515 Brewing Company | Clive, IA
Beer Trip: 515 Brewing Company in Clive, Iowa
The Des Moines area features a surprising number of craft breweries and is a bit of a hidden gem for a true beer lover. 515 Brewing Company is one of the region’s hot spots and features some of the best quality brews one could find.
The Brewery
515 is located just a short drive to the west of downtown, making it its own destination. Like many other breweries in the area, it is situated directly on a biking trail where one could easily hit up multiple spots during an afternoon pedal. They have a nice-sized outdoor patio that is partially covered via sun shades and trees. The indoor area is equally as spacious, with tons of tables and chairs throughout. The walls are painted a nice green color that accents the live plants and natural wood features perfectly.
Between the inside and outside, the place is set up to be family-friendly and they provide many board games for play. In fact, every Monday night they host Art Night through Art is Rad, a local nonprofit where an instructor will provide teachings on differing art mediums and individuals get to make their own take-home piece. We were informed that anywhere from 10 to 20 people of all ages typically attend on a weekly basis.
The Beer
515 maintains roughly 20 different beers on tap with about half the menu being their own drafts and the other half being other Iowa brewery guest taps. We were told that of their own beer, 4 to 5 of them are flagship options and the other 5 to 6 rotate as they run out. During our visit, we were pleasantly surprised with the beer styles that 515 offers. There wasn’t a house IPA on tap which is unusual in a good way, as it offered up tap room for their pilsners, cream ale, English ale, stout, and sour, to name a few.
Having a couple of hours to kill, we were able to try several brews and have to say that 515 rivals any Des Moines brewery in its quality of beer! Their brewers do a fantastic job of incorporating added flavorings into the brews beyond your typical malts and hops. One example is their Basil Protocol 2.0, which offers a unique herb and cucumber taste that was unlike anything we have ever experienced before. One other tap worth mentioning is the Mexican Spring. This wheat ale is brewed with agave, giving it an awesome spiced flavor and finishing with a faint sweetness - making you want to take another sip. As you might imagine, this one doesn’t stay in the glass for long after you try it.
Food, Merch, & More
While we encourage everyone to try their beer, they also have a variety of ciders, seltzers, and wines along with multiple canned N/A beers. 515 doesn’t have a full kitchen for food but does typically have food trucks on the weekend with multiple choices of flavored pretzels (which seemed to be quite the hit - they were flying off the shelves on our visit). If you are like us and always check out the merchandise, then they have you covered here as well with multiple shirts, hats, glassware, and even a blanket or biking jersey.
515 Brewing has everything you could want in a brewery. With a spacious, vibrant atmosphere and top-notch beer, this is one place that should be on your list when visiting Des Moines.
Cheers!
