Alluvial Brewing

I love this place — definitely one of the top places in central Iowa. The beer and vibe set it apart from others. I recommended trying the full beer flight (all the options) and getting a pint (or growler to go) with your top choice (s). They also had nitro brewed (?) iced coffee and kombucha a couple weeks ago. You won’t want to leave; the vibe is so great. The folks working were totally enjoying serving everyone. Board games, computers, and just a lovely sense of community.

This brewery has everything going for it. Solid establishment with a great selection of 8 or more brews that are constantly rotating. The building and location are great. From the outside you get a farmhouse/​Iowa vibe but on the inside, it is a very warm atmosphere reminiscent of the great Southwest United States. They offer cheap growlers for enjoying their brews at home.

Alluvial’s space, located north of Ames near Prairie Moon winery, is absolutely gorgeous, and their beers are great to boot. They’re definitely brewing the best beers in Ames, and I look forward to seeing how they grow in the future!

If you are looking for an authentic experience in Ames, this is a beautiful option. The beers, after being in business 8 short months, are already good with room and time to expand offerings.
Real people running a people/​community centered business that happens to offer my favorite product. Two thumbs up. A++. Can’t wait to see what the future holds for this brewery.

Lovely location and solid beer. This place should be a destination for visitors to Ames. You can’t beat live music on weekends accompanied by a nice selection of craft beers.
The pesche beer was very nice and not too fruity. The Belgian wit was citrusy with a thin mouth-​feel but very drinkable and tasty. Their stout is a delicious and hefty offering. Overall, no missteps on our recent visit.
The brewery itself is gorgeous. It’s clean and bright and the outdoor patio is a great place to enjoy a beer on a warm day.

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 décor 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.

Free range brew! I am from Ames originally and currently live in Colorado. This is a fun spot to come home to! Love the Nebular imperial IPA, the Oxspresso oatmeal stout and the Franklin pale ale.
Excellent service and the local Art on the walls is great. They have captured what I enjoy most about Iowa, open countryside views and a friendly inviting atmosphere. Nice to have some killer microbrew on tap in Ames! Well done.

Preface: this beer is totally in the same style of Raccoon River Brewing Company. If you miss their beer, and I know plenty of folks do, then please give this brewery your business.
That said, this type of beer isn’t my style. The facility is very nice with outdoor seating as well as indoors, but the beers are very young and not terribly complex.
Moreover, the descriptions of the beers leave a lot to be desired. Descriptions of the names, the particular complexities, and the styles. I also wonder if some of the ABV and IBU stats are inflated. A couple of the brews don’t seem to match their scaling.
In all, it’s worth a shot if you’re into beers that are a little less «in your face» or you’re seeking a variety that’s a little more subtle.
For a young brewery, it may be growing pains. I’ll be happy to update my review in 6 mos.

Alluvial is the newest addition to the craft beer scene in central Iowa. This one located just north of Ames near the country club. It’s right next to a winery which I believe is owned by the same people. Alluvial has been open since March 2015.
Stopped in later on a Saturday afternoon. I really like the taproom look and layout. It’s a big high ceiling room with lots of seating options for groups. The bar has about seven or eight seats, that’s where I headed. One noticeable feature missing is TV. Not that TV is the end all feature by any means but just a heads up in case you wanted to come here for beers and to catch a game that won’t be happening. But at the same time I don’t have a problem with the place trying to make this exclusively about the beer.
The beer though is where I have to pump the brakes a little bit. They had 10 beers on tap when I stopped in, which isn’t bad for a brewery who opened two months prior. So I do like that they had options. Unfortunately though at the time, the beers I got were just OK at best. I mean, they weren’t bad, far from it. But they didn’t really stand out either. It was really just the same old, same old standard styles you find at pretty much any other brewery. And that’s where it can be hard at first for a new brewery because they are still tweaking recipes and if they are going to be doing any aging programs those are a few months off from being ready. I will say this, I really hope they take advantage of the fact the winery is next door and they introduce some wine barrel aged stuff.
So as of this moment, Alluvial is OK, but it’s not at a point yet where I can say I would make another special trip up to see them. I think there is a lot of potential here though, and I look forward to where they go in the next few months.

Excellent local craft brewer. Highly recommend the Alluvial IPA. Shorter hours than you’d expect but worth the experience.

Great beer.