OK, I think we’ve waited long enough, where is Capital Brewery in St. Louis?  They’ve been registered with the state of Missouri since early March and yet we’re still sitting here waiting for Capital to be made available in the St. Louis area.

There are few better lagers being produced in America than the ones being produced by Capital Brewery and St. Louis, for whatever reason is being left in the dark.  To add insult to injury, our friends in Kansas City have been enjoying Capital for the past few months.

So what gives?  Why hasn’t a local distributor stepped forth to pick up this excellent and sought-after brand?  Has the local market finally begun to suffer from having too many brands?

It would be a shame if this great brewer of lager beers gets passed by because it’s not a über-imperial, barrel-aged,  sour, smoked, dry-hopped, <insert adjective> beer.

The beer universe went a bit crazy on Friday with the announcement in the St. Louis Business Journal that Schlafly brewery was up for sale.  I have to admit, I was caught a bit off-guard by the news myself (and I’m a part-time employee.)  It didn’t help that only a portion of the article was made available on the Business Journal website.  The article cut off with Tom Schlafly saying:

“My preference would be to sell most of my shares to an employee-based group at whatever the fair market price is,” said Schlafly, 61. “I don’t want to take the highest bidder from a Cayman Islands venture fund. It would be more responsible to have it in the hands of someone who has a sense of stewardship, people who have helped build the company and understand what our conscience is.”

Not that I was really concerned about the sale before Dan’s comments, but what he was saying really made sense. If there isn’t someone to step into Dan or Tom’s footsteps if something were to happen, then there was a possibility of problems for the employees working at Schlafly.

So, let’s make something very clear: This isn’t about the end of Schlafly, it’s about the future.

This isn’t a company that’s looking to sell tomorrow and make a quick buck. This isn’t going to be a sale that’s going to happen this month or this year, it’s a possibility this may not even happen in the next five years.

This is a company that realizes that there will need to be some sort of plan in place when the inevitable happens.   You need to look out for the company you’ve created and the people you’ve employed.  The best way of doing that is by having the employees purchase into the company and to find someone who holds the same ideals and outlook for the business.

And let’s be honest, whomever comes in to purchase this company has some problems in front of them.  If they’re looking to increase sales, they’re going to have to increase capacity.  The Bottleworks will be pretty much at capacity over the next couple of years.  So, a new brewery will probably have to be built.  That’s going to take a lot of capital.

Now, does this mean we’re guaranteed that everything will be fine and dandy in ten years time?  No. This is a business and anything can happen.  Any kind of unease or concern you’re feeling about this sale is probably being felt tenfold by employees at Schlafly.  But if there is any local company that can pull off a sale and keep the company true to its roots, I think it’s Schlafly.

Credit: Riverfront Times

One of the benefits to doing tours at the Schlafly Tap Room is that I often get to meet a bunch of people that haven’t been exposed to the huge world that is craft beer.  It’s also interesting to see some of the reactions that take place when I mention that Schlafly has just release their Summer Lager in a can. Sometimes that reaction is joy, but a lot of times it comes across as a sour look.

It’s at that point that I have to stop the tour and clear up their misconception of canned beer.  So, with the addition of more and more canned craft beer coming into the St. Louis area, it maybe it’s time to do it on a larger scale, to explain some of the advantages and disadvantages.  First, let’s lay out some of the things canned craft beer is not:

Isn’t canned beer supposed to be cheaper?
At some point in your life, I’m sure you’ve had to purchase a large amount of macro beer for a party. You’ve quickly noticed that buying canned beer is usually much cheaper than buying beer in bottles. Why is this? It’s simply the economics of scale. When you’re brewing over a 100 million barrels of beer each year, you’re going to need hundreds of millions (and possibly even billions) of cans. When you’re buying that many cans, the price decreases.

Local brewers just aren’t going to have the warehouse space to purchase the hundreds of thousands of cans necessary to drop the price and lower the cost for the beer as a whole. Not to mention the fact that neither brewer is canning these beers locally, they’re currently having the beers contract brewed at Steven’s Point Brewery in Wisconsin. That adds additional shipping and contract costs.

