The Best Breweries in Des Moines, District by District

Ask three people in Des Moines for the best breweries in Des Moines and you'll walk away with four answers, a napkin drawn on like a treasure map, and one very passionate speech about hazy IPAs from a guy you met ninety seconds ago. The craft-beer scene here is like the city itself: bigger and better than out-of-towners expect, spread across a handful of walkable little pockets, and genuinely friendly once you're in the door. Nobody's putting on airs. They just want you to try the next pour.

The short version: you don't pick one brewery, you pick a district and let it carry the afternoon. The East Village, downtown near Court Avenue, and the western suburbs each have their own flavor, and a good Des Moines crawl usually means parking once and wandering between taprooms, patios, and whatever food truck happened to show up.

Still reading? Good. You're the type who wants to know which pocket of the city fits your afternoon before you commit an entire Saturday to it. Let's map it out.

Where to find the best breweries in Des Moines

Think of the metro as three moods. You're not chasing a single perfect taproom, you're picking the vibe you're in, then letting the neighborhood do the work. Here's how the districts break down.

The East Village: the walkable taproom hop

The East Village sits just east of the river, a few tidy blocks of brick storefronts, patios, boutiques, and coffee shops. It's the easiest district to do on foot, which is exactly what you want when the whole point is trying a flight without moving your car. Peace Tree has long been a fixture over here, and the neighborhood pours a mix of taproom regulars and rotating guest taps. Do a lap, poke into the shops between rounds, and let the afternoon go slow. This is the district for people who like their beer with a side of window-shopping.

Downtown and Court Avenue: beer plus a night out

Downtown is where craft beer bumps up against dinner and a night out. Exile Brewing anchors this side near the Western Gateway, a proper brewpub that's been pouring award-winning lagers and sours for years, and it's an easy walk to Court Avenue when you want to keep the evening rolling. Just west of downtown, Big Grove runs a big, high-ceilinged taproom with a full kitchen, so it doubles as the spot where the group that's "not really into beer" still ends up happy. This is the district to pair with a real dinner. If you're already plotting where to eat, we've got a whole rundown of the best restaurants in Des Moines to slot in.

The western suburbs: patios, space, and dogs welcome

Head west toward Clive, Waukee, and West Des Moines and the breweries get roomier. 515 Brewing sits out on the Clive Greenbelt Trail, the kind of place you roll up to on a bike and stay longer than you planned. Confluence is another metro veteran worth working into a suburban loop. Out here you trade the compact-walkability thing for bigger patios, more parking, and enough elbow room that bringing the dog or the kids isn't a production. It's the low-key end of the scene, and honestly some of the best afternoons happen here.

How to build a DSM brewery crawl

A good Des Moines crawl isn't complicated. It's a district, a driver, and a loose plan you're happy to abandon. Here's the shape of it:

• Pick one district and stay in it. Two or three taprooms in the same pocket beats zigzagging across the metro. Save the other districts for next time.
• Line up a sober driver first. Settle this before the first pour, not after. A rideshare or a designated friend keeps the whole day easy and everybody home safe.
• Order flights, not pints. A crawl is about range. Small pours let you actually taste your way through a district instead of tapping out after two.
• Follow the food trucks. A lot of taprooms don't run full kitchens, so a truck out front is the meal. It also naturally paces the afternoon, which future-you will appreciate.
• Chase the patio weather. When Iowa gives you a good-weather Saturday, the patio districts win. When it doesn't, the bigger indoor taprooms carry the day.

What a DSM crawl actually feels like

If you've only known Des Moines from the interstate, the beer scene is the fastest way to be pleasantly surprised by it. It's unhurried. People talk to you. The bartender will tell you which of the eight taps to try without making you feel like you failed a quiz. You'll end up with a couple of favorites you didn't expect and a phone full of blurry photos of tap lists.

The best crawls here aren't a checklist of every brewery in the metro. They're one good district, a few flights, a food truck, and a driver who volunteered before anyone was drinking. Do that and Des Moines pretty much runs the day for you.

And the scene keeps growing. Spots open, taprooms expand, and the food-truck rotation changes with the season, which is a good excuse to make this a repeat trip rather than a one-and-done. If you want more to fill out the weekend around the beer, here's our guide to the best things to do in Des Moines.

Where to stay for it

Here's the practical part. A brewery crawl works best when nobody has to drive home to some hotel on the edge of town at the end of it. Base yourself in or near the districts you want to hit, and the whole day gets simpler. A whole-home rental gives you a kitchen for the morning-after breakfast, room for the group to spread out, and a comfortable place to land that isn't a cramped room off the highway.

That's the whole idea behind what we do. Comfortable, well-placed Central Iowa homes so the fun part is close and the logistics disappear. You show up, you explore, you come back and put your feet up.

The bottom line

The best breweries in Des Moines aren't really about one perfect taproom. They're about picking a district that fits your mood, the East Village for a walkable hop, downtown for beer plus a night out, the western suburbs for patios and space, then letting a sober driver and a food truck handle the rest. Keep it loose, check the hours, and let the city surprise you.

Ready to plan the trip around it? Book a Stay-A-While home and set yourself up close to the fun, with room to relax when the crawl's done.