06-03-2025
Des Moines has America's best brewpub
DES MOINES, Iowa — When Whitney Selix and her husband, Scott, opened Lua Brewing Company just over five years ago, they had no idea just how wild their initial ride would be.
'We opened in November, and the pandemic shut us down in March,' she said. 'Fortunately, we'd built a good base of customers in that short time and they helped us get through.'
Five years later, Lua loyalists have stepped up again.
The Sherman Hill brewpub won USA Today's Reader's Choice Award for the best brewpub in the country.
'I was kinda shocked,' said general manager, Pete Holmgren. 'The other employees and I were voting every day but I wasn't sure we really had a chance.'
Readers Choice nominees are submitted by a group of travel writers and food critics associated with USA Today. Readers can then vote once per category per day to support their favorite nominees.
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Iowans are known to rush to online polls to support their favorites, but other 'Best Brewpub' finalists came from much larger cities like Chicago, Milwaukee, Baltimore, and Sacramento.
By definition, a brewpub serves beer it makes on the premises alongside a full menu. Lua is neither Des Moines' oldest brewpub (Court Avenue Brewing Company), nor even its largest in Sherman Hill (Big Grove). Still, it seems to have made a unique space for itself in a highly-competitive market.
'We've always just kind of marched to the beat of our own drum,' Selix said, 'and kind of done what we thought was cool and fun. It seems to be working.'
Holmgren says Lua has cycled through more than 400 beers in the last five years and has tripled the size of its initial food menu. The secret, he says, is to keep rolling with changes.
'No day is the same, you know? Two days ago it was 60 degrees and we were packed for a Hoyt Sherman show. And today we won best brewpub and we just had a blizzard and there's not a single person in here,' he laughed.
You can find Lua Brewing Company at 1525 High Street in Des Moines. You'll find the USA Today article, here.
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