BY: RACHEL SMITH

It’s the only word I can think of to describe it, Ka-Boom!  Maybe not the greatest, most descriptive word choice, but it truly encompasses the entire realm that is Lake Time Brewery.

So what’s been going on in the world of craft beer, you may wonder?  Well, let me fill y’all in.

First off, the Globe Gazette conducted this little survey.  You may have heard of it, the Reader’s Choice?  Yeah, well, it’s actually kind of a big deal, and Lake Time Brewery won for Best Craft Beer.  Given the abundant growth in popularity of craft beer in the area, I’d say this is an incredible honor.  Craft Breweries have popped up all over North Iowa, but Lake Time was voted as having the best!

Next up, is the prestigious honor of being Runner-Up in the Des Moines Beer Bracket tournament.  This is run in conjunction with the NCAA ‘March Madness’ basketball tournament, but is done with beers!  What started as sixty-four entries, was soon whittled down to only two.  Voting took place solely online, and while the community gave an amazing social media push, the final votes came up just short.  Still, Lake Time’s Peanut Butter Porter came in with a strong 2nd place finish, which is pretty incredible!

Even with so much going on at Lake Time, the team still makes time to better themselves and their beer.  Bob and his brewer, Brandon, recently returned from the Craft Brewers Conference in Denver.  Approximately 14,000 craft brewers made the trek to spend a few days talking beer, beer, and more beer.  There, they attended classes in every aspect of the business:  production, yeast, brewing, packaging, management and growth.

Now, that last one there… growth… let’s talk about this, shall we?  Because the guts of this whole story, the reason I sat down at my computer today, is because Lake Time has grown incredibly over the past few years.  Did you know that they were recently named the Fastest Growing Small & Independent Brewery in the United States by the Brewers Association?

NUMBER ONE.

In the UNITED STATES.

Whoa.

It’s no wonder, really, considering Lake Time recently expanded their production facility.  Last year, they added the canning line, enabling beer snobs all over Iowa to enjoy their favorite Lake Time brew.  And if you’ve driven by their location on the corner of 8th and Main recently, you’ll see they will soon be adding another feature to the building – a new deck!  Perfect timing, too, considering they’ve decided to increase their hours for the upcoming summer!

An incredible asset to the Clear Lake community, we tip our hats to Lake Time Brewery and all they’ve accomplished.  Follow them on Facebook HERE, to ensure you keep up to date with new beer releases and activities.

Coming up soon are:  5k fun run (more details at a later date).  And the ever-popular Brews on the Beach on July 13th.  Tickets are available HERE.

Cheers, Clear Lakers!