Back in Action

I am back from my brief hiatus. Who would have thought that purchasing a house, planning a wedding and getting through the holidays would be so time-consuming? Now that most of this is behind me though, I can begin to recap the brews my brother and I have been working on, as well as highlight some key events upcoming in the neighborhood. So a lot has been happening, and this might as well be called back in action part one of many...

We have made several new brews since the Double IPA. However, I do not have my brewer's journal with me at this juncture, so that will have to wait. I can give some important Iowa Brewing Updates though.

First, and probably most important for our microbrewing industry, the Iowa Beer Equality Bill is now part of SF 2088. What does this mean? The Iowa Beer Equality Beer would make it possible for microbrewers to brew beer up to 10% ABV and sell it in Iowa. This would put them on a level footing with external brewers who have been doing this for years (albeit getting taxed up the wazoo to do it.) SF 2088 is a Government Reorganization bill full of really interesting stuff, which you can find in the Newton Daily News article, because it's to boring to recount here. Why the Newton Daily News? Because it segues nicely into the next update.

Madhouse Brewery is the newest brewery in Newton! And the only brewery in Jasper County, home base of the Jasper Winery - ran by the one and only Mason Groben. Groben began work on the Madhouse Brewery in November, with the hopes of being able to be 100% operational by the end of February, so look for their varieties on your store shelves soon! Updates and reviews can be expected in the next few weeks.

Another new brewery has set up shop in Knoxville. Peace Tree Brewing is in full production now, check out more on their website. It's a smaller operation but seems to be one full of passion. It is now on the "places to visit" list.

Other than being new, what do these two breweries have in common? They are both being showcased at Living History Farms' Beer'n'Bread on March 6th. The Iowa Brewers Union will also be there to answer any questions, along with Mark Nauman of Beer Crazy. I will be attempting to make it to this event as well. Expect more updates.

Olde Main Brewery released it's first attempt at cider last week. I hope to make it up to Ames to give this a sample. Also, every third Thursday of the month, the guys at Olde Main are hoping release a new firkin for sampling. So, to get more involved with this check out the Beer Enthusiasts.

Lastly, for this article anyway, my brother has planned a trip down to Boulevard Brewery on the 13th of March. This is less a recreational trip and more of a pilgrimage to Mecca for my brother and myself. This is also my fiance's spring break trip, so we expect to get pretty crazy... Or not. Believe me there will be updates from this. I will probably post directly from the hotel room immediately after the tour in order to capture the pure euphoria that will be holding me.

Look for more updates on what the Brewing Cooperative has in its wings in the coming days.

Peace!

Boulevard Single-Wide IPA

Having recently brewed a batch of my own IPA, I was pretty excited to find Boulevard's Single-Wide IPA in the store. This came as a double surprise because they had recently revamped the entire beer and liquor section of my local grocery store. Then, laying atop a case of Sierra Nevada, a lone six-pack of this delightful little IPA.

It stood our because it was out of place. I had never seen it in a bottle (having only sampled it at the Iowa City Brewfest) so I searched for it on the shelf. And could not find it anywhere. Not in the refrigerated section, not in the mix-and-match area, not even hiding on an end-cap. So, the beer-fairy left me a little surprise, and I took it at that.

While Boulevard recommends this ale with a curry, I went with a spicy dish from elsewhere- Pad Thai. And it was a great combination (even though the fiancee thought it was a bit too hot.) It's been quite a while since I've had a good IPA, not just a pale ale, not a double IPA, just a good old-fashioned IPA. And this little devil hit the spot.

The single-wide poured wonderfully, with just about a half-inch of delightful head topping a slightly cloudy amber-colored body. Given that I know Boulevard pretty well, their beers tend to be cloudy, due to the yeast added for secondary bottle fermentation. So when I say slightly cloudy, it's like recognizing an aspect of an old favorite and taking comfort in it. A cool, crisp bite of hops, lightly carbonated, and my desire was sated.

Brewer's Info:

STYLE: India Pale Ale

AVAILABILITY: Year-around; draught only in select markets until March 2009

INGREDIENTS: Pale malt, caramel malt & malted wheat. Magnum, Columbus, Summit, Cascade, Centennial & Pallisade hops.

STARTING GRAVITY: 13.7 degrees Plato

ALCOHOL: 4.6% by weight, 5.7% by volume

BITTERNESS UNITS: 59 IBUs

AVERAGE EBC COLOR: 17

Maybe it's just my love-affair with Boulevard, but this is a great IPA. When I first started with craft-beers, basically as soon as I turned 21, Boulevard was there for me. I sampled their stout, their porter (still one of my favorites), their pale ale and their wheat. These were the beers that gave me examples of what each beer style should be. Later, I learned that sometimes their beer was not the best in its class. It was, however, always a favorite.

Then Boulevard started making some other beers, and these started making their way to Iowa City. Specifically, the bar Quinton's, which had a similar love-affair with Boulevard. Then, when we went to the most recent brewfest, my favorite tent was theirs. Why? First, they had their Smokestack Series. Second, they were refusing tickets from us. We had made some pretty awesome friends. That or we just looked like the kind of guys who drink their weight in Bully!

One of my favorites from Brewfest? Their Double-Wide IPA of course. This is rarely found around my neck of the woods, so I went a little crazy when I got my hands on it. My brother greatly enjoys The Sixth Glass, as do I. However, when it comes to guilty pleasures, hops, hops and more hops always top my list.

Thanks Boulevard! And thank you magical beer fairy, for leaving me a six-pack...

Peace.