I’ve been informed that Brennan Greene will be tapping a cask of Vanilla Coffee Stout at the Schlafly Tap Room tonight.  Drew Huerter emailed me with some info about the cask:

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.

I’m sorry to disappoint anyone, but I’m going to have to put the trip to the Rotten Apple on hold for now. I just don’t think we’ll have enough people to make it financially solvent and I don’t really want to have to dip into my own pocketbook to make it happen.

We may have a cheaper bus option after the first of the year, so it’s looking like we’ll end up doing this after the holidays. I think maybe we’ll put together a small, informal get together at 33 Wine Bar sometime after Thanksgiving as sort of a holiday get together.

Ah yes, the yearly “Best of” list from the Riverfront Times. If you were reading STL hops way back last year, you may remember I had a few gripes with last year’s lists. So how does the RFT do this year? (And yes, I’m choosing to ignore the people’s choice stuff.)

Best Beer Selection in a Restaurant
The Shaved Duck

Where do you find the beer list in most St. Louis restaurants? On the last page of the wine list - if you’re lucky. More often than not, it exists only in your server’s brain. It’s not too tough, after all, to commit to memory a “selection” of Bud, Bud Light and Bud Select. A server might try to memorize the beer list at the Shaved Duck. A photographic memory would help. The new gastropub in Tower Grove East stocks a terrific selection of beers. It’s not the longest in town, but it’s curated with great care. American craft beers are featured, from local folks like Schlafly and O’Fallon to industry “giants” like Bell’s, New Belgium and Anchor Steam to lesser-known but not lesser lights like Charleville and North Coast. There are only four taps, but the restaurant rotates in new brews with some regularity - all the more reason to return again and again.

Be still my heart. This is a category I suggested last year and low and behold and to see it actually in print brings a tear to my eye. As for the selection? Brilliant. I mean, let’s be honest, if we had seen The Stable, Erato on Main, Mangia Italiano or the Rotten Apple as the winner, would we have been any less happy? We’ve become very fortunate in the past year to see so many new restaurants pop up that really put an emphasis on great beer. I’m glad to see the RFT recognize that. Read the rest…

We have a new thread in the Forum titled, “What did you drink last night?” It gives everyone a chance to discuss what beers they enjoyed the night before and maybe even brag a little bit. As I was typing up a monster post for the thread, it occurred to me it would probably make a decent post on the main blog as well. So here’s a little of my weekend drinking:

Friday
Two Hearted: Had kind of a crappy day, so I started off with an old favorite. Unfortunately I had it at Growler’s and I was having a poor time there.
Green Flash Hop Head Red: Came home and popped open one of the three beers I picked up while in Champaign. I was looking for their West Coast IPA, had to settle for this instead. Nice beer, but didn’t really live up to the “Hop Head” moniker. Could have standed a bit more bitterness, but it was still a nice beer.
DFH Indian Brown Ale: Picked this one up because of a comment someone said about this beer on another message board I post on. He compared it to dishwater. I saw that it picked up good ratings on BA (I know it’s not the end-all be-all of ratings, but it’s a quick go-to) and decided to try for myself. I’m very glad I did, it has a very pleasant hop aroma that matches well with the roasted malts.
Founders Red Rye: If this was available in Missouri, it may usurp Two Hearted as may go-to beer.

Saturday
Schlafly Weiss Bier: I volunteered working the Art of Food event and as such we got free Schlafly Weiss. I had about a billion glasses before the night was over. I really enjoyed it and wish they would sell this stuff in the bottles they currently label as a hefeweizen.
De Proef Reserve Signature Ale: After AoF ended, we were beat and decided to get a drink. We hit up 33 Wine Bar as the laid back atmosphere suited our desire to relax. Dylan recommended this, but I wish I could remember more about it.
Péché Mortel: Forgetting this was not a 750, I was planning on sharing this with a friend, oops. I remember this being very pleasant, but that’s about it.
Bad Idea: I don’t remember what it was, but it was not a good decision by me to order one last beer at last call. So we’ll just go with the name “Bad Idea.” Let’s make it clear though, the beer was not at fault.

