Drew Huerter, brewer extraordinaire, emailed to let me in on a couple of news beers in the area that are very worthy of your attention. Since Drew not only works for Morgan Street, but also Schlafly and Mattingly Brothers, he has his finger on the pulse for all of the cool releases in St. Louis.

Oak Aged Cask Oatmeal Stout at Schlafly Tap Room - That just sounds awesome, doesn’t it? I know I was pretty excited when he first told me about this beer about a month ago, but now it’s finally on cask. Here’s a few words from him about it:

Brennan and I are experimenting with differing toast/char levels and methods with miniature oak staves from Missouri World Cooperage. We are yet to even try it, but are excited nonetheless.

Dark Wheat at Morgan Street - Drew tells me that this beer is back after a seven year hiatus. Sadly, I haven’t made my way down to Morgan Street in quite some time, it looks like I have a great excuse now:

45 IBUs of Mt. Hood and Sterling with wheat, pilsner, crystal and chocolate malts add up to a hoppy, hazy, brown lager. Out of the fermenter is was unlike anything I’ve tasted.

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.

Today is my girlfriend Irene’s birthday, so I want to wish a very happy birthday to a woman that puts up with all of my beer discussion, dinners, ramblings, travel, purchases and general insanity. If you’re still shopping for that beer nerd in your life, be sure to check out my choices for 10 beer gifts in St. Louis. Onto the Round-Up:

Stuff from around the web

• Keith Shank at A Visual Roundup gives his thoughts on Schlafly Oatmeal Stout.
• Granite City Food and Brewery looks to be opening in January 2008 in Creve Coeur. According to the article, that looks like the first of many locations in the area.
• Sara White over at Sauce has a nice write-up of local breweries and their bourbon barrel beers. (Say that three times fast.)
• The PD has a very interesting interview with a future brewer working at Anheuser-Busch’s pilot brewery.

Beer Releases and News

• Andrew from Bon Vivant Wines informs me to some new beers he has in his stock:
  • Jolly Pumpkin - Noel de Calabaza
  • Avery - Old Jubilation
  • Great Divide - Samurai Ale
  • Anchor Brewing - Christmas (’06 also available)
  • Brasserie de Blaugies - La Monsuse Winter Saison/li>
  • Brouwerij Het Anker - Gouden Carolus Cuvee Vander Keizer
  • Brasserie St. Feuillien - St. Feuillien Cuvee de Noel
  • Brauerei Weihenstephan - Weihenstephaner Vitus
  • Brauerei Weihenstephan - Weihenstephaner Korbinian
  • Mahrs Bräu - Mahr’s Christmas Bock
  • St. Peter’s Brewery Co - St. Peter’s Winter
  • Greene King / Morland Brewery - Ruddles County Ale
  • Dogfish Head - 90min IPA
  • Dogfish Head - Chateau Jiahu
  • Lagunitas - Lumpy Gravy
  • Duvel (3L Bottle)
• Paul at The Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton alerts me to some new beers he has in stock:
  • Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter (4 pk)
  • Flying Dog Double Dog Double Pale Ale (4 pk)
  • Charleville Vineyards And Microbrewery - Half Wit Wheat
  • Beamish and Crawford Plc - Beamish Irish Stout (4 pk)
  • Carlsberg Danmark A/S - Carlsberg Elephant Beer
• Chris at Randall’s Wine & Spirits in St. Louis alerts me to some new beers sets he has in stock, just in time for the holiday season:
  • Beamish and Crawford Plc - Beamish Irish Stout (4 pk)
  • Carlsberg Danmark A/S - Carlsberg Elephant Beer
• Chris is also expecting these beers in today at the Fairview Heights Randall’s:
  • Lagunitas - Lumpy Gravy
  • Dogfish Head - Chateau Jiahu
  • Brasserie d’Achouffe - N’Ice Chouffe
  • Pivzavod Baltika / Baltic Beverages Holding - Baltika #4 Original (Dark)
  • Pivzavod Baltika / Baltic Beverages HoldingBaltika #6 Porter
  • Mikkeller - Santa’s Little Helper

Here’s a list of upcoming beer events:

• Dec 19 - Holiday Beer Tasting at Whole Foods
• Dec 26 - Schlafly 16th Anniversary Party

For all of you eagerly awaiting the 2007 line of St. Louis Brewery’s Schlafly Oak Aged Reserve Imperial Stout and Barley Wine your wait has gotten a lot shorter. Starting on Friday, November 2nd you’ll be able to purchase these beers at the Tap Room and the Bottleworks.

According to Dan Kopman, approxmately 600 cases of each beer was produced. So you’re going to want to get your hands on this as soon as possible. There will also be a launch party/dinner at the Ritz Carlton on Thursday, November 8th. I’ve got a call into Rhett Haynes at the Ritz to get more info on that event.

If you missed it, I had a chance to help bottle part of this 2007 line. It’s an interesting process you may want to check out.