Got a chance to visit the new 1904 Beerhouse at River City Casino yesterday, thought everyone would like to see the current beer list with some pricing.  Below is the draught list, the full bottle list is after the break.

I have to say, it’s really a beautiful location.  No expense has been spared in the construction of the restaurant.  Dark mahogany wood surrounds the entire restaurant.   Big long bar with plenty of televisions if you’re interested in watching some sports.  Here are my thoughts broken down bullet point style:

The Good

• The pricing.  Some of the best prices I’ve seen for bottles and draught in St. Louis restaurant.
• The selection.  Pretty decent, could use a bit more variety, but I don’t think anyone will be unhappy.
• The ambiance.  You can’t really tell you’re near a casino.  Once the crowds die down, it’ll be a decent place to visit just to grab a drink.

The Bad

• Can’t take beer into the casino.  This really sucks.  If you don’t want to have glass in there, give me a plastic cup.
• Doubling up on some beers.  Do we really need Miller Lite, Bud Light, and Hoegaarden on draught and in bottles?
• Staff still needs some training.  The place just opened, so I’m sure this will get better over time.  Also, stop pushing the 1904 on me.  If I want to try it, I will.

Overall, the good things easily outweigh the bad things for me.  Like I said above, the place just opened four days ago, so maybe some of the bad things will work themselves out in the end.  But, I can’t stress enough how important it is to let me buy beer from that bar and bring it into the casino.

The casino was hopping on a Monday afternoon, so I have to think it’s going to be crowded for a little while.  If you’re willing to fight the crowds, this was a pretty nice place to grab a beer.

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For those of you that already have your tickets (or those of you lucky enough to win tickets) for Saturday’s Beer Lovers Anonymous, you may be curious to know what beers are going to be available for tasting.  I was just sent the list today and it looks to be a great list for a very fun festival.

Makes me kind of wish I took off on Saturday!  Here’s the list:

• Bells Consecrator
• Bells Sparkling
• Founders Double Trouble
• Grand Teton Whiskey Cellar Reserve Double Vision Doppelbock
• Hitachino Nest White Ale
• Left Hand Starfish Chocolate Brown Ale
• Left Hand Widdershins Oak Aged Barleywine
• New Holland Black Tulip
• Odell Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout
• Odell Extra Special Red
• Rogue John John Dead Guy
• Rogue XS imperial IPA
• Southern Tier Gemini
• Southern Tier Unearthly IPA
• Bells Hopslam
• Bridgeport Hop Czar Imperial IPA
• Einbecker Dunkel
• Hitachino Nest Ginger Brew
• Moylans Hopsickle Imperial Triple Ale
• New Belgium La Folie
• New Holland Oak Aged Dragon’s Milk
• St Bernnardus Abt 12 Abbey Ale

Make sure to stay tuned tomorrow to see who wins tickets for this event.

The Bridge tap house and wine bar is the newest venture from restaurateur Dave Bailey.  If Bailey’s name sounds familiar it’s because he’s also the owner of the hugely successful Bailey’s Chocolate Bar and breakfast/brunch/lunch spot, Rooster.

Not surprisingly, his newest location is just as hip as his last.  With a warm wood vibe including reclaimed tree branches being used as light fixtures, it will easily be one of the most popular bars in St. Louis.

But we’re here for the beer, so what does he have to offer?  How about 36 draught selections and soon over 150 bottled beers to choose from.  I’ve also been told that he’ll continue the tradition he started over at the Chocolate Bar by housing beers for aging.

The pricing on beers is very reasonable and growlers will be available for table consumption as well. Bridge isn’t open quite yet, but expect it to be open by February 10th at the latest.

The current draught list, which will be always changing, will be available after the photos and the break.

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Starting tonight at 5PM, the newest Pi Restaurant will  now be open in the Central West End. A new location means a new beer list, so let’s see what’s in store for the pizza and beer lover:

Draught:

• Schlafly Pale Ale
• Schlafly Hefeweizen
• Schlafly Seasonal (ESB)
• Schlafly 3.14 Ale (Kolsch)
• Old Rasputin Russian Imperial
• Bell’s Two-Hearted Ale

Bottle:

• New Belgium Lips of Faith Dark Kriek
• Jolly Pumpkin Calabaza Blanca
• Southern Tier Oatmeal Stout
• New Holland Imperial Hatter
• Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye

Gluten Free:

• Bard’s

The draught list is a bit small to start, but I’ve been told that it will increase over the next few months as they add extra draught boxes in the new location. So we’ll all have to stay tuned.

