Going to Court!

With temperatures in the upper 70's, we knew some patios would be open at our favorite spots in Des Moines, so we headed downtown this week. Even though we arrived pretty early, Court Avenue was already buzzing with lots of folks that had the same idea as us (and here we thought we would be the only ones...DOH!). The patio was overflowing with people at El Bait Shop but they have a large sliding garage-style door that they open up on nice days, so we were able to procur a spot at the bar right next to the open door with the warm sun on our backs. Ahhhh...

We started off with a Scrimshaw Pilsner from North Coast Brewing in Ft. Bragg, CA. and a Dig Pale Ale from New Belgium Brewing in Ft. Collins, CO.  We never used to be huge New Belgium fans since we like to stay with smaller breweries, but NB is making some really good beers these days and their Lips of Faith series is pretty impressive.  Anyway, both are lighter spring/summer beers that tasted wonderful, and if you are a newbie craft beer drinker, the Scrimshaw is a great choice; if you are a veteran craft beer drinker, Scrimshaw is a great choice too!  When it came time to choose beer #2, we asked for a recommendation from our favorite bartender at El Bait,  who informed us there was still a wee bit of Hopslam left . Hopslam Ale is a double IPA from Bell's Brewing in Kalamazoo, MI that earns very high marks and has become one of our seasonal favorites. It is served in a 10 oz glass, but packs a wonderfully big wheeee!

With the sun setting and a two-beer buzz, we decided it was time to eat so we found a great table in the patio area at Court Avenue Restaurant & Brewing Company. It was so enjoyable to sit outside in mid-March and watch the hustle and bustle of downtown DM while eating a couple delicious sandwiches and washing them down with a couple of their craft beers.  An Infatuation for Steph (Belgium style dubbel brown ale infused with raspberries) and Brad had a Belgian IPA the name of which is elusive right now.  



In keeping with the St. Patty's Day theme, our new beers of the week were Irish red ales. The first one was an O'Hara's Irish Red made by Carlow Brewing in Carlow, Ireland. The second was a Saranac Irish Red brewed by Saranac Brewing in Utica, NY.   Both were delicious.