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"