Full Disclosure: I was paid to create and maintain the beer selection at Niche, Taste by Niche, and Brasserie by Niche.  While I do think the information provided below is completely newsworthy and relevant to the St. Louis beer scene, I thought you should know this up front.

Now that we have that bit of legal mumbo jumbo out of the way, here is the beer list that is currently in place at Chef Gerard Craft’s newest restaurant, Brasserie by Niche.

Draught:
Schlafly Kolsch
Duchesse
Griesedieck Bros. Golden Pilsner
Saison Dupont
Maudite
Founders Reds Rye

Bottle:
Tripel
Tripel Karmeliet (12oz)
La Fin du Monde (12oz)

Dubbel
Westmalle Trappist (12oz)

Belgian Dark Strong
Chimay Grand Rvs. (750ml)
McChouffe (750ml)

Biere de Garde
Castelain Blonde (11.2oz)
Oro De Calabaza (750ml)

Saison
Jenlain Blonde (330ml)

Witbier
Blanche De Chambly (12oz)
Hitachino White (12oz)

Flanders Red
La Folie (22oz)

French Lager
Kronenbourg 1664 (12oz)

European Lager
Stella Artois (12oz)

Lambic/Sour
Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale (11.2)
Cantillon Iris (375ml)

American Beers
Avery Ellie’s Brown (12oz)
Schlafly Oatmeal Stout (12oz)
O’Fallon 5-Day IPA (12z)

French Cider
E Dupont Cidre Bouche (375ml)

Just in case you’re curious how the list got to the way it is, here’s a bit of a brain dump: Chef Craft wanted a beer list that was more conducive to a French Bistro. So it relies heavily on French/Belgian styles and a couple of European beers. I’ve thrown a few American craft beers on for those who aren’t crazy about Belgian beers.

Is the list going to be in a state of flux? I hope it’s always in a state of flux. I think the draught list will be the most actively changing list. As you can see, there are three Belgian/French style beers and three American beers on draught, which is how I’d like to keep it, but time will tell. At this moment, the Griesedieck Pilsner will be a mainstay and I think the Schlafly Kolsch will also stick around all the time. Both are clean, easy drinking beers with a continental feel.

I can see a stout or porter eventually arriving on the draught list. But it would mean something like Red’s Rye coming off. In the meantime Schlafly Oatmeal Stout and Ellie’s Brown Ale are currently available in a bottle. I chose the Maudite because it is “dark” but provides a malt sweetness that is never cloying and finishes quite dry. It’s not quite a stout, but I think it’ll pair up to some food quite nicely.

Keep an eye out, we’re going to have changes coming to Niche and Taste as well.

So, I guess the word is now out, the newest Pi Restaurant is now open in Kirkwood. What does this mean for you the beer lover?  Well, the newest location allowed Pi to expand their beer selection to offer 15 different draught beers.

As someone who lives only 5 minutes away from the new Pi, I have to say it’s nice knowing that I not only have some great pizza nearby, but also some great beer.  Here’s a list of what they have to currently offer:

Upstairs:

• Schlafly Pale Ale
• Schlafly Pilsner
• Schlafly Hefeweizen
• New Belgium Fat Tire
• New Belgium 1554
• New Belgium Lips of Faith
• Stella Artois
• Charleville Explicit APA
• Left Hand Milk Stout
• O’Fallon 5 Day IPA
• Bell’s Two Hearted

Downstairs:

• Schlafly Pale Ale
• Schlafly Hefeweizen
• Schlafly Pilsner
• Schlafly APA
• Stella Artois
• Founders Reds Rye
• Founders Dirty Bastard
• Bells Seasonal

Looks like we’re going to have another competitor for our beer dollars coming in the next few weeks.  The Brick House Tavern and Tap, opening in Chesterfield, claims to be “Man Cave Meets Temple to Beer”  and is offering up what looks to be an extremely boring beer list. (Note, this is a chain, so everything you see on this list won’t necessarily be available in Missouri.)

But this is the part that caught my attention:

We’re not here for a long time we’re here for a good time and with table side micro-kegs, 40 ounce bottled beers, 100 oz beer bongs, hand pulled cask beer and affordable wines we’re sure ‘a good time’ is what you’ll have. Hang out in the bar with us or grab a seat anywhere you want. We’re here to dispense happiness.

Call me an elitist if you want, but beer bongs and hand pulled cask (which I hear is going to be Schlafly) beer?  Really? And, oh look, you can even get a bong full of cask beer!  Oh joy!  Judging by the photo below, maybe “bong” is just a clever marketing term for what amounts to nothing more than a modern day pitcher.

I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I’m going to hold off judgment untilI visit the place for myself.  But all of the accoutrements of a great bar don’t mean jack if the beer selection sucks.