8/30/08
A friend of mine and I road tripped down to Norwood, Iowa on a Saturday afternoon simply for the pleasure of drinking at the smallest commercial brewpub in the US: Worth Brewing. At least, that was the billing on the podcast in which I heard owner Peter Ausenhus talked about his family brewpub in Iowa. Growing up in a similarly small town in northwest Iowa, I was really interested in what a brewpub in a rural farm town would look (and drink) like.
Put simply, it is "worth" your time to pull off of I35 for a pint. We went in the middle of the afternoon in hopes of it not being too busy and to chat with Peter, which we did. We drank everything on tap and chatted about his upcoming release, business pressures and family emergency in progress while he was working his pub. The dedication is takes to run a business and a life with him and his wife amaze me. I would stop to drink for this alone. On top of it, the beer is good too. All of Peter's beers were of very good with the Brown Ale and the Smoked Rye Porter being my favorites. We ordered some snacks, which were excellent as well, but you'll need to find dinner some place else since appetizers is all that's offered.
Talking to a couple of the locals, it seems that they are terribly proud of their local watering hole. In addition, from the friendly banter, it actually reminded me of being in my home town bar where I grew up listening to my dad and his friends chat over beers--except at Worth, the beer isn't crappy. Get off the freeway and have a pint at Worth Brewing. Check out the hours first, since they are only open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. You'll be glad you did.
No comments:
Post a Comment