Confluence Brewing Company

Good brewery to visit.. They have a good selection of beers and even have some that rotate out. They don’t serve food but you can bring in your own, order pizza, or they occasionally even have food trucks.
Its a pretty spacious place with bar seating, tables, booths and outside patio with seating as well when the weather permits.
And if beer is not entertaining enough, they have area by the bar filled with games you can borrow.
My favorite thing to order here is the Capital Gold.

Neat little brewery, good beer hall, tour was fun, beer was excellent, enjoyed every one that I tried.

Of the breweries to rise up in the past few years of the Des Moines craft brewery craze… Confluence was one of the first. Confluence is a pretty stereotypical craft brewery and taproom. Décor is pretty basic (local artwork) and the space is big and open. It’s really fun to walk by the brewing equipment and see what is in the works (check out all the barrel-​aged beers).
Confluence focuses solely on their beers and it shows. Their flagships aren’t anything crazy but Des Moines IPA has quickly become THE BEER OF DES MOINES. You can find it everywhere and it has been the most popular beer in the area for a while. Their seasonals are great and they have lots of barrels, which means occasional special tappings of aged beers.
I would love to see Confluence take a couple of my suggestions:
1) A larger patio. In the warmer months it fills up rather quickly.
2) I know they have a canning line (tallboys no less). Put it to use! Filling growlers and finding kegs of their beer all over town is great. But being able to go into any grocery store and finding tallboys of OUR BEER would be even cooler.
That said, I love Confluence just the way it is. They were visionaries in linking their brewery to the bike trail (adjacent to popular Gray’s Lake). When it’s nice (and even when it’s not), there will always be thirsty cyclists at Confluence. :)
ELITE TIP: Every couple weeks Confluence usually taps a «Golden Keg» of a new beer (typically at 5 PM on Wednesday). The first keg is free! So go get yourself some free beer at Confluence. Pay attention to their website and Facebook page for details.

Located in an odd place but right on the bike path and tons of bike parking. Small amount of car parking and usually a food trailed in the parking lot later in the day. This place is popular with the bicyclists so if you are offended by cycle wear you probably shouldn’t go here. The beers a re good. Staff are mostly friendly. Decent prices. Definitely worth a stop on your beer trail adventures.

This is an actual tap room!
Great place to meetup with friends!
The selection is huge and the service is good too.
Outside they do some some picnic tables but it is very sunny and kinda awkward to sit if you don’t know the other people.
Bring your own food and games if you wish!

Here is my deal with Confluence. If I was strictly grading them on their brewery and tap room, 5 stars no problem. They have one of my favorite tap rooms in the country.
My issue is I do not love their beer. I am not an IPA guy and I think many of their beers are just a bit too hoppy for me. Hoping to find one I love some day.

Confluence has the best location, along the bike trail. I love coming here via bike. Recently we went for the first time in the car, and the parking lot was full. Was it ok to park in the adjoining lot? I hope so. It’s a great sign they are busy, so can’t really complain. There were 3 of us, and we got a pitcher of Black IPA, perfect! Excellent flavor. The tall ceilings are nice, and I really appreciate the natural light pouring in from the windows. We sat at a booth, had a good conversation, ran into some folks we knew — great time. This visit was exactly what we were looking for.

Spacious taproom with tons of their beers on tap, friendly bartenders, and a great library of board games to play while you hang out. I’d be here all the time if I lived in Des Moines! Hope to be able to tour the brewery on my next visit.

This place makes me proud to live in Des Moines. They focus on making great beer, and not much else — and I’m glad they do.
Don’t come hungry (you can get pretzels, and sometimes they have a food truck) — come to enjoy amazing beer and sit on their patio.
Pros:
— Fantastic beer (Capital Gold and Farmer John’s are my favorite)
— Plentiful bike parking
— Board games /​cards to play
— Live music (sometimes)
— I’ve seen dogs on the patio — not sure if it’s an official policy, but they seem dog friendly (or at least dog tolerant)
Cons:
— Irregular food availability
— Not a lot of parking (ride yo’ bike!)

By far the best beer in DSM. Their location, atmosphere, and brews are exactly what you expect from a high quality microbrewery, and they didn’t disappoint on our visit. You can see the whole brewing operation from the taproom and discuss fine beer with the bartenders and patrons. A good place to start a beer tasting journey. Recommend going before their business explodes 2 or 3 times over.
5* for atmosphere
5* for beer variety and quality

We tried this place out, all of us newbies for this particular brewery, enjoying the lovely day and the need for a beer while sitting outside in the marvelous fall weather. That was the best part, it was also cool to walk through and see the set up before arriving in the very spacious tap room. They had a huge selection of their own and a couple guest beers. I can’t really describe them to you because our bartender apparently didn’t want to be bothered when asked to describe a couple of their beers so we could make an informed decision on what to purchase. We were all shocked at this guy’s attitude, seriously, he was less than thrilled when asked. Usually, at these smaller breweries the bartenders enthusiastically describe the beer or just simply give a description beyond color of the beer. This guy, I don’t know what his deal was, but was a real downer to our experience. No matter, we downed our beer on their outdoor deck and moved onto another brewery for a better experience.

