The Quad Cities first ever Craft Beer Week kicked off on May 4th with release of Bent River's seasonal DeSoto Lager! Events are planned around the Quad Cities all week long. On Tuesday, May 7th, Bent River will be debuting a special Rye IPA, a collaboration between our brewing staff and the QC Home Brewers Club!
Though our "patio kickoff party" was met with cold temperatures and freak downpours, the release of our seasonal DeSoto Lager this weekend means that Bent River is finally gearing up for the summer! The light, crisp lager is a favorite for this time of year. Patrons of Bent River Moline will notice new landscaping near the patio entrance, and in Rock Island, our brand new hop garden has just started to sprout. We are currently growing Centennial and Cascade hops.
Fans will also be able to look forward to some other seasonal drafts in the coming summer months. Our Strawberry Blonde Ale will be making a comeback towards the end of June.
Beginning Friday, May 3rd, Bent River's Paddlewheel Pale Ale will be joining Uncommon Stout and Mississippi Blonde on the shelves at local retailers. HyVees in the Quad City area will be sponsoring beer tastings that day to usher in the debut of the hoppy ale.
Last spring, Bent River opened its Rock Island location in order to increase its brewing capacity so that we could meet the demands of our ever-growing fanbase. In the fall, we opened our bottling line, and our two most popular brews -- Uncommon Stout and Mississippi Blonde -- could be found in stores throughout the Quad Cities.
It is now roughly one year since Rock Island opened, and we are seeing even more growth. Our beer has recently broken into the Rockford, IL distribution market! We also have three new full fermentors being installed this week, which will allow us to significantly increase our brewing capacity. Also starting this week, we will be bottling our Paddlewheel Pale Ale. Keep an eye out for it on the shelves of your local stores!
Our bottling line is Rock Island is now up and running! Mississippi Blonde and Uncommon Stout are available in throughout the Quad Cities, we will soon be adding Paddlewheel Pale Ale to that list.
We are steadily expanding beyond the scope of the Quad Cities, so keep an eye out. Bent River beer might just be coming to a store near you!
The votes are in! Bent
River has swept the competition at
WQPT’s annual Brew Ha Ha event in Downtown Davenport. This past Saturday Bent
River competed against thirty-seven
other brewing companies, vendors, and distributors at the award-winning beer
and cheese tasting event. Held in LeClaire Park,
along the beautiful Mississippi River, hundreds of
beer fanatics and connoisseurs satisfied their palates with the unique and
delightful flavors each brew had to offer.
Tasters were encouraged to cast their vote for
the People’s Choice of Quad Cities best brews and Bent River’s
Uncommon (1st), Mississippi Blonde (2nd), and Jalapeno (3rd)
beers won the tasters vote.
Bent River has successfully participated in Brew Ha Ha for the past fifteen years with plans to participate next year. Special thanks to everyone who came out to the event and voted for the delicious brews!
In addition to Brew Ha Ha, Bent
River was seen across the river at
two other awesome events, Taming of the Slough and the
Kiwanis-Pepsi Bags Tournament.
Taming of the Slough,
hosted by Dan McNeil of River Action, is a three part biking and running event
including a kayak race from Sylvan to Bass Street
landing. This was Bent
River’s fifth year participating - they provided two favorites brews, Pale Ale and
Uncommon, as well as coffee from the Uncommon Beverage Station for the racers. Bent River is proud to support Taming of the Slough, which promotes
the use of our beautiful water ways!
The 4th
annual Kiwanis-Pepsi Bags Tournament was also held this past weekend at Schwiebert
Riverfront Park in Rock Island. This was Bent
River’s third year sponsoring the charitable
event by selling beer to participants and supporters, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Rock Island Kiwanis Club. 122 teams competed in the “Second Chance” tournament and “Long Toss”
competition. Proceeds from this event will go towards providing grants for Rock
Island youth schooling and organizations such as Bethany
for Children and Families. Bent River provided a check for $750 to the Kiwanis Club following the event.
You might have noticed there are some BIG things happening at Bent River. In the 15 years since our opening, we have experienced unrivaled loyalty and love for our handcrafted beers. The unending support has made possible a second location to serve as a distribution center. Just down the road in Rock Island, the new location...(read more)
