Short Version:
Amazing brewery and one of the few that Ames has. Requires a bit of drive out of town, but it's clear that the employees/owners love what they do. Lots of good seating and is really a good place to meet with a group and talk and socialize over beer. Very clean and modern place with a decent variety of beer. Still seems like they're in their baby stages (no food, limited non-alcoholic drinks, etc.), but if they continue with what they're doing, this is going to be a really good brewery for Ames to have.
Long Version:
Ames doesn't have a whole lot of breweries, and this is still a relatively new one in town (along with Torrent on Main). I'm happy to support local businesses, and when I found out that they offered a flight of beers, I thought it'd make a good Sunday activity.
Things I would have wanted to know before I went:
-They are NOT OPEN on Monday through Wednesday. Consider this a weekend place.
-They offer flights of beer at $10/11 (depending on what beers you get) for five (3 or 4 or 5 ounce glasses - I suck at estimation) of beer. You can choose what five beers you want. When I went, they had 9 beers (one was out of stock).
-There is a decent amount of seating. There is bar seating, 4-person tables, and 6-person tables indoors. There are four-person tables and chairs outside - but chairs can be moved to accommodate larger groups.
-The building is air conditioned.
-They sell a kombuchu tea for anyone that's playing designated driver. It was surprisingly good. As much water as you want as well. They were out of stock when I went, but it looks like they also used to sell root beer (non-alcoholic) and coffee. Non-alcoholic drinks can be added to the flights if you want to be nice to your DD.
-They don't offer any foods or snacks.
-There is a single gender-neutral bathroom inside.
-Website appears to be up-to-date. Current beers are listed on their website with IBU, OG, and ABV. The beer descriptions are missing online, but they are on the menus in the brewery.
-They can host small parties of people for events here. They have a small backroom with pew seating, and they'll work with you for more seating. There doesn't seem to be a fee if it's during their regular business hours anyway. There's a small fee if you want them to open just for your group. Backroom area looked like it could seat 15-20 comfortably. Good place for a work bonding experience, I imagine.
-They have paper, non-laminated menus. I saw some beer drinkers taking notes over their beers on these menus, so I imagine they're okay with you stealing one.
-Unsure if they offer guided tours, but if they weren't busy, I get the distinct feeling they'd be happy to give a tour.
-They accept credit cards. They seem to also be able to open a tab for your group.
Our group's thoughts:
-Beers were good and varied enough to interest most tastes.
-Bartender was super, duper helpful and friendly. He managed the crowd really well, and during the downtime, he was happy to answer our (albeit, stupid) beer-related questions about OG or nitro beers. His name was Elliot, and it was clear that he knew what he was doing. We later found out he owned the place.
-Almost everyone loved the current "Leuven" Belgian Wit beer as a general people-pleaser. Hop lovers enjoyed the "King of Spades" DIPA while coffee drinkers seemed to like the "Vanilla Latte Ox-presso".
-Kombuchu tea was surprisingly good. A very sippable drink and perfect for summer. Would drink again.
-Place is breath-takingly decorated. There's nothing about this brewery that says "dark, damp place". No, the decor is airy and very comforting. Lots of local art. It seriously looks like a professional interior designer created this place. Very impressive.
-Seating is comfortable. Bar stools are way more comfortable than any other bar stools I've tried.
-Place isn't "crowded"-feeling, but with a lot of people in here, it can get loud. Not "Welch Ave Bar" loud, but loud enough to require sitting close to anyone you want to talk to.
Alluvial Brewing and Prairie Moon Winery are small businesses. They are located within a very short walk's distance across from one another (across the parking lot), and you can even see the Prairie Moon vineyard from the seating in Alluvial Brewing. Both buildings are located within a 5 minute drive outside the outskirts of Ames, but it's probably outside of the realm of walking there, so you'll need a driver. (I've seen some people bike here) Alluvial sells Prairie Moon Wine bottles by the bottle (but not by the glass), while I wasn't able to figure out if Prairie Moon Winery sold any of Alluvial's beer. It's very, very easy to go to one location then make a stop in the other location, and I saw multiple groups of people do that. If you're hoping to sit around and drink, though, I'd recommend Alluvial over Prairie Moon as Alluvial has a lot more seating. read more