it out tommorow on My Brewing Adventure. And just to let everyone know I am writing this a day behind so even though you'll read this on Friday its talking about my Thursday :)

Cute Little Stubs

So after the second day of bottling and my third day overall at the brewery I was at a loss of what to write about. Then I remembered a conversation that we had yesterday at the brewery, talking about the bottles. Peace Tree's bottles have a unique shape and look that make them stand out from every other beer bottle on the shelf. They became the "Puple Cow" in the craft beer market because they, as far as I know from the different breweries available around here, they are the only ones who use these short stubby bottles. I was amazed to find out that the recyclable, reuseable bottles cost the companya fair share more than the others that are availaible. They also are hard get, which lead to there bottling being delayed as some of you might already know. Now you would never think that a company would go through all this hassle just for something like a bottle, but they do.  The bottles are what make Peace Tree stand out on the shelves the battlefront of the beer industry. So even though it might cost them more and by switching to the standard 12 oz bottles they would cut their variable cost down tremendously. This shows me that sometimes the cheapest way isn't always the best, something that alot of other companies should think about more often. Check in tomorrow on "My Brewing Adventure"

A Tank of Gas and a Burrito

Day two working with Peace Tree Brewing Co. and I didn't even go to Knoxville. On the second day on this grand adventure I rode along with Peace Tree original Taylor Evans on his distribution route through the Des Moines area. I met him in Indianola at the first of many Hy-vees that we delivered to throughout the day. We went to Hy-vee after Hy-vee, restaurant after restaurant stocking the recently brewed Red Rambler along with the Hop Wrangler, Rye Porter , some root beer , and of course the ever famous Blonde Fatale. It seemed every stop we made someone made some comment about "the blonde". It was soon evident that these stops although time consuming were filled full of instant marketing research, viable information that wouldn’t be available if Peace Tree didn’t self-distribute. You could tell the majority of the people knew Taylor and were excited to be getting more of Peace Tree’s beer. There was definitely a lot of windshield time, which lead to me asking a lot of questions which I learned a lot about Taylor and Peace Tree. Besides the amount of time it took to make the twenty-five different stops in Des Moines and the surrounding communities a small portion of Peace Tree’s 170 some different locations, I realized how much more man power and fuel this part of the process took. Taylor said they estimated that by the time the beer is placed on the shelves, it has been picked up and set down at least six times. That’s a lot of picking up beer, probably explains why we had to stop for a Taco Johns burrito a common love both Taylor and I found we shared. Along with that we probably used almost a tank of gas during the trip, which completely blew my mind. Overall it was another fun and eye-opening day working with Peace Tree, check in again tomorrow to see what happens next in “My Brewing Adventure”

An Aspirin A Beer

So after an awesome 6 o'clock  lifting session I hopped in my 1990 Nissan Sentra, that I am now driving to save some cash, and headed over for my first day at Peace Tree Brewing Co.  I had a quick introduction with the brewery staff and  I jumped right in. We started bottling  Peace Trees IPA the Hop Wrangler, and I soon realized that an enormous amount of man power goes into each bottle. I  was picking up bottles off of a pallet placing them on a conveyor belt which were then labeled, picked up by another person sanitized, filled, capped, picked up by another person placed into boxes and stacked onto another pallet. Three different people had to handle each bottle of beer that was bottled that day, not to mention all the hours that went into brewing, the people that had to deliver all the materials to the brewery.  We then bottled a few pallets of the Red Rambler and that pretty much took up the majority of the day. The guys were jokingly taking bets on how long I would last and I had to agree that the job was definitely labor intensive. I'm glad that I am a fairly active person or I would not have faired as well. I'm sorry guys I'm going to be back, so hopefully you bet on me being around awhile. While on my half hour drive home I started thinking about how much actually goes into getting that six pack of beer onto a shelf and it's amazing. It made me think about everything we use and how much actually goes into each product. Check into tomorrow on "My Brewing Adventure" to see how my day helping distribute the many Peace Tree brews throughout the Des Moines area goes.

I HAVE TAKEN GIANT LEAPS

Holy Cow I haven't had a chance to get on here and write for a looong time. Since I last wrote I have taken some GIANT leaps  in "My brewing adventure" . First off  I brewed a second batch of beer, my first pale ale. The whole brewing process went so much smoother than the first time. I didn't have any hic-ups like I did the with the brown. I used some specialty grains in this batch which turned out to be a lot easier than I expected. The whole brewing day , fermentation and bottling went really well. But even more importantly it tasted better. I wouldn't say it tasted great but better. I anxiously await when I have the time, and funds to be able to do another batch. My hope is to step up to doing an all-grain batch for my next attempt at producing beer.
The next thing that has happened since the last post is I wrote a business plan, for a brewery. For a small business class that I had been taking we were required to write a business plan for the business of our choosing. I of course decided to write my business plan on a brewery. This whole process was eye opening, I learned so much about the industry from all copious amounts of research I had to do. I never completely got the numbers all together because I couldn't actually get quotes for my imaginary brewery. But even though it took the majority of my time the past few months it was in all an awesome experience.

