dsm Dish - October 3, 2025

Raise a glass to Old Tavern's revival

By Jane Burns
Staff writer and copy editor

Beer-making in Des Moines has gone old school — or more precisely, old tavern.

This summer, Confluence Brewing revived the Old Tavern brand, a pre-Prohibition light lager first brewed downtown from 1908 to 1917. With 4.2% ABV, 125 calories and Iowa corn in the recipe, it’s designed to compete with mass-market light beers, only this one’s made in Des Moines.

“It’s not craft beer but I’d say it’s craft light,” said John Martin, head brewer at Confluence. “It’s more about this being part of our history, and it’s a light beer at a great price. It’s the kind of thing that might still be around if Prohibition hadn’t happened.”

The beer is priced and marketed to rival the popular major-brand light beers, as opposed to the higher-priced craft beers in the market.

“Another beer that does pretty well in Iowa, Busch Light, buys all their corn from Iowa so it’s very comparable,” said Jeff Bruning, who owns Full Court Press restaurant group and worked with Martin to bring back Old Tavern. “The difference is you’re truly supporting Iowa when you buy Old Tavern, not some foreign national company.”

The original Old Tavern beer was the signature product of the Des Moines Brewing Company, a massive downtown building now known as 300mlk, at the corner of Third Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. It was originally owned by Frank Mattes, a member of the first family of Des Moines brewing that had been making beer since emigrating from Germany in the 1860s.

Since various spots in Iowa frowned on drinking, the brewing and tavern-keeping Mattes family played a lifelong game of Whac-A-Mole with temperance laws, and their fortunes moved with the laws. Frank Mattes’ brewery introduced Old Tavern as a refreshing beer like those made by other German beermakers that survived Prohibition, guys with names like Pabst, Miller, Schlitz or Blatz.

“It was Des Moines’ hometown beer,” said local historian Ryan Ellsworth, an architect with Invision Architecture.

The 18th Amendment prompted Prohibition nationwide in 1920, but a local law shut down drinking four years earlier and ended Old Tavern’s business in Des Moines. After Prohibition ended, in 1933, the brand was sold a few times in the following decades. It was brewed in Warsaw, Illinois, until 1972.

Bruning and Martin had talked as early as 2017 about reviving the brand. Then last year, Bruning learned the trademark was available, so he and Martin secured it.

Eventually, Martin realized Old Tavern would be a good fit for Confluence. He said Bruning had told him that when groups of friends come to Full Court Press establishments, at least a few in every group just wanted a Busch Light or Coors Light instead of a craft brew. Bruning figured there was a place in the market for a local light lager that could compete with the big brands on taste and price, and Martin realized it could be an opportunity for Confluence at a time when craft beer industry sales are flat.

“We just went all in,” Martin said. “We said, ‘If we're gonna do this, we can't half-heartedly do it. We gotta do it all the way.’ So that's what we're trying to do.”

Old Tavern is a separate brand within Confluence, with its own marketing. There’s no shortage of Old Tavern swag, including shirts, playing cards, hats, retro pitchers and mugs. “Wooden nickels” are also available; they’re redeemable for a free beer and they have a QR code that lists all the places that sell it.

The recipe was styled to beers of its era. The new packaging resembles the original version, with one significant change: The original label featured people drinking beer while driving a car and riding horses. “You really can’t put a car on a beer label anymore,” Ellsworth said.

Not far from 300mlk, you can find another remnant of the beer’s history. When the Royal Mile opened at 210 Fourth St. in 2001, a faded Old Tavern mural covered the building’s exterior wall. The letters have faded since then, but you can still see them in the alley if you know what you’re looking for.

Old Tavern is sold at Royal Mile, and it’s on tap and in stores throughout the city, including The Empire, another Full Court Press venture that opened just this week across from the Royal Mile.

“I love supporting the brand,” Bruning said. “I truly hope it becomes an institution for the city of Des Moines.”

Quick Bites

On the radar: The Empire, the new cafe in the the old Fong’s location on Fourth Street, opened for business Thursday. Find grab-and-go breakfast options, coffee and a few familiar faces from Ritual Cafe, which closed this summer. In fact, Ritual owner Denise Diaz brought Ritual’s big old coffee machine with her. You’ll also find a nostalgic lunch menu that won’t blow your budget. (We can vouch for the Reuben; it's a mighty meaty sandwich.)

