Jack Knows Best

Millstream Brewing Company in Amana, Iowa has good beer, but I don't usually expect them to WOW me like they did tonight. I took a chance on this "Jack" when the waitress at Hurricane in Waterloo described it as a "dark one". It is surprisingly complex with hints of dark roasted coffee and baked fruits.

Sandy chose to enjoy a bucket of some fruity booze, shown here. I don't get it, but she likes that kind of thing better than beer.

Oktoberfest

As I just told Sandy, "I can't believe I've lived in Eastern Iowa for 19 years and didn't know about Amana Colonies Oktoberfest. Our family had a great time. We were happily entertained by the DTKK band. We sang "Ein Prosit" once or twice. As we watched people, we played the fun family game "Are those lederhosen really leather?" And we drank good German beer in grown-up sized mugs.

Hefe "R" Weissen

Millstream's hefeweizen is a good example of the style. Not everyone needs to be a fan of this style. For example, Sandy took a whiff of this and said, “Beer’s not supposed to smell like bananas!”

The brewer puts a helpful description of this style on the website.

Back Road Stout

Visit Millstream Brewing Co. in Amana, Iowa and you will be treated to a delightful beer garden. You can sit to enjoy your choice of beer under the shade of beautiful hop vines growing up and across an arbor.

Back Road Stout was an easy going beverage to pass some time here on a cool July day, giving me something to do while the rest of the family shopped.

Hoppy Feaster

This Holy Saturday afternoon I'm having a beer to anticipate the Easter feast. Hoppy Feaster is an experiment of the brewers at Millstream Brewing combining intense citrus hoppy flavors, like a double IPA with the sweet funk from yeast and wheat, like a Beligian wit bier. I commend them for it. It's a nice try.

German Pilsner

Eating Noodles with my mother and my daughter, I washed it down with this German Pilsner. This is a simply named, simple beer with simple flavors of beer and German style hop. 

Much more flavorful than the usual American varieties of Pilsner, so it stood up nicely to rich flavors in the Japanese Pan Noodle bowl I had. We dined with the help of a coupon given me at the Noodles stand at the Beers to You and Gourmet Too event in Waterloo last month.

Schild Brau Amber

Today, with 18 days left before Christmas, I pulled a Schild Brau Amber from the Advent Beer Calendar. Since I’ll be sampling a couple dozen beers this month, I shouldn’t expect that every one will be extraordinary. This Iowa product is nothing too special, just a good ol' beer.

Iowa Pale Ale

            When our friends the Rottmanns came to visit us in Iowa, I wanted to offer them a taste of Iowa and so I picked up a six pack of IowaPale Ale from Millstream Brewing Co., in the Amanas. 

            It’s a nice drinkable beer.  It doesn’t have the hop aroma and flavor I was expecting. The color was surprisingly dark.  If they would have asked me before labeling this beer, I’d have suggested they call it Iowa Nut Brown Ale.  Then the drinker would be much better prepared for what he or she gets.