Hello From Des Moines

Des Moines is probably the largest city I get to on a regular basis.  Also it has probably the best beer scene of my regular route.  Included in the beer scene are 4 brewpubs: Raccoon River http://www.raccoonbrew.com/, Court Avenue http://www.raccoonbrew.com/ and two chain brewpubs Rock Bottom http://www.rockbottom.com/ and Granite City http://www.gcfb.net/.  Each has their strong points and the one I frequent the most is Rock Bottom.  Also there are quite a few good beer bars as well including: The Royal Mile http://royalmilebar.com/, Hessen House http://www.hessenhaus.com/, High Life Lounge http://www.thehighlifelounge.com/ and El Bait Shop http://elbaitshop.com/ to name a few.  This will give me an opportunity to have multiple places to cover these and many more places in my travels to Des Moines.

Tonight I made my way to El Bait Shop for dinner and a couple of beers.  El Bait Shop has various special events during the month some are weekly events like tonight's.  The event tonight was Jimmy Carter Happy Hour which is a tip of the hat to the GREATEST law that was passed during the time Jimmy Carter was President, the legalization of Homebrewing!  Each Thursday night a different homebrewer or brewers bring some of their own beer to share with the people that gather at El Bait Shop.  Usually it is something unusual or just fun that they bring.  This is how it works the homebrewer provides the beer at no expense to anyone and the gathered crowd gets to enjoys the fruits of the brewer's labors.  This is a big hit with the gathered crowd.  It is also a great thing for the El Bait shop as well.  I had a great discussion with a gentleman most of the evening about beer and beer travel.  If I remember correctly his name was Brad, if I am incorrect my apologies.

Tonight I enjoyed two really nice beers.  First one is from a great relatively new brewery in Iowa Peace Tree Brewing http://www.peacetreebrewing.com/ it was their Black River Gumbo Stout.  It is a black beer with nice tan head.  It is a complex beer from the malt bill as well as the twist they put on it by using Belgian yeast to ferment the beer.  I have enjoyed every beer that I have had from Peace Tree, so give them a shot if you came across them.

My second beer was August Schell's Wild Rice Farmhouse Ale, it is the second beer in the Stag Series from Schell's.  It is a smooth drinking beer that is punctuated with the nutty graininess from the wild rice used.  It is a traditional farmhouse ale using Belgian yeast.  It has a malt backbone that is complemented by the wild rice and finish dry.  It does not come across as strong as the listed 7 % ABV.  It is a beer that would be a wonderful session beer.

The food menu is a mix of burgers, Mexican, wings and other types of bar food.  It is not complicated but does give you enough variety that you can have different foods every time you come to El Bait shop.  Plus you will not go home hungry.

Thursday nights are a special night at El Bait Shop so if you are in the Des Moines area on a Thursday night it is worth a trip!

QC Beerguy