Heaven may not have any beer, but the brews flow freely in Iowa City on University of Iowa Hawkeye football game days. And, well, that’s why we drink it here.

The town is renowned throughout the Big 10 for its tailgating and bar scenes. Whether you’re a veteran Kinnick attendee or a first generation Hawkeye, combing the two scenes can make for an unforgettable experience. Here’s a list of the best places to go before, during, and after the game.

Pre-game

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a bar in the downtown area that’s not opening early for home games. Most places will open their doors around 8 a.m. to serve downtown tailgaters two of the most important B-words in town: Breakfast and beer.

Here’s our pick:

The Airliner, 22 S. Clinton St.

The Airliner has been a favorite of game goers for more than six decades – and for good reason. The kitchen staff makes some of the best pizza in town. Having undergone a renovation a few years ago, the downtown staple now features 17 flat screen televisions, two bars, plenty of seating, and atmosphere that will please fans young and old.

To wet your whistle, the restaurant will be providing a 25-ingredient, make-your-own Bloody Mary bar.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a trip to The Airliner without ordering a pizza. This year the kitchen will be churning out breakfast pizza and, as a bonus, made-to-order doughnuts.

To watch the game

Two bars stand out most, depending on how you spent the early morning. Our picks:

Pints, 118 S. Clinton St.

If you’ve been tailgating and have already eaten, the clear choice is Pints. The place has a ton of seating, 12 42” flat screens, 20 specialty beers on tap, a full liquor bar, and a BYOF (bring your own food) policy.

DC’s, 124 S. Dubuque St, in the Ped Mall

If you’re hungry and thirsty, head to DC’s. Once inside, you’ll find two floors of seating filled with TVs, seating, room for standing, and great drink specials.

But one of the best parts about DC’s can be experienced without ever going inside. If you’re lucky enough to nab one the patio tables, you and your friends can enjoy the outdoors while watching the game on one of several flat screen facing the outdoor seating area – perfect for those who didn’t get enough sun during the morning’s flippy-cup game.

Postgame celebrations

Win or lose, there’s still a party to be had after the game. Here’s two places where you’re sure to find a good time.

Brothers, 125 S. Dubuque St, in the Ped Mall

As evidenced by the long line outside the bar on most weekend nights, Brothers is a popular destination for downtown party seekers. The only thing that changes on the evenings of game days is an increase of black and gold clothing and an elevated number of non-students.

Whether the Hawks win or lose, the bar will be lined with fans, the dance floor will be packed, and there will be enough people to make the fire marshal uneasy. In short: It’s one hell of a party.

The Vine, 330 E. Prentiss St.

The Vine has two locations — one in Iowa City and one in Coralville — but the location on Gilbert and Prentiss is definitely where you’ll want to be after games if you want to be surrounded by Hawkeye fans who are slightly less rowdy than those downtown.

This place is famous for the Vine Stein, an inexpensive monstrosity of a beer stein, and $1 Apple Pie Shots. There’s also plenty of seating and televisions for watching postgame highlights.

— PRESTON

Other notable Iowa City destinations for game days

Vito’s, 118 E. College St.: $3 Bloody Marys, $3 22 oz Bud Light drafts, $3 Vegas Bombs

Donnelly’s Pub, 110 E. College St.: Open at 8 a.m. for breakfast. Breakfast sandwiches, specials on Bloody Marys

Bo-James, 118 E. Washington St.: Open at 9 a.m. $4 “Big Beers,” $5.99 burger baskets

Micky’s Irish Pub, 11 S. Dubuque St.: Open at 8 a.m., bloody marys

Sports Column, 12 S. Dubuque St.: Three rooms, bar seating, booths, high top and low top tables

The Summit, 10 S. Clinton St.: Open an hour before kickoff. bloody marys, mimosas

Quinton’s, 215 E. Washington St.: Open at 8 a.m., $3 domestics, $3.50 premium and imports

Joe’s Place, 115 Iowa Ave.: Open at 8 a.m. for morning games, tons of seating, bar games

Mike Murphy, 28, Hiawatha
Bartender @ The Red Baron

We hear that The Red Baron is getting ready for their grand opening. What we can expect from the newest place in Czech Village?
The style is very World War I and other parts of history. The owner is a huge history buff and the atmosphere and decorations really reflect that. You’ll see stone walls, castle-like lighting and lots of German beer — quite possibly the largest collection of German beer in town.

