It's about more than just beer

If you are like me you pick a brewery, brewpub or beer bar based on the beer that is available and give it a shot.  Either it can be a good experience or a bad experience and usually the beer has little to do with your experience.  Beer is very important but the service and ambiance have a great deal to do with your experience as well.  When either one of these is less than desirable it  may doom your your visit.

I know when I find a place that I enjoy, it usually combines all three.   If one is lacking I begrudgingly over look it, but if two or all three are lacking that spells doom for that place and next time I will try somewhere else.  I do not want to waste my time or money on somewhere that does not really care about the customer.

Since I am the QC Beerguy, I always try to chose a place on its beer first.  Usually that will work well for me but not always.  Sometimes the beer is not as good as advertised and leaves me wanting.  In most cases though there is more than enough good beer to save the day.

If the beer meets my demands the service and ambiance either seal the deal or leave me disappointed.  There are times when places I am a regular at leave me disappointed and angry.  This causes me to take a hiatus from that place.  This happened at a couple places locally about a month ago and I have not gone back since.  I know I will go back eventually, but I guess to me it is some sort of principal to not go there for a while.

Service to me is a big key.  If I am greeted with a "Hello", a smile or at least a tip of the head when I sit down at a bar that is a big step on the way to good service.  If instead I am ignored or even worse greeted by a look that tells me "You are not welcome here" it can be bad for a visit.  So needless to say like a first date the first 30 seconds spell success or failure for the place I visit.  Since I work in sales I understand what is good service and do not accept poor service.  I guess that is why I enjoy being a "regular" at the places I frequent, because it usually means good service is on the way.

If the beer and service meet my acceptance it comes down to the ambiance or feel of the place.  There is one place I go to on a regular basis that is in a strip mall and from the outside looks rather disappointing, but once inside the place I feel very comfortable.  If the feel is there as well with the other two keys this is a worthy place.  One such place we were just at this past weekend after our niece's concert in Normal, IL.  Probably my wife and I would of never found this place but it succeeded in all three phases.  The only negative was that my wife's beer was bad, probably the beer sat in the line to long or some other cleaning issue caused the beer to go bad.  Once my wife brought it to our waiter's attention he apologized and than thanked her for telling him about the beer.  He said that they want to k now when a beer is bad so they can address it.

I look forward to exploring places on my travels and when I find a gem I am very excited.  Conversely if I find a dud I am also in a way excited, this means next time I am in the same city I have a new adventure ahead of me.  The beer brings me in, but it is not the be all end all to my decision.  The service and the feel of the place are important as well.  So to repeat "It's about more than just the beer"

QC Beerguy

Additions a bit further a field

Beside the local QC additions, I have become aware of a couple other additions a bit further out from home.  First is the new brewery that Backpocket Brewing is building at the Iowa River Landing District in Coralville, IA.  The building can be easily seen from I-80.  Anticipated opening is late Spring of 2012, so it will be open soon.  The building now is totally enclosed and looks like only a few finishing touches on the exterior left, with most of the work left on the inside before opening.  Besides brewing their own beer they will be a contract brewery for Schlafly's out of St. Louis.

The second addition is a new production brewery is planned to be built for Laguintas Brewing Company in Chicago, IL.  The brewery will be a 250 barrel brewery with initial capacity of 200,000 barrels per year.  Expected operational date is the 4th quarter of 2013.  For more info follow this link http://www.beer-universe.com/beer-education-article/2012-04-16/Laguintas-Furthers-Expansion-Moves-East-to-Chicago/.

The demand for good craft beer continues to fuel the growth of these two breweries as well as other around the country.  Keep drinking craft beer.

QC Beerguy

QC Brew News

This Spring and early summer will be an exciting time for the QC beer scene with two brewpubs expanding production into new facilities and a new nano-brewery opening.  Front Street Brewery is in the process of moving brewing operations into the Freight House building in downtown Davenport.  Besides having the brewery in the Freight House, they will also have a tasting room.  Also they went local with their brewing equipment having Crawford Company from Rock Island, IL make it.  This is the first time for such a project for Crawford Company.  That is pretty cool.  Even cooler is the thought of sitting in the tasting room, enjoying a beer and looking out the window to see Le Claire Park and the Mississippi River.  This will be a great location to enjoy a beer.

Also moving their brewing into new digs is Bent River Brewing Company.  They are moving into a former car wash in Downtown Rock Island, an interesting new use for the building.  Bent River will include a tasting room and a retail space to sell Bent River goodies.  As well they will have a drive up coffee hut that will sell packaged beer to go.  With the expanded capacity they hope to meet the continuing expanding demand for their beers.  Also a familiar face will be in charge of quality control, original owner Tim Koster.  I am looking forward to checking out how a car wash can be changed into a production brewery.

