I don’t drink as many Belgian-style beers as I used to, but one of the few Belgian styles that keeps me coming back is a Belgian Dark Strong.  It’s usually very rich, with a big nose and flavor that reminds me of dried fruits.

So, it was with great delight yesterday when I noticed on O’Fallon Brewery’s Facebook page that they had just brewed up their own Belgian Dark Strong. But, not only had they brewed one up, they also decided to move it into emptied Port barrels.

This beer will sit at O’Fallon for the next few months before being bottled and distributed.  They’re hoping that the heat from the brewery will help to accelerate the aging process.  With any luck we could be seeing this beer on shelves by December 2010 or January 2011.
Here is a rundown of the stats on this beer:

10.5%ABV
21.6 OG
3.2 FG
37 IBU’s
25 SRM

Grain Bill:
Golden Promise
Castle Munich
Golden Naked Oats
Castle Aromatic
Castle Cara Munich
Special B
Melanoidin Malt
Belgian Candi Sugar

Hops:
German Hallertau

Yeast:
Belgian Abbey Yeast.

Head Brewer Brian Owens tells me that they’re still working on a name for this beer, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who will be lining up to give this a taste when it’s ready for release.  Be sure to check out some of the photos below which I graciously stole from the O’Fallon Facebook page:

There are two things I’ve always said in life:  “You can never have enough craft beer in a can.” & “You can never have enough beer from Kansas.”

There is a 99.9% chance I’ve never said the last one, but I’m sure I thought it in my heart.  Just arriving in St. Louis this morning, Tallgrass Brewing out of Manhattan, Kansas is making their debut in a big fashion:  They’re only available in cans.

As frequent readers of STL Hops know, I’m a sucker for craft beer in a can.  So it’s nice to know that Tallgrass will be made available in this wonderful beer vessel.  Here’s a list of what’s available in St. Louis:

• Tallgrass IPA
• Tallgrass Ale
• Tallgrass Köld
• Tallgrass Buffalo Sweat
• Tallgrass Oasis

Look out for these beers at some of your favorite retailers.

I briefly mentioned this beer a couple of weeks ago when I brought news of a few new beers coming from Schlafly, but it’s official:  Drew Huerter’s Burn Ward Wheat will be released tomorrow, July 2nd at the Schlafly Bottleworks.

The quick story behind the name is that Drew burned himself while brewing a couple of weeks ago.  Nothing serious, but enough for a good yarn and a great name.

Here’s the details about the beer:

14.9 Plato OG
2.2 Plato FG
6.87% ABV
50 IBUs

Mostly 2 row Pale Barley malt, 37.5% Wheat malt, a little Munich and CaraVienne. Bittered with Columbus. Simcoe, Palisade and German Tettenang were used for flavor, aroma and in the dry hop. The hopping rate is about 2lbs per barrel. Fermented on our Kolsch and English Ale yeasts at an elevated temperature.

An American Wheat brewed to the specifications of an American IPA. This is a summertime wheat beer for hopheads, and hoppy beer for those who don’t have a taste for bitter beers. With a generous dose of wheat malt, a small bittering addition (this ale gets most of its IBUs from later, more flavorful hop additions) and a dry finish, this is a strong ale for the summer.

I had a chance to sample a small amount of this yesterday, and I think everyone will be very happy. This 13 barrel batch is hoppy without being too bitter and very refreshing.

Got a chance to sit in on a Schlafly Town Hall meeting on Monday and came away with some nifty information about some new beers that will be coming down the pipe.

Burn Ward Wheat

This will be the next addition to the Brewers’ Choice series being put out by the Bottleworks.  As this beer is being by by Drew Huerter, I’m sure you can already imagine what this will be like.  Luckily, Drew gave me a run down of the beer:

50 IBUs
~35% Wheat Malt
5% Munich
5.5% CaraVienne
Columbus (Bittering)
Simcoe (Whirlpool/Dry Hop)
Palisade (Whirlpool/Dry Hop)
German Tettenang (Whirlpool/Dry Hop)
6.87% ABV

So, for all of you looking for that hoppy wheat beer, Drew is helping out. This should be available later this month.

Augie’s Wedding Cream Ale

When brewers at Schlafly get married, they get a chance to brew a beer. Augie got married, and he chose an American Cream Ale as his beer of choice. Rather than me try and describe the beer, I’ll leave it to Augie:

It was brewed with 17% Illinois grown corn, “Alhambra Corn”, using a traditional cereal mash. The rest of the grain bill was made up of 2-row brewers malt. OG was 12.9P and the finished beer ended up coming in at 5.5%abv. Hopped with Hallertau Mittelfruh to 20IBU. Fermented on the cooler side, 62F, with Taproom American Ale yeast (WLP051) to give a nice, clean fermentation character. Lagered for three weeks to really smooth out the beer.

In general, I think using some local ingredients really adds to the “craft” of “craft beer”. That was really one of the big drivers behind this beer. Overall the style is fairly straightforward, but the use of local corn gives an interesting twist.

We went to some extremes just to be able to use the corn. We actually performed the cereal mash at The Stable and then loaded the corn mash (about 80 gallons worth) into coolers to transport to The Taproom. The coolers were then dumped into the mash tun as the rest of the grain was being mashed in.