What kind of bar would you call The Red Baron?
It’s definitely a bar/dance club. There is also a huge outdoor patio. Our crowd is very broad — from young people to older folks who are supporting Czech Village. We have a DJ every Friday night and live music every Saturday. Weekends get a little crazier in terms of audience but we always have fun.

What motivated you to manage the place?
I’ve know the owner (Baron) for years and have been in the bar industry for years. Eventually I plan to actually apply the degree I received, but for now am enjoying what I’m doing and happy to help open the place up.

What’s going on for the grand opening Friday, Saturday and Sunday?
Lots of live music. Red Door and Lonesome Road on Friday. Meerkats Saturday and McMern Johnson Sunday. We’re going to have four beer tents and Budweiser will be out registering people for prizes.

How is The Red Baron going to add to the revitalization of Czech Village?
The Red Baron is one of the few bigger bars/dance clubs in the area and I feel like it’s going to add to the variety we’re finding here in Czech Village. We hope to do some activities like pub crawls in the fall to show people what’s here.
— QUINN
DETAILS: 62 16th Ave. SW, Cedar Rapids;
(319) 265-0000; Happy hour Monday through
Friday 4 to 9 p.m.

Dean Geuder, 46, Cedar Rapids
Owner @ Deanoz

You’ve been in the bar business for a while, right?
When I was growing up, my family owned a bar and restaurant. I owned the original Deanoz for 15 years, had another place called the Bungalo and also a place called Homers.

But, you left. What made you get out?
I really wanted a break. My wife and I have kids and they were pretty young at the time. It just felt like the right time to
take a break.

Why did you to come back and reopen Deanoz in a new location on First Avenue?
I decided to reopen Deanoz about a year and a half ago. I got back into the corporate world for a few years and realized I wasn’t a fan. The bar industry and management is just like second nature to me and it felt right to go back. Plus, I love the fact that you can’t smoke in bars anymore.

Tell us more about the new Deanoz.
It’s an ideal location (in the parking lot of the Towne and Country Shopping Center) and one of the biggest changes is the additional food. People are surprised at the variety of food we have, including our family’s award winning bbq sauce. It’s not your typical bar selections. It’s a sports bar by nature, but the crowd is very diverse.

Does Deanoz have a home team during football season?
Because we offer the NFL Sunday ticket, it’s truly anyone’s team — Cowboys, Dolphins, Chiefs, etc. We do have a very loyal group of Minnesota Vikings fans with the Midwest Vikings Club. It’s great to know they will be here for every game. College football is also always popular.

What have you done to help build customer base?
For me it’s helped that I’ve lived here for a number of years. You meet all sorts of people — blue collar, white collar, friends of friends, family friends — it’s all about getting the word out and over time these groups help grow the business.

Any crazy sports fan stories?
Everyone is pretty well behaved. We have a lot of fun during (University of Iowa) Hawkeye football. The crowd really gets into it. Last year with (University of Northern) Panther basketball we saw a similar reaction — lots of support and having fun.

What are you looking forward to this fall?
Our football season will be ready to go, complete with a couple new televisions.

Being in this business, then leaving and now returning, what advice do you have for someone thinking about opening up a bar?
You have to want to work, and you have to like what you’re doing. If you’re getting into it simply because you like to drink, don’t do it. Its hard work — lots of decisions to be made — it’s all you. But if you like what you do, it’s worth it.

— QUINN
DETAILS: 3707 First Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids, kitchen open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, (319) 862-0772, www.deanoz.com

Start looking for those drinking shoes now. It’s that time of year again.

The Clearheart Vodka Crawl. is Friday (8/13) at  5:30 p.m. Registration kicks off at Bricks, 320 Second Ave. SE, and the crawl continues to five more downtown Cedar Rapids bars.

Proceeds from the night will be donated to ImpactCR and the Cedar Rapids Downtown District.

