Bettendorf Brewery Repurposes I-74 Bridge Beam

I talked to Aaron Ickes, the owner of Nerdspeak Brewery...a new place that will be opening relatively soon in Bettendorf.

They posted a picture of their new patio fencing that would be very familiar to anyone living in the Quad Cities. It's an I Beam from the I74 Bridge!

1st...how did you get it? a) acquire it b) move/place it?

The bridge pieces were actually acquired by the owner of the property. One of his businesses is a contractor for the new I-74 bridge and as they are trying to recycle as much as possible. They were able to work out a deal and he had the pieces delivered to our location via flatbed. Our goal is to fabricate the pieces we have together to make a cohesive fencing area around our patio.
We are continuing the construction work at the brewery and hope to be open in about a month or so. More details on that coming soon.

Also...can you give me an update on the bar? Any specific feature you're looking forward to people checking out?

Our goal is to provide a unique location that caters to a crowd that is often overlooked, but gaining in popularity; the nerd. First and foremost is of course our beers and that is of focus first. In addition, we plan to offer some unique features that other breweries/bars don't currently offer. More to come on that.

I know there's no official open date...but can people buy beer yet? If so, how/where

In regards to current availability; we will be part of the tap takeover at Five Cities this Saturday and our Raspberry Hefeweizen will be on tap. This will be the first time our beer will be publicly available. I will be sharing that on social media this week as well.
Also we will be at Shops with Hops again this year sharing samples of what's to come from Nerdspeak.

I'd love to know what you've got brewing. Any beers you're excited about?

I am currently transitioning from my homebrew system to both my pilot system and the full brewery, these will both be operational very soon. At that point, I have a lot of work ahead of me getting beers brewed and on tap. While we plan to offer a wide variety of beer styles, Belgian beers are near and dear to my heart. Be on the lookout for some unique beers!

You'll be able to check out the new brewery soon at 7563 State Street Bettendorf, IA. In the meantime follow along with the progress on Facebook.

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