Don’t beer cans use BPA?
You’re right, they do. The companies that currently make beer cans are looking into new can liners that don’t contain Bisphenol A, but if BPA is a concern, then you probably should avoid cans for the time being.

Bleh, beer out of a can tastes like metal!
That’s because you’re committing a cardinal sin when it comes to drinking craft beer, you’re drinking it out of the can or bottle. Think back to the times you had a stuffy nose, remember how everything you tasted was a muted version of what you normally taste? That’s because your sense of taste is completely tied into smell.

When you wrap your lips around a bottle or can, you’re creating a seal that keeps the beer’s aroma from reaching your nose. If you can’t smell, you’re not going to fully enjoy the beer as it was intended. As mentioned above, the can or bottle is merely a transportation device to move the beer from the brewery into your glass.

Now, are there going to be times when you can’t pour it into a glass? Sure, which brings us to one of the reasons canned beer is so great:

Convenience.
This is probably the main reason most craft breweries have begun canning beer. Canned beer can go places bottled beer cannot. The park, beach, pool, float trips; basically any place that bottles aren’t allowed, cans can happily live. They’re just about the perfect summer beer vessel.

This also means that you may on occasion have to drink out of the can. Obviously it’s not the preferred method of drinking your beer, but sometimes you don’t have a choice.

No Light.
Light is probably the biggest enemy of beer. In just a short time, light is the thing that can make that wonderfully hoppy beer you’re drinking turn into something that smells like it came out of the backside of a skunk. This is one of the best places where canned beer excels, because it allows no light to hit your beer as it’s sitting at your favorite retail establishment.

Oxygen.
Beer’s other big enemy. Oxygen is a bit of a toss-up as far as cans are concerned. When a brewer purges the bottle with CO2 to remove the oxygen, it pushes all of the oxygen out of a small opening. Cans are a bit more tricky as they have a larger opening which means it’s more difficult to get all of the oxygen out.

But, if most of the oxygen is removed, you’re left with a vessel that is airtight and will keep oxidation to a minimum. Another great aspect of the can.

Environmental.
Cans are lighter than bottles, which means you can ship more at a time, which means you can save extra trips back and forth from the brewery to the distributor. Cans are also easier to recycle and easier to chill down, both huge savings to using energy.

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Are cans the ultimate device for transporting beer? That’s really up for you to decide. There are certainly a lot of advantages, but there are some disadvantages as well. Personally, I think they’re pretty swell and I’m always looking forward to more canned craft beer in St. Louis.

While reviewing a copy of a new book I was sent called The Beer Trials, I noticed that they scored their beers from 1 to 10.  If it wasn’t obvious, 1 is the lowest score a beer could get and 10 is the highest.

Grading systems like this can certainly have their advantages and disadvantages, one thing it certainly provides is an easy to understand system of whether they think a beer is good or bad.  The most interesting thing about the ratings in the Beer Trials is that there isn’t a single grade below 3 or above 9.

I’m not going to dwell on the low end of the scale as we’ve all certainly had beers that could be rated with negative numbers.  Instead I was fascinated by the fact there wasn’t a single perfect beer out of 250 reviews.

Part of this is because they had multiple people provide reviews of a single beer at one time.  So, even if one person give the beer a 10, another people could just give it an 8 and now we’re left with an average of 9.  But it’s still quite interesting to see that a perfect beer didn’t exist within the book.

Maybe the other part of the problem is that part of having a perfect beer is often the experience.  It’s amazing to think how much environment and company can provide to having what can amount to “beer utopia.”  I refuse to think there doesn’t exist a perfect 10.

What are some of your perfect 10 beers?

If I were to create a one word review for this dinner, it would be “value.” This isn’t to say the the Schlafly Beer Dinner I had a the 1904 Beerhouse wasn’t delicious (it was), or the beer they chose wasn’t good (it was), but I don’t think you’re going to find a better beer dinner for $25 in St. Louis right now.

