Third Base Brewery - Cedar Rapids, IA

Third base brewery and pub is located on the north side of Cedar Rapids in the industrial area and is a storefront in a small strip mall.  Not much to recommend it until you come in and enjoy the food and the wing. 

Great beer, some outstanding wings with many of the sauces including their own beers.
Kate and I enjoyed this pub with her Brother Bill Crowley and his wife Mary.  Good sandwiches and what a sampler!

Best of all, the beers were all good.  These were my notes - my scales are these - first 1 - 5 light to dark, second 1 - 5 sweet to bitter (think malt to hops), and third how much I like it from 1 - 10.  For an example think Bud, Miller and those other poor examples of beer would be around a 1 - 2 - 3.  Anything over 5 is worth drinking - 5 means easy to drink - nothing outstanding, 6 would be a nice beer with some good attributes, 7 is a beer I would order again, 8 is outstanding and over 9 is on the way to perfection.

Unfortunately we were told that there is a new law in Iowa that prohibits them from selling a growler - very disturbing - come on Iowa get that changed.  So any way my notes taken as I tasted:

 Third base 
NOTE THAT ABV is alcohol by volume and IBU refers to bitterness - this is the definition from About.com - IBU - International Bittering Units

This is a measure of the actual bitterness of a beer as contributed by the alpha acid from hops. Because the apparent bitterness of a beer is subjective to the taste of the drinker and the balancing malt sweetness of the beer this is not always an accurate measure of the "hoppiness" of a beer. But, generally speaking, beers with IBUs of less than 20 have little to no apparent hops presence. Beers with IBUs from 20 to 45 are the most common and have mild to pronounced hops presence. Beers with IBUs greater than 45 are heavily hopped and can be quite bitter.  For my taste - quite bitter is required for great beer.

Red rocket amber ale. 
Abv 5 Ibu 55
3. 3.5. 9
Really good character
More hops than most ambers. 
Good full malt. 

Flying aces pale ale
Abv 6.5. Ibu. 70
2. 4. 8.6
Magnum. Centennial. Hops
Very hops forward. Dry. Finish with lots of bitterness. Great with food. Esp spicy. 

Black Cobra Oatmeal stout
Abv. 5.3. Ibu. 34
5. 3. 9
Rich and full flavor. Easy to drink. 

Rockwell retro encobulator.
 Ipa
Abv 9. Ibu. 100
2. 4.5. 9.9. 
This is an absolutely perfect. Get it if you can.  I really wanted to have a growler to bring home. 

Coffee stout
A 5.3. I. 34
5. 2.5. 6
B
Nothing distinguishing. 

Edgar Allan Poerter
A 5.8. I. 4.5
5. 2.8. 6 
Needs smoke. Hops. Something boring even if it is easy to drink


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