We have an exhaustive brew schedule at Confluence, which brings you guys at least 1 new beer every single week. This typically brings our yearly release total to roughly 100+ unique beers!

How the heck do we come up with new brew ideas? Well, aside from the imaginations of our amazing production staff, for many of our newer beers, it starts with some experimentation and customer feedback. To help assist us with making decisions on what to brew next, we host our annual Frozen Firkin Fest every year.

Before we get any further, you may be asking, what the heck is a Firkin? It is a vessel, also referred to as a cask, that we rack fermented beer into. We then pitch additional sugar into the cask, seal it up, then allow it to re-ferment and naturally carbonate and condition. We can also add different adjuncts, (fruit, chocolate, coffee, spices, etc), and use this as a way to test out how they will affect the finished product. Some of our fan favorites, including Gray’s Lake Nessie W/ Hazelnut Coffee, Becca’s Trifecta, and Saison Des Moines W/ Cranberries & Spruce Tips, all started with an experimental cask.

This event takes place in our outdoor beer garden every January, so bundle up and come thirsty! We’ll have over a dozen different experimental casks available for sampling. Just grab beer tickets inside, then redeem them as you make your way through the lineup. Don’t worry, we have heaters and hand warmers available so hopefully you don’t actually freeze at our annual Frozen Firkin Fest. Vote for your favorite, and you just might see it end up in cans!