Sunday
DFH 90 Minute:We decided to hit The Rotten Apple as sort of a present to ourselves after AoF. Bill and Ellie had not yet gone and Bill was keen to try a draught 90 Minute. We agreed that it’s a completely awesome beer, but it’s honestly not that much different than drinking it out of a bottle. But we wouldn’t turn it down if it was offered to us.
Founders Rubeaus: This was my original reason for going up to the Apple. I really enjoyed this beer out of a bottle so I wanted to try it on draught. Unlike 90 Minute, this was is very different on draught. I found that the bottled version was a bit sweet and edged closer to a raspberry soda whereas the draught version reminded me more of a beer.
Three Floyds Alpha King: The American India Pale Ale that’s trying to disguise itself as an American Pale Ale. I wish I would have had this before the 90 Minute, because it almost seemed like an APA after the DFH offering.
Founders Dirty Bastard: An obvious Americanized version of a Scottish Ale, but a damn good one. It had a very thick, almost creamy mouthfeel and plenty of caramel sweetness that was never overwhelming.
Avery The Beast: Jerad then started breaking out some beers from in the back. The first was this 14.9% monster from Avery. The nose contained a big raisiny malty aroma along with some hot alcohol as well. The taste was sickenly sweet, in fact I think this beer is the reason why the word “cloying” was invented. Not my cup of tea.
Jolly Pumpkin Noel De Calabaza: I actually had this one a couple of weeks ago at Erato and at that time I remembered the previous bottles I’ve had seemed more sour. I don’t know if my palate has adjusted to these funky/sour beers, but this beer was no exception. It had plenty of funk, but not much of the sour I remember from previous bottles. Still a great beer though.

My liver is glad the weekend is over.

One of the most sought after beers in the world has made it’s way to St. Louis. With only about 50 cases brewed at a time and the fact it’s only brewed three or four times a year, you can quickly see just how rare Péché Mortel is. Here is the description from the Shelton Brother’s website about Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel’s mortal sin:

If you love really good coffee and really good beer equally, you will be thrilled with Péché Mortel. If coffee isn’t your cup of tea, and caffeine makes you bounce off the ceiling, then just put the bottle down and find something else to drink. This beer is all about coffee. Indeed, you may have seen ‘coffee stouts’ before, but no brewer has ever married coffee and beer so naturally and seamlessly.

And this isn’t just any stout, but an imperial stout, which means that it is modeled on the strong, rich, and very complex stouts that were made in England in the 19th and early 20th centuries exclusively for shipment to Russia, where they were a special favorite at the court of the Czars.

Just two cases made it into St. Louis and only two places have it for your enjoyment: 33 Wine Shop and the Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton. Fair warning, I’ve heard this is rather expensive, but it may be worth a little extra cost to try this very special beer.

It’s 2008, which means it’s time for yet another Reader’s Choice Poll from Sauce Magazine. I think as beer lovers, it’s our duty to try and bestow recognition on places that go above and beyond the standard beer selections of most restaurants. That being said, let’s look at last year’s selection:

2007 Best Beer Selection

1. Growlers (two locations)
2. The Schlafly Tap Room
3. Cicero’s
4. Tin Can Tavern and Grille

Let’s be honest, it’s a pretty terrible selection of beer restaurants. Growlers list of a lot of light lagers from around the world. The Tap Room makes many fine beers, but they’re all Schlafly beers, and in my opinion one brewery does not a good selection make. Cicero’s is about the only one I can truly support, they also have a very large list, but there seems to be a bit more thought put into it. Lastly, Tin Can is kitsch and more light lagers.

I think this year we can do better, I think we can really promote some of the best beer lists in St. Louis. Let me offer some of my suggestions (in no particular order):

Erato on Main: Oh sure, I’ve sung their love song for quite some time, but honestly this is one of the best lists in St. Louis. Not only do they carry a lot of truly great beer, but they carry a lot of beer you can’t get on this side of the river. Just look at this list from January, wouldn’t you kill to see this list at more local restaurants? Not only that, that’s not the same list that you’ll find if you head over there this weekend. It’s constantly changing, the sign of a place that really loves beer.

33 Wine Shop and Tasting Bar: Maybe one of these days I can convince Dylan or Jake to send a copy of their beer list so I can convince those who haven’t yet gone to make the trip to 33. Not only do they offer a large variety of fantastic craft beers, but they also age beers as well. For instance, I enjoyed a bottle of 2006 Lindemans Gueuze Cuvée René on Friday evening. They’ve recently upgraded their draught selection from two beers to six, which allows them to offer even more interesting selections like Aecht Schlenkerla Fastenbier. If that’s not enough, they even sell beer to you to take home at retail prices. No need for paying a premium for something you want to enjoy at home.

