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.