Let me start with the good before I get to the bad.  This four course meal started with a selection of appetizers, which were probably the lowest point for me. Not that they were terrible, but they didn’t really stand out to me either. But, beginning with the first course of mussels, things only looked up.

These mussels were some of the largest, and yet most tender mussels I’ve ever eaten. They were beer steamed, served in a flavorful “Portuguesa” style broth and paired with a Schlafly Pale Ale. Not to mention, we each were served about a million mussels. So many in fact, it could have easily been a full meal.

For those of us who love beef, the next course didn’t disappoint. The grilled APA glazed ribeye was served perfectly medium rare and had a fantastic char that complemented the Schlafly APA glaze (which it was also paired with). This course included a wild mushroom gnocchi that paired very well with the Schlafly Oatmeal Stout that was also included. Not to mention that the gnocchi may have been some of the best I’ve ever had. They were light and pillowy without ever being mushy.

While not usually a huge fan of dessert, nor a huge fan of molten chocolate cake, I have to say that this was possibly the best one I’ve ever had. Not too sugary sweet, as molten cake is oft to be, but had a deep and complex chocolate flavor. This course also included a raspberry gelato and was also served with a Schlafly’s Raspberry Hefeweizen.

Now, I mentioned the bad. But the word “bad” is far too harsh, as there was really nothing about this meal that was bad. It’s just some things that I think could be worked on. First off, the portions, as I mentioned with the mussels above, they were far too large. I don’t think there was a single person at the table to finish everything, and if there was, then they’re more of a man than me.

Second, was the amount of beer. I know both of these complaints sound silly, but six beers and a ton of food, while an awesome value, makes you feel like you’re about to die. My third complaint is also probably my biggest, I didn’t really get much out of the pairings.

There wasn’t a problem with the pairings, per se, it’s just that they didn’t really add much to the meal. For the most part, they neither complemented nor detracted from the meal as a whole. It seemed more like a dinner of some really good food and really good beer and less of what I think of a dinner pairing beer with food. But, in all fairness, this was their first beer dinner, so sometimes these things take time to work out.

The one thing I’d like to stress to 1904 Beer House is that I know this is a test run of dinners before the move to a monthly beer dinner schedule, but I think the $25 price point is that sweet spot to get people to regularly attend these events.

I know for a fact that this specific dinner was a money loser for them, I mean we had each had a 750ml bottle of Schlafly Grand Cru to enjoy for ourselves. But I think that with some portion trimming and limited some of the beer included with the meal, they could probably make this a profitable event even at a $25 price point.

I fully suggest that you try and attend one of these meals over the next four weeks before they move to a monthly schedule, because I don’t think you’re going to find a better bargain.

Finally had a chance to stop by the newest brewery in St. Louis, Six Row Brewing Company, so I thought that I’d share some of my thoughts and also some photos.  First, I really liked the feel of the place.  It’s very warm and very inviting.  It seems like agreat place to stop in a grab a pint or two before heading home or heading to an event downtown.

For only being open for two months, I thought the beers were very solid.  I enjoyed the Extra Pale Ale quite a bit, the Honey Weizen has some great banana notes,  and I thought that Porter was very good.  I’m happy to see a local St. Louis brewery offering up a porter.   Wasn’t a big fan of the Whale, but that could just be my own palate.

It also looks like these guys may be looking into doing a little bit of distribution in the future, so it will be nice to see some of their beers available around town.  This is a brewery first and foremost.  Look at the menu below and you’ll see there isn’t much in the way of food.  But I think this gives them the opportunity to concentrate solely on making beer.

I’m curious to see where these guys go and I’m looking forward to the future.

So, I’m pleased to announce that the winner for the two tickets to tonight’s Bigelo’s Valentine’s Beer Dinner is Brian Krebel! Congrats to Brian and thank you everyone for entering. Once again, if you didn’t win, don’t be too upset, I’m going to have a few more things to give away in the next few weeks.

I once again want to thank Mark from Bigelo’s Bistro for providing the tickets to this event.