Mark from Bigelo’s Bistro was kind enough to provide two tickets to their sold out beer dinner celebrating Bigelo’s eighth anniversary. The dinner is on Sunday October 19th at 5 pm and Bigelo’s is located in Edwardsville, Illinois.

If you’re interested in winning tickets that include a five courses being paired with five different Schlafly beers (you will be required to pay the gratuity) email contest@stlhops.com with a subject of “Bigelo’s Beer Dinner” and tell me what your favorite beer is only available in Illinois. If you don’t think you’ll be able to attend, please don’t enter. I’d like to make sure that people available to attend have a chance to win. The winner will be drawn on Monday, October 13th at 9AM. The full menu is available after the break. Read the rest…

Joe Billhartz emailed this morning to let me know that the Neruda dinner scheduled for this evening has been postponed.  He’ll let me know when a new date has been set.

On Thursday, August 28th, Neruda in Edwardsville, IL is having a beer dinner, hosted again by Joe Billhartz of Specialty Import Distributing Company. Joe chose three of his favorite Midwestern breweries for Chef Rick Counts to pair his meals with. Here’s what they came up with:

Course 1
Salad of Frisee with fennel and mandarin orange and a citrus vinaigrette
Founder’s - Dry Hopped Ale

Course 2
Grilled Jumbo Shrimp on a snow pea and walnut salad stir-fry
Two Brother’s - Monarch Whit

Course 3
Grilled Pork Tenderloin topped with a peanut-honey glaze served with apple-raisin chutney
Two Brother’s - Domaine de Page

Course 4
Thinly Sliced Seared Yellowfin Tuna, served on grilled homegrown tomatoes and yellow squash
Founder’s - Red Rye

Course 5
French Vanilla Ice Cream on puff pastry drizzled with a sweet stout reduction
Oscar’s - Stout

The cost of this event is $55 per person plus tax and gratuity. A reception begins at 6:30 p.m. and dinner begins at 7:00 p.m. A reservation is required and can be made by calling Kurt or Libby at 618-659-9866.

Some of you may already know Joe Billhartz, but if you don’t he’s almost singularly responsible for the craft beer scene in Southern Illinois.  He previously worked for Corral Liquor as their beer buyer, so for may years he worked diligently to bring some awesome beers to our area.  Joe is now working for Specialty Distributors helping to do his part to bring even more to us.  Why all of this info on Joe?  Well first, he’s awesome, but secondly he’s helping host a beer dinner at Neruda in Edwardsville, IL.

Course 1
Gaffel Kolsch, Germany
Green Bean and Sweet Red Pepper Salad

Course 2
Erdinger Hefe-Weizen, Germany
Scallop Ceviche
Scallops, Citrus, Avocado

Course 3
Duvel Golden Ale, Belgium
Steamed Mussels
In a Dry Sherry Thyme Butter Broth

Course 4
Lion Stout, Sri Lanka
Orange Glazed ‘Pork Wings’
With Baby Bok Choy

Course 5
Kasteel Rouge, Belgium
Chocolate Nut Torte With Blueberry Marscapone

The only catch about attending this beer dinner is that it’s tonight.  (Sorry for the late notice, I just found out about this one myself.) There is a reception at 6:30 p.m. and dinner begins at 7:00 p.m. The cost of the dinner is $60 per person plus tax and gratuity. You can make reservations by calling Neruda at 618-659-9866.

Sometimes I wonder if I’m a bit too hard on restaurants. Though I’m guilty of it as well, I guess I’m just tired of hearing the “Well, it’s St. Louis” excuse. Maybe it’s because they’re not really in St. Louis is what sets Erato on Main apart. Erato in Edwardsville goes a long way to prove that just because they’re in the St. Louis area doesn’t mean we have to be subjected to the same old beer choices.

My biggest complaint has always been about the level of effort put into the beer selections in a restaurant. Too often it seems like the selections are chosen by the beer reps who don’t have any interest in pairing the beer with the food, but selling the most popular beers.

But this menu is obviously very deliberate and also offers something for everyone. From West Coast IPAs to Belgian sours, there is something that can compliment every dish from Chef Kevin Willmann’s ever changing menu. Chef Willmann said that all the credit goes to his manager, Shawn Schleich, for putting together this selection. Hats off to him, because this is a truly a selection to be proud of.

I can’t urge you enough to take a trip out to Edwardsville, Illinois to visit Erato on Main. I’ve been twice in the past three weeks and I’m sure I’ll be there again soon. I hope to see you there.