$10 admission gets you a Clearheart glass along with six drink tickets for these six downtown hot spots:

• Bricks: Clearheart Vodka tonic
• Toocan’s: Clearheart rum with Hair of the Dawg Mojito mix
• Teeghan’s: Clearheart Vodka lemonade
• Piano Lounge: Clearheart Vodka 7
• Dublin: Clearheart Vodka screw driver
• DC Riverwalk: Clearheart Vodka cranberry

Joe Burnett, 39,
rural West Liberty
Co-owner @ Wildwood Smokehouse and Saloon

How did you get into the bar and restaurant business?
My wife and I went to Texas to the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo about three years ago and after we got home, I said I was disappointed we didn’t really have a country western place around here. She said, ‘Don’t complain. Go do something about it.’ Later, I was having lunch at school — I’m the superintendent of the Wilton School District — with one of my teachers, Randy Lee, and I told him about that and he said, “I’ve always wanted to do something like that, too.” So that’s how it started — over school lunch one day. He and my wife, Amy, are co-owners with me. My brother, Brad, is a part-owner, too.

We started looking for land, put a business plan together, and almost a year to do the day of us finding this piece of land, we broke ground, and two years to the day, we opened. The building — we got all the lumber out of one of my neighbor’s barns. Every piece of wood you see in here we took out of his 100-year-old barn.

What makes your place unique in Iowa City?
There really is no other predominately country bar in Eastern Iowa, especially of this size. There might be a hole-in-the-wall place, but we’re the only place that has a country band every Saturday night. We have Nashville acts about once a month. We offer free dance lessons on Thursday nights. And every other Friday night we have a mechanical bull. It’s just, really, it appeals to a wide variety of people. We get people from 18 up to 80-years-old in here.

So how big is the bar?
We can hold about 600 people. We designed this place with a center stage atmosphere. The stage is the center of attention. It’s 4 feet off the ground and there’s no bad seat in the place. No matter where you are, you can see the stage. This is very much a fan-friendly place to watch live country music.

Where are we more likely to find you: Line dancing or riding the bull?
I love to two-step. My wife and I love to two-step. We live in the country. We have horses and cattle. I really like that cowboy lifestyle outside of my day job, so you’ve probably seen me on the bull. I’ve ridden the bull. My son loves to ride the bull. It’s very family-friendly out here. We have a lot of families who come out here and eat dinner, and stick around the kids ride the bull or they listen to music for a bit.

What drink is popular here?
People love drinking a cold beer out of our 32-ounce Mason jars. They’re $5, and that’s a lot of beer. That’s unique here.
— ANNE

Brian Hughes, 36, Robins
Owner @ Toocan’s

You recently opened Toocan’s in the space once occupied by Volume, what inspired the change?
Volume had a good run, but we’d seen a decline in business the last few months. I started talking to customers who I would see out but no longer went to Volume. Many of them, especially women, thought the noise level made it difficult to talk to their friends. They wanted to come back to the bar but thought a more relaxing atmosphere would work better. I decided calling a quiet bar Volume wasn’t the best idea and their feedback ultimately sparked some bigger concepts which led to Toocan’s.

Toocan’s is taking the tiki bar idea to a whole new level. What’s inside?
In terms of atmosphere I wanted patrons to get a Key West/Cancun feel. We’ve decked the place out with palm trees, bright colored walls, tiki faces, sails hanging from the ceiling, a bar made out of bamboo and marble.

How will the theme apply in the dead of an Iowa winter?
I’ve had lots of people ask me this. The frozen drinks are just one part of the menu. People will still be able to enjoy the common bar drinks. As far as the atmosphere, one of my favorite things is to get away somewhere tropical during the Winter months, but you can’t do that on a weekly basis. Toocan’s will give Iowans the chance to escape to a tropical atmosphere, if only for a little while.

Tell us about the Skinny Menu.
This is getting very popular in other parts of the country so I thought I’d try it here. The Skinny Menu offers low calorie recipes for what are commonly high calorie drinks. For example, a classic margarita can be anywhere from 300 to 500 calories, but the skinny option, with only 100 calories, takes out the sugar and calories and doesn’t leave you with a full heavy feeling. The menu offers mixed drinks, frozen drinks and shots without jeopardizing the flavor.

