Confluence Brewing Co. - arguably the biggest taplist in Des Moines

So on my first trip to Iowa, I drove past Confluence Brewing Co. on my way downtown from the airport. I dutifully filed away this information for later in the trip, however my visits to El Bait Shop and Exile Brewing Co. meant that I wasn't able to visit. Well, I'm back in the Hawkeye State, and now that I'm staying only a few miles from Confluence, I had to check it out.

Like many breweries, it's located in an industrial park on the outskirts of town along the banks of Gray's Lake. The facility is pretty huge, and the entrance takes patrons past the fermenters and the unmistakable aroma of raw beer ingredients. The taproom itself is quite expansive, with dozens of tables and hightops, but the bar itself is somewhat small, about ten seats, and after a few minutes of waiting, I was able to grab a seat and check out the taplist.

Whoa.

They have a LOT of beer on draft, and what's more, they have some pretty rare styles and an impressive barrel-aging program. I count 33 beers on draft and one cider, which is quite wide for a brewpub. Remember - they make all of this in-house. They must have a lot of time, a lot of resources, and a lot of expertise to maintain this kind of taplist.

First thing's first - I grabbed one of their cask offerings - "Ash Tree", a 6.30% ABV Extra Special Bitter drawn from the cask.

Quite soft, very malty (as expected) and actually lighter than I was imagining, although I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. The cask aging really softened the texture, so definitely an easy-drinking beer with a more refined malt culture (as opposed to a barleywine, which can be quite aggressive.)

OK, well, I'm not going to be able to try full pours of everything I want, so I guess I'll need to do flights. First up, left to right:

• "Chewbocka", a 7.10% ABV dopplebock. I liked it a lot - super rich and bready, moderately sweet, with a heavy finish. A little heavier than I was expecting, which isn't a bad thing. 
• "Weather Beacon", a 7.50% ABV red Marzen-style ale. Quite clean at first, reminds me a lot of Peak Organic's "King Crimson" (RIP), but a burst of hops on the back end proves this to be more aggressive than it leads on. Great for people who like very lively, tangy red ales. 
• "St. Nick's Christkindlbier", a 6.10% ABV spiced ale. Now this one is very neat - made in celebration of Des Moines' second annual Christmas market, it's a throwback to German spiced ales and it almost feels as if on lactose. Unbelievably delicious aroma, like spiced cookies and Grandma's house at the holidays. Texture is super soft and creamy, with a pleasant herbal and spiced backbone with major notes of gingerbread, holly, cinnamon. Probably in my top 20 beers I've ever had. 
• "Dirty Old Kent's English-style Barleywine", a 10.60% ABV English-style barleywine (as luck would have it.) I'm always pleased to see English-style ales make an appearance on a taplist, and this one features a somewhat-bitter character, or I should say, on the more bitter end of barleywines. Lots of heavy malts, some sweetness, lots of treacle, raisin, and sponge pudding flavors. Definitely strong. I can see this sitting down for a few years and rounding out a bit more. 

Ok, second flight. Now we're getting serious.

• "Gray's Lake Nessie w/ Hazelnut" - a 5.70% ABV Scotch ale with Friedrich's coffee. Wow, this is awesome. A medium-light bodied brown ale, full hazelnut flavors (think Nutella) and a strong delivery of dark roast coffee. It's not sweet, as many coffee beers tend to be. I could drink this all day. 
• "Ferryman's Fuel Peanut Butter Cup", a 13.50% ABV chocolate peanut butter stout. Jeez, this is heavy...it's very oily and thick, almost like syrup, with a strong booziness, with some nutty flavors. There's just a touch of chocolate, but a lot of these flavors get blown away by the weight of this thing. Absolute sledgehammer. 
• "Blue Corn Lager", a surprisingly-strong 11.20% ABV lager made with guave and agave. Alright, if you love guava, this is the beer for you. Very strong and full guava flavors here, somewhat juicy and sweet, and rather interesting. The approach reminds me a bit of Cheluna's "Low Rider Extra Añejo" although I don't think this one's quite at that level. Nonetheless, still very tasty.  
• "Conifer Ginelly", a 7.40% ABV gin-barrel aged saison, made with cranberries and spruce tips. Quite an interesting take on a saison - this beer is rather cranberry forward, combining the dryness of gin (think Tanqueray) and a bunch botanicals with a very noticeable barrel character. There's a lot going on here, and I think I'll need to have more than a taste to really sort it all out. Definitely a good choice for fans of gin and tonics, that much is evident. 

