Appanoose Rapids Brewing Company Revisited

I am revisiting Appanoose Rapids Brewing Company http://www.appanooserapidsbrewingcompany.com/ a little less than a year after my first visit.  To my eye not many changes have been made.  The interior looks the same, still features a few very cool tile inlay displays, two of which are for Anheuser Busch.  I found a seat at the bar, which was not to difficult since only one seat was filled.  The bartender quickly greeted me and told me about their beers on tap.  This time they had three beers on tap, a Brown Ale, California Pale Ale and a Centennial Blonde.  I ordered a Brown Ale and overall it was a decent beer.  Comparing it to my notes on the Brown Ale previously http://qcbeerguy.blogspot.com/2011/03/ottumwa-ia-appanoose-rapids-brewing.html it is much improved.  The beer was clear and an amber color, perhaps a bit light in color for a brown ale.  As the beer warms a grainy note is in the aroma along with a bit of dark fruit.  Taste is malty sweet with a slight roast, no yeasty flavors in this beer.  To me I would like a bit more body and carbonation.  The beer came with no head and seemed to be a bit under carbonated.

 Since this is the only beer I had this evening I am very impressed that they seemed to have improved the quality of the beer.  If the brown ale is any sign of the beer they now make they are definitely making strides to make better beer.  Maybe in another year the beer will be even better.
 The menu seemed to be the same as I read the first time.  I ordered a cheeseburger for dinner.  It was a very good burger, definitely worth trying.

 Appanoose Rapids Brewing Company has made some strides that are impressive.  I hope they continue to make more improvements though.  One I would like to see is more than three of their twelve taps being their own beer.  To me a micro brewery should have at least five or six core beers with a few seasonal beers, hopefully they can achieve this.  This may be difficult since they brew on a SABCO system, which at most they can only brew ten gallons at a time. 

So if you find yourself in Ottumwa, IA give Appanoose a shot.  They have decent beer and a very good food menu.

QC Beerguy