I know a lot of you have been interested in visiting The Rotten Apple in Grafton, but are understandably afraid of making a 45 minute trip to Grafton after having a few beers.  So I thought the next best option would be to rent a bus and have it cart us up to Grafton and safely back to St. Louis after we’ve had a couple of beers.

So, the plan at this moment is to visit the Apple on Sunday, November 16.  The bus would leave a mutually chosen location at 11AM and we’d be back about 4PM. We’re even allowed to bring some beer on the bus with us.  The cost of the bus is $511.25.  So to make this cost efficient we would need about 40 people to make it about 13 bucks a person.  So, should I start selling tickets at $13 and hope that we get 40 people? Can this be pulled off?

As you may have gathered from my Store Spotlight of Piasa Winery, I recently made the trip out to Grafton, Illinois. I’m trying to find a way to avoid the old, “no trip to ________ is complete without stopping here” but I’m having a hard time getting around it. If you’re a fan of beer, you need to make a trip out to The Rotten Apple.

The Rotten Apple
220 W. Main St. (Map It)
Grafton, IL 62037
(618) 786-2798

Beers: A few weeks ago, Jerad from Piasa dropped me a line to let me know what new beers he had available, he also let me know what The Rotten Apple had on draught. As soon as I saw Gouden Carolus Noel on draught, I knew I had to make the trip. Needless to say, what they have in a small selection they more than make up in a great selection. Click the image on the right above for their draught beer selection from 2 weeks ago.

Food: A nice selection of Cajun specialties and American favorites. If you’re looking to eat some red beans and rice or some alligator, The Rotten Apple should be your first choice. Click here for a copy of their menu.

Intangibles: This is a wonderful old building with a rustic charm. If you happen to sit upstairs, you’ll have a fantastic view overlooking the Mississippi. It looks like they even have outdoor seating for the warmer months. The other intangible, Illinois is a no smoking state, so you’ll get to enjoy your meal smoke free.

Interesting Fact: Our server informed us that The Rotten Apple is actually owned by a company called Amalgamated Brewing and according to him, they’ll be opening a new Brewery/Distillery as part of the old Lemp Brewery property. Hopefully we’ll be seeing this new brewery opening soon.

The Rotten Apple (which I should also talk about next week) is holding a Beer Event called Beer Lovers Anonymous on Saturday, February 23rd from 1PM-5PM. Here’s info directly from them:

We’re working with Specialty Distributing to bring you a beer tasting featuring exceptional European and American Craft brews not readily available elsewhere. Tickets are $20.00 and include a commemorative poster. Tickets are available at the restaurant or you can call 618/786-2798 to reserve yours with a credit card by phone.

The flyer for the event is pretty funny but may be crossing the line for those people who may be reading this site at work. Just to be on the safe side, it’ll be available for your viewing after the jump. Read the rest…

Not unlike the Friday Round-Up, the Store Spotlight is hopefully going to be a regular feature on STL Hops. I’m going to give you a little information about beer stores in the area and a few pictures as well. Let me say a couple of things really quickly, I receive no money from running STL Hops, I do it for the love of the beer. By spotlighting these stores I hope to keep you informed about store owners that are just as passionate as the rest of us and keep you patronizing all of these locations.

Store: Piasa Winery Address: 211 W Main St, Grafton, IL 62037 (Map it) Selection: About 80 Beers

Tucked right next to the Mississippi River on the Great River Road in Grafton, Piasa Winery provides a selection of about 80 beers on average. I had a chance to talk to Jerad Gardner, the manager of Piasa Winery, he told me that he tries to specialize in beers that you can’t get in Missouri. Breweries such as Founders, Dogfish Head, Allagash, Lagunitas. He’s also more than happy to provide special orders as well. If he can get it, he’ll have it for you usually within two weeks.If you’ve got a trip planned to visit Grafton (or even if you just live in the area) make sure to stop by and visit Jerad and Piasa, show him how much you love beer too.

I think of St. Louis of a small town so often that I forget that it’s really not. We’re a city of about two and a half million people, but it sure doesn’t feel like it at times. So when places off the beaten path come to my attention, it’s always a bit of a shock. “This place sounds pretty cool are we sure it’s in St. Louis?” Well in this case they’re not really in St. Louis, they’re in Grafton.

As a was perusing the latest Sauce Magazine this week, I noticed an article about The Rotten Apple in Grafton, Illinois. It didn’t take long for the article to completely grab my interest:

And, most importantly, it serves and promotes great beer.

It turns out that The Rotten Apple serves 16 hard ciders and 12 regularly rotating selections of draught beer. I hear the food is pretty great, to boot. It turns out that The Rotten Apple is also looking to craft brew at their location in the future as well. It’s like this place is begging me to visit.

If that’s not enough to get you to visit Grafton, how about this? Jerad Gardner, the manager of Piasa Winery in Grafton informs me that in addition to the hundreds of different wines they have to offer, they also carry an impressive selection of about 90 different beers. Jarad’s newest offerings will be detailed on the Friday Round-Up each week, so you’ll know what you can expect when you visit.

I’ve always loved the beautiful drive up the River Road, now at least I have a couple of excuses to make the drive.