Tag: Templeton Rye

Festival of Iowa Beers 2011

~ Ken Valley ~ Leave a comment
Festival of Iowa Beers
Festival of Iowa Beers

Last Sunday was the 7th annual Festival of Iowa Beers, and each year it continues to grow. This year,all the Iowa breweries, including the newly-named Backpocket Brewing, and many of the Iowa homebrew clubs participated.

Overall, it was a great day, and a great day for beer, with interesting beers from the commercial breweries, including a new Extreme Series beer, a dark rye, from Millstream Brewing.

Just like the previous Festivals, the homebrew tent offered the most interesting beers, including several barrel-aged beers, including an imperial stout aged in a Templeton Rye barrel, along with several meads and ciders .  My favorites from the homebrew tent were the Templeton Rye barrel-aged stout, an Imperial Wit, a Duvel clone, and a Munich Helles.

As always, I look forward to next year’s festival.  Did you make it out to the festival?  What were your favorites?

Court Avenue Brewing Company 21st Amendment Ale

~ Ken Valley ~ Leave a comment
21st Amendment Ale
21st Amendment Ale

Over the weekend I had the chance to sample the 21st Amendment Ale by Court Avenue Brewing Company (CABCO).  This ale is a rye pale ale, aged in Templeton Rye whiskey barrels.

Right off the bat, the 21st Amendment Ale smells of caramel and a bit like whiskey.  The taste has less bitterness than I would expect from a rye pale ale, but since it has been aging in whiskey barrels for a while, it’s not surprising because hop bitterness decreases over time.  It has a slight whiskey flavor, and because of the rye, has a nice, crisp finish. The aftertaste leaves a bit of a sweet, whiskey-like flavor, but not so much that you think you are drinking straight-up whiskey.

It was a very flavorful ale that was perfect for my after-dinner drink.

Let me know if you’ve had CABCO’s 21st Amendment Ale, and what you thought.