Beer Crazy - Urbandale, IA

I was traveling through Des Moines calling on a couple of my dealers a while back.  I was at Technology by Design in Urbandale (see map) looking over the remodel of their store.  I noticed a store in their same little strip mall by the name of Beer Crazy.  I asked Brian, the owner of Tech by Design, what that was all about.  Being that Brian isn't much of a drinker, he said, "I don't know.  Some sort of beer shop or something." 

After I left and before I drove out to Omaha, I had to stop in and take a look for myself.  What I found was a little retail location with two rows of shelves fulled with specialty beers.  Behind the shelf area on the north side of the store was a number of products with which to make beer at home.  Although it wasn't a huge place, it was still pretty impressive with the selections they had.

I met and talked with the owner, Mark Naumann (right).  He said he's been a home-brewer for about six years and he's always had a fascination with owning an eclectic beer store, offering beers from around the world as well as beer making supplies.  Mark told me he opened in October of last year.  He told me, "My wife thought I was crazy enough to start a business like this, so I decided to call it 'Beer Crazy'."

Beer Crazy is similar to other stores I've been at that allow you to "Pick a Six" of different beers.  And he had some that I wanted to try. 

The Dixie Brewery was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and has just reopened.  It was the first place I'd seen the Dixie Blackened Voo Doo and the Dixie Lager since it had been reissued, so I had to pick some of that up.  I also found some of the Bell's Lager and got some of that.  He also had a good selection of Summit beers out of St. Paul and I got some of the Summit Pilsner.  And I found some of the Tiger beer out of Indochina.  I haven't had Tiger beer in a long, long time.  I was thrilled to find it.   

All in all, I picked up about a case of different beers while I was there.  Each six pack was $6.95.  What a great deal when you want to give different varieties a try.

I make it to Des Moines and Technology by Design about four or five times a year.  I told Mark that I'd definitely be back.  I hope an operation like that can sustain momentum and stay in business.  He's definitely living his dream.   

Comments

[Kristopher Gawron]

The name of that liquor store is absolutely cool and it has a unique history. I think people can actually remember and distinguish it from the others. Also, their logo is simple but memorable!