Kellerpils
Our traditional unfiltered German Pilsner. German malt, yeast, hops, and water. Lagered low and slow, this beer packs a punch of flavor, but finishes crisp and clean. 6.1% ABV
4oz: $2
10oz: $4
16oz: $6
Style: German Pilsner / Kellerbier
ABV: 6.3%
Grain: Pilsner
Hops: Liberty
Fermented with German Lager Yeast
Tasting notes: Floral and herbal in the nose with fresh white bread and a cracker crisp finish.
Pair with: BTYF Pretzel, Summer Salad, the Candied Chicken
Brewer’s Notes
It took me an embarrassingly long time to name this beer as it is built around such a ubiquitous style. Pilsner took over the beer world over 150 years ago and despite the explosion of craft styles and breweries, it is still – hands down, no doubt about it – the most consumed style of beer in the world. And I totally get it. It’s such a refreshing style, delicious and complex when done right, but it doesn’t ask much of the drinker.
So I decided to name it in reference to the brewery that sits at the top of the hill for this style. They have perfected the style and they claim to have had a brewery in their location for almost 1,000 years. This beer is not a clone – it is just a tribute.
After some digging online, I believe I found the mineral profile they use for their Pilsner and I’ve recreated it here. I used 100% Bavarian Pilsner malt. I even used yeast from their yeast bank. This is every bit a traditional German Pilsner brewed in Bettendorf, Iowa.
But I went a little bigger in ABV and a little drier in the finish. I used a hop that is an American cousin to their traditional hop. And in a real throwback tradition, I didn’t filter this beer. It’ll drop clear over time, but that slight haze is a testament to its freshness. The Germans would call this a Kellerbier. So find a comfy spot in the beer garden with family and friends, fill your glass, and start a new tradition.
Czech Amber Lager
This Czech Amber Lager is a crushably clean malt bomb with notes of milk chocolate, rye spice, and a hint of buttered bread – all topped with flowery, herbal Slovenian hops. 5.7% ABV
4oz: $2
10oz: $4
16oz: $6
Style: Czech Amber Lager
ABV: 5.7%
Grain: Munich, English Pale, Pale Chocolate, Crystal Rye
Hops: Liberty
Fermented with German lager yeast
Tasting notes: brown bread, caramel and chocolate, dried herbs
Pair with: BTYF pretzel, Whole Hog Burger, Loaded Fries
Brewer’s Notes
I do have a twin sister named Amber. She might even really like this beer (she hasn’t tried it yet). But between you, me, and whoever else reads this, this beer is named as such because it’s a style known as a Czech Amber Lager.
It’s a style near-impossible to find stateside, which is a shame. The couple of imports I’ve found are toasty, malty, crisp, with just a hint of butter and a whiff of flowery herbs. It scratches that itch of wanting something malty, but not sweet and heavy. The Czechs took over the world with their Pale Lager (Pilsner) so it only makes sense they would branch out with a darker, richer lager at some point.
And I suppose I could have given this a clever or punny name, but that would eschew the simple and straightforward nature of this beer. But there’s actually a mix of English and German grain here, along with Slovenian hops, so I wouldn’t call this beer simple. Best to just not worry about such things and instead, raise a glass to the Ambers of the world.
Pie Beer
Drawing inspiration from Belgian fruit beers and classic grandmother-made midwestern desserts, our brewer has bridged the gap between cherry pie and beer. Made with literal buckets of Door County cherries.
4oz: $3
10oz: $5
16oz: $8
Style: Fruited Belgian Amber
ABV: 6%
Grain: Pils, Munich, Special B, lactose
Extra: Door County cherries, graham cracker flavors
Hops: Magnum fermented with English yeast
Tasting notes: dark cherries with notes of cinnamon and buttery graham cracker crust
Pair with: Nashville hot chicken, roasted cobb salad
Brewer’s Notes
I love a good brewing challenge. Through the homebrew club I’ve belonged to for over 10 years (MUGZ), we’ve done many of them, such as ingredient challenges (ala Chopped) or attempts at cloning a commercial beer. Cherry Pylon started off as a personal challenge of both of these types. There’s a popular regional brewery that makes an excellent beer featuring cherries. When I set out to clone that beer, the first challenge was finding which type of cherry they used. And then how much. Not to mention grains, hops, yeast, water, etc. Eventually, I figured it out.
