Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Brewery Roadtrip | Part 2:
Bent River Brewing in Moline, IL


The second brewery stop on our little roadtrip awaited us across the Mississippi in Moline, Illinois. Spoiler alert! This brewery turned out to be our favorite of the three we visited! Immediately upon stepping foot in the place, we felt right at home at Bent River Brewing Company. It's one of those eclectic downtown drinking establishments that we just can't resist pulling up a stool at the bar, settling in with a few pints, and chatting about beer with locals and visitors alike. If we lived here, you can bet we'd be here all the time.

Shiny fermenters right in front of us!

We nabbed a couple seats at the bar right in front of all the fermentation and wort tanks. It was the first time we'd been up close and personal with brewing equipment. Most places seem to contain it in a different room or at least behind glass. The bartender was happy to tell us all about the tanks... and the beer they brewed in them. Speaking of beer, Bent River's Uncommon Stout is AMAZING! Do you like coffee? I don’t and I love this beer! Jess does and she loves this beer! The brewers here take the nasty bitterness out of coffee and leave a very strong yet pleasant coffee taste. We tried three of their other beers in a flight, too, but that Uncommon Stout was without a doubt the champion of the brewery.

Beer flight at Bent River!


I was no stranger to the deliciousness of Bent River's Uncommon Stout. I'd had the pleasure of trying a bottle of it at Old Chicago back in Ames about a year ago. However, I'd heard very good things about how amazing it is on tap. It was suggested that I take my Uncommon pint with a splash of their raspberry wheat beer. Well, I fell head over heels for that raspberry-coffee concoction. (No, not in a drunken stupor kinda way... in a head-over-heels-in-love kinda way.) When our stomachs started growling, we decided to stay and eat. I'm glad we did. Besides having top notch beer, Bent River serves up seriously scrumptious fare. Greg devoured the chicken strips, while I reveled in a burger on a pretzel bun and mouthwatering mashed potatoes covered in quite possible the best gravy I've ever had. 


A guy sitting next to us at the bar ordered up an Uncommon Car Bomb. An Uncommon Stout take on the traditional car bomb, I couldn't resist ordering myself one.  It was like a milky sugary coffee bomb. If any of you have the option, go try it. It is pretty darn delicious! The company and atmosphere of Bent River did not disappoint. As the night went on, the place filled up with locals, other first-timers, and even a wedding party!

Bent River was an all-around fantastic experience that we just can't stop talking about. Great food, great beer, great people, great bartenders and service, and a great atmosphere all came together to make it an unforgettable place that we really didn't want to leave. Bent River also has a new brewery facility on Rock Island. We didn't hit it up on this trip, but we're planning a trip back for BOTH Bent River locations very soon. Guess we just can't stay away from that Uncommon Stout. ;)

After Bent River, we went back to Davenport to cheer on the Red Sox in the hotel bar and get a good night's sleep before visiting the final brewery on our list: Great River.



Check out our first stop at Front Street Brewery
and our final roadtrip stop at Great River Brewery.




Get in touch if you'd like to meet 'n' drink or write a guest post!


1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the kind words, guys! So glad you enjoyed us!

    ReplyDelete