Exile Brewing Co. - Beer in America's Heartland

Well, here I am - the land of corn, rolling plains, political town halls, and state fairs. I'm in Iowa this week for work, and of course no trip anywhere is complete without a tour of the local beer culture. I'm staying in Des Moines, and there are quite a few breweries here. Most are not necessarily within walking distance of my hotel, and fewer still have a full menu for dinner (which is what I needed at this point!) so enter Exile Brewing Co., located in a renovated historic factory not far from Pappajohn Sculpture Park in downtown Des Moines. Exile was a little over a mile from my hotel, so I just walked.

Lots of space inside - tables, booths, a large beer hall and event space, and a twenty-seat bar. Their draft list was respectable - about 12 beers on draft, many in the lighter German styles. But - like any good brewpub - there's something for everyone and I feel they had a good survey of light to dark. I was immediately drawn to their "G.G.", a 5.00% ABV dunkel: this style is essentially a dark German lager. Pours deep brown...look at that thick foamy cap!

Wow, great. This is a great example of this style - very malty, a little bit of caramel sweetness, and a soft texture with little carbonation. The caramel notes come through most noticeably on the finish, and the sweetness lingers for quite some time. Super tasty and great for fans of more traditional German styles.

It being Oktoberfest season (already), I of course opted to try their "Oktoberfest", a 5.90% ABV Marzen-style ale.

Made with Perle and Hallertau traditional hops, this ale combines lots of caramel malts and German malts for an ale in the old world style. However, it's honestly lighter in body than many of the Oktoberfest beers I've had over the years, and that's kinda nice. Some are just far too heavy and sweet and syrupy, and I think this expression gives some welcome softness and drinkability to a seasonal style. Another home run for Exile! They're 2 for 2 so far. 

Now was time for dinner, and I wanted something a bit lighter, so I opted for their "Lemon Trail", a 4.50% ABV lemon ale made with Lemon Drop hops and Pilsner malts. 

Very, very good. Unlike some other "lemon" beers on the market, this one really packs a lemony punch. Lots of lemon juice, lemon rind, and lemon pulp notes, and surprisingly not sour or tart. That's the biggest thing for me - lemon appears often as an ingredient in sour beers, and although sours have their place and time, I wasn't in the mood at the moment. So I'm glad it wasn't sour!

So yeah, definitely visit Exile if you're in Des Moines. Beer was super good, food was also excellent (had the bacon salsa burger!) and the service was great. I was impressed by the community feel, as well - lots of families eating dinner, some events going on in the adjacent beer hall, and people getting beer to go. A very enjoyable evening! Big shout out to Chris who told me more about the beers and answered all my random questions in preparation for this post.