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"