One of my criteria for a great brewery is the taproom. Of course, the beer matters. Yet the taproom can make or break the experience. I begin by trawling any “best of” lists that I can find, collecting the breweries that appear multiple times and any others that jump out at me. Then I dig deeper. I dive into the pessimism of reddit, ask for recommendations from Instagram influencers, browse individual websites, and search through local tourism info. Once I have list of breweries – usually far too long for my needs – I search for them on Google Maps. Location is a factor, but the primary reason is to view photos. Google organizes these, and Vibe is my jam. While searching for Iowa breweries, there was one that cropped up that intrigued me but had few photos of the interior. My visit to Alluvial Brewing Company would now have purpose.
Continue Reading…Peace Tree Brewing Co. – Des Moines Branch
August 28, 2019
“Why won’t this thing take a good photo?” I asked my wife. I was trying to take a photograph of my flight board. “Everything is washed out, what’s going on?” I asked the universe. At this point I noticed a strange icon in my viewfinder. A quick Google search later and I hung my head, crestfallen. Deep in the menu there was a setting to lock the ISO, and ours was set to the max. ISO controls the sensitivity of the sensor, the higher the number the brighter the photo. The trade off is noise. “How long has this been on?” I wondered. It was difficult to tell looking at the camera screen, and I had to inspect each photo’s settings before confirming my greatest fear. Not a single photo from our last three breweries was usable. I fixed it for Peace Tree Brewing Co.
Continue Reading…