The Return to Small-Town Beer: Ottumwa, IA.

Ottumwa, is one of those weird places I end up every year at this time.  It's not the only small mid-western town I stumble into regularly, but it's one of the only one's that has a small brewery.  I talked a little about it last year.  I stopped by again, they had a couple different beers on tap and a guest tap from a nearby brewery; it was enough to warrant a revisit on this forum, so it's back to Appanoose Rapids Brewing Company.

 Rasberry Wheat: It has the predictable sweet berry aroma, although it's not quite as sweet as some of the others of this style.  There's just a touch of tart there along with some complexities in the hop profile that make this beer... we'll it's still a raspberry wheat, but it's not bad.  Maybe slightly more approachable for those who hate fruit beer.

Centennial Blonde: Very, very light lemongrass aroma.  The flavor has some of that lemony citrus with some light malt flavors and a hint of herbal hops.  Very, very good for a lighter beer.  The flavors are all very light, but they are there and they blend together remarkably well.

Millstream Brewing; Iowa Pale Ale: Millstream hails from the Amana Colonies of Eastern Iowa.  Their version of the IPA is blended with some qualities of a porter or brown ale.  There is a sweet caramel and citrus aroma and the flavor has a very distinct coffee flavor mixed with the citrus hops of an American IPA.  The result is a flavor clash, but I kind of liked it.  The malty porter style helped balance the bitterness from the hops although the coffee and citrus was an odd combination together.