Confluence Brewing Company — Restaurant in Des Moines

A very popular brewery, especially with the cyclists. There is a bike path leading from the park directly to the brewery in the rear of the building.

The entrance is easy to find. We didn’t have a problem with parking, but unless there is more parking elsewhere, the main lot would fill quickly. A new concrete wheelchair ramp was being installed and should be functional once rails are put on. You have to traverse a few hallways to get back to the taproom.

They advertise new beers every week and it shows. There were 35 beers on the tap board during our visit. The flights are 4 sets of 5 oz pours.

We visited at 4:30 on a Saturday. The staff was friendly and there was no wait to order with several seating options available. It’s family friendly with kids joining their parents. Unfortunately there is little sound dampening and the noise was loud enough that I had to use my outside voice to talk across the table. The atmosphere was friendly with cool wall art.

Overall a good brewery. The flavor profile of the 8 beers my wife and I sampled weren’t to our tastes with only 1 each meeting “would order again” status. No real complaints, but not on my list to...

I'm a hop snob, growing my own hops on trellises in southwest Iowa. Been a huge fan of Sierra Nevada, Stone, and Laughing Dog. When I encountered Confluence's Des Moines IPA - Double Dry Hopped, it instantly became my number one. What a perfect balance of subtle but not overwhelming sweetness with a crisp wet hoppiness that doesn't overwhelm. Getting this balance right is insanely tough.

Got to tour Confluence and was even more of a fan. What a fantastic operation, with a passion for innovation. They may be Iowa's best microbrewery but I'm telling my boys at Sierra Nevada, you've got one hell of a competitor nipping at your heels!

Confluence is a beer you can be proud of drinking, for its taste, its innovation, and its commitment to its...

This is a destination Brewery. There were 39 beers on tap when i was there, and what I had had the body and subtlety of the best European beers. They do have flights (generous pours of 5 beers, but if your idea of good beer runs to the light and conventional, it would be best to stick with ordering from the rather daunting list, which is arranged by heaviness. The staff is very friendly and helpful in picking out you might like. It was crowded with families and groups of young people the Sunday afternoon I was there, but the parking lot is large. It is located on the edge of the extensive park system that surrounds the Racoon and Des Moines rivers, ahd one of the main biking paths goes right up to the building. Too bad they...