Following close behind is Highland Underground, the groovy ’70s style cocktail lounge set to open Oct. 15. Keep an eye on our Restaurant Radar for more openings.

Jasper Winery is serving up fall treats starting Oct. 9. The winery offers a unique tasting experience with the Cider & Pie Harvest Pairing events Thursdays through Sundays through Nov. 2, by reservation only. Taste four hard ciders paired with mini pies from local bakery Once Upon an Apple Pie as part of your reservation.

Exile Brewing Co. is serving up Halloween-themed bites throughout October. Some of the creatively themed items include Beetlejuice Bites, Monsterella Sticks, Linguine Al-Fraid-O and Smashing Pumpkin Bars. The menu coincides with “The Haunting,” the brewery’s annual Halloween pop-up that includes special dinners and spooky decor.

The Kum & Go on Keo Way has been officially rebranded as Maverik. RIP, K&G.

Events

Saturday: The Harvest & Handmade Fair is set for 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at Water Works Park, with the whole autumnal works: food from local vendors and food trucks, handmade crafts, live music, family activities and more.

Saturday: Middlebrook Fall Fest offers live music, fresh produce and food trucks from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Cumming.

Saturday: Pumpkins & Pints Harvest Market features fall goodies, live music, beer and cider from Uptown Garage Brewing Co., plus pumpkins from the Ankeny Area Historical Society, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Ankeny Market and Pavilion.

Oct. 9: Farm to Fork: Harvest Gatherings brings chef Aaron Holt of Doolittle Farm to The Rustic Rose Barn in Roland for a locally sourced, chef-curated meal in a picturesque rural setting.

Oct. 10: Winefest’s Pork & Pinot event, presented by the Iowa Pork Producers at Middlebrook Farm in Cumming, features porky morsels prepared by local chefs and paired with various pinots.

Oct. 11-12: Madison County’s Covered Bridge Festival features plenty of fall treats around the Winterset square. (Don’t miss the apple fritters at The Bakery Unlimited.)

Oct. 17: Harvest Dinner fills the Pella Opera House with a cozy fall menu created by Canary Culinary Creations, plus live music.

While chuck roasts rely partly on fat for flavor, beef shanks come with a lot of collagen, which breaks down during cooking, moistening the meat and leaving it with a rich, silky texture while enriching the broth — all without adding a lot of fat to the dish.

Calvin Schnucker at The Good Butcher explains: “Shanks are actually a lean cut of meat, but because they have a lot of collagen, you get a really thick broth from it without having a ton of fat leftover.”

During braising season, he sells shanks from Silver K Farms in Warren County in his fresh case. While those are corn-finished, he will soon get grass-finished shanks from Whippoorwill Creek Farm in Lovilia. You can also find shanks in the fresh counter at Old Station Craft Meats in Waukee, where owner Nick Lenters says they’re an especially good alternative right now to chuck roasts, which are currently climbing in price.

I also found beef shanks at two Fareway stores I called, though their counter pros called them “beef shins.”

My favorite way to make beef shanks is in an osso bucco. Generally, this classic Italian dish is made with veal shanks, but I’ve been enjoying beef. It’s easier to find, is more familiar (and more acceptable) to more guests and is just so robust and satisfying. Plus, one large shank can usually feed two people. With veal, you generally give everyone an entire shank; with beef, you’ll cut the shank off the bone and serve it in chunks, as you would a pot roast.

As Schnucker says, “When you serve beef shanks over polenta or mashed potatoes — something hearty — you don’t really need a ton of protein per person because it already comes in this really rich sauce.”

My recipe? Please don’t tell anyone (!), but I cheat with Williams Sonoma’s Osso Buco Braising Sauce, and it’s terrific. Just be sure to check often during cooking, as you might need to add water if the sauce reduces too much. You’ll likely need to cook the dish longer than the sauce label suggests, as it’s intended for veal. (My beef shanks took 2 hours for supreme tenderness.) And don’t forget the gremolata, that classic herb garnish of minced garlic, parsley and lemon peel that adds a bracing jolt of freshness to the long-simmering dish.

Wini Moranville has been writing about the local food scene since 1997. You can follow her on Substack at winimoranville.substack.com.