Brew Up and Wine Down To Get October Started in the Quad Cities

Oktoberfest doesn't need to wait till the end of October. You can get the month started October 2 with the North Scott Chamber of Commerce’s Brew Up Wine Down. This Saturday evening will be filled with beer, wine, spirit tasting and more in downtown Eldridge.

You'll be able to sample from 7G Distributing, Nerdspeak Brewing, Peacetree Brewing Co, Big Grove Brewery, Wide River Winery, Wooden Wheel Vineyards, Cat’s Eye Distillery, Twin Span Brewing, Uncle Tony’s Ale and more to come!

What Oktoberfest isn't going to have music that totally fits the mood. The Muzik Krauts will be the ones to get you dancing. Oh, you don't dance to polka music? Read the paragraph above one more time about all the samples you'll be drinking at the event. Yeah, you'll be polka dancing all around Eldridge.

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Drink and music are covered, one thing is missing. Food! Bavarian pretzel sticks with beer cheese from Maloney’s Pub, bratwursts from Al & Gerry’s Tap, and apple strudel from Eastern Iowa Baking Co. Fill up that belly so you can keep going back for the samples mentioned above.

You can get tickets for this 21+ event now at northscottchamber.com and in-person at North Scott Foods, follow the event on Facebook @brewupwinedowneldridge and get ready to start October the right way with Brew Up Wine Down!

Brew Up Wine Down

Iowa's Island City

There is something unique about every town, but there is really something special about Sabula, IA. Known as "Iowa's Island City," Sabula is the only town in the state of Iowa that is entirely on an island. While not a lot of people have been to, or live in Sabula, it is a quaint little town nestled right on the Mississippi River.

Before we show you around "Iowa's Island City," let me give you the history of Sabula. Sabula was established in 1835, according History of Jackson County, Iowa, Volume 1 by James Whitcomb Ellis. Isaac Dorman and a man named Hinkley crossed the river from the Illinois side on a log and decided to settle on what is now Sabula. An Ohio couple, James and Margaret Woods would settle on Sabula about a year later in April of 1836. Their son, Dr. E. A. Woods would purchase Hinkley's interest in the claim. Charles Swan and W. H. Brown would soon purchase Dorman's interest. The three men, Woods, Swan and Brown later had the land plotted in 1837.

The idea behind plotting the land was because there was no town between Lyons (north Clinton) and Bellevue. The plot of the new town was recorded in Dubuque as this area was part of Dubuque county at the time, according History of Jackson County, Iowa, Volume 1 by James Whitcomb Ellis.

According to Island City Harbor's website, Sabula went through a few names before landing on the official town name. In 1837, Sabula was first called Carrollport. Residents of the town didn't like the name because there was a man's name who was Carroll who had a bad reputation. The town changed its name to Charleston, after early settler Charles Swan. The only issue was that there was already a town called Charleston in Iowa which caused much confusion.

In 1846 the settler’s decided to find a name. Island City Harbor's website says that because of it’s sandy soil, William Hubble suggested the town be called "Sabulum" which is Latin for sand. A party was being held around the time the town name was being discussed, when a woman, supposed to be Miss Harriet Hudson, suggested the town be called Sabula as it was easier to pronounce and sounded more elegant, according History of Jackson County, Iowa, Volume 1 by James Whitcomb Ellis.

Sabula did not actually become an island until 1939. According to Wikipedia, in the 1930's, the Army Corps of Engineers constructed the lock and dam system. In 1939, Lock and Dam No. 13 between Clinton, IA and Fulton, IL was built which caused the bottomlands west of the town permanently flooded. With the Mississippi River east of the town, this created the "Island City." A levee was built around Sabula in 1957 for protection, according to Island City Harbor's website. This also allowed for the south sand pit to be turned into a boat harbor.

I would like to thank my mom Beth, her fiancé Matt, my brother Nolan and my wife Ellie for accompanying me to Sabula. We always have a blast on our trips and this one was no exception.

It's now time to introduce you to Sabula, Iowa, Iowa's Island City.

Filed Under: beer, Eldridge, oktoberfest, wine

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