I made a decision before attending Monday night’s beer tasting at Growler’s, this was probably going to be my last tasting.  Growler’s recent beer menus have left a bit to be desired.  It seems like the same beers over and over again mixed with a few light lagers to really spice things up.  But if the this most recent tasting is a sign of things to come, I may have to change my mind.  Just a few beers I remember from the tasting:

• Avery Hog Heaven
• Arcadia Coco Loco
• Het Anker Gouden Carolus Carolus D’Or - Cuvée Van De Keizer
• Great Divide Yeti
• De Proefbrouwerij - Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale
• O’Fallon Smoke
• Great Divide Hercules
• Left Hand Milk Stout
• Arcadia Hopmouth

Imperial IPAs?  Imperial Stouts?  Wild Ales?  Was this the same Growler’s I’ve been going to for the past 5 years?  And sure, that Wild Ale isn’t the more funky wild beer you’ll ever find, but it’s a step in the right direction!  Let’s just hope some of these beers make it onto the final beer list.  We’ll have to wait until September to find out for sure.

Being the greedy bugger I am, one of the first questions I asked when Avery first arrived was, “Awesome, but are we getting the specialty and seasonal beers too?”  Sadly, at the time the answer was, “We don’t have them yet.”  Well, things are finally looking up as Paul from the Wine and Cheese Place just informed me that Avery’s Imperial IPA Maharaja is now available in St. Louis.  Here’s the description from Avery’s website:

Maharaja is derived from the sanskrit words mahat, - “great” and rajan - “king”. Much like its namesake, this imperial IPA is regal, intense and mighty. With hops and malts as his servants, he rules both with a heavy hand. The Maharaja flaunts his authority over a deranged amount of hops: tangy, vibrant and pungent along with an insane amount of malted barley - fashioning a dark amber hue and exquisite malt essence.

This newest Avery Dictator completes the “Dictator Series” joining the likes of The Kaiser & The Czar. Be aware that The Maharaja is a limited release only available for the summer. Welcome to his kingdom!

I’ve also been informed that we’ve only received 15 cases so far.  But there is no guarentee that more is on the way.  The easiest way to make that happen is to buy some as soon as possible.  Show Avery we love their product, that way we’re more likely to keep getting these limited releases.

Andy Sneed, the beer specialist at Whole Foods, let me know that starting on Friday he’ll be selling the Goose Island Imperial IPA for $13.99 a 4 pack. Normally priced at $19.99 a 4 pack, this is an amazing deal on a fantastic beer. As these were the last few cases available from Gray Eagle, this beer won’t last long. Make sure to say “hi” to Andy while you’re there.

With two beer events happening at the same time in St. Louis, it sometimes gets a bit difficult to decide which one to attend. Light night you had the option to attend the O’Fallon Beer Dinner at Big Sky Cafe or the Imperial Tasting at Whole Foods. How is a beer lover to decide? Luckily for me, I had already paid for my ticker for the Imperial Tasting before the beer dinner was announced, so I had the decision made for me.

Andy and Ric put on a fantastic spread of beers and snacks that not only allowed us to cut some of the big beer’s alcohol content, but also allowed us to pair beers with certain foods. For instance Ric provided malted milk balls to pair with things like the Imperial Stouts and a mildly sharp cheddar cheese to match with a bitter Imperial IPA.

The beers provided on this beer adventure were:

• Schlafly Imperial Stout (’06 and ‘07)
• Schlafly Barleywine (’06 and ‘07)
• Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout
• Rogue - Old Crustacean Barleywine
• Arcadia - Imperial IPA
• Goose Island - Imperial IPA

Now you may be asking yourself, how did they get an ‘06 Imperial Stout and Barleywine? Normally I’d say that Andy is one of the few beer managers in St. Louis that actively holds beers back to age and sells them at reasonable prices. But in this case it’s because we had some very special guests, Dan Kopman and Nick Vickery of St. Louis Brewery, who brought along this wonderful beer.

If I were to rank my personal favorites from the evening, I’d probably choose the ‘06 Barleywine and ‘06 Imperial Stouts as my two clear cut favorites. It was amazing to try the beers side by side and see just how much they’ve mellowed and smoothed out over time. I also really enjoyed the Oak Aged Yeti from Great Divide. I’ve had both the oaked and un-oaked versions of this beer and have always preferred the oaked version. To me, the oaking really softens some of the harsher notes and gives the beer a subtle vanilla flavor as well.

This was a very fun event because it lets you really nerd out with fellow beer enthusiasts and really talk about beer. Andy and Ric are always looking for suggestions about styles for these tasting sessions. Feel free to comment here or in this thread on the forum to give them your ideas for future tastings.

Did anyone attend the event at Big Sky?  Feel free to leave comments about that as well, I’d love to hear about it.

If you didn’t see it yesterday, Ian from the RFT linked to an article in the New York Times talking about some of the Imperial/Double/Crazy IPAs that some breweries are doing right now. While almost none of the beers listed on their taste test are available in St. Louis (with maybe the exception of the Great Divide beers) many of these are available just across the river in Illinois.

If you’ve never had the chance to try their choice for the best Imperial IPA, Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, you need to make your way over the river quickly. It’s a wonderful beer that packs a wallop of in your face hops, but backs it up with a tasty malt backbone.