Ok, ok, so I’m a little late getting this up. But can you blame me? Did you see that beer list I posted a few days ago? Anyway, I’m going to try and give you a lot of sights of this event and very little of my blathering. So keep checking in for lots of pictures of the event and a little bit of chatter.

2:20 – Remember my attempt at a Randal the Enamel Animal? Well I’ve got nothing on Schlafly’s designed by James Ottolini:

2:30 -  Here’s the food available for today’s event. You also get to enjoy the sounds of Swing Deville while you’re enjoying your brat.

2:50 – The unveiling of the new Confucius!

3:40 – Lines are still long not only to enjoy the fine offerings of Schlafly but the fantastic Indiana Breweries as well.

4:30 – It’s amazing how when the festival dwindles down the homebrew always comes out!

5:02 – The aftermath of yet another great festival.

I finally made it and this is already in full swing. More pictures after I meet up with Bill and Ellie and get a beer.

3:10 In an attempt to be more timely than the last liveblog, I’ve probably already failed. But I’ve brought plenty of pictures this time!

One of the most interesting beers so far has been the “milk” stout. It’s a oatmeal stout that was aged in one of the former bourbon barrels for 16 months and was finally opened on Thursday. It has this wonderful creamy mouthfeel and slight milky flavor. It’s quite a pleasant mistake.

3:48 It’s a wonderful 18 degrees out. A full degree above the forecasted temperature. If you’re willing to brave the cold (me) you can always rely on the comfort of being around the firepit. If you’re not willing to stand outside (Bill and Ellie) at least you can enjoy some bluegrass from the Cumberland Gap.

4:48 The party is starting to wind down and the wind is starting to pick up. The beer is beginning to freeze to the serving tables and the servers are having to scrape the head off of beers as they pour them into pitchers. Sure it’s cold, but a nice Imperial Stout goes a long way to warming you up. Plus, if it’s too cold for you, you can talk to Dan Kopman (the VP of Schlafly) and Drew Huerter (the cellarman for Morgan Street Brewery) inside. And if you’re really lucky, while you’re inside you’ll come across a couple of 06 Barleywines.

5:15 – Like almost any good party, it needs to end with a party-foul. In this case it was Andrew from Whole Foods dropping his complementary tasting glass. Sure he may blame it on the cold, but my guess is that it had more to do with the Dopplebock. If you love the cold, this was the kind of event you can’t miss. If you hate the cold, you were at home reading this blog. Next year, put on a couple of extra layers and come out and join our frostbite. You’ll come out into the cold and you’ll stave off cabin fever for a while.

For those of you that don’t want to face the bitter cold tomorrow, I’ll be doing it for you. I’ll be live blogging the Schlafly Cabin Fever event tomorrow at the Schlafly Bottleworks. I’ll try and take as many pictures as possible and try to give you a feel for the experience if you can’t make it out yourself. Should be a hell of a time.

Well it’s about 15 minutes before the actual start of the event. I was expecting something rather chaotic but after 9 years of putting this event on it seems beautifully choreographed. I’ll be updating with pictures and information as the day progresses. It’s almost time to get the party started.

The piper has sounded and beers have begun pouring! The 9th Annual Hop in the City has begun!

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Thanks to the help of St. Louis Brewery’s head brewer Stephen Hale, I’ll be live blogging tomorrow at Hop in the City. I’m hoping to provide play by play for those cannot attend (like Bill.) So check back often tomorrow and follow all of the action!