ReUnion Brewery: “Good Beer. It’s Informed Our Brewing Decisions Since Day One”
Logan DePover has been brewing at ReUnion Brewery since its inception in 2015, playing a key role in shaping its diverse and inclusive approach to craft beer. Known for his dedication to brewing (and his questionable luck in winning anything), Logan brings passion and humor to the brewery. When he’s not perfecting ReUnion’s signature lagers and IPAs, he’s embracing sustainability—right down to eating carrot tops instead of tossing them. DeliveryRank has the opportunity to find out more.
Over the years, how has your beer lineup evolved to cater to the changing preferences of your clientele? Could you highlight any flagship brews that have remained favorites since your inception?
When we first opened in 2015, our focus was primarily on brewing traditional German lagers—styles like Hefeweizen, Pilsner, Helles, and Dunkel. That was the original concept: a lager house. However, IPAs quickly proved to be the dominant style in the U.S. craft beer scene. Since I had always enjoyed them, I brewed an IPA right away, and it took off. From there, customer demand for different hop varieties, double IPAs, and even triple IPAs kept growing, and we naturally evolved from a lager-heavy brewery to one that leaned heavily into IPAs.
Interestingly, we were one of the first in the area to brew a hazy IPA. Our flagship beer, Tank Puncher, was introduced early on—around 2016—just as hazy IPAs were beginning to gain traction. They remain the dominant style in our portfolio today. However, over the past decade, we've noticed a shift, with consumers showing renewed interest in lagers, the very styles we started with. It’s been fascinating to watch that cycle play out.
Ultimately, our approach has always been about brewing what we love to drink while staying attuned to what our customers are excited about. We actively listen to feedback from our patrons and let that guide our creativity, ensuring we continue to craft beers that resonate with our community.
With distinct menus at your Coralville and Iowa City locations, how do you approach the integration of your beer offerings with your food selections? Are there specific dishes designed to complement particular brews?
We have two locations, each with its own distinct menu, thanks to having two different head chefs. I think that’s one of the things that makes our approach unique—it allows for a diverse range of food offerings across our two spots. There’s no rigid marketing strategy dictating the menus; instead, we let our chefs take the lead based on their interests and inspirations.
There has definitely been an organic interplay between our beer styles and food selections. For example, at our Iowa City brewery, where we focus more on German-style beers, you’ll find a strong presence of German sausages and similar offerings. But overall, our menu remains diverse, just like our beer selection.
What I love most is the flexibility we offer when it comes to pairing. I don’t believe in hard rules about what beer should be paired with what food. Instead, I encourage a more exploratory approach—trying unexpected combinations, experimenting with fusion flavors, and sometimes discovering that a pairing you wouldn’t have considered actually works in a really interesting, contrasting way. It’s a laid-back, open-minded approach to food and beer, and that’s exactly how we like it.
The craft beer industry is highly competitive and ever-changing. How does ReUnion Brewery stay ahead of industry trends while maintaining a unique identity that resonates with your customers?
One of the great things about having two distinct taprooms is the direct feedback we get from our regulars and patrons. While the bulk of our beer production happens at a separate facility without a taproom, our two brewpubs allow us to stay connected with our customers and hear what they’re excited about. We keep our ears open—if someone asks why we haven’t used a certain hop they’ve heard about, we might decide to try it in our next IPA, throw together an experimental batch, and see how it turns out.
That said, we don’t chase trends too aggressively. Over the years, we’ve seen crazes come and go—things like seltzers, heavily sweet dessert stouts, and pastry sours. We’ve dabbled here and there but never fully leaned into those styles. Our philosophy has always been to brew what we genuinely enjoy drinking. We stay aware of trends, but at the end of the day, our brewing choices are rooted in our own tastes and the preferences of our taproom customers. For example, with our sour beers, we intentionally keep the acidity in check. We’ve found that our customers—like us—prefer sours that are more balanced, rather than the kind that are so intensely sour you can only drink one.
When it comes to hops, we regularly use about a dozen varieties in our flagship lineup, but over the years, we’ve experimented with hundreds of different hops, testing out new combinations in our IPAs. With the sheer number of hop varieties available today, the possibilities are endless. I’ve never actually counted how many we’ve used in the past decade, but I imagine it’s a pretty high number.
In the brewing industry, sustainability is becoming increasingly important. What measures have you implemented to promote environmental responsibility in your brewing and operational processes?
From the very beginning, even when we were a small operation, sustainability has been a priority. Rather than discarding large quantities of spent grain, we immediately partnered with local farmers. Initially, we worked with a hog farmer who ran a small-scale operation, raising boutique varieties of pigs. Over time, we’ve continued this practice, and today, a local cattle farmer—just 15 minutes away—utilizes our spent grain. Ensuring that our brewing byproducts support agriculture has always been an important part of how we operate.
More recently, with the opening of our Heinz Road production facility, we’ve expanded our sustainability efforts. The entire facility runs on solar power, with panels installed on the roof. We’re also mindful of water conservation, as brewing is a water-intensive process. One way we minimize waste is by capturing the hot water generated when cooling our boiling beer before fermentation and repurposing it for the next brew, rather than letting it go down the drain.
Beyond brewing, we’re conscious of sustainability in our packaging as well. We use recyclable snap-top six-pack holders and strive to minimize environmental impact wherever possible. From production to packaging, we’re always looking for ways to be as efficient and eco-friendly as we can.
Looking ahead, are there any upcoming projects, collaborations, or expansions that patrons can anticipate? How do you envision the brewery’s role in the local community evolving in the next few years?
In recent years, we’ve focused on community-driven projects, including several donation beers. One example is our collaboration with the Coralville Fire Department, where we brewed a special IPA with their input—they even helped choose the hops. At the end of the sales cycle, we donated proceeds to support their volunteer force, helping fund equipment purchases. These kinds of partnerships allow us to give back in meaningful ways.
We’ve also been involved in local events, such as sponsoring Mission Creek, a major springtime music festival in Iowa City. Rather than expanding too quickly or stretching ourselves thin, we’ve chosen to double down on our local presence, prioritizing Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and Eastern Iowa. While we’ve begun reaching into Des Moines and expect gradual growth in that direction, our focus remains on steady, sustainable expansion.
A recent example of our local-first approach is an upcoming collaboration with Daydreams Comics for Free Comic Book Day. Our longtime artist, Jon Sims, whose comic book-inspired style has been featured on every beer label we’ve produced, connected us with the shop. Together, we’re brewing a special small-batch release, and we’re planning raffle events to celebrate the occasion. Ultimately, it’s about having fun, making great beer, and strengthening our ties with the community we love.
If you would like to find out more about ReUnion Brewery, please visit https://reunionbrewery.com/