In that whole process though something even more exciting happened!! I landed an internship at Peace Tree Brewing in Knoxville, IA. After going over to Peace Tree to take my tour, I decided that this would be a great place to do my small business interview, also required for my small business class. So I set up a time with Megan one of the three owners at Peace Tree and grabbed my motley looking roommates and headed over to Knoxville. The three of us learned a lot in that couple hour session of pounding back multiple pints of Peace Tree ales and asking every question you could think. But even more importantly I dropped a hint to Scott another one of the owners about possibly doing an internship during our May term. So I followed up with Megan later that week and after some deliberation I became the first intern at Peace Tree Brewing Co. I will be working with the staff at Peace Tree doing a number of different things including helping them get ready for the Iowa Craft Beer Festival. and the Craft Beer Week that prevails it.

Starting Monday I will be writing on this blog to track the whole process from start to end. So check back in next week and track "My Brewing Adventure"

El Bait Shop-Beer Genius and my pale ale attempt.

I recently learned of a new and exciting thing going on at my favorite bar El Bait Shop.  A bar in downtown Des Moines that has a large selection of craft beers from around the world. The people at El Bait Shop have had an exciting new way to be able to try new beers created for them. Fresk Interactive  two German brothers Stefan and Thomas Hansen created the Beer Genius for El bait Shop. At the El bait shop, the beer genius works as a kiosk, that allows people to be able to chose their beer first on color light, medium, dark, then on hops low medium or high, and finally alcohol low, medium, or high. This new addition the El Bait shop will make it easy for new craft beer enthusiast to be able to sift through the over 300 different beers that El bait Shop has to offer. Not from Iowa, can’t go to El bait shop, well the beer genius is also available as an app. allowing you to be able to chose a number of beers no matter where you are at. It is an awesome and exciting thing going on here in Iowa. The local news station also did a story on the beer genius you can find that here at KCCI. 

I currently brewed a pale ale over the weekend. Using a recipe again I found on www.howtobrew.com. This time I decided to make it a little better and I steeped some specialty grains. Hopefully this will make the beer turn out even better than the last one, which after conditioning longer has turned into quite the beer. The whole process went a lot smoother than the first time and the beer is fermenting away and it will be ready to go in a couple of weeks. Check in with ya later. 

Trip to Peace Tree and tasting the First batch

 A professor once told me that the people that become great and make a big name for themselves, those outliers in our world like The Beatles, Steve Jobs and Donald Trump had to put in over 1,000 hrs into their craft to be at the status they're at. Well Sadly enough as a young home brewer I can't brew all day everyday, but I can do things to learn more about the craft. So to bring more knowledge to my growing bank of information I decided to take a trip over to a local brewery Peace Tree Brewery. So I grabbed my good friend Logan Woster hopped in my Ford Ranger and we were off to Knoxville.
We walked into the brewery and the taproom was true sign of what Peace Tree is about. It was cool and sleek and made you know you were into the right place. A friendly face met us behind the bar, John one of Peace Trees bartenders directed us to the brewery where Joe Kesteloot the Brewmaster was just beginning to transfer his new beer a Belgian Blonde from the brew kettle to Peace Trees new 40 barrel (1240 gal or 13,226 12 oz bottles of Beer). We finally introduce ourselves to Joe, a motley looking guy that epitomizes the look of a Brewmaster with a Peace Tree baseball cap and a goatee that easily would measure seven inches long. Joe began our informal tour of the brewery by showing us his mill that breaks the grains open and measures out 20 lbs of grain before transfers them into the lauter tun. He showed us the rest of the process from  the lauter tun to the kettle and onto the fermenter. He explained the problems they encountered with their bottling machine that uses CO2, electricity and air pressure all at once. The one thing I noticed was the passion that Joe had for brewing and for Peace Tree. We finished up trying a couple different beers on top and baught a growler to take home with us, both of us kind of stumbled out the taproom. It was an interesting experience that I can't explain in the short space that I have here but if you have a chance to go to Peace Tree do it. Their tap room is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

My first home brew

Now that we had tried some really good beer from Peace Tree. I decided it was time to try the beer that I had been waiting for in anticipation for a long time, MINE. My beer a Brown Ale had been conditioning in the bottles for about a week now and was ready to drink I popped the cap on my first bottle. I poured the bottle out into a glass it was a dark honey color, and sadly enough was fairly cloudy. It smelled somewhat sour and yeasty, not at all what I had hoped. The first sip of the beer was yeasty and ended very bitter, too bitter for what I had expected from the style.  Overall I was very disapointed, but after doing some more reading,  I found out I might not be completely SOL. One issue could be that my beer still hasnt conditioned enough. The yeast hasn't had enough time to settle so the beer tasted yeasty. I have obviously still been drinking my beer and have noticed the beer getting a little more palitable. I guess only time will tell on whether or not the beer will eventually taste better. But if all else I got an O.K beer with a good amount of alcohol.