Big props to Paul Hayden from the Wine and Cheese Place for discoving this bit of news, but it appears that O’Fallon Brewery has upgraded their liquor(?) license which will allow them to brew beers with higher ABVs.

According to O’Fallon’s co-founder Tony Caradonna, they already have some big plans coming over the next year. And it doesn’t look like he’s kidding. If you look at the image below, you can see that they’ve already registered a Russian Imperial Stout with the U.S. Government. As you can also see below, this will be a draught only item.

While I’m sure everyone, including O’Fallon Brewery, would love to see their beer brewed and bottled back in Missouri, it’s nice to know that contract brewing has given them a bit more breathing room to do some fun stuff like this.  I can’t wait to see what’s ahead.

We’re nearing the finish line.  You can almost taste the victory and with it, the beer.  The International Tap House (iTap) is only about 5 days from officially opening its doors.  The nitty gritty things are finally coming to completion, including the all important Draught List.

40 different beers from around the world will soon be at your finger tips.  Including a few that I’ve never personally seen in St. Louis before.  Whether you’re a hophead, or a Belgian or German beer fan, I think this list has something for everybody.  Take a look:

• New Belgium Fat Tire
• Bitburger
• Lindemans Framboise
• Lindemans Peche
• Odells 5 Barrel Pale Ale
• Paulaner Hefe-Weizen
• Spaten Premium Lager
• Warsteiner Dunkel
• Youngs Double Chocolate Stout
• Blanche de Chambly
• Chambly Noire
• Delirium Tremens
• Ft. Collins Rocky Mt IPA
• La Chouffe
• Maudite
• Reissdorf Kolsch
• Scrimshaw Pilsner
• St. Bernardus Abt 12
• Tucher Hefewiesse
• Chimay Premiere
• Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat
• Guinness Draught
• Boddingtons Pub Ale
• Bells Two-Hearted Ale
• Hoegaarden
• Left Hand Sawtooth Ale
• Anderson Hop Ottin IPA
• Bell’s Hopslam
• Bellhaven Twisted Thistle
• Fuller’s London Porter
• Ommegang Hennepin
• Anderson Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout
• Arcadia Hopmouth
• Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye
• Karmeliet Tripel
• O’Fallon 5 Day IPA
• Arcadia Imperial Stout
• Gouden Cuvee Ruud
• Schneider Edel-Weiss
• Schlafly No. 15

It’s important to remember that this list is not going to be one of those staid lists you see at chain beer bars, this is going to be an organic, ever-changing list.  When one beer blows, boom, it’s time for something new.  Here’s just a few things you’re going to be seeing on the list soon: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Arcadia IPA, Bear Rep Racer 5, Gouden Carolus Gr Cru, Hebrew Sword Swallower, PranQster, So Tier Unearthly IPA, Trios Pistoles, Goose Island 312, Pils Urquell.

I don’t know what race is going to be faster, the race to get this place open or the race of STL Hops members down Highway 40.

For those of you that attended the September meet-up at the Stable, you may remember the Drew Huerter kept passing his phone around like he was a proud papa. For you see, before Drew had come to visit us, Mattingly Brewing Company had received their fermentation tanks. This was one of the biggest steps to brewing beer at Mattingly and now they’re just that much closer to having freshly brewed beer on premises.

According to Drew, they received their first grain order last week and he fully expect Mattingly beer too be on draught by the end of the year. I can raise a glass to that.

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Dave Johnson emailed me late last night to let me in on some very exciting news, the brewers at O’Fallon Brewery have gotten the go ahead to brew a new seasonal beer. Always interested in brewing a stout, they decided that with cool weather quickly approaching they decided to go with a beer that will provide a winter warmer, a Cocoa Cream Stout. The beer will initially be a draught only product, but hopefully if there is enough enthusiasm we’ll see a bottled product in the near future.

Dave and Brian Owens put their heads together a came up with a recipe that contains Carafa and flaked barley and instead of piloting the new beer out on their homebrew system, they’re going whole hog and brewing a batch on Thursday. As Dave told me about not piloting it out, “That’s the same way we did the 5 Day and it came out OK.” Yeah, I’d say 5 Day IPA came out a bit better than “OK” as it’s now O’Fallon’s best selling beer. This sounds like a great winter beer and I can’t wait to try it.

On Tuesday, September 9th at 6:30PM, The Stable will be hosting a tasting party featuring Arcadia beers. I’ll let Jerad Gardner, Bar Manager of The Stable’s sister location The Rotten Apple, tell you more about it:

Arcadia’s owner/founder Tim Surprise is going to in attendance at this event. We’ll be offering a variety of food pairings to match up with Witsun, Coco Loco, Cereal Killer, and Hopmouth.

Jerad also informed me that all of the beers will be draught offerings. The cost of the event is $25. If you need directions or more information you can call (314)-771-8500.

I was in Champaign, IL on business last week and I decided to stop into The Blind Pig and have a pint or two (or three.) One of the first things that caught my eye on the list was that they had Avery’s Maharaja on draught. Which got me to thinking, where is our draught Avery?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to have Avery now available in St. Louis, but why are we limited just to bottles? Is it a supply issue from the brewery? Is the local distributor not interested in bringing in kegs? Is there not enough local interest? I don’t know the answers to these questions but I’d love to find out. Is anyone from Major Brands or Avery able to step up and answer some questions for us?