Review here for the space and the products they sling here. As has been stated previously this brewery is located conveniently adjacent to the highly popular DM bike trail system. It’s just a short jaunt off the main drag on a little gravel trail.
The interior is pretty straight forward. Their tasting room and porch are located on the side facing the city and bike paths. It’s clean and utilitarian with large windows to view the more industrial side of the building to view the tanks where their delicious brews are being born. There’s a mix of patrons here from people in button-​up shirts to sweaty bikers. It’s often busy so you may be pressed to find seating inside or on their porch.
Des Moines has a good emerging micro-​brew scene and as of the fall of 2014 this is my favorite in the mix. I’m not a heavy beer drinker but I really appreciate the creativity they are throwing out here with entries like the multi-​grain ale and the blue corn lager. They are crisp with corn-​belt personality and pair very well with the ensuing thirst from a ride in the heat. I found the Des Moines IPA to be a great bitter beer if that’s what you’re in the mood for. If you’re not in Des Moines Confluence products are also becoming widely available at watering holes in the area as well, prominently featured at many taverns along the more popular biking routes
You can plan a lengthy ride on the bike trails themed around quality beers. If that’s your intent, make sure that you include Confluence in your plans.

Great beers, better location. The proximity to the bike path and the willingness to host … um … less than totally fresh customers on the outdoor patio makes this place a fan favorite. Ample bicycle parking, steps from the trail around the lake. Beer selection is solid with some visiting beers in addition to the core selection.

Just moved from Austin and I’m realizing that Unilocal is underutilized in DSM. So let me begin by saying that I am trying to change that.
This place is great. Ride here on your bike, order a beer, and eat some pretzels. Or, even better, ride here on your bike on Thursday, order a beer, listen to live music while eating some pretzels.
I really really like it here. Glad to have found a place like this. I’ll be back.

The perfect spot on the bike trail to take a breather and get a brew! Confluence is becoming my favorite local beer here in Des Moines. Every flavor I have had including seasonal have been fantastic! The pale ale being my favorite!
The tap room is really cool, awesome local art on the walls, and windows into the brewing room where you can see the brew masters making the ales you will be drinking soon. They have snacks to much on and sometimes even food trucks parked out front! I like riding here on my bike since it’s really close to where I live off the bike trail! They have both indoor and outdoor seating. Lately they have been having local musicians playing tunes once a week as well.
Not open all day so check the hours but, this is a new gem in Des Moines!

We had a great time here! We stopped here after the Hy-​Vee Tri (since we could see the bar from our parking spot) and had a lot of fun! The staff was very friendly and even offered us homemade brownies that one of the waitresses had made for tailgating the previous day. The brews were really fun to try as well. I loved the Barley & Me which was a Puppy Pale Ale. Cute and alcoholic! My favorite combo! We stayed here for an hour or so and the place filled up quickly, but the set up never made it feel crowded. The bathrooms were also clean and I liked being able to see all the brewing equipment from our table. They did have some really tasty pretzels for the tables, but I do wish they had food. We would have easily stayed another hour or two, but our stomachs were eating us alive after the tri.
Fun times! We will be back!

Cool little place that looks very unassuming from the outside. If you’re not looking for it you may not see it. It’s tucked into a warehouse along Thomas Beck Rd. Once inside you have to take the walk around the brewing area just to reach the tasting room.
Once there it’s a nice little place to relax and try tasty beers. There are no frills here, a couple of TVs here and there but that’s about it. White walls, warehouse stone floors, and generic tables is what you get. But you’re not here for the atmosphere, you’re here for the beer. And that is where they shine. They usually have 10+ beers on tap, some you won’t find anywhere outside of that room. Be like me and buy a couple of growlers for the road. Freshest beer around and mighty tasty too!

The Des Moines craft brew scene is getting more and more impressive, with Confluence in the mix.
Walking in through the front entrance, you’ll get to scope out their brewery equipment, which is always fun to see. We even saw some beer aging in Cedar Ridge barrels – can’t wait to try that one when it’s ready!
They have a ton of seating – tables, booths, and a small bar area.
I really like that they do flights so you can try a bit of everything, and the price is right too! Definitely a fun place to bring friends, a casual date or even bring your parents here. I can’t wait to go back!

YAY! Another brewery on the bike trails in Des Moines!
I went to Confluence for a few drinks over St Patrick’s Day weekend. Such a great addition to the Des Moines scene.
I tried the Oatmeal Stout, the Chew Bocka, and the Imogene Red. OH MY WORD. You GUYS — go to Confluence! Wait, no. Don’t go. The Chew Bocka and Imogene Red are both limited editions. If you go – they will run out of them sooner. Nooooo.
The beers are so good! I expected to find one or two beers I liked — I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy each one a whole lot. The oatmeal stout is rich and robust — a mouthful of beer worth savoring. I had one and knew I needed to switch beers or I’d be under the table! The Chew Bocka had strong flavor with good hops. The others I don’t remember as well, but they were equally as wonderful.
Bike racks have been promised, the owners are amazing, and live music weekly. THIS PLACE IS OFF THE HOOK! I’ll be back!

Great beer and a fun, light atmosphere. Confluence is a little off the beaten path on Thomas Beck Road beside Gray’s lake, but the trip is definitely worth the experience. Confluence makes its brewing room the focal point of its space. It has two entrances, one into the taproom and one that opens into the brewing room. If you enter through the taproom you immediately see the brewing room with its huge stainless steel brewing equipment.
Confluence has several beers on the menu, but we had the High Water Oatmeal Stout and the Farmer John’s multi-​grain ale. Both beers were delicious! It was readily apparently that Confluence has taken the time to really perfect their beer craft.
As we sipped on our beers, we decided to select battleship from the various board games available for patrons’ enjoyment. One other highlight is that Confluence has a bags (or corn hole for those from the south) set-​up.
Confluence’s light and friendly atmosphere is great for drinks after work or a laid back evening with friends. Be sure to chart a path to this gem tucked away on Thomas Beck Road.