Tasting it blind, it was indistinguishable from the commercial example. I hunted down the brewer at a beer festival and told him what I had done and how. He just smiled and said “”Yep. You got it.”” But I don’t want to clone his beer. You can buy it yourself. I want to make something different with the tricks I’ve learned dialing in that clone. That’s when I decided on my next personal challenge – can I make a beer that tastes like cherry pie?
Just to be clear, I didn’t shove a cherry pie into the kettle. This is not beer brewed with cherry pie, but you’d be forgiven for thinking it was. There are real cherries here – a lot of them. And that pie crust flavor was not an accident. This is a beer that hopefully makes you not only think “”cherry pie”” but also “”really tasty beer””.
Märzen Oktoberfest
A malty yet crisp Marzen with a punch of rye. Notes of caramel, toast, and spicy earthy rye. So viel Roggen. Zum wohle! 5.2% ABV
4oz: $2
10oz: $4
16oz: $6
Style: Fruited Belgian Amber
ABV: 6%
Grain: Pils, Munich, Special B, lactose
Extra: Door County cherries, graham cracker flavors
Hops: Magnum fermented with English yeast
Tasting notes: dark cherries with notes of cinnamon and buttery graham cracker crust
Pair with: Nashville hot chicken, roasted cobb salad
Brewer’s Notes
Although I’ve visited Germany a few times, I’ve never been to Oktoberfest. A loud hall full of drunk tourists squeezed shoulder to shoulder, front to back, just doesn’t appeal to me. I’m no germophobe, but even pre-COVID, that seems like a pandemic waiting to happen. I prefer the beer gardens and cozy stone taverns Germany has to offer instead. They can get rowdy as well, but it’s much more of an authentic and intimate experience. And you can still get liters of delicious beer at those places!
Although speaking of authenticity is a little misplaced here as I’ve brewed something German brewers would consider sehr verboten – I’ve taken a traditional Märzen lager and loaded it full of rye. Reinheitsgebot be dammed! I feel like the maltiness of Märzens can quickly overtake any semblance of balance and not lend itself towards drinking liters at a time. Rye adds an earthy spiciness to help cut through all that caramel malt sweetness, while providing additional complexity.
Rye is actually one of my more favorite malts to brew with. Most brewers will tell you to use no more than 10-20% rye in a beer. It’s one of those written rules those of us with common sense follow. Well, I use 25% here. Why? Because I can. Brewing dogma be dammed! Also, I believe if you’re going to call something a Rye Beer, it better have a lot of rye in it. The only thing crazier than adding this much rye would be to fill a rye whiskey barrel or two with this beer to get even more rye flavor! Oh wait…
English Brown
A richly malty ale brewed in the style of Northern England / Scotland. 5.4% ABV
4oz: $2
10oz: $4
16oz: $6
Style: North English Ale
ABV: 5.4%
Grain: Pilsner, Munich, CaraMunich, Brown
Hops: Magnum
Extra: brown sugar, mil
Fermented with English yeast
Tasting notes: cinnamon, allspice, ginger, graham cracker crust, caramel and toast
Pair with: great as a post-meal dessert on its own
Brewer’s Notes
Bambuco was the very first beer we brewed at Twin Span so it holds a special place in my heart. We absolutely were flying by the seat of our pants on that first brew, I’m surprised it turned out as well as it did. It was a very long brew day that included raiding the local big box store and clearing out their RO water during the beginning of the pandemic panic buying.
The recipe itself is one of the most dialed-in recipes I created as a homebrewer. It started life as a recreation of a 19th century Scottish brown ale. Over the iterations, it shifted up in ABV, then way down, then back up. Various kinds of oats came and went. Certain ingredients that had no right being there popped in and left. The recipe I landed on is a mix of old and new, English and not-English.
It can seem simple at first blush, but give the beer the time and attention a good conversation deserves, and watch it deepen and develop.
