6-Pack | Pick Six Beers for Autumn

"When the chill northeast wind blows, And winter tells a heavy tale, When pyes and dawes and doobes and crowes Do sit and curse the frostes and snowes, Then give me ale."

The snow isn't here yet, but cold weather beer season is. That 16th century English verse was spot on. On these increasingly crisp days and chilly nights, give us ale... or a lager. 'Tis the season for smoky porters and rich, smooth stouts. On cozy nights in, we like to hit up a store that lets us "Pick Six." We each pick three beers for a six-pack and settle in for a night of beer-drinking and Netflix-binge-watching. So we rounded up our six favorite craft and import beers to enjoy this fall.

If we could put together our own autumn six-pack, this would be it:

6-Pack | A Notebook for Every Beer Lover

While we live in a day and age of handy dandy smart phone apps like Beer Citizen, RateBeer, TapHunter, and Untappd (speaking of which, you should add both me and Greg as your friend)... there's still something to be said for a good old fashioned notebook.

My beer adventures began with a simple $6 address book, in which I jotted down the Appearance, Smell, Taste, Mouthfeel, and Overall Impression of beers that I organized in alphabetical order by brewery. But these beer-dedicated booklets put my little red notebook to shame.

Cedar Rapids Beer Nuts Homebrew Festival Benz Beverage Depot | Cedar Rapids, IA

On Saturday afternoon, we ventured out into the gorgeous fall weather to the second annual Cedar Rapids Beer Nuts Homebrew Festival. After all the European beers we sampled at BrewNost the night before, we were excited to put them in contrast to some Iowa homebrews.

The first festival of its kind in Iowa, there was no commercial beer served. Homebrews only! Greg and I have had an interest in homebrews for a while now, but haven't had the opportunity to taste any. So this was a treat!

BrewNost | Cedar Rapids, IA

I don't usually kiss and tell, but thanks to smooching das boot and the 90 likes that followed... I won a ticket to BrewNost at the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library! (A big, big thank you and cheers to all those who gave my photo a like on Facebook.)

Of course, I needed a date and didn't dare leave Greg out of the beer-drinking festivities. So we made sure to buy him a ticket. When we arrived at the museum on Friday evening, the Czech and Slovak Museum was all aglow with red and orange lights.

Guest Post | Beer FestivalLittle Giant Beer Summit @ El Bait Shop | Des Moines, IA

Please welcome one of our favorite fellow craft beer scene couples to Yeast, Love, & Hoppiness. While Greg and I were donning our lederhosen and dirndl and drinking bier at Oktoberfest in the Amanas, DSM brew-loving duo Jason and Ash were indulging in Iowa craft beer at the Little Giant Beer Summit at El Bait Shop in downtown Des Moines. (Photo above from El Bait Shop.) And here's how it all went down...

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Guest Post | Little Giant Beer Summit

by Jason Scholbrock (add us on Untappd – Ash & Jason)

Saturday, October 5^th was one of those perfectly crisp autumn days. Cool air and a slight breeze. Perfect weather for a beer festival – just not the fall festival you’re thinking of! El Bait Shop, quite possibly the greatest beer bar in the world, hosted the “Little Giant Beer Summit” touting their parking lot festival as the “home to the largest selection of Iowa beer in one place, ever.” It lived up to the hype!

Beer Weekend | We can "barley" describe the fun!

As partners in brew tasting, nothing makes us happier than spending quality time drinking beer together. Date night = beer. Always. As long as there's beer involved, I think Greg will vouch that I'm pretty easy to please. :) So it was a delight to spend nearly our entire weekend trying new beers... especially when the events took place in our own backyard of Cedar Rapids.

We spent Friday night at BrewNost, Saturday afternoon at the Beer Nuts Homebrew Festival, and followed up Sunday's Fall Festival with a six-pack of new beers to try. 

More details, photos, and separate blog posts to come on our BrewNost and Homebrew Festival experiences. (Here's a clue... both events were awesome!)

Have you tried any new beers, attended any events, or hung out at a cool bar or brewery lately? Write a guest post for us! 

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

Oktoberfest in Amana: Brats, Bier, and Hammerschlagen!

Ever wanted to go to the real Oktoberfest? Me, too. Too bad Germany is all the way on the other side of the world. But next to the town I live in, there's  a pretty darn good Oktoberfest celebration. Last year I completely missed it and have been kicking myself ever since. So, Jess and I made it a point not to miss out on the festivities this year. Our buddy Dan even ditched Des Moines for the weekend to join us.

So what's so great about Oktoberfest? Pretty much everything! Beer, games, food, and costumes. What's not to love?

Swag Brewery | Craft Beer Soaps and Hop Candy

As a craft beer zealot, I often find myself caught up in beer cravings. Sometimes it goes even further than just wanting a pint. The hophead in me might pine for the floral bitterness of hops... at a time and place (like the office) where there's just no way I can get my hoppy little hands around a glass full of an IPA. And don't judge, but sometimes a beer smells sooo good that I might just fancy bathing in it. I don't, but wouldn't that be nice? 

Then along came Swag Brewery with the answers to all my brew prayers. Swag Brewery is your one-stop shop for craft beer gifts and craft beer swag. They make and sell craft beer soap, craft beer t-shirts, beer art prints, and even bottle cap earrings. It's the ultimate destination for beer lovers who want to show their craft brew love inside and outside of the bar or brewery. 

They were kind enough to send some samples to sate my beer bath and hop cravings: two craft beer soaps to suds up with and a package of hop candy to enjoy.

DIY Oktoberfest Garb | Dirndl & Lederhosen

Greg, myself, and a friend are all attending Oktoberfest in the Amana Colonies this weekend. And we couldn't be more excited! We've been looking forward to the bier fest for months... and thinking about our costumes just as long. A few searches over the internet showed just how expensive real lederhosen and dirndls can be. So while if we ever make it to the real Oktoberfest in Munich, we'll definitely invest in the good stuff in all its traditional Bavarian glory... we decided to stay cheap and take on the challenge of do-it-yourself Oktoberfest garb.  (Image above via: Wired)