The fest kicked off at 1:00 p.m. for VIP ticket holders. The extra ten bucks was well worth it, as the VIP crowd was much smaller and several beers at the fest ran out quickly. Standing on a bridge over the very full and flowing Des Moines River made for a very pleasant looking and self contained area to have the fest, with the iconic golden dome of the State Capital in the background. Standing with a good beer on the side of the bridge that was getting a strong breeze was very nice. However, there was nowhere to hide from the unremitting sun, and no shade to be found. I applied sunscreen every hour on the hour, but still left with a few burnt spots. Some umbrellas or shade tents should be considered if the bridge remains the fest spot (it was about bursting at the seams, they may need a bigger venue if the fest grows at all). All in all, it was a great day. I drank plenty of water in between beers because of the heat, but did not get to try any of the food being served.
The fest featured mainly Iowa brewers, but also beers from several national craft brewers provided by local distributors, Doll in particular (who brought a great lineup of new more national releases). Toppling Goliath was, not surprisingly, very popular. If you don't know of them, find out, get your hands on some of their beers, they are a must try. The fest ran until 5:00, but by 3:20 all of their beer was gone and they were packed up and leaving.
I would give best new brewer award to 515 Brewing of Clive, Iowa. They had a very interesting lineup and I particularly enjoyed their Belgian Paradise and OJ IPA. Confluence Brewing seems very popular, and I can see why, they have a very drinkable lineup. Unfortunately I missed out on their ChewBocka aged in Scotch barrels. It was released at 3:00, I was in line, but I don't think it lasted a minute and ran out just a few people before me.
Some of my beers of merit from the fest (I wish it was possible to try them all, but it just isn't, although this fest is of quite manageable size, which is nice): the Boone Valley Brewing Company had a nice Rye IPA; the Great River Brewery had a nice wheat beer, their Widespread Wit (they also had a very interesting chocolate blonde ale, the Dirty Blonde, that I think will be very popular and brought to mind a lot of ideas for beer cocktails using it and various sweet liqueurs); Keg Creek had a good cream ale in their Wayesa; although out of season, Olde Main Brewing had a good, malty winter warmer in their Reindeer Fuel chocolate porter, and not only the best shandy of the fest, but the best shandy I have ever had by a country mile in their Lemontyme (technically a lemon ale); Third Base from Cedar Rapids had a great Red IPA and an awesome beer name with their Jedi Braid. It also strikes me that one of Iowa's most underrated brewers has to be Van Houzen Brewing from Newtown, Iowa, expect their fame to grow. At some point during the fest, I reached my 3,000th beer tried.
One strange moment at the fest, I went to use a porta potty and floating in there was a can of Natural Light. Now seriously folks, who smuggles a can of Natural Light into a craft beer festival where with your admission you can drink all the wonderful craft beer you can hold? Absolutely one of the most incongruous things I have ever run into. There was also a lot of really great t-shirts at the fest, with my favorites including the Beer Whisperer, one that said "Des Moines is French for Des Moines", and this awesome shirt below.
The best serving station ever was that of Peace Tree Brewing with their faux stack of amps (also note that all of their beers had been kicked, they are deservedly popular, but I am bummed I missed out on the Falconer's IPA).
As the fest ended, we made our way to the nearby Hessen Haus for some post-fest sustenance, and of course couldn't resist trying a couple of their German Beers, Aktien Zwick'l Kellerbier and Veltins Pilsener.
Peasant plate with Veltins:
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