• Jess Blumensheid has a write up about the 2008 Schlafly Christmas ale.
• Eating Well in STL thinks AB’s American Ale is their best beer.
• The RFT has a few suggestions for AB’s new overlords.

Beer Releases and News

• Hari Patel, of Bombay Wines & Spirits emailed to let us know about some new beers he has in stock:
  • Odell Brewing Co - Extra Special Red
  • Odell Brewing Co - Isolation Ale
  • Avery - Hog Heaven
  • Avery - Salvation
  • Avery - The Reverend
• Paul at The Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton alerts me to some new beers he has in stock:
  • Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence
  • Ommegang Gift Set
  • Left Hand Warrior IPA
  • 2008 Vintage Schlafly Imperial Stout
  • Sam Adams Winter Classic 12pk
  • Shipyard Prelude Special Ale
  • Anchor Christmas Ale Magnums and 6pks
  • Rogue Santa’s Private Reserve
  • Boulevard Nutcracker Ale
  • O’Dells Isolation Ale
  • O’Fallon Chocolate Cherry
• Lukas Liquor posts on their blog some of the new and special selections they have in stock:
  • Anchor Old Foghorn
  • Anchor Christmas Ale
  • Left Hand Warrior IPA
  • Rogue Santa’s Private Reserve Ale
  • Boulevard Nutcracker Ale
  • Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence
  • Pyramid Snow Cap Ale
  • Odell Extra Special Red
• Ryan at Randall’s Wine & Spirits alerts me to some new beers he has in stock at the Fairview Heights Randall’s:
  • Shiner - Cheer
  • Sierra Nevada - Celebration Ale
  • Rogue - Santa’s Private Reserve
  • Schlafly - Christmas
  • Weltenberg Kloster - Winter-Traum
  • Gouden - Carolus Red
  • Bluemoon - Brewmasters’ Sampler
  • Goose Island - Christmas Ale
  • Samuel Smith - Gift Packs
  • O’Fallon - We Love Beer-Sampler Pack
  • Boulevard - Nut Cracker Ale
  • Left Hand - Warrior IPA 22 oz.
  • Sam Adams - Chocolate Bock
  • Sam Adams - Imperial Pilsner
  • Red Hook - Double Black Stout 22 oz.
  • Hoeegarden
• Mike at The Wine and Cheese Place in Rock Hill alerts me to some new beers he has in stock:
  • Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence
  • Ommegang Gift Set
  • Left Hand Warrior IPA
  • 2008 Vintage Schlafly Imperial Stout
  • Anchor Christmas Ale Magnums and 6pks
  • Rogue Santa’s Private Reserve
  • Boulevard Nutcracker Ale
  • O’Dells Isolation Ale
  • O’Fallon Chocolate Cherry
  • Tin Mill Skyscraper

Local Restaurant Beer List Updates

• Jerad Gardner, of the Rotten Apple lets me know about his most current draught selection. If you haven’t been to the Rotten Apple, take the time to visit:
  • Founders Brewing - Breakfast Stout
  • Dogfish Head Brewing - 90 min IPA
  • Flying Dog Brewing - Woody Creek Wit
  • Founders Brewing - Crumudgeon
  • Lagunitas Brewing - Pils
  • Lagunitas Brewing - Lucky 13
  • Three Floyds - Alpha King
  • Victory Brewing - Storm King
  • Original Sin - Green Apple Cider
  • Bear Republic - Racer 5
  • Two Brothers Brewing - Heavy Handed IPA
  • Stag
• Jerad also let me know about the new beers on the draught list at The Stable:
  • Kasteel Rouge
  • Odell 5 Barrel Pale Ale
  • Schlafly Dry Hopped APA
  • O’Fallon 5 Day IPA
  • Bell’s Two Hearted
  • Charleville Hoptimistic
  • Arcadia London Porter
  • Charleville Half-Wit Wheat
  • Gouden Carolus Cuvee De Kiezer Grand Cru
  • Anderson Valley Hop Ottin
  • Sierra Nevada Celebration
  • Hoegaarden
  • Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye
  • Left Hand Milk Stout
  • North Coast Old Rasputin
  • Left Hand Twin Sisters
  • Southern Tier Unearthly
  • Southern Tier Hoppe
  • Bell’s Best Brown
  • Houblon Chouffe
  • O’Fallon Cocoa Cream Stout
  • Charleville Barleywine
  • Rogue Shakespeare Stout (Nitro)
  • Arcadia Hopmouth
• Dave Johnson of Buffalo Brewing Company posted in the forum to let us know about their current draught list:
  • Gold
  • Chili
  • Drool
  • Dunkel Rye (roggenbier)
  • Dubbel
  • Sam Huff’s Vanilla Brown
• Karen McVicker of Cicero’s dropped me a line to let me know about a few new beers they have available:
  • Leffe
  • Anderson Valley Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout
  • Rochfort 10 (bottle)

Here’s a list of upcoming beer events:

• Nov 21 - Two Hearted Cask at 33 Wine Shop
• Nov 24 - Beer School at Llywelyn’s Pub

Today, from 4PM to 6:30PM the Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton will be having a tasting featuring Left Hand Warrior IPA, Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence, 2008 Anchor Christmas, Schlafly 2008 Oak Aged Imperial Stout, and Schlafly 2007 Oak Aged Imperial Stout. More information can be found at their blog.