OK, one more - too irresistible. It's "Ghostly Presents", a 10.20% ABV version of their "Blue Corn Lager" refermented over raw agave nectar in tequila barrels, and then blended with habaneros, ghost peppers, and chipotles. The result is a very solid beer with flavors of corn chips, salt, and some malts giving way to major waves of heat from peppers. I am very glad to see the brewers take the heat seriously here - whereas the other corn beer was sweet, this beer is an atomic bomb of pepper heat. I'm almost glad I tried this last - otherwise, I fear the peppers might wipe out my taste buds for the succeeding beers!

OK, that's it. There's so many more I want to try but time constraints - and liver constraints - require me to head back to the hotel. Unlike Exile Brewing, which I thought was more suited to the solo drinker, Confluence focuses on an expanded taplist and room for events with broad social spaces. According to Sam, the bartender, they make a different beer each week, increased their production capacity, and doubled their taplists ten months ago. With this kind of variation and investment, who knows what's next! So next time you're in Des Moines, check out Confluence, located south of the downtown area on the shores of Gray's Lake.

Toppling Goliath Brewing Co. - "Pompeii" IPA

Well, back in Iowa for the week. It's much colder here than last time around, and in the midst of a blowing snowstorm, I grabbed this volcanic four-pack of pints for $12.99 at Hy-Vee in south Des Moines. It's a 5.80% ABV India Pale Ale from Toppling Goliath Brewing Co. out of Decorah, IA. I didn't make it that far north, but old friend Sarah S. told me in no uncertain terms I have to try TG's stuff, so here we go.

A single-hop IPA made with Mosaic hops, this was one of several IPAs that TG currently makes. I wasn't interested in anything super bitter, of which the other options seemed to be, so I opted for a softer hop bill. Paper box says the beer was canned on 12/26/19. Well, not the FRESHEST I've had, but since I can't make it up to Decorah, it'll do just fine. Pours a dark orange color into my classy paper hotel cup (no judgment, please) and generates a soft aroma.

Hey, very nice. This is quite soft, somewhat thin, with some very noticeable flavors of pineapple, guava, and oranges. A lot of flavor comes in at the end - fresh hops, some citrusy goodness, a dash of pine needles. But supremely drinkable and a perfect session IPA, since it's only 5.80%. It's not particularly hoppy, either, so would be great for someone looking for a more gentle IPA.

Style and Cigars - a fusion of cigars and fashion by Nat Sherman!

Today's post is about a cigar-and-wine adventure I had here in DC a while back. The Premium Cigar Association, formerly known as the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Tobacco Retailers Association (IPCPR), is a trade association based in DC that advocates for the rights of retail tobacconists across the US. In addition to federal legislative advocacy and tracking new and current regulations, each year PCA hosts a major cigar trade show in Las Vegas, the envy of cigar smokers everywhere. They also do local events, including a series of educational discussions about cigars, style, business, and networking. They had one around the holidays, and thanks to Joshua Habursky, head of federal affairs for PCA, I got to stop by.

The event was called "Cigars and Style", and meant to be a discussion about the intersection of cigars, fashion, and lifestyle. Today's guest was Michael Herklots, vice president of Nat Sherman International. A Davidoff alum, Mr. Herklots manages the lifestyle brand of Sherman. The program was a discussion about cigars, of course - after all, Nat Sherman is a cigar company foremost - but we also address, in a grander sense, fashion and the cigar culture.