Last but not least is the opening of Against the Grain Brewery and Alehouse.  As I mentioned this will be a nano-brewery, owned by the only GABF award winning brewer in the Quad Cities, Rich Nunez.  Rich is in the process of getting his location up and running; it is located in Rock Island near Augustana College at 1340 31st St.  Rich will be brewing his own beers as well having some guest taps.  Since this is a nano brewery, brewing in small batches less than a half barrel at a time, Rich will be able to have a variety of his beers on at a time.  I am looking forward to enjoying some beers from Rich and maybe even giving his garlic porter another try if he decides to make it again.

I believe all locations are hoping to be up and going at the latest by the end of May.  This will be a fun adventure checking out these new locations and enjoying the beer being produced at them.  Hope to see a lot of people out supporting the new locations and the new brewery.

QC Beerguy

South Chicago Suburbs

Another weekend of homebrew judging sent us to the South Chicago suburbs and a couple brewpubs prior to the event.  First stop was the Three Floyds Brewing Company in Munster, IN  http://www.3floyds.com/ under normal conditions a three hour drive.  Upon arrival around 11:30 a.m. the parking lot was already full and we had to park on the street.  Currently they are doing some remodeling and have limited service for their beers.  However, they still have 20 tap beers for the offering.  

The taps run from session beers to high octane IIPAs and barley wines.  Of course the year round beers are on tap, but also a bunch of seasonal as well.  Between the four of us we tried 12 of the 20 tap beers, ranging from several ESBs to IIPAs.  My first beer was Das Kleine Schwarz Einhorn a wonderful Schwartz beer.  Black in color but light in taste, probably one of the best Schwartz beers I have had recently.  A proper Schwartz is dark, malty and refreshingly hoppy.   My next beer was Lord Admiral Nelson a good traditional ESB.  My last beer was Zombie Dust; I am now a new convert to this beer.  This is an outstanding IPA. I think it supplanted Arrogant Bastard as my favorite beer.  It has a strong hop presence with a strong malt backbone.  Even though the hops are featured in the beer it is well balanced making it very drinkable.  Now if someone asks which IPA to have, I will mention Zombie Dust first.

 Among our group we also tried the Lawless ESB, Stygian Darkness, Jinx Proof, Arctic Panzer Wolf,  Mushy P and Brian Boru the few that I remember.  The tap list can be seen at http://www.3floyds.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/current-beer-menu1.htm.  Every beer we had was at worst good if not great.   After our visit I understand why they have such a cult following for their beer.  Unfortunately we were a bit early for Dark Lord, but we still enjoyed the visit.  If you find yourself within an hour of Three Floyds make the detour and enjoy the beers you can only find at the brewery.    With beer requests to bring home the four of us left with over $200 of packaged beer for friends and ourselves.

Next stop was Flossmoor Station Restaurant and Brewery in Flossmoor, IL http://www.flossmoorstation.com/.   This is a great location in downtown Flossmoor in the old train depot next to a current train station stop.  Our group has all been to Flossmoor previously and we were not disappointed with our return visit.  We found seats at the bar and promptly ordered a sampler of their beers, which entailed a total of 16 different beers. Here is a link to the beer selections: http://www.flossmoorstation.com/brew/selections.htm.  Some of my favorites include Panama Limited Red Ale, Pullman Brown Ale (of course since this is their flagship beer), Intercontinental Pale Lager, Smoked Porter and Wallonian Saison.   The IPL was smooth, refreshing and hoppy.  The porter had a noticeable strong smokiness that I loved.  The saison was dangerously smooth and refreshing, this is not a session beer.  Flossmoor is a worthy stop all by itself.  They have great beer and a good food menu.  Another good thing was that we happened to be there at the correct time and we able to partake in a happy hour food bar.  We also we able to picked up some growlers to go of our favorite beers.

At the hotel we enjoyed a growler of the IPL and watched some NCAA tournament basketball.  It was an early night for all of us since three of the four of us had a judging event on Saturday.  The beer judging contest was very enjoyable, and our friends that we were with won some ribbons including the Best of Show Mead.    
 All in all it was another great weekend of beer.

QC Beerguy
  

 

Iowa's Small Brewers need your help

Below you will find an email I received from the Brewers Association in regards to an upcoming bill in the legislature.  In effect it is authorizing the control of the Iowa Wine and Beer Promotion Board from the state's Tourism Department to the Midwest Wine Institute at Iowa State.  This will lead to a heavy emphasis on the Wine industry and leave the brewers behind.  They are asking for concerned citizens of Iowa to contact you state senators to voice your opposition.  Here is the email:

 March 16, 2012

Dear AHA, BA and Support Your Local Brewery Members,

The Iowa Brewers Guild has requested that beer enthusiasts take action to oppose legislative language detrimental to the state's small and independent brewers and craft beer consumers.

