The Best Breweries in Des Moines, Taproom by Taproom

There is a little wooden paddle in front of you holding four tiny glasses, and you have already lost track of which one is the hazy, which one is the stout, and which one the bartender described using three words you pretended to understand. A flight is a beautiful thing, right up until it becomes a memory test you did not study for. If you are mapping out the best breweries in Des Moines before you commit to a pint, here is the encouraging news: the city's craft beer scene is deeper and better than its modest reputation lets on, with one spot that was recently crowned the top brewpub in the entire country.

Short version: Des Moines has a strong, varied lineup of breweries and taprooms, from a nationally ranked brewpub to big trail-side patios and a bar pouring more than a hundred Iowa taps. There is a pour here for every kind of beer drinker.

Still reading? Good. A brewery crawl is as much about the rooms as the beer, so here is the whole scene, taproom by taproom.

The best breweries in Des Moines, starting at the top

Let's lead with the headliner. Lua Brewing on High Street has become the name locals mention first, and it recently got named the number-one brewpub in the country by USA TODAY. That is a big flag to plant for a brewery in Iowa, and it has earned it with inventive beer and a room people actually want to hang around in.

Right behind it, Confluence Brewing Company is one of Iowa's largest and oldest, with a big patio that spills right onto the Great Western Bike Trail, making it the obvious landing spot after a ride. And Exile Brewing Co. downtown rounds out the top of most locals' lists with a handsome space and a lineup that has been pouring strong for years.

• Lua Brewing for the nationally ranked, inventive brewpub experience.
• Confluence Brewing Company for a big trail-side patio and deep Iowa roots.
• Exile Brewing Co. for a polished downtown taproom and a reliable core lineup.

Here is the thing nobody tells you about a "best brewery" list: the winner is usually just the one that matched your mood that night. A quiet pint and a loud trivia night want two different rooms. The fun is figuring out which is which.

Taprooms with range: when you want options

Some nights you do not want to commit to one brewery's lineup. For those nights, Iowa Taproom in the East Village is the move. It pours 120-plus taps from more than 20 Iowa breweries under one roof, which is less a bar and more a statewide beer sampler. If you want to taste the whole state without leaving a barstool, start here.

Big Grove Brewery & Taproom brings a big, airy space and a food menu that holds up its end, and Court Avenue Brewing Company anchors the downtown nightlife strip with house beer and pub fare, which makes it an easy pairing with a concert or a game. For how Court Avenue fits into a bigger night out, our best restaurants in Des Moines guide maps the downtown districts.

A hundred and twenty taps sounds like paradise until you are standing there with decision paralysis and a line forming behind you. Pick a style, not a beer. Say "something hoppy" or "something dark and cozy" and let the bartender be the expert. That is literally the job.

Beyond downtown: the neighborhood and suburb spots

The scene does not stop at the city limits. Madhouse Brewing runs a taproom with a solid patio and a well-loved Sumatra coffee stout, and out in Clive, the smaller 515 Brewing Company sits near the Clive Greenbelt Trail. It does not serve food, but you are welcome to bring your own, which is either charmingly old-school or the best idea anyone has ever had, depending on how hungry you are.

This spread is the quiet advantage of the Des Moines beer scene. You can build a crawl that is all downtown and walkable, or point it out toward a trail and a patio and make a half-day of it. The city gives you both.

How to plan a Des Moines brewery crawl

A brewery crawl is a great idea and a rough morning-after if you do it without a plan. A few rules keep it fun.

• Cluster by area. The East Village and downtown spots chain together on foot. Save the trail-side patios for a separate, slower outing.
• Line up a ride. A rideshare or a designated driver is the whole difference between a great night and a bad decision. This is non-negotiable.
• Order flights early, pints later. Taste widely while your palate is fresh, then settle on a favorite.
• Check hours and events. Taprooms run trivia nights, tap releases, and odd hours. Confirm before you build the night around one.

Pair the crawl with the rest of a weekend and it becomes a proper trip. Our guide to things to do in Des Moines has the daytime half, so you earn that first pint honestly.

What to order when you do not know what to order

Craft beer menus have gotten a little out of hand. Half of them read like a menu for a different planet, all adjuncts and hop varieties and barrel-aging notes, and it is easy to feel like you need a degree to order a beer. You do not. Here is the cheat sheet.

• Want something light and easy? Ask for a lager, a pilsner, or a kolsch. Crisp, clean, crowd-friendly.
• Want flavor and bitterness? That is the IPA family. A "hazy" is softer and juicier, a "West Coast" is drier and sharper.
• Want something dark and cozy? A stout or a porter. Madhouse's Sumatra coffee stout is a local favorite for a reason.
• Want a little tart? Ask about a sour or a fruited ale. Not for everyone, but a fun curveball.

And when in doubt, order the flight. Four small pours is how you find out what you actually like without committing a full pint to a mistake. The whole point of a taproom is to experiment, and a good bartender would rather hand you a taster than watch you nurse something you are not enjoying.

One more thing worth knowing: Des Moines breweries lean into events. Tap releases, live music, food trucks parked out front, trivia nights that get competitive. If you want the full experience, a quick look at a brewery's calendar before you go can turn a decent pint into a genuinely great night. The beer is the draw. The room and the crowd are what make you stay.

Where you stay keeps the crawl safe and simple

Here is the part the beer guides skip. In a city this spread out, your home base quietly decides how easy, and how safe, the brewery run is. Stay central and the East Village and downtown taprooms are a short walk or quick ride apart, no driving required between pours. Stay out by the interstate and every stop adds a drive you really should not be making.

A whole-home rental also beats a hotel for the group that likes to regroup. Room to spread out, a fridge for the crowler you brought home, and a couch for the one who called it early. You own the itinerary. The city pours the beer.

The bottom line

The best breweries in Des Moines cover a lot of ground. Lua for the nationally ranked brewpub, Confluence and Madhouse for the trail-side patios, Exile and Big Grove for a polished pint, Court Avenue for a downtown night, and Iowa Taproom when you want to taste the whole state at once. Cluster your stops, line up a ride, check today's hours, and drink the good stuff.

Want to land somewhere central, within an easy ride of it all? Book a Stay-A-While home in the Des Moines area and let the city handle the beer.