Thursday, September 10, 2015

515 Show Dogs



 Arson, our 7 month old Welsh Springer Spaniel, was old enough for his first dog show.  We took him to Des Moines the day before the show to leave him with his breeder and co-owners Dee and Peggy.  When he wasn't at the show, he was able to play with his sister, two other Welsh Springer Spaniels, and  a whole litter of adorable Clumber Spaniels.

After we dropped him off, we went to Jethro's BBQ and had a fantastic dinner.  We shared a basket of fried pickles, and I feasted on a brisket sandwich and tater tot casserole.  Extremely filling, and probably the best meal of he weekend. After some swimming to wear off the meal, we called it a day, and went to be early so we could get up for the dog show the next morning.

Although he didn't win his first show, he stood great for the judge, and pranced around the ring like he's been there before.  His next show will be in October.  As you can see from above, Joseph was very excited and proud to see him in the ring.
Arson in the ring with Dee
OJ IPA, Mediocre Pale Ale, Reaper In the Rye, Dart Dodger

What do you do after a dog show?  You get some beer, of course!  A quick drive to Ankeney to visit the best HyVee there is, and it also an amazing Craft Beer selection.  If you're visiting the area, this is a must visit.  I picked up an 8 pack sampler (some listed below,) and after a few more stops, we made the best stop of the day.  515 brewing.  http://www.515brewing.com/ 

After hearing about their OJ IPA and Mediocre Pale Ale for months, I needed to try them for myself.  The staff behind the bar was excellent.  Friendly, and very knowledgeable, they gave me some great recommendations to fill up the remainder of my beer flight.  I won't go into the wonderful hoppy flavors, or great malt backbones, or even the spicey rye in the Reaper, because I think this is something everyone needs to experience for themselves.  I'm so glad I stopped to try a few of their beers, and really wished I would have filled up a growler before I left, because some Dart Dodger sounds perfect about now.  In short, this place is the real deal.  They have amazing beers, that are as good or better than advertised, and I can't wait to go back to try more.  Cheers to everyone at 515!!


New to Iowa, and to me, is Six Point Brewing.  http://sixpoint.com/  The Iowa beer groups seemed very excited by the arrival of the New York brewery, and after my first beer, I can see why.  Resin is a 9.1% ABV Double IPA, and it's deceptively smooth.  This is exactly what I look for an a Double IPA.  Big, sweet, not too bitter, but still a ton of hop flavor.  This is a brew that I will be drinking again.


Also fairly new to Iowa is Funkwerks.  Raspberry Provincial was a nice way to end my evening after a few IPA's.  Sweet and tart, this Berliner Wiesse beer is loaded with raspberries.  It reminded me of some of the Belgian style raspberry and cherry beers from New Glarus.  A perfect beer for a humid Iowa day.  This seems to be the theme of this entry, but again, I need to try more of their brews, because this one was delicious.  http://www.funkwerks.com/content/OurBeer/RaspberryProvincial.aspx

Another great beer weekend in Des Moines, and I didn't even get to some of my favorite places like Court Avenue Brewing or El Bait shop.  Of course, with 515's beer being so good, I'll be hard pressed not to spend my visits with them every time I visit the area.

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