Please read the following information provided by the Iowa Brewers Guild.

---

The Iowa Brewers Guild is asking for your support in opposing certain provisions in Amendment S-5084 to HF 2337 (the specific language we are opposed to begins on line 20, page 14 and runs through line 1, page 16) that has been proposed by the Iowa Wine Growers Association. The wineries are hoping to transfer funding and control of the Iowa Wine and Beer Promotion Board out of the state's Tourism/Economic Development Department and place the funding (and program) under control of the Midwest Wine Institute at Iowa State University.

We are asking you to act immediately. Please contact the members of the Senate Appropriations Committee and ask them to remove these provisions from the amendment before taking a vote. Time is of the essence as the amendment is scheduled for a vote this coming Monday, March 19.

We are asking you to express opposition to these provisions because:

1. The Economic Development Authority has been doing a very successful job promoting both the wine and beer industries and the proposed amendment will transfer the program to the Wine Institute where there is an unproven record of marketing and promotional efforts. The Wine Institute in Iowa is a higher education authority that may not have compatible goals with the beer industry.
2. The brewing industry hasn't been a participant in discussions and currently doesn't believe this is in our best interests. Additionally the Iowa Economic Development Authority has expressed opposition and would like to see this halted until all affected parties can come to agreement. Many wineries have also expressed concerns about this legislation.
3. The Iowa Wine and Beer Promotion Board has spent considerable resources preparing for this year's programs and promotional efforts. These efforts will be abandoned and wasted if the proposed amendment proceeds. This will be a waste of over $80,000 to the Wine and Beer Promotions Board's programs.
4. Brewing industry representation on the proposed amendment is assigned by the Wine Institute, not the brewing industry. We feel we are being locked out of support to a legislatively mandated tourism and economic development program that has existed since 1986.

First priority is to contact the senators on the appropriations committee.

Again, ask them to remove these provisions from the amendment.

Second priority is to contact all our state senators.

Thank you for your support of Iowa Beer!

Cheers,
Dave Coy
President, Iowa Brewers Guild 

Southern Kansas

This past weekend my wife and I were in southern Kansas for a wedding; it was a classmate of my wife's daughter.  So in planning our visit, I did my usual amount of research to find local breweries or brewpubs.  Unfortunately for us the closest brewpubs were in Wichita an hour away from Arkansas City. So there was no trying out of brewpubs since our main intent was the wedding on Saturday.  Instead we spent the day roaming Arkansas City, KS.  An aside here it is pronounced "R Kansas City" in Kansas not "R kan saw" as in the state of Arkansas.  Locally it is made much easier since they just call it Ark City.

First we went to a museum for the Cherokee Strip Land Rush.  It is a cool museum telling the local history of the Oklahoma land rush.  At the museum one of the pamphlets we received was a walking tour of the historic architecture of the downtown. When we were on our walking tour we noticed across the street what looked like a bar with a barber shop in it.  Since I needed a haircut we decided to check it out when we came back on that side of the street.

 Our place of interest was about two thirds of the way through the walking tour so we worked up a bit of a thirst and were ready to check this building out.  When we arrived at the doorway we saw that there are actually two doors one for the bar and one for the barbershop.  We went in the barbershop door and found a sign in the barber chair "The barber is in the bar", so we headed through the common door between the two establishments and we saw the barber walking towards us.  I got seated in the barber chair and joked about having a beer while I was getting my haircut.  The barber said right back you can if you want to.  I decided to hold off on the beer, since did not want a bunch of hair clippings in my beer.

 As I got my haircut we find out a little about the barber.  His name is Adrian and he graduated from Ark City in 2005.  He then went to barber college and after graduating he was recommended to the Barber/Owner of the shop we were in.  So he began working there and now is in the process of buying the shop from the current owner.  His prices are great for a haircut it was $11. Can't beat that!
 After my haircut was finished I settled up and thanked Adrian. Then my wife and I headed back into the bar to have a beer.  We took seats at the bar, joining a couple of locals and the bartender.  My wife asked what beers they had and the bartender mentions all Bud products and Coors Light.  I got a Bud draft and my wife gets a Bud bottle; the good thing is the beers are only $2 a piece.  Fitting for the beer we purchased.

 The bar itself has seen better days; it was dark, dirty and age worn.  With that said we still enjoyed ourselves. The locals and the bartender talked with us, telling stories about the relationship between the bar and barbershop.  They told us about a previous barber that you only want to get an a.m. haircut from, because he was bombed by the afternoon.  When he was not cutting hair he was in the bar drinking.  He also kept a bottle of whiskey in his shop and one day he was drinking from the bottle when a state inspector arrived for an inspection.  Somehow though the barber passed inspection.