What’s your secret to staff success?
Our staff is the heart of the business. They are the reason we have a following, and are some of my best friends. The most recent example was the hundreds of hours staff volunteered to get Toocan’s ready to open, from painting to cleaning. I am a big believer in treating others the way you want to be treated and remembering to reward people for hard work.

What events can we look forward to for the rest of summer at Toocan’s?
This Saturday will be the unveiling of our booze luge, a 300 pound block of ice designed for shots. We’re also running specials immediately following Uptown Friday Nights. We’re keeping live music shows to once every couple months.
Our first show will be the Cedar Island Band in August.

— QUINN

The downtown night life is coming back.

With more places to choose from, more people are showing up on evenings and weekends. Steve Emerson believes the turning point came this past winter.

“Winter’s always a good time for bars,” says Emerson, who owns several downtown buildings and whose tenants include the Blue Strawberry, Zins and the Piano Lounge. “It is becoming a destination again, and there’s a lot more traffic on the streets right now.”

Some bars — Legends and Muddy Waters, for instance — never returned after the flood, but the Piano Lounge and Volume were back within five months, and business has gradually improved since.

“I don’t think it’s awesome, but it’s not bad considering what happened,” says Brett Klein, one of the managers at the Piano Lounge.

The Piano Lounge — which is below ground in one of Emerson’s buildings in the 200 block of Second Avenue SE — returned with its dingy pre-flood beer taps immortalized in a glass case on the wall.

Business is slow during the week, Klein says, but the addition of new bars — DC’s River Walk and Dublin City on First Street SE, both of which serve food — has helped bring more people downtown.

What would really improve business is for more people to live downtown, Klein says.

“It seems really obvious to me. I think it’s just a lack of people living downtown,” he says.

When Klein thinks about the big picture, though, he’s encouraged. Eight years ago, when he started bartending at Brick’s Bar & Grill, it was the “only place where people really partied downtown.”

By the spring of 2008, Second Avenue SE hummed with activity on Friday and Saturday nights. Crowds walked from Zins or now-defunct Blend to the Piano Lounge and hopped from what’s now Volume to Brick’s and then the old Dublin City, which is now Teaghen’s.

It wasn’t the Ped Mall in Iowa City, but it was improving.

The flood interrupted the improvement. Blend reopened after the flood but folded in January. For several months the Piano Lounge and Volume struggled to get traffic. It’s taken awhile for business to grow, and it’s still not as good as it was before the flood, Klein says.

One scene that may be better than before is New Bohemia.

Parlor City Pub and Eatery and the Chrome Horse on Third Street SE say business is good. Also on that street, a new bar and restaurant is expected to open in the old Village Bank, and the owner of Papa Juan’s/Stefano’s is looking to convert Brosh funeral home into a restaurant.

“Bars and restaurants function a lot better in clusters,” Emerson says.

Jayme Kleve, a bartender at the Chrome Horse, says bicyclists on the trails have been stopping en masse at the motorcycle bar and having Parlor City nearby builds crowds on weekends.

People also can cross the Cedar River and visit bars and restaurants in the Czech Village.

“In five years, it’s going to be nuts down here,” Kleve says.

Amber Miller, 29, Iowa City
Owner @ The Hideaway

How did you get into the bar business?
Paying my way through school is how I started. As a college student I started working in a bar waitressing and worked my way up. I went to school in Colorado and then moved to Chicago and continued working there.

How did you end up opening a place in Iowa City?
The opportunity came up with this place. I thought it was a good location and a great space, and that Iowa City needed a few niches filled.

What niche does The Hideaway fill?
Upscale bar food that is affordable — great burgers and sandwiches. Quality American beer. You can have all your domestics on tap but still have a variety of good American microbreweries too. Our beer list changes so often. I’m very familiar with a lot of microbreweries that are just starting to get into Iowa, so as soon as something pops up, I try to get it in here and on draught as fast as possible.

Why is it important to carry beers from microbreweries?
I just believe in supporting the American craft brewer. Just like you support your local co-op, support your local brewer, and try these really great, fine craft beers. I have Peace Tree on tap. They’re out of Knoxville, Iowa, and they have some really great stuff. On Wednesdays, we offer all our draughts for $2.50.