Cheers
Fruit Sour
Loaded with almost 150 pounds of pineapple, mango, and cara cara orange puree, this tart and refreshing sour is full of tropical fruit flavor. Just don’t tell Aunt Becky. 6.4% ABV
4oz: $2.5
13oz: $6
Style: fruited Berliner Weisse
ABV: 6.4%
Grain: Pilsner, Oats
Hops: Jarrylo
Extra: cara cara orange, mango, pineapple
Fermented with GMO sour yeast
Tasting notes: pink lemonade, berry smoothie, sourdough
Pair with: Tuna Poke, Campechano tacos, Margarita flatbread
Brewer’s Notes
Our last fruited sour, Berry Kate & Ashley, scratched the right itch at the right time for many people. Those berry flavors just make sense in late spring and early summer I guess. We’re into the middle of summer now and it’s time for a new fruited sour to match the change in the season. Tropical / tiki drink flavors are the perfect match for that. Mango and Pineapple were easy choices, but I had to hunt around for that third constituent. I found that in the cara cara orange. I’d never heard of that before, but it’s a sweeter and darker orange that brings a unique tropical flavor. Perfect.
As for the name, you can thank/blame our server Creighton on that. When he told me the name, I thought it sounded a little…. wrong. But the more I thought about it, the more it made me chuckle.
Cheers
Hoppy Wheat
A traditional German Weissbier dry hopped with a Hazy IPA amount of citrus hops. 5.8% ABV
4oz: $2
10oz: $4.5
16oz: $6.5
Style: Dry-Hopped Hefeweizen
ABV: 5.8%
Grain: Pilsner, Wheat, Munich
Hops: Citra, Centennial, Amarillo
Fermented with Weizen yeast
Tasting notes: Sourdough herb bread with orange juice and
Pair with: BTYF Pretzel, Nothing Beets this Salad
Brewer’s Notes
I was running late to last year’s staff Christmas party. Quite late. So when I finally showed up, a few folks were feeling pretty good already and one shouted “There’s our soccer daddy!” when I entered the bar. I don’t know what that means. I asked them what it means and they shrugged. I told them right then and there that it would become a beer someday.
It took about 8 months, but I made a beer worthy of that name. I still don’t know what it means, but I also don’t know what to call our traditional German Weissbier dry hopped with the same hop load I give most of our hazies. I don’t think that really matters. This is a delicious beer whatever you want to call it!
Fruit Sour
Sweet and tart, with real cranberries, apples, tangerines, and ginger. Just like Mama’s cranberry salad, but liquid… and probably with more booze than her’s. 6.4% ABV
4oz: $2.5
13oz: $6.5
Style: fruited Berliner Weisse
ABV: 6.4%
Grain: Pilsner, Oats
Hops: Jarrylo
Extra: cranberries, apples, tangerines, ginger
Fermented with GMO sour yeast
Tasting notes: Mama’s cranberry salad
Pair with: Firecracker Shrimp, Beyond the King’s Burger
Brewer’s Notes
Just about every beer we brew is made to pair well with something Chef Juan and his crew craft in the kitchen. Beer is liquid food, afterall. And sometimes, the beers are outright designed to resemble food. Our Pylon series, for example, should make you think of pie. Cranberry Kate should make you think of cranberry salad.
Not the stuff that schlorps out of a can, to be sliced up and maybe garnished. No, the salad I’m thinking of is the kind my mother and grandmother used to make with real cranberries and oranges – a real salad of fresh fruits and flavors. I’ve tried to recreate that dish, but it never lives up to the memories. I suppose this beer in my contribution to that tradition. I hope it finds a place at your dinner table this winter.
Cheers
DDH DIPA
A double IPA with a ridiculous amount of Centennial, Amarillo, and Mosaic hops. Well and truly double dry-hopped with a sturdy malt base. 8.2% ABV
4oz: $3
13oz: $8
Style: DDH DIPA
ABV: 8.2%
Grain: Pilsner, Wheat, Oats
Hops: Centennial, Amarillo, Mosaic
Fermented with Kveik ale yeast
Tasting notes: Like taking a big drink of orange juice after biting into some whole grain bread.
Pair with: Whole Hog burger, Campechano tacos
Brewer’s Notes
I was out in DC earlier this year when I first heard about “glizzies” as regional slang for “hot dogs”. I don’t remember the context, just that I didn’t care enough to dig into why they were called that.
