Big Grove Brewery pioneers open fermentation lagers, international fusions with Cedar Rapids taproom opening

CEDAR RAPIDS — While Big Grove Brewery’s fourth taproom location positions it as one of the largest in Iowa, its offerings show that it’s not all about size.

With seating for 265 inside and a patio with capacity for 280, the Cedar Rapids location anchoring the new Kingston Yard development is pioneering a new type of beer production in Iowa, paying homage to the city’s Czech heritage and sprinkling new international fusions into its menu.

Offering exclusive new beers and food, Big Grove fans and casual diners alike will find the new location unique in the brand’s growing empire, even compared to locations a few miles down the road.

The space

Designed to look like a German or Czech style beer hall, the Cedar Rapids taproom honors the city’s heritage with an industrial, modern aesthetic.

  Buy Photo

“This is our fourth Big Grove, but we’re shooting for its own special fingerprint, it’s own uniqueness,” said Andrew Mitchell, general manager. “We try to do that at each location.”

This is the first taproom that Big Grove has built from scratch since its flagship Solon location, he said.

The open-concept design, with vaulted ceilings more than 30 feet tall, enhances the energy of a property that can hold well over 500 people with the patio. The outdoor perimeter, kept warm through the winter months with fire pits and heaters, welcomes those who want the air to be as crisp as their pour.

  Buy Photo

Metal, glass and manufactured finishes give a nod to Cedar Rapids’ manufacturing oriented history. Hard lines are softened by organic surfaces, drawing eyes to the wood ceiling enhanced by warm lighting through the length of the building.

A transparent brewing area, including the brewery’s open fermentation system modeled after European traditions, serves as a focal point for the front of the building. A floor to ceiling mural on the back wall by Iowa City artist Jamie Boling offers a second anchor touching on both Cedar Rapids and Big Grove history.

“Each time we grow, the success of that spot impacts the next two or three moves we would hope to make,” Mitchell said. “The success of this is determining how quickly or slowly we move after this, and how confident we are to make those things happen.”

  Buy Photo

With a full house midafternoon on a weekday, the initial response to the new location leaves little doubt about its success, so far.

The food

With starters, sandwiches, wings and bar snacks, the menu structure is familiar to the Big Grove fan.

But, aside from a few common items like the taphouse burger or loaded fries, the layout is where the similarities end. Diners need not fear a “copy and paste” situation of the brewing giant’s other locations.

  Buy Photo

German and Czech heritages are woven throughout the menu in surprising ways. Here, you will find the expected giant pretzels and Jagerwurst smoked sausage sandwich. But you’ll also find dishes you never associated with the Old World.

Rueben Bao Buns, for example, make an Asian favorite familiar through a new channel. Soft, pillowy dough resembling a thick flatbread is steamed in-house with pork fat, filled with house-made pastrami, smothered in sauerkraut and topped with Thousand Island dressing and toasted caraway.

In a nutshell, this menu item is a culinary paragon of what the Cedar Rapids location is looking to accomplish: broadening the palate of Cedar Rapids by blurring the border between foreign and domestic. But it also demonstrates the extent of the menu made from scratch.

  Buy Photo

The new location smokes 100 pounds of pork shoulder on-site daily for its burrito bowl and Mexican torta. Pastrami is smoked in-house for the bao buns and Korean patty melt with kimchi and Korean aioli. Jagerwurst brats are cased out back, too, and the kitchen bakes its own Focaccia bread daily to accessorize the garlic shrimp Caesar salad.

“I have a huge love for international flavors,” said Chris Vurciaga, chef de cuisine of the Cedar Rapids location.

After 10 years with Big Grove, the new location in his hometown offers the opportunity to take more time with more elaborate entrees away, from the rapid-fire kitchens in locations like Iowa City. But as he folds intriguing new novelties into the mix, he has an eye on a bigger goal.

“We do this so that in a couple years, when we have a fried chicken spicy bao bun, we’ve tiptoed up to it,” he explained.

  Buy Photo

With a Hispanic and Czech background, Vurciaga said Cedar Rapids doesn’t get enough credit for the pockets of authentic, international flavor in its own backyard. With Big Grove’s platform and popularity, he hopes to help them discover it.

“I think we have a lot of culture that needs to be unburied. It’s there,” he said.

Resisting the genre of “upscale bar food,” that has become a cliche at some breweries, the chef describes his menu as a re-imagined American diner.

“It’s what I think of as craveable food,” he said, combining greasy spoon vibes with export mainstays that have taken on a life of their own in American cuisine.

  Buy Photo

The beer

Inspired by tours of German breweries, the legacy of open tank fermentation used in Europe for centuries has taken up residency in the Cedar Rapids location — making it the first brewery in Iowa to pioneer the method and one of only a handful in the country.

With styles exclusive to the city, visitors will be able to peek through the tightly-controlled glass enclosure to see German and Czech styles foaming as they ferment. Their first release, a kolsch, is planned for the end of January.

With more freedom for creativity, the focus of the new 15-barrel brewhouse will be quality, not quantity. While Big Grove favorites like the Easy Eddy take about two weeks to produce, a batch through the open fermentation system will take about two months.

“We’re trying to make complex beers that aren’t complicated,” said Andy Joynt, director of brewing.

It will be a learning curve with more parameters to control through production. But the payoff, they believe, is worth the investment. With a mission objective of lighter beers, Cedar Rapids will become a powerhouse in their brand for traditional lagers and lighter styles.

  Buy Photo

With a delicate, nuanced style whose production mistakes cannot be easily masked, the open fermentation system will afford lagers a new level of crisp clarity that closed tanks cannot produce under greater pressure.

“It’s a happier environment for the yeast, but we believe it leads to better lager production, as well,” Joynt said.

At the helm of head brewer Chris Flenker — former head brewer at Thew Brewing in Cedar Rapids — beers around the 5 percent ABV mark will become the bread and butter of the new Big Grove location.

Over the course of a few rounds with friends, that makes for easy drinking without too much intoxication.

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.