What else sets your bar apart?
We’re starting bags tournaments. Everyone thinks they’re great in their own yard, you know: “I’m in the champion. I’m number one.” It’s a game that everybody plays at home, but you don’t know how good you are until you can get out and start playing with everyone else. We have a $15 buy-in per pair of people. The tournament goes all day
and there are prizes for first, second, and third place. We’ll play in the lot unless it rains — then we play in the bar. Sign-up is at 12:30 p.m. and play starts at 1 p.m.

Also, we display art from local artists on the walls, with a new artist being featured every month. I feel like there are so many artists and musicians in Iowa City and they need more outlets.

What’s one thing about you that would surprise your regulars?
I used to be a professional cheerleader. In Denver, for the Broncos. That would probably surprise people.
— ANNE

Your accent is a hint that you may not be from Iowa originally.
Originally from England, I moved out to LA in the 80s where I met my wife, who was born in Cedar Rapids. After we had kids we decided it would be a good move to get out of California and put them in Iowa schools, so we ended up back in Cedar Rapids.

How was that transition?
Honestly I had never been to Iowa, let alone Cedar Rapids, before I actually came here to live. Literally the day we had the cable being installed was 9/11. The cable came on and we were in the throws of the attack. So a little unsettling of a start, but Cedar Rapids is a great community. The only regret is that we didn’t move here sooner.

What inspired The Londoner?
My sister Marilyn had been in the states for quite some time, and last year decided to move to Cedar Rapids to be closer to me and the family. She had owned restaurants in other parts of the country, and we both thought it would be fun to bring a little bit of the English pub atmosphere to Cedar Rapids.

What three words would you use to describe The Londoner?
Warm, friendly and welcoming. It doesn’t matter who you are, we want to make sure everyone feels that this is their place. We know our customers have a choice in where to go and getting out there to visit them and make them feel good is important.

Does The Londoner have a signature shot?
That would be the Celtic Pride with vodka, triple sec, English Rose, Apple Pucker, lime juice, sweet & sour and a bit of pineapple juice.

Any activities we should know about?
The World Cup has had this place packed, but we offer a number of things including easy listening music on Sundays. We will be getting a variety of sports including Monday Night Football this fall.

Finish this line: “The key to a great time at the Londoner is to come in with your ___”?
Smile on your face and an appetite.
— QUINN

Dan Klenske, 23, Iowa City
Bar manager @ Atlas

How long have you been a bartender?
About a year and half.

How did you get into bartending?
This is actually my first restaurant job. I always kind of wanted to work in a restaurant. I got a job here, and quickly they moved me into bar and manager.

What do you like about bartending?
I just love the fact that you’re creating.
You get the best of both worlds. You serve people and you get to make the drinks, you get to create.

Can you talk a little about what goes into creating a cocktail?
I like using fresh ingredients. Berries are in season right now, so we’ve been using blackberries. We also make our sour mix from scratch. Fresh ingredients are always a good place to start. I like to work with classic drinks, and change an item here, mix
a concept there.

Can you give me an example of a classic drink you’ve added a fresh twist to?
We have a new drink that we’re calling the Blackberry Bramble. It was inspired by our mojito, which has muddled mint and lime.
We switched it up to use blackberries, and we use vodka instead of rum. So it’s along the lines of a mojito, but a unique, different thing using what we had in stock at the time. It’s been pretty popular.

Summer must be a good season for new drinks since there are so many options for fresh ingredients. Summer drinks are much easier to create than winter cocktails. In summer, we have the flavors that people like to drink.
They’re fresh, they’re light, they use a lot of citrus. They’re refreshing.

What kind of cocktails do you make in the winter?
To be honest, a lot of times in the winter, we like to feature red wine. Or we’ll do an Irish coffee, something like that. But mostly we stick to wines in the winter.

What’s your favorite cocktail to pour?
I like to make a martini, a Manhattan, something along those lines. I like the flair, but at the same time the tradition behind it. We make a lot of margaritas and mojitos. Atlas is definitely known for its mojito. But the martini — it’s old school. I like that.

And what’s your drink of choice?
I would say beer and wine, and then I do like gin martinis. I’m not a vodka martini fan. Those are popular, but I prefer gin.
— ANNE