Before we started the program, guests were provided a Nat Sherman "Timeless Prestige", a special blend of Nicaraguan and Dominican longfillers coated in a Honduran wrapper. I lit up using the PCA table jet lighter; lit up nicely for coming directly out-of-the-box.

First third is earthy, lots of chewy flavors with notes of warm biscuits, and a touch of sweetness. But as the second third develops, it dries out a bit, giving way to a fuller, ashy flavor, like stoned wheat crackers. It smoked nicely through the second third, with some nuttiness coming through, and the final third was mostly a repeat of those cracker flavors. For being a larger format, the cigar held on quite nicely. I'd classify this as a medium-bodied smoke, although it's billed by the manufacturer as medium-full. I liked the dryness, and is a good "winter cigar" - a counter to the fat, oily, dark, and sweet Nicaraguan or Mexican cigars I smoke during the humid months. And yes, I did smoke a second one.

Also on offer were two red wines: a 2015 California cabernet sauvignon from Napa's Eagle Glen and a 2017 pinot noir from Apolloni in the famed Willamette Valley, OR.

Both were good in their own ways - the pinot noir was lively and ripe with a touch of spice, cranberry, and grape skins. Big and juicy. Nice! The cab was more full-bodied, as you can imagine, but retained some fruit skin flavors and was on the softer end of Napa cabernets.

As we settled in with our cigars and wine, Mr. Herklots spoke for about 30 minutes about the cigar culture and how it intersects with fashion and style in general. Cigar culture, for the most part, is focused on the idea of luxury: cigars are often very expensive, and the time and effort one spends on properly maintaining cigars, and enjoying them, can take a while to master. Likewise, getting to know the various types of cigars and blends can take years - I equate cigars with wine in this respect. There's hundreds of manufacturers, tobacco comes from across the world, and to create a magnificent cigar (much like a lovely bottle of wine) it takes the best craftspeople and years of expertise. So a bit part of cigar culture is appreciating all of these factors and learning to pick them out.

Check out these dapper ladies and gentlemen!

Style is, of course, personal, and so in both cigars and fashion, Mr. Herklot's best advice was that of authenticity - each element of one's wardrobe, or jewelry, or cigar accessory, should be authentic and have a reason for being and be true to one's own brand. For example, when putting together an outfit, I always pay attention to what each piece of wardrobe brings to the ensemble...color, texture, or utility. No element should be random. If I'm dressing for business, I'll match the style, cut, and colors of my suit for the task at hand. Am I going to a funeral? A rooftop party? A meeting with a Member of Congress? I think about all of these things so I can feel appropriately dressed. But I wouldn't wear something that didn't feel or look right to me.

Mr. Herklots' advice to us was to let that same eye for utility and style serve our cigar habits, as well. Although there are some pricey cigar gadgets out there, personally I think cost does not equal quality. But investing in a quality product can really make the difference! When cutting a cigar, you'll want to use a cutter of good quality that's going to swiftly and cleanly cut the capa. I use a Colibri V-Cut cigar cutter, typically, because I like the draw that it produces and the one I got has a solid feel that provides good control. For lighters, I have an engraved Zippo but prefer to use a Bic lighter, hand-wrapped in "Beeline"-brand beeswax-coated hemp. The hemp essentially acts as a wick, which I light with the lighter, and the flame burns very cleanly and it's much easier to control. It may not be the fanciest solution, but it's what I like and what works well for me.

Questions from the audience ranged from advice about fashion, to a conversation about women in the cigar industry, to inquiries about brand loyalty, and the evening wrapped up with networking and more wine. Big thanks again to Josh Habursky (pictured below in that killer suit!) for the invite, and definitely looking forward to other PCA events in the future! There was recently one called "An American Cigar Story" featuring Drew Newman of the J.C. Newman Cigar Co., discussing his newest all-American cigar. I look forward to seeing what's next!