Will be in eastern Iowa for 10 days and need beer advice

[SoCalBeerIdiot]

Hi all! I'm travelling back to eastern Iowa next week so my daughter can spend time with family (from 8/13-8/23). They couldn't care less about me, though, so I plan to be out exploring Midwestern beers most of the time. Most of my time will be spent in Muscatine (on the IA-IL border just 30 mins. south of the Quad Cities and about 45 minutes from Iowa City in the other direction) and Cedar Rapids. I'll have a car and driving 1 - 1 1/2 hours in each direction is no concern.

I know of Toppling Goliath and I also know I have little chance of tracking any down unless I go there or am in the right place at the right time. If anyone has tips on where to find it on tap or knows another way I can procure bottles, though, I'm all ears (eyes?).

What other beers/breweries should I be on the watch for? What bottle shops would be good to visit while in CR, Iowa City, or the Quad Cities? How about brew pubs in those cities?

Finally, if anyone is going to be in said cities and wants to do an in-person trade or better yet, set up a bottle share, let me know. I can easily cram a couple Plinys in my bag (or whatever else if you know what you want).

Cheers and thanks in advance guys (and gals)!

 

[render]

First of all, I'm sorry you're stuck spending that much time here. Then again, I'm stuck here all the time.

As far as TG, you may be here at the right time, it sounds like they should be bottling/delivering King Sue and Sosus while you're out here, so I would keep an eye out on their twitter and Facebook to get the lowdown on where and when those are getting delivered. They usually hit up Cedar Rapids and Iowa City in the same day.

I can't speak too much on what's going on in Muscatine, but usually when I go back to the Quad Cities I go across the river to the Hy-Vee in Moline and grab the stuff I can't get in Iowa, which I would assume you already have access to out in California (you could get some Revolution and a few other Wisconsin and Chicago area breweries here though). Besides that, John's Grocery (aka Dirty John's) in Iowa City has the most varieties of beer in the smallest amount of space, so I would definitely hit that up for bottles. For taps and good burgers I would also hit up Short's in Iowa City. They have an extensive tap list of Iowa breweries, including TG.

Brewpubs:
-Great River in Davenport - this is more of a tasting room and to be honest, not great. Only recommend if you're around the area and want to stop in.
-Backpocket in Coralville (next to Iowa City) - OK beers, but a nice taproom and decent pizza.
-Lion Bridge in Cedar Rapids - fairly new, the guy is just starting to make some decent beers. He's pretty heavy on the adjuncts and less popular styles, so don't expect a mind-blowing IPA or an awesome sour, but some pretty interesting Belgians, that kind of thing.
-Bent River in Moline, IL - along the lines of Great River, nothing mindblowing
-Big Grove in Solon, IA - this is about 15 minutes north of Iowa City. The food is really good here and their beer is pretty decent, with usually a few good guest taps too.

I'm sure I'm forgetting plenty of places, but these are what came to mind for me right away. Cheers!

 

[SoCalBeerIdiot]

Thanks! I'm adding these places to my list. Cheers!

 

[SoCalBeerIdiot]

Hi again! What beers should I be looking for while I'm there (and in what formats--draft only or bottle?). I'm partial to IPAs/DIPAs & pale ales, flavored (but not bourbon barrel-aged) stouts & porters, and sours and would love to try some good ones out while I'm there. Thanks again, everyone!