A few months later, I’m designing a beer to maximize haze, so I decide to make a true DDH DIPA. “True” in that it would be double the normal amount of dry hops split into two separate additions. It’s a ridiculous amount of hops – an absolutely unheard of amount just a few years ago.
While making this gargantuan beer, I started hearing the term “glizzy” here in the Quad Cities. I decide to finally look up the history of the word and in doing so, I discover the term “glizzy goblin” as someone that eats a lot of hot dogs. I don’t know why, but that just cracked me up. It’s so dumb, but I was in tears. I told my wife about this new factoid and she surprisingly thought it was as funny as I did. I told a few other people and they cracked up too.
That’s it. Not all beer names have clever names with historical significance. Sometimes a beer with a ridiculous amount of hops needs an equally ridiculous name.
Red IPA
Dashing through the snow, this West Coast Red IPA uses Chinook and Cascade along with fresh rosemary and spruce to help celebrate the holidays.
4oz: $2.5
10oz: $4.75
16oz: $6.5
Style: Red IPA
ABV: 6%
Grain: Pale, Wheat, Crystal, Special B
Hops: Cascade, Centennial
Extra: fresh rosemary and spruce needles
Fermented with American yeast
Tasting notes: citrus, herbs, toasted bread, pine resin
Pair with: Torta Ahogada, Firecracker Shrimp
Brewer’s Notes
There are many things that signal the start of the Christmas season. For some, it’s as simple and strict as the day after Halloween or Thanksgiving. For others, it’s the first time they hear Mariah Carey singing about what she wants for Christmas on the radio. For me, one of those signs is the release of one of my favorite beers. I see that red box with the winter scene on it and I switch into holiday beer mode.
This is not that beer – this is but a tribute. The choice of hops are the same and there are some similarities in the grain bill, but that’s about it. I use my favorite malt here (yes, all brewers have a favorite malt – just ask the next brewer you talk to) and I use real rosemary and spruce needles to add a little more Christmas cheer.
I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do, and find a way to enjoy it with friends and family this holiday season. Cheers!
West Coast IPA
Loaded with Galaxy, this West Coast IPA is equal parts old school citrus dank and new school tropical fruit. 7.5% ABV
4oz: $3
13oz: $7
Style: West Coast IPA
ABV: 7.5%
Grain: Pilsner, Maris Otter
Hops: Galaxy, CTZ, Chinook
Fermented with Thiol-expressing yeast
Tasting notes: passion fruit, peach, pine resin
Pair with: Moho Tacos, Brisket sandwich
Brewer’s Notes
I was on the local news program “Good Morning Quad Cities” a couple months ago teaching the hosts how to essentially taste beer like a beer judge. I was handed a hazy IPA from Adventurous Brewing to use as a reference beer. On trying to describe the aromas I was experiencing, I used the term “dank” – a word I think is way too broad and overused, but that’s what my brain pulled out.
“Oh, you mean it’s bad?” asked one of the hosts, to which I replied with a smirk, “No, like the Illinois side of the river.” I’m not sure everyone everyone realized that was a pot reference, but it got a big laugh.
I could easily turn this into a long, rambling post about the value of a shared lexicon, but I like to keep these posts short. I brought up that anecdote because it got me thinking about how I could make the most “dank” IPA possible.
Through various online forums, listicles, and my memory of ultra “dank” beers I’ve had in the past, I landed on Galaxy, CTZ, and Chinook. I also used a new yeast strain named “Star Party” to bump up the dank.
Cheers
Pre-Prohibition Porter
Bold flavor in a crisp body, the Davenporter uses old school ingredients such as heirloom 6-row grain, corn, and molasses and ferments them low and slow. Flavors of dark chocolate along with gingerbread and a hint of earthy tobacco.
4oz: $3
13oz: $8
Style: Pre-Prohibition Porter
ABV: 5.8%
Grain: Stout Malt, Chocolate Malt, US 6-Row, Corn
Extra: molasses
Hops: Fuggle
Fermented with English Ale yeast
Tasting notes: Dark chocolate and gingerbread along with earthy grain and hints of tobacco.