Bailey’s Chocolate Bar: You’ll need to look no further than Bailey’s drink list (pdf) to realize why they’re consistently one of my favorite places to get a beer in St. Louis. Sure people go there for the dessert, but I’d argue there are no better desserts than having something like a glass of draught St. Bernadus Abt 12. Not unlike 33 Wine Shop, Bailey’s also goes through the special effort of aging beer, something that sets them apart from any other beer restaurant in St. Louis.

Really there are a number of places that could easily make the list as well, Iron Barley, Harvest, and Mangia Italian come immediately to mind. So take the time, go vote and let’s see a better selection of places that truly love beer and give them the recognition the deserve.

If you’re the courageous type and want to brave the blizzard, Dave from Beer Wine and Whiskey posted some interesting info on his blog about a rare beer making an appearance at 33 Wine Bar.

Hey St. Louis beer folks, got word from Dylan that Aecht Schlenkerla Fastenbier is on tap down at 33! This is a pretty rare one from one of the few breweries in Bamberg still making the traditional beers with beechwood-smoked malts. In the old days (whether they were good or not I suppose depends on your preference for rauchbiers) the malt was dried over wood fires (just as much malt used in Scotland was dried over peat fires), as there wasn’t coal or coke or natural gas. The smoke infused the malt with its goodness - in the case of beechwood smoke, a wonderful range of meaty, bacony, smokey flavors. A few wonderful folks have kept up the tradition, and the Schlenkerla beers are really wonderful and amazing. So, go and get your Lent on.

Oh, and I heard from a reliable source that when the Val-Dieu is empty, a keg of Schneider’s amazing Aventinus Weizenbock is going on next. So, if you’re a Val-Dieu fan, get it before it’s gone, and if you’re an Aventinus fan, start doing your liver exercises!

A nice smoky beer sounds like a treat on a snowy day like today.

Warning: The following is long and a bit rambling. Read at your own caution.

Thursday Night:

OK, well technically this isn’t the weekend, but it’s close enough. Irene and I had a meeting at the Schlafly Tap Room to discuss the upcoming Convivial Pursuit Trivia Night (if you’re a trivia nut, come on out and play some food trivia). After the meeting had ended, Stephen invited us to the Cod and Cask VIP opening night. We were treated to not only cask IPA and Brennan’s Brown Ale, but a smorgasboard of seafood. From cod cakes and scallops to plokkfiskur (a fish and potato casserole) and of course fish and chips. We also got to enjoy music from Pétur Ben, a signer-songwriter from Iceland.

The event also allowed me to see some people I haven’t seen in quite some, like Ryan Beach from New Belgium. It also gave me a chance to bounce my ideas for a Randal the Enamel Animal off of James “Otto” Ottolini, the Chief Brewer/Chief Engineer for Schlafly Bottleworks. And to top it off I got the opportunity to meet Tom Schlafly, the owner of St. Louis Brewery. Cask beers flowed, fish was eaten and good times were had. Now you know why I was complaining in Friday morning’s Round-Up.

Friday Night:

I wish I had some exciting beer adventure for you, but I don’t. We hit up Rich and Charlie’s for a birthday dinner, where I had AB’s new Shock Top (that came from what I suspect to be an infected draught line) and Amber Bock. We all then headed back to my house for some Friday night drunken Rock Band hijinks. If it makes you feel better, I did enjoy some Two Hearted Ale and Bourbon County Stout while singing Sweet’s Ballroom Blitz.

Read the rest…

After dinner last night at Newstead Tower Public House (more on that next week) we decided to hit up Bailey’s Chocolate Bar for dessert. After dinner, both Irene and I wanted to visit 33 Wine Shop and Tasting Bar, but 5:30AM comes a bit early for me. I’ll admit though, I always feel guilty walking by 33 on the way to Bailey’s. I’ve talked to Jake briefly in the past, but I’ve never had a chance to just sit down and enjoy his fantastic beer selection.

Looks like I made a big mistake by not visiting last night. After we got home last night, I see an email that informs me that 33 Wine Bar has Old Rasputin on draught. As far as I know, this is the only place in St. Louis that carries this fantastic Russian Imperial Stout on draught. I had planned on visiting 33 on Saturday night, but now the deal has been sealed. I have to visit now.