Iowa Brewpubs

Much of this info is from: Mike Snyder(spsbeer@netins.net).

• MB - Microbrewery/brewery/contract
• BP - Brew Pub/Restaurant
• P - Pub

• AMANA

  (MB) Millstream Brewing Co 284 Lower Brewery Rd
  Maintains a website

• CEDAR RAPIDS

  (BP)Cedar Brewing Company 500 Blairs Ferry Rd NE 52402 (319) 378-9090

  Mike Snyder(spsbeer@netins.net) reports: Brewpub serving lunch and dinner with 4 main ales on tap.

  Maintains a website

• DAVENPORT

  (MB) Rhomberg Brewing Co 111 East 3rd St Union Ave

  (BP) Front Street Brewery, 208 East River Rd, (319) 322-1569

• DES MOINES

  (BP)Court Ave Brewing Co 309 Court Ave

  Dave Ewert (DOGSMART@prodigy.net) reports: Brewmeister Steve Zimmerman churns out one of the best stouts in the nation, and his brown ale is also outstanding. The pale ale is much improved, while the wheat and rasberry wheat are tasty but obviously intended for the lowest common denominator tastebuds (LCD). Steve's seasonals always a highlight. His belgian style dubbel and white ales are very authentic, hampered only by antiquated laws limiting alcohol content to an average of 5%. This is too bad, because Steve apparently has brewed hellacious barley wines in a previous life. The best beers at Court Avenue easily rank among the best I've had, and that includes those of Seattle, Vermont, New Hampshire, California, and Florida.

  The food is solid enough, but not very adventurous. Try the mammoth reuban sandwich, the pulled pork, the jambalaya, or the crab cakes. Try the specials whenever possible.

  (BP)Raccoon River Brewing Co 200 10th St

  Dave Ewert (DOGSMART@prodigy.net) reports: located on the western edge of downtown in a beautiful building featuring tons of salvage items, including a former gym floor. The River is an arm of Wynkoop (the original is located in Denver, CO -ed), and the location is consanant with the Wynkoop style of revitalizing marginal downtown areas. Unfortunately, the beer here is strictly LCD, with only the bandit ale, a well-hopped IPA, showing any spunk. The wheat is watery and the stout is merely serviceable. The ESB is tasty when you can find it, but the brewmaster has an inexplicable fascination with vanilla and puts it in seemingly every specialty beer. The resulting beers taste not like a culinary creation, try the New Glarus Belgian Red, but instead like the watery fill-in-the-blank LCD beer with flavoring tossed in.
  Unlike the local Rock Bottom which seems to have a better brewer than others in the chain, the Wynkoop beers here do not live up to their advance billing.
  On the other hand, the food is by far the best here of any of the other breweries. Try the corn-bread encrusted rainbow trout or the exceptional bouillabase.

  (BP)Rock Bottom facility on University Avenue

  Dave Ewert (DOGSMART@prodigy.net) reports: Although most of the standard beers are somewhat uninspired (LCD) I think that both the brown ale and the stout are well deserving of mention. I also highly recommend the monthly brewer's dinners, which offer interesting parings of specialty foods and seasonal brews. These dinners are a real bargain and essentially include all you care to guzzle microbrews. the specialty beers are uniformly excellent. My favorite is a creamy dunkel weiss, followed closely by the oatmeal stout and the bourbon ale (which really reeks of bourbon).

  The food is better here than at Court Avenue, with the appetizers being more suitable for groups of heavy duty carnivores.

  (BP)Saints Brewery 104th street (in Urbandale)

  Dave Ewert (DOGSMART@prodigy.net) reports: is a nice pub setting featuring all LCD beers. The food, while limited, is well prepared.

  (P)A Taste of Thailand on Walnut Street

  Dave Ewert (DOGSMART@prodigy.net) reports: TOT was a beer mecca before the brewpubs started popping up like tall corn. Located just east of downtown, TOT offers a fluctuating selection of up to 300 kinds of import and domestic beers. Although Iowa's bizarre licensing laws have robbed the restaurant of its ability to sell many stronger beers, such as the Chimay gold and Septante 5 which used to be its stock and trade, the selection always fascinating and the brew surprisingly fresh. If you crave sustenance, try any of the thai curries, which are top-notch and not too over the top on the heat. TOT also has many great vegetarian dishes. Of course, for those who are not testosterone-impaired, try the angry dishes, which will put hair on your eyeballs.

• DUBUQUE

  (BP)Fitzpatrick's Brewing Co PO Box 2263

• IOWA CITY

  (BP) Fitzpatrick's Brewing Co., 525 South Gilbert (319) 356-6900

• NORWAY

  (B)Frontier Brewing Co PO Box 299

• SIOUX CITY

  (BP)The Fourth Street Brewing Co. 1107 4th Street 51101 (712)234-1120
  Branch of SD's Sioux Falls, which has a website

• SOLON

  (MB)Stone City Brewing Ltd PO Box 535/220 S Dubuque St
  Maintains a website

• WEST DES MOINES

  (BP)Saint's Brewing Co 6800 Ashworth Rd #503