Monday 10th of June 2013 09:57:08 PM

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Great location on the south side of the Des Moines River between Fleur and 9th St in Des Moines -- it's an industrial setting, but their back porch opens up to the bike trail. John and Ken (co-owners) were really friendly when I stopped in on a Tuesday night, very laid-back in their approach to beer. They typically have 12+ beers on tap, with a couple of guest taps from other local Iowa breweries.

I sampled most of their beers -- the lagers and pilsners were pretty average, but John had just made a small batch of a black IPA that was excellent (Thomas Beck Black IPA), and their Des Moines Pale Ale is a solid offering. The Farmer John's multigrain is also pretty good if you are into wheat beers, and they had just tapped a brown ale that was also solid -- darker tones due to hints of coffee, but very drinkable. They had just run out of their oatmeal stout before I came, so I didn't have a chance to try that, but their Maibock was a decent spring seasonal offering.

Service was great, both when it was dead (Tuesday, when I was the only one there besides a group of retirement-age female cyclists) and hopping (Thursday, when they had a live country act playing, as well as a food cart in the middle of the brewery). You can bring your own food in, and the co-owner and head brewmaster, John, is more than willing to talk brewing and specific ingredients with you. Glad to see a homegrown brewery making some quality beer in Iowa -- I would put them a notch below Millstream, but very good nonetheless.