Pair with: our “”For the Healthy Amigos”” tacos, “”Tacos de Panza””, or Pork BBQ Nachos
Brewer’s Notes
This is another historic style that was made popular in the northeast US over 100 years ago and is one of the few beer styles invented in the US. It’s extremely difficult to find commercially so I thought it was time to give this style its due. Afterall, prior to prohibition, Davenport alone had over a dozen breweries(!) and a few of them likely made porters.
I haven’t been able to find a local recipe, but this is my adaptation of what I expect they would have brewed based on local brewery trends and actual porter recipes from that era. The resulting beer uses corn and field barley along with relying on dark molasses to provide a lot of the color which also dries out the finish. I added a late addition of an English hop known as Fuggles. Davenport brewers probably didn’t use it, but I find it provides a hint of tobacco – which is my nod at the city’s booming cigar industry from the same time period. It’s fermented low and slow so that it drinks much like a lager. Don’t expect a big chewy & roasty beer – this is very much a refreshing beer that would go great after a hard day’s work.
English-Mexican Barleywine
An English Barleywine by way of Mexico, this Ponche inspired ale is blended with guava, plum, orange, piloncillo, cinnamon, and tamarind. 9.7% ABV
4oz: $1.5
8oz: $3
Style: Ponche inspired English Barleywine
ABV: 9.7%
Grain: Maris Otter, Crystal Rye
Hops: East Kent Goldings
Extra: guava, orange, plum, piloncillo, tamarind, cinnamon
Fermented with English ale yeast
Tasting notes: caramel and barley with mulled stone fruit punch
Pair with: Big Blue Burger, Diablo Chicken flatbread
Brewer’s Notes
It should come as no surprise to anyone that knows me that I love a good drinking tradition. One of my favorites, I was introduced to just last year by our chef Juan. It’s known as a Ponche Navideno or “Christmas Punch” and consists of a rum or dark beer base mixed with guava, tamarind, piloncillo, plums, oranges, and cinnamon. As the name implies, it’s typically drank around Christmas, but really it’s perfect for any cold time of the year.
Last year I used the QC Quad as a base. This year, I went in with another style perfect for this time of year, an English Barleywine. The result is a little maltier and chewier base. I then added loads more of the fruits and spices. This is a bold beer that I guarantee will warm the coldest person this winter. Cheers!
Imperial Stout
The second release in our imperial stout series. Thicker than thick and darker than dark, this roasty stout is blended with peppermint cocoa.
4oz: $4
8oz: $8
Style: Imperial Stout
ABV: 12%
Grain: Pale, Pils, Chocolate, Roast Barley, Brown malt
Extra: peppermint hot cocoa mix
Hops: Magnum
Fermented with American yeast
Tasting notes: Dark chocolate, coffee, peppermint, and cocoa
Pair with: TSB Hot Waffles, Bangers & Fries
Brewer’s Notes
It seems a little odd to have such a heavy sounding name for a festive beer, but I’m sticking with th series. Shadow Density 2 is the same enormous, almost chewy stout from before, but we’ve now blended it with peppermint cocoa. Cold cocoa, not hot, but feel free to warm this beer up.
Hard Seltzer
A boozy Brandy Old Fashioned seltzer with Door County cherries and real orange juice. Tell your folks I says hi! 8.5%
4oz: $2
13oz: $6
Style: Hard Seltzer
ABV: 8.5%
Base: corn sugar
Extra: Door County Montmorency cherries, orange juice, brandy extract
Fermented with Kveik yeast
Tasting notes: Cherry and orange against notes of buttery brandy
Pair with: TSB Hot Waffles,Whole Hog Burger
Brewer’s Notes
The 563 Series is all about having fun, experimenting with the flavors and flexibility of seltzer. We’re starting 2023 off by turning up the ABV and leaning heavily into real fruits coupled with liquor extracts to emulate some of our favorite cocktails.
Rotating, ask your server for our current offerings
Our cider selection rotates – ask your server what we have on today
Bud Light, Michelob Ultra
Cody Road Rye – Mississippi River Distilling Co. (Le Claire, IA)
River Pilot Vodka – Mississippi River Distilling Co. (Le Claire, IA)
Bacardi Rum, Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, Tequila
Ruthie NA – Exile Brewing – Des Moines, IA
Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Diet Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist, Mug Root Beer, Dr. Pepper
Lemonade, Iced Tea, Kiddie Cocktail