There are so few restauranters who just get it like the visionaries at the Shaved Duck. I will go, and likely return, just because of this list.

We the beer nerds can be pretty easy to please, just give us good beer.

Impressive list. I will have to make a trip there in the near future.

Will that be the extend of the draft list? The Arms has an excellent selection so I would hope the Duck follows the same path.

Nice range, good prices. Well done.

This is great. I really love the concept of featuring American beers, and I love several beers on this list. I’ll be angling for a trip there as soon as I can.

“That’s the kind of list beer nerds like me would love to see at every restaurant.”

That will never happen. All that beer has to go somewhere and that somewhere costs money.

In most upscale restaurants not only would a list like this be too much because people are more apt to order wine, but I would bet it would be cost prohibitive because I imagine using that floor space for wine is more profitable than offering it to beer.

But I do agree while this is totally out of the question, something more like your short and medium lists is something upscale joints need to explore. By ignoring beer all together, they’re missing some sales opportunities they might have otherwise had.

I would add that in places that are stocking massive amounts of wine they might as well have extensive beer lists too because at that point you are clearly less concerned about the profitability of every inch of your storage space….Erato on Main being the obvious example that gets it right on that basis.

Wow, that’s quite a list. The Rogue 750′s for only $10? That’s an awesome price for a bar! Anybody who goes should jump on that deal!

This is probably just personal preference, but I would much rather have a large draft list than a bottle list. When I go out, I don’t want a bottle that I can pull out of my personal stash (or to be more exact, have purchased for my personal stash).

Draft beer for me is what eating out at a beer lover’s restaurant is all about.

I know what some are thinking…draft beer is harder to maintain all around. I understand and agree. It would be hard for a startup to risk allowing keg beer to just hang around to get old while bottle beer can linger much longer.

Thanks for a great blog. I’ve found a lot of beer news and beer dinners I haven’t seen anywhere else.

Please keep us posted on the opening date (and address) for the Shaved Duck, too.

The Scottish Arms is a great place and any member of the family is welcome.

i am with BMock 100%. I can make my own pizza but i’d rather have a nice one. I can walk 10 feet to grab my own bottled beer but i’d rather have what I can’t normally get, draft.

Great List however I think a selection from Dogfish Head would be a great addition.

Seconding what Mike said about Dogfish Head. Yes, it would be great, but so would a bunch of other beers you can not yet get here in Missouri. Please, let’s be thankful for what we have.

This does look like an exciting beer list; and, moreover, Allistair and Patrick are both great guys! I wish them the best on their new endeavor! And, congrats to you, Mike, for assisting them on their list! (Not to give you a big head Mike, but Stephen Hale from Schlafly mentioned your website tonight when addressing the monthly Master Brewers Association St. Louis Chapter meeting! Congrats again on doing such a good job with your website; I sincerely mean that!)

To those who would like to see more draft at this account, you will see once you visit The Shaved Duck at the very limited space they are dealing with and how with their restaurant’s current configuration, 4 draft beers is all they can really do. Let’s remember that Rome was not built in a day; and that some great past & present St. Louis beer bars such as Soulard Ale House, King Louie’s, Beale On Broadway and Nick’s Pub did not start out with the wide selection they later graduated to.

The number of draft options isn’t as important to me as the quality of the beer. If any bar/restaurant has a large number of taps, I can’t help but wonder how long a certain beer has just been sitting there (Although at good beer bars this is not an issue).
Yet, if the establishment carries bottles, then they can order smaller increments than a 1/6th barrel and can have a more regular turnover of a smaller stock, allowing them offer a product in better condition.

Oh, and Derek is right, keep up the good work, Mike.

This is definitely a very nice and ambitious list. As always, my concern is that they’re able to keep on top of the stock so it doesn’t become a beer graveyard. They do a great job keeping the Scotch list moving and changing at the Arms, so if they can apply those principles to this list they’ll be fine.

I’m personally not bothered by draft v. bottle, as long as they’re both well taken care of and fresh. I just want good beer.

Nice list – Last night we had a discussion about how Indiana really is a great place to get craft beer – we get pretty much everything, the obstacles for breweries to get in (stuff like taxes and fees) are barely there, and the market is wide open because craft beer hasn’t completely taken off here yet (which means that people aren’t so stuck in the rut of buying from one brewery (though Bell’s seems to be very popular))…

Looking at that list I notice how many breweries are missing – Dogfish, Floyds, Stone, Founders… I guess you never realize how lucky you are until you start paying attention.

We get a lot of good stuff, but there are definitely some holes. DFH, FFF, Stone and Founder’s aren’t distributed in MO. FFF used to be back in the New Ulm contract-brewing days, but that was now a very long time ago indeed.

Thankfully, for St. Louis beer geeks we have the ability to just hop the river and pick up all of those (though FFF is spottier than it used to be) except Stone.

[...] Along with great food, the Shaved Duck is going to feature N. American craft beers.  STLHops joined in on the fun and helped the boys out and came up with an amazing list of beer.  You can CHECK THEM OUT HERE. [...]

45+ beers in a small joint to me mean, old stale beer. I think the list is impressive, but to burden a new restaurant with that inventory and cost is not responsible. I suggest starting with the small or medium list, and growing as you see how products move. Otherwise, I hope all the hopheads make a twice weekly visit to consume everything on the list. Not a bad idea there either though.

I was told that the Shaved Duck restaurant could be opened on April 4th so is it on time?

Thanks

WBS

[...] The Shaved Duck Opening on May 1st April 30, 2008 11:26 am Mike Beer News I just received word from Scottish Arms owner Ally Nisbet that the Shaved Duck will be officially open for business on Thursday, May 1st at 5PM.  If you haven’t been following STL Hops, the Shaved Duck will be offering nothing but North American beers from some of the best craft breweries in the continent.  Here’s a write up from March detailing the Shaved Duck’s beer list. [...]

The Shaved Duck opened last night! I grabbed some shots at http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisfreeland/sets/72157604847379856/. We had the Lamb Prosciutto and the Pork Terrine and both were fantastic. A big thumbs up.