Upcoming Beer Events

Here are some upcoming beer events that we may be attending.  First up Tour de Brew on Sunday, August 7th. For those who do not know what this is, it is the biannual tour of the Quad City area breweries and beers bar, all by bicycle.  Starting at Bent River Brewery meeting up at 11:30 AM, then traveling to Blue Cat, Front St., Great River, Sylvan Island and finally Moline Bier Stube.  It will be a great day both weather and company wise, so if you do not have anything to do come on down and ride the river and enjoy a few beers. 

Next event is Great Taste of the Midwest http://www.mhtg.org/great-taste-of-the-midwest in Madison, WI on Saturday August 13th, it is a sold out event, but you can probably find tickets for sell in the entry line.  Hopefully there will not be tickets gougers and they would sell it to you for face value of $50.  My wife and I along with some friends are heading up on Friday to enjoy some of Madison's fine establishments.  Looking forward to being around 6000 of my closest friends and enjoying the day.

August 27th is a big day for beer events both local and around the Midwest.  My wife and I along with another couple will be in Des Moines for Urban Assault http://www.urbanassaultride.com/participate to ride our bicycles around downtown Des Moines.  Also on the 27th are various fests including Port of Potosi Brew Fest, Great Nebraska Beer Fest, Midwest Brewers Fest and a local event River City Festiv-ale.  It is in downtown Rock Island from 2-6pm and includes many craft brews as well as some beer from our local homebrew Club MUGZ http://www.ribco.com/index.aspx?deid=779.  Should be a great beer weekend; find an event to attend and enjoy your beer responsibly.

Sunday September 4th is the Festival Of Iowa Beers http://www.millstreambrewing.com/Events.html#Festival_of_Iowa_Beers in Amana, IA across the street from Millstream Brewing.  As the name states this festival is only Iowa Beers, both craft breweries and homebrew clubs participate.  It is a fun day and with a limit of 1200 people not quite as crowded as Great Taste.  Another great benefit is the opportunity to have a discussion with the brewer from your favorite brewery as he or she pours your beer.

The following weekend on Saturday, September 10th is Thirsty Troll Brew in Mt. Horeb, WI.  This is a really cool event held on the local baseball field and all under one tent.  There are 25 breweries attending mainly from WI with a couple from just outside the border of WI.  The event runs from 1-5pm and well worth the amount you pay.  For those that can not make it to Great Taste this is a great opportunity to try the WI breweries that attend both events.


Our last major festival of the outdoor season is Oktoberfest at Amana, IA http://www.festivalsinamana.com/oktoberfest.html on September 30th and October 1st.  We usually find ourselves at Millstream Brewing enjoying a keg of their Oktoberfest beer while listening to the German bands they have.  Also there are events all around Amana and the Fest Hall is always hopping with beer and German bands.  It is a great time.

Hopefully you can find your way to one or more of the fests I listed or even find one I am not aware of.  Go enjoy some great beer and great company.  One word of warning is to enjoy the event responsibly and if needed, find a ride home other than driving if you imbibe too much.

QC Beerguy


PS Happy IPA day folks!  Hopefully you have enjoyed at least one IPA today.