Mike at the Wine and Cheese Place in Rock Hill will also be holding a tasting today from 4PM to 6:30. He’ll be sampling these beers: Left Hand Warrior IPA, Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence, 2008 Anchor Christmas, and Schlafly 2008 Oak Aged Imperial Stout. Once again, more information can be found at their blog.

Tasting is a great way to try before you buy.

If you’re a retail shop and want me to list your tasting, make sure to email me at mike@stlhops.com.

Freshly ground Kaldi’s Coffee and split vanilla beans were added directly to the cask for a chocolately, aromatic and fascinating version of our Coffee Stout. Only two casks made, so it will not likely last for long. 

Couple this cask with the cask of Bell’s Two Hearted being opening this evening at 33 Wine Shop tonight and it makes for a very good weekend for being a beer drinker in St. Louis.

Corral Liquors houses one of the largest beer selections in the metro area, providing a large variety of beers that you can’t find in Missouri. We had a user in the forum asking about where to find the best mix-a-six selection in St. Louis and a number of users (including me) said that Corral provides the largest variety of beers that can be bought in singles.

Corral also offers a large variety of beer in kegs, just be certain to call first to find out what’s available. Corral may be a little out of the way if you live on the western side of the river, but it’s a fantastic place to find some gems.

[Show as slideshow]

American India Pale Ale

What you should be smelling: Hops. Hops and more hops. Specifically though, the hop aroma can be a number of different things, though an American IPA usually tends toward fruity, citrusy hops aromas. But it’s likely you’ll also find grassy, piney, or even pineapple aromas. You should also be able to detect a malt presense as well, it may come across as slightly sweet or even a little biscuity.

What you should be seeing: The color of an American IPA can range from a deep golden hue to a reddish, caramel color. The beers can suffer from some haze which is often due to dry hopping the beer (which helps to provide more aroma.) With any luck you’ll have a very persistent fluffy white head which will allow you to smell the beer from the first drink to the last.

What you should be tasting: Did you read the description of the aroma? It’s going to be pretty similar. You’re going to get a refreshing hop bitterness that will contain some of the flavors of the aromas described above. You should also have just enough malt sweetness to back up the bitterness. You have to have the right balance of sweetness to bitterness though, because if the beer is sways either direction it becomes difficult to drink more than one or two pints. You always want a relatively medium-light body otherwise you suffer from a similar drinkability problem.

How you should you be drinking this: My two best suggestions for glassware would be a standard shaker pint glass or an all purpose wide-mouth tulip glass which will allow you really smell some of this beer’s complex aroma. One caveat with the tulip glass is that they are usually pretty thin walled and will allow the beer to warm up relatively quickly. Speaking of temperature, BeerAdvocate recommends serving this beer at 45-50°F which seems about perfect to me. You want the beer to be warm enough to pick up on the aroma, but not so warm that it becomes harsh and difficult to drink.

What you should be buying: Some of the best examples of this style you can pick up locally are O’Fallon 5-Day IPA, Bell’s Two Hearted Ale, 60 Minute IPA, Racer 5 India Pale Ale, Victory Hop Devil, Avery IPA, Lagunitas IPA, and Founders Centennial IPA.

Related Styles: American Pale Ale, English IPA, Double or Imperial IPA.

Beers I sampled for this discussion: Green Flash IPA, Bell’s Two Hearted, and Avery IPA.

This week’s school is being taught by George Reisch, an Executive Brewmaster at Anheuser-Busch InBev. George will be on hand to discuss teaching about Boddingtons, Leffe and Bass. Go out and take advantage of one of the few places where you can drink and learn!

If you can’t make it out to the Beer School, you can check out all of the classes via podcast at Cicerosbeerschool.com.

Do yourself a favor and buy a SIP Club membership so you don’t miss this dinner next year. I wish I could propery explain just how fantastic this dinner was.

[Show as slideshow]

We are offering nine beer tastes (4oz.) for $10. It is going to have a Christmas theme and it will include our new special order Christmas beers from Shelton Brothers. Here are the offerings.

• Santa’s Butt - Winter Porter
• Jenlain Noel - French Christmas Ale
• Weissenohe Monksfest - Traditional Marzen Beer
• Lump of Coal - Dark Holiday Stout
• Severely Bad Elf - English Double Ale
• Breckenridge Christmas
• St. Bernardus Apt 12
• Gouden Carolus Hopsinjour
• Weltenburger Kloster Anno 1050 - Urtyp Hell

As I’m still feeling a bit under the weather, I probably won’t be able to make it out.  If you do attend, please be certain to take plenty of pictures to share.

This Monday, November 17th will feature Glazer’s Distributing who’s beers include Fuller’s, Young’s, Bell’s and Sierra Nevada. Next Monday, November 24th will be hosted by Lohr Distributing who offers Anheuser-Busch products as well as Kona, Rolling Rock and Widmer as well.  See the below flyer for more information.