There’s now a mobile app that rewards you for drinking Des Moines beer
Matthew LeimkuehlerYour weekend pint at the local taproom could now come with a prize.
“Brew Moines,” a mobile application curated by Catch Des Moines, the local convention and visitors bureau, wants to reward craft beer enthusiasts for visiting breweries and beer bars in the metro.
Eager fans can download it starting Saturday to Apple or Android smartphones.
How it works:
- Brew Moines lists 16 local breweries and two beer bars — the Iowa Taproom and El Bait Shop.
- “Check in” at a brewery or beer bar using the app and earn a buy-one-get-one-free beer at that brewery.
- Check into six breweries and you become a “Brew Moines-ian,” earning a free T-shirt from Catch Des Moines.
- Check into all the breweries and you earn a Brew Moines mug, joining the mug club. Participating breweries plan to offer to-be-determined discounts to each members of the Brew Moines mug club.
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Brew Moines plans to curate local beer events and send push notifications for brewery specials. It provides descriptions and directions to each brewery and keeps a list of where you’ve visited.
The app links to Catch Des Moines guides on where to stay and eat in Des Moines.
It's an effort the bureau hopes caters to beer tourism, said Greg Edwards, president and CEO of Catch Des Moines. Craft beer enthusiasts in 2018 take “brewcations,” visiting a city to explore the brew it offers.
“There’s so many niches we go after,” Edwards said. “This is another one of those niche markets. Our total goal is to increase visitors to Des Moines.”
Being listed is a win-win for breweries, said Cinnamon Rost, marketing director at 515 Brewing in Clive. The app launches in time for Des Moines Beer Week, a citywide celebration of local beer that runs Friday through June 24.
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In addition to mug club access, visitors to all 18 locations — an “Imperial Brew Moines-ian,” they’re called — earn a second Brew Moines T-shirt and are entered to win a brewcation from Catch Des Moines.
“It incentivizes (beer fans and tourists) to go out and experience multiple breweries in a fun way,” Rost said.
Find more information at brewmoines.com.
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