Breakfast in the Amana Colonies

Knowing your neighbors is one of the great things about living in a small town. Being able to wave to them on your walk, say hi at the post office or here in Amana, sit down to breakfast with them. Last Friday I invited myself to eat breakfast at a local restaurant with these four local guys, who meet there every Friday morning.

The Amana Colonies is known for its great food. If you haven’t had breakfast here you are missing out. Plate sized pancakes are served with hash browns, ham or sausage or bacon, fried eggs, fruit, and English muffins with fresh jam. A huge breakfast to start your day out right! Now whether you choose this large breakfast or just a doughnut and coffee at the local gas station, where ever you go you will usually find a group of local guys (just like my four pals here) sitting around, chatting and enjoying their breakfast also.

This past Friday I listened as these guys talked about old school days, local gossip, and the Amana Society Bulletin (a local weekly, where you can find all the news you want to know about the Colonies), along with giving each other a hard time. They sure are a fun bunch of guys! George was on the original Amana Refrigeration factory crew. Bruce is the Amana Society insurance guy. Bill is the town tin smith and was a long time sheet metal worker at Quaker Oats in Cedar Rapids. Norman is a woodworker who owns a furniture shop in South Amana. They all grew up in the Amana Colonies and have tales to tell. Being able to hang out with them is just another fun thing about living here in the Amana Colonies.

Eating giant pancakes in My Town: Amana Colonies

Brandi

Bottling at Millstream Brewery

Tuesday is bottling day at Millstream Brewery. Yesterday the staff there put up with me taking photos and asking questions as they bottled 400 cases of beer. That is 9,600 bottles of beer or 900 gallons.  A lot of beer, and yesterday was a slow day. During the summer they bottle anywhere from 800 to 1000 cases of beer and pop.

            Feeling like I was in the beginning of Lavern and Shirley show I watched as Tom placed empty bottles into the bottling machine. Off the bottles went to be filled, capped and labeled, then to be picked up and put in sleeves and then boxed. The bottling machine is from the 1950s and was originally used in a Coke facility. Looks like it is still going strong today.

            Millstream Brewery originally opened in 1985, the first brewery to operate in Amana since 1884. In 2000, the current owners, Chris Priebe, Tom and Teresa Albert, bought the business and have been making award winning beer ever since. This past year has been great for Millstream Brewery, they are up 12% in sales and their beer can now be found in bars, restaurants and grocery stories around the whole state of Iowa and not just Eastern Iowa, like in the past. This upswing in sales has allowed them to buy new brewing equipment that allows them to brew beer in half of the time they were before. A new brewing room with shinny new brewing equipment has lead to construction on an indoor seating room with a view of the brewing room.

 In Iowa there is a lot of talk about eating local food and buying from the farmers and producers who grow or make the food near you. Here in the Amana Colonies we are lucky to have quite a few farmers and producers right here in our town. Millstream is just one piece of that green puzzle for me. And just another reason I feel lucky to live in the Amana Colonies.

My favorite beer at Millstream?

John’s White Ale. Try it next time you come to town.

Don’t worry this blogger types responsibly.

Brandi