NE Iowa road trip

[carrisr]

I'm thinking about going on a circuit of NE Iowa breweries and throwing it out to see who's interested. I'm looking at Sunday the 22nd. Breweries I'd like to hit are Pulpit, Pivo, TG, and Franklin St. Anyone else interested?

[tony b]

How long are you anticipating the trip to be? Just checking to see if I would have to leave the dogs at the kennel if we're expecting to be gone for more than 6 or 7 hours.

[carrisr]

It kind if depends on who's going and what we want to do. But if we go to Decorah I'd say 6 hours at least. Round trip travel time is over 4.

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[karl]

I'm interested.

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[carrisr]

Last call. We're planning to depart from my house at 10am Sunday. If you'd like to come along let me know.

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[carrisr]

We made it to TG, Pulpit, and Pivo on Sunday. Here's my thoughts if anyone is interested. First stop was TG. Their new location is HUGE and very nice. We were a bit disappointed that they didn't have food in such a large space. They said that they're working on it. Another letdown was the on tap selection. They only had two beers on tap that were special, "Fire, Skulls and Money" IPA and "Dragon Fandango". Both were good but the Dragon was really good. Dragon Fruit session sour. Kind of expensive for a kettle soured session though: 32 oz growler fills were $20 (growler not included). Most others were reasonably priced at $9. The service at the bar was prompt and polite. We enjoyed the stop but might skip them next time.

Next was Pulpit Rock. What a contrast! The space looks like it was an auto service station in a past life. Very small but cool. They had a decent sized patio area (and allow dogs!). Not a huge tap list here either (9 beers) but they had a good mix. I had a "Glass to Mouth" IPA and "Coconut Migration". Both were very tasty. I also sampled "Peruvian Pour-Over Porter" which was outstanding! 32 oz growler refills were $12.50 for CM and $9.50 for others such as the porter. No food here either but it's really too small for that. Service at the bar was very good and the staff were fun. Overall we had a great time here and would definitely stop back.

The last stop and probably the biggest surprise was Pivo. This one is very new and a nice space. Their tap list was huge with at least 30 beers. A bit overwhelming in truth. One thing that we all noted was that every beer we had was brilliantly clear. With this many beers and ciders on tap you'd expect variety and they did not disappoint. While nothing I had was outstanding, they were all clean and solid. They had a small food selection consisting of a couple of sandwiches, hot dogs, and a meat and cheese plate. Certainly not fancy, but nice to have something available. I think we all agreed that we'd come back if we're in the area again.

Thanks again Tony for driving! A very enjoyable Sunday trip.

[tony b]

Second Randy's thoughts on the breweries. Both Pulpit and Pivo were worth the trip and I'd go back to either/both in a minute.

Another negative point at TG was that 2 of the more interesting beers on the menu - we were told they were out of when we tried to order them! Disappointing to say the least. We didn't drive all that way for Dorothy and Pseudo Sue! Once they have a kitchen up and going, I'd check it out again, assuming the foods is good and interesting.

Was dog tired when I finally got home. But was a good day overall!

[jjpeanasky]

Sounds like Dragon Fandango has come down in price. We were up there in March I think and it was $40 a growler or something ridiculous like that.

- Josh Peanasky

[karl]

Still a really high price for Dragon Fandango:

$20 for 32-oz "Meowler"
$40 for 64-oz Growler

I guess that much dragon fruit costs a bunch, but still that seems high.

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[daryl]

Let'em run up the cost I say!

All the more reason to be a home brewer; which was a huge motivating factor when I entered the hobby. When I could make 2 cases of really good beer at the fraction of the cost of retail.

[carrisr]

It would seem that TG can pretty much charge what they want for their beers and folks will gladly pay. An enviable position if your goal is to get rich. Now to be fair I did enjoy it and did buy a meowler (with a little buyers remorse). And I hear the famous NE Brewers are also pricey too.

I personally reached the point a few years ago where I generally do not buy very pricey beers or wait in long lines. I did this time because it was a road trip and I didn't buy anything else from them. The fans on FB get pretty worked up and insulted when you imply that $20 a 4 pack in stores is a little high. But I can find plenty of great beers these days without breaking the bank.

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[tony b]

Back in the day when I started homebrewing, there was little "good" beer to be had, including imports, so it was a slam dunk decision to make your own - far cheaper and often better than was available on the shelf or on tap locally. In the ensuing 30 years, things are a bit different - even here in Iowa! It has caused me to "refine" what beers I brew, as tasty stuff is all around now. Consequently, it's why I mostly brew "the weird shit," because the stuff on tap and on the shelf is seriously good and a ton of variety.