Cheers, y'all: Backpocket Brewing's special ale celebrates Coralville's 150th as RAGBRAI rolls through

Something’s brewing at Backpocket.

The brewery’s special “Cheers to the Years” blonde ale is now on tap in Coralville and available along the RAGBRAI route. The beer raises a glass to Coralville's 150th anniversary as well as RAGBRAI's 50th ride.

Backpocket Brewing has been a staple of the Iowa River Landing for more than a decade. They've joined RAGBRAI's traveling craft beer tent for nine years, Whitney Daniels, operations manager at Backpocket’s brewing facility in Coralville, told the Press-Citizen.

Coralville's first brewery opened in 2012. The city asked Backpocket if they'd like to create a beer for its 150th anniversary. The cans feature Coralville’s 150th "Cheers to the Years" logo and are widely available throughout RAGBRAI events.

“When we realized this is the 150th anniversary and it's RAGBRAI’s 50th and they're coming through Coralville, we're like this is a great opportunity to draw awareness to our city and how much it's changed,” Daniels said.

Daniels said Backpocket’s location in the Iowa River Landing and its newest beer also help draw attention to Coralville’s east side business district.

The brewery purposely held back some of its supply of beer, including the “Cheers to the Years” brew and some of its sours and easy-drinking lagers, Daniels said, for Coralville’s dual summer celebration of both RAGBRAI and its anniversary.

Backpocket’s beers, including the anniversary ale, are also available at local stores, including HyVee. The brewery’s website says its beer is available in all 99 counties in Iowa.

More: For RAGBRAI riders, decorating roadkill is a lively tradition on the 50th anniversary route

RAGBRAI's impact on Backpocket staff

A few of Backpocket's employees embrace the spirit of RAGBRAI, Daniels said, including Dave Strutt, who founded the original Backpocket location in McGregor, Iowa when it was called Old Man River.

“I would never ride my bike that far,” Daniels said. “But our owners, they participate in RAGBRAI and they love it. I think, being native Iowans, they all have grown up with it.”

Taproom manager Natalie Boucher told the Press-Citizen the great bike ride was something she grew up around, and was hard to miss growing up in Iowa.

“RAGBRAI is always just about fun and community,” Boucher said. “So it's really neat that we get to see it come through Coralville. It’s like a family reunion to us on some level.”

The Coralville community includes hundreds of riders, from long-time city administrator Kelly Hayworth to Think Iowa City’s Josh Shamberger.

More: Photos: See photos of RAGBRAI 50's Day 6 from Tama-Toledo to Coralville

Boucher said she has also spotted several of the taproom’s regular visitors while working along the route this week.

“I helped at the craft beer tent yesterday and saw quite a few of my Taproom regulars, so that was really fun getting to serve them beer and hugging them why they're all sweaty and I’m all sweaty,” she said.

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on Twitter @ryanhansen01.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Backpocket Brewing's Cheers to the Years ale celebrates Coralville