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?

A reader of STL Hops sent me an email, but it seemed like the kind of question that may help a lot of people in the area, so I decided to answer it here. If I get enough of these questions, maybe we can make this a regular feature. We can call it Uncle Mike’s Mailbag! OK, maybe not. Anyway, on to the question.

Nate writes in: “Just curious if you know where in Saint Louis I can go and get some specialty beers (such as Sam Adams, Killian’s, etc.) in kegs? I just bought a kegerator, and am dying to fill it with something. If you know of any places, please let me know. Thanks!”

First of all, thank you for providing me content on a Monday morning, it makes my day just that much easier. To answer your question, just about any liquor/beer store will order kegs for you from their distributor. I know for a fact Lukas Liquor will help you to order the keg of your choice. If you’re on the eastern side of the river (or you’re looking for beer that isn’t distributed in Missouri) Corral Liquors in Granite City will order some for you as well. If you’re looking for something a bit more local, you can also rent kegs of Schlafly beer at either the Tap Room or the Bottleworks.

I would check with any of the Beer Stores that I’ve featured on the round-up and see what they can do for you.

The Wine and Cheese Place
Lukas Liquor
Corral Liquors
Bon Vivant Wines
Randall’s Wine & Spirits

Let me also add that even if you don’t have a kegerator the Holidays are the perfect time of year to rent a keg of beer. Why serve your friends and family cans and bottles if you can give them the gift of draught beer? (It’s also usually cheaper in the long run.)

If you have any other questions or comments feel free to email me at mike@stlhops.com.