The Champagne of Blogs

What if I told you that there was a magical place where you could buy single bottles of hundreds of craft beers in bottles ranging from 12 ounces to 750ml? What if I told you that place had a walk-in beer color that carried these same beers at ready-to-drink temperatures? What if I told you this place also had brewing supplies, from liquid yeast to propane burners? What if I told you that this magical place was in Iowa?

Why, you’d call me Beer Crazy.

Beer Crazy is no Belmont Station, but it is pretty impressive by midwest standards. As a rule, most places I’ve visited in Iowa are loathe to break up a six-pack, even higher-end grocery stores (don’t even think about asking at a liquor store). Sure, you can buy a tall-boy of Bud Icy Freeze at the suggestively-named Kum-N-Go (believe it!), but ask to make a mixed six at Gateway Market, and the clerks look at you as if you’d asked to borrow a puppy for target practice.

Cleverly hidden away in a strip mall in suburban Urbandale, Iowa, Beer Crazy stocks a wide variety of brews, from Belgian standards like Chimay and Duvel, but really shines in their regional offerings. I made up a couple of six-packs containing beers from Bell’s (Michigan), Left Hand (Colorado), Breckenridge (Colorado), Fort Colins (Colorado), Millstream (Amana, Iowa), Old Capitol (Iowa City, Iowa), Boulevard (Kansas City, MO), and Brau Brothers (Lucan, Minnesota).

Of these, the Bell’s beers were far and away my favorites. I picked up some Kalamazoo Stout (had a dry smokiness I wasn’t expecting, but enjoyed), Special Double Cream Stout (again, a little on the dry side, and a wee bit bitter, but tasty), Christmas Ale (similar to Bridgeport’s Ebeneezer, a little spicy on a malty dark base, maybe a bit weaker), and my go-to Midwest IPA: Two Hearted Pale Ale (fabulous in a bottle, even better on tap).

I didn’t explore the homebrew supplies too much, but from what I could see, there was a robust selection of yeast in a sliding-door cooler, and about 20 feet of equipment on shelves 8-10 feet high, and an equal amount of ingredient/kit storage. It’s no Portland/St. Paul homebrew store, but what it lacks in homebrew supplies, it more than makes up for by selling delicious craft brew on premises.

I don’t want to get my mom too excited by saying so, but Des Moines is getting a heck of a lot more livable than it used to be, with great beer bars like El Bait Shop and the Red Monk, and a really uniquely awesome combination bottle/homebrew store in Beer Crazy. I’ll definitely be back (to visit).