After some discussion in the forums about how we’ve done enough gabbing about beer on this website, maybe it’s time to actually sit down and have one as a group. I’m happy to say that we now have a date, time and venue for the first STL Hops event. On Tuesday, June 17 at 6:30PM STL Hops will be hosting a meet-up at Mattingly Brothers Brewery at 3000 S. Jefferson (map it).

I plan on buying the pizza, you guys are on the hook for your own beer. After we get done with eating, drinking and talking we’ll probably move upstairs to Mattingly’s private room to do some beer sampling. So this is your chance to bring some homebrew or maybe some beer you’ve been sitting on waiting for a special day, etc. Mattingly’s new head brewer, Drew Huerter, will also be bringing some beer for you to sample so you can see what’s in store for Mattingly.

Mattingly is being extremely generous opening their doors upand even allowing us to bring some of our own beer. So I’m asking for just three things: first, buy a lot of beer on Tuesday night (and please be responsible about it, I’ll have a DD and so should you). Second, if you could drop me an email or even leave a comment for this post if you’re attending to give me a good idea of how many people are planning to attend it helps Mattingly get idea of how much space and help will be needed. Third, don’t make this your only visit to Mattingly. They’re opening their place up for us, we need to show the love back. Irene and I had dinner last night and found the pizza to be very good and were very happy with our visit.

If you have any comments, questions, requests, ideas please make sure to post a comment. Can’t wait to see you all in two weeks.

On Tuesday I wrote about some of the issues I’ve had with Growlers Pub as of recent but didn’t really offer up any solutions to the problem. Well, I’m not much of a fan of criticism without offering up any kind of ideas or solutions to resolve the issues. So today, I’ll be supplying my thoughts on what could turn Growlers around.

Let’s lay some things on the table first before I start this. Growlers doesn’t really need my help. There is hardly a night I don’t go into the Sunset Hills locations that it isn’t full. They’re making plenty of money and people seem to keep coming back. I’ve even heard rumblings that they’re looking at opening two new locations. So I’m sure everything I’m about to say will fall on deaf ears. But I’m hoping that someone does really care and will take some of my ideas to heart.

Hire someone that would function as a beer sommelier for both of your restaurants. If Growlers is truly committed to beer as they claim to be then they should have someone that oversees their selection. They need to have someone that can educate both the wait staff and the customers on beer styles and food pairings. You need someone that is also watching the quality of the beer served; checking temperatures of the beer served and draught lines for cleanliness (I’ve had a few contaminated draught beers on occasion.)

I could see this person also holding beer classes similar to what Cicero’s does. Educating people about beer and teaching them there is more than just that pale yellow stuff. Putting someone in place that really loves beer, someone that is actually passionate about it, you’ll often find that passion rubs off on people and they’ll start getting excited too. Once you get people excited about drinking beer you’re relying less on selling your Bud and Bud Light and can start selling more expensive craft beer that caries a higher profit margin.

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After the huge success of last year’s inaugural event, it seemed inevitable that this would be a festival that would occur for years to come. Well that’s looking to be the case as I’ve had a number of brewers confirm to me that the planning for the 2008 St. Louis Brewers Heritage Festival has already begun. The tentative dates for this event look to be May 8, 9 & 10, with a VIP event on Thursday the 8th, a session on Friday evening (the 9th) and two sessions on the 10th.

I’m here to tell you that we have the people putting this event together viewing this blog so here’s your chance to tell them what you liked and disliked last year. Perhaps an idea for the Festival Beer? Or maybe a beer demonstration you’d be interested in?

My suggestion is more education. One of my favorite parts of the festival was having the beer style with the brewery name underneath it. This allowed people to learn about the style by taste without having to judge it on the brand name alone. But I’d love to see more beer discussion in the tents. While I enjoyed the beer and food cooking demonstrations, I’d love to see maybe a tasting demonstration. This would allow people to pick up the subtleties in the beer and understand what they’re tasting.

What are some of your ideas or suggestions?