To me this is a great idea to combine a bar and barbershop and the only one I know of is located in Ark City, KS.  So if you find yourself in need of a haircut in Ark City go here for a cut and a beer.  It is a cool place.

 After we finished our beer we paid up and finished our walking tour. When finished we went to a local liquor store to see what beer we could find.  We found enough beer to fill up two cases with some local like Free State in Lawrence, KS and Marshall Brewing in Tulsa, OK.  We also picked up a couple six packs of Gordon Biersch in bottles.  So we will be enjoying some beer that we cannot normally find.

 That evening we headed to the wedding and then the reception.  They had a margarita machine and several kegs of Bud.  After a bit of time they provided a bottle of champagne for each table, so my wife switched over to champagne for the rest of the night.  When the kegs ran dry, which was about the end of the night, we raided our stash that we purchased that day and shared them with our friends.  Also one couple came from Colorado and had a bottle of Breckenridge Bourbon.  It was a little harsh, not smooth like Mississippi River Distilling's Cody Road Bourbon, so I will don’t think I will be purchasing the Breckenridge Bourbon any time soon.

 All said my wife and I had a great time in Ark City.  Even though we did not find a great new brewpub or brewery for us, we still had a beer adventure.

 One last thing, someone please open up a brewpub or brewery in Ark City, KS so when we go there again we will have someplace to go for good beer.  Also probably more important the people of the town deserve some good beer!

QC Beerguy        

My wife goes to Bodega Brewpub

Through a series of events my wife was with me last Thursday and we stayed overnight in La Crosse, WI so we made a stop at Bodega Brewpub http://www.bodegabrewpublax.com/.  Past readers of this blog know this is a favorite beer bar of mine and in my opinion it is a top 100 beer bar in the U.S.  So needless to say I was very excited for my wife to experience Bodega Brewpub.

When we walked in the bar was more crowded than usual and at first we stood for a bit allowing my wife to take in the whole persona that is Bodega Brewpub.  It took her a bit to understand where to look for the list of beers.  I pointed out the board that had the tap list on it and was trying to help her choose a beer.  As we were doing that John, the manager at Bodega, saw us and came over to talk with us for a bit.  I did introductions all around and John went and got us a beer menu.  We found a seat at the bar for my wife and after a short while I was able to sit next to her. 

Are first beers we enjoyed were Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Barleywine and a Schell's Schmaltz Alt.  We both really enjoyed the Barleywine and my wife liked the Schmaltz Alt but preferred the barleywine.  The barleywine was rich, thick, sweet and complex.  Also the amount of bourbon in this beer was just about perfect.  If you see this beer grab it, this is an outstanding beer.  One word of warning about the beer it is 11.5% ABV so this is not a chugging beer. 

While we were enjoying our first beers my wife learned the secret of Bodega, there are no strangers.  She and I quickly became engaged in a conversation with a couple of nice people in town from Milwaukee.  We learned that they were in town for work; they work at a publisher that publishes college books. We had a great time talking with Heidi and Ben.  With a great conversation going time quickly passed.  Since I had been at Bodega frequently, I was able to steer Heidi and Ben towards some good tap beers…one being Lefthand's Milk Stout on Nitro, the nitrogen smooths out the beer and makes it ever more creamy and enjoyable. 

My wife and I we each ordered a second beer.  My wife ordered New Glarus'  Barleywine, she found it a bit lacking after having tried the Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Barleywine.  We are not saying that it is a bad barleywine, it is just that after tried such a complex barleywine having a second one may have not been the best choice.  So a true determination on New Glarus' Barleywine will have to wait.  I decided to go in a different direction and ordered a Sierra Nevada Hoptimum.  It had just arrived a day or two before our visit, so I was lucky to try it.  Hoptimum is a whole cone imperial IPA.  It was exactly what I needed to go against the sweetness from the barleywine I had previously.  As with almost every IPA or Imperial IPA that is coming out lately it has a noticeable Simcoe hop presence.  I still do not understand the draw of this hop, to me the taste of this hop is unpleasant best described as "cat pee".  I will let this hop fad go on without me.

As we continued our conversation with Heidi and Ben and enjoying our beers, the bartender opened a wrong bottle.  It wound up being Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Barleywine. Samples of the bottle were poured and Heidi and Ben tried the beer.  Heidi really liked it and Ben thought that it tasted like burnt marshmallows; so he was not a fan.  My wife and I finished our beer and bid good bye to Heidi and Dan.  Needless to say my wife loved Bodega and is more than willing to go back when the opportunity presents itself.

QC Beerguy