Despite the complicated nature of all this, the whole operation went fairly smoothly (minus one cooler). Needless to say, this beer will never be made this way again. It is truly a “one-off”.

This will be on draught starting tomorrow at the Tap Room. As only 15bbls were brewed, this is sure to go fast.

Blueberry Cider

There has been a strong response to all of the ciders that Schlafly creates, and I’m sure this one will be no exception. This went on draught yesterday at the Schlafly Bottleworks. It’s a very nice blend of blueberries with apple cider. Expect more ciders at the Tap Room and Bottleworks in months to come.

Schnucks Culinaria Ale (No official name yet)

Schnucks really loved the response to the previous Culinaria beer and they’re looking to do another.  This beer is still in the planning stages, so they’re still working out all of the details, but at the moment it’s looking like a Raspberry Oatmeal Stout that will be blended with a different Kaldi’s Coffee roast than the one that’s being used for the Coffee Stout.

As things are still up in the air on this beer, you can possibly expect some changes.

Schlafly American IPA

You’ve spoken and Schlafly has listened, this comes from James Ottolini (but please call him Otto) Head of Brewing at the Schlafly Bottleworks:

For what it is worth, we did not plan for their to be such a response to the AIPA. We have made another smaller batch at Bottleworks and tweaked a few things. It was dry hopped this week and if all goes well with our production schedule this beer will be packaged and sent to distributors the week before fourth of July weekend. This will be the last AIPA for the Special Release series for the summer. This batch will have more hop aroma and bitterness.

Always good to see when companies listen to their customers and help create a better product.

Just in time for your favorite summer activities, I’m happy to announce the Ska Brewing out of Durango, Colorado will soon be arriving in Missouri.

I’ve been informed that the beer is currently in the process of being registered with the State and that we should hopefully see it in local stores this summer.

Some of Ska’s offering include:

True Blonde Ale
Like golden waves of yeast crashing on a golden beach of golden sand with golden taps spewing golden beer that’s smooth as gold.

Ten Pin Porter
Dark like motor oil on a Minnesota night, it rolls down your gullet like a calming stream full od rich and tasting malt.

Modus Hoperandi
A mix of Citrus and pine that will remind you of the time you went on a vision quest with your Native American cousin and woke up in a pine-grove full of grapefruit trees.

Special ESB
This English Special Bitter is our special ale.  Special because it was the second canned microbrew in the nation (after Dale’s Pale Ale).  Special bevause the Galena hops and Pale Ale malts create a crisp first sip, a hoppy tongue, and a malty sweet finish.

As some of you may know, one of Ska’s claims to fame is that the can some of their beers like the Modus Hoperandi and the Special ESB. These are perfect for places that don’t allow you to use glass, like parks, parades and float trips.

The list of great craft beer in a can available in St. Louis keeps growing and growing.

Today’s an exciting day if you’re a fan of some big, black beers.  Starting today you should be able to find both the Goose Island Night Stalker Imperial Stout and the Sierra 30 – Fritz And Ken’s Ale, a 30th Anniversary collaboration stout from Sierra Nevada and Anchor Brewing.

Here’s some of the information I could dig up about each beer:

Night Stalker:
Brewmasters Notes:
A heavily-hopped imperial stout, Night Stalker is a heavyweight of a beer. It delivers a formidable punch of hops and rich roasted malt notes to the nose in a silky body that’s as dark as night.

Recipe Information:
Style: Imperial Stout
Alcohol by Volume: 11.2%
International Bitterness Units: 60
Color: Midnight
Hops: Mt Hood, Simcoe
Malts: 2-Row, Munich, Chocolate, Caramel, Roasted Barley, De-Bittered Black

Serving Suggestions:
Preferred Glass: Snifter
Preferred Serving Temperature: 40º
Cellaring Notes: Develops in the bottle over 5 years

Sierra 30 – Fritz And Ken’s Ale
Notes:
Fritz Maytag, owner of San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing Company, is regarded as the godfather of the craft brewing movement. Fritz agreed to guest brew this very special ale with us in honor of our 30th anniversary. As a nod to the robust black ales that seduced both Fritz and Ken in the early years, we bring you this Pioneers Stout, a rich and roasted ale, perfect for aging, and worth of your finest snifter. Enjoy!

Charity:
Fritz Maytag has always had a passion for knowledge. As a child in Iowa, he learned early about the wealth of information available to him at his local library. Maytag chose to donate to the Butte County Library system, which is library district local to Chico, California-home to Sierra Nevada Brewing.

Beer notes:
Style: American Imperial Stout
ABV: 9.20%

Sometimes the Saints smile upon us and give us a new beer.  In this case, it was a brewery out of Ste. Genevieve, MO delivering a beer called St. Dorian.

Charleville Brewery will be exclusively offering their St. Dorian Abbey Rye ale at the Galleria and Town and Country locations of Whole Foods Markets.  According to the label, this is a “playful blend of Belgian brewing techniques and American ingredients.”

This beer is apparently brainchild of Tony from Charleville and Mike from Whole Foods Market Galleria.   We should begin seeing 22oz bombers of this beer next week, with a release on March 30th.