Raising the bar: Iowa’s new high-ABV beers
by Ryan Van Velzer
In March, Iowa’s legislature eased restrictions on high-octane brews, raising the cap on ABVs from 5% to 12%. Before the “beer equality law” passed, state-sponsored vendors controlled the high-gravity beer market, and Iowans could only sip imperial stouts and Belgian ales from out-of-state breweries. Now that the state’s brewing big, we asked eight Iowa beer makers to give us a taste of what’s on tap and what’s in the tank.
David Coy, Raccoon River Brewing
“The first beer I brewed after the law passed was a maibock. I probably bumped it up beyond where it needed to be, it’s 8.5% ABV, but I was in a celebratory mood. We’ve a got double IPA that I’m putting on tap tomorrow, El Bandito Loco. It’s going to be 9.5% ABV with 3 pounds of hops per barrel. After that, I’m pretty sure there is a Russian imperial stout in my future; that’ll be my winter warmer this year.”
Mike Gauthier, Court Avenue Brewing Co.
“I’ve got a Sahti on draft. It’s a Finnish farmhouse ale brewed with malted rye and juniper berries with a 7.5% ABV. I’ve been dying to make it since I drank one that Goose Island brewed 10 years ago. I’ve also got a double ESB in the conditioning tank right now at 8.6% ABV, but its still a little hot, probably won’t be ready to serve for another two or three weeks.”
Chris Priebe, Millstream Brewing Co.
“We’re playing around with a few different things and seeing what people like so that after a year or two, we can come out with bottles of what is most popular. Right now we’ve got weizenbock on tap. It’s a high-gravity dark wheat beer and it turned out pretty good; it’s about 8.5% ABV. After that, we’re looking at doing a fruit-flavored tripel, and we also beefed up our regular oatmeal stout so that’s 7% ABV now.”
Peter Ausenhus, Worth Brewing Co.
“I’m in the lautering stage of my second batch of Russian imperial stout, and I’m just about to start boiling; it will probably end up at about 10% ABV. The first beer that will be on tap is the Bar Belle Blond, a Belgian strong golden ale which comes out in August. I will follow that up in September with the Bison doppelbock, and I also have a real strong Scotch ale for this winter that I just want to age for a while.”
Joe Kesteloot, Peace Tree Brewing
“I’ve done two brews that are high-gravity; the first one I did right after the law changed was a Belgian-style blond that’s about 8.5% ABV. Then, I was really excited to do a double IPA at 9%; I released that one the 10th of July. We’ve had a lot of demand for it; we were reserving cases before they even went on sale. In winter, I’m probably going to do an imperial stout or a barrel-aged stout; if I go with the barrel-aged one, it won’t be done until the following year.”
Mason Groben, Madhouse Brewing Co.
“We’re a brand-new brewery; we just started making beer in February. We hope to add a high gravity beer in the fall. One of my investors has an acre of Mt. Hood, Centennial and Cascade hops growing, so hopefully my next beer will be a 100-percent Iowa-grown double-hopped American style IPA.”
Brad Knoke, Hub City Brewing Co.
“We’re just getting started on the high-gravity stuff. The one we’re getting ready right now is our 9.7%-ABV Russian imperial stout called The Midnight Express. We’re also working on a Belgian beer, either a strong ale or a dubbel, and we’re also working on a double IPA.”
Matt Guenther, Beck’s Sports Bar and Grill
“We have our Grizzlybock; it’s a doppelbock that’s higher on the scale than your average beer, around 7 or 8% ABV. It’s something darker, a kind of signature that not many places carry and our most popular with craft beer enthusiasts.”
