In the past year I’ve been to a number of beer dinners. Some were good, so were OK and others weren’t very good. But I’ve now been to one that was pretty amazing. Last Tuesday night the Schlafly Tap Room hosted their 2008 SIP Club Beer Dinner which featured not only fantastic food from Chef Andy White, but also provided the opportunity to have the vertical tasting of 2006, 2007, and 2008 Imperial Stout and Barleywine.

Do yourself a favor and buy a SIP Club membership so you don’t miss this dinner next year. I wish I could propery explain just how fantastic this dinner was.

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It may have not been the largest festival I’ve been to this year, but the Monsters of Beer at The Stable was pretty fun nonetheless.  It also seemed like there were a lot of people in attendance that didn’t know very much about beer, but were very eager to learn.  Always an exciting opportunity for me as I love teaching about beer and beer styles.

I hope that the small attendance  doesn’t dash the opportunity to do this again next year as it provided a wonderful opportunity to try a bunch of really fantastic beers that could be sampled for a fraction of buying each individually.

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Way back in June, Irene and I headed up to Kansas City to take in the Cardinals/Royals series.  While we were up there, Laura Dale of Boulevard Brewing was kind enough to set us up a tour with John Bryan, the Artisanal Director of Boulevard.  John is the guy behind the Smokestack Series.

I have to say that at the time while I was quite aware of Boulevard, I was unaware just how big Boulevard is.  It’s huge.  Boulevard produced 132,000 barrels of beer last year.  Just by comparison, Schlafly produced about 24,000.  This new facility has the capacity to produce 700,000 barrels of beer a year.  That’s a lot of beer.  If you’re ever in KC, you need to make the trip and check out this facility.  It’s pretty amazing.

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A few days before the event, I was talking to someone about the Augusta Bottoms Beer Festival and they said that it was like, “The Field of Dreams.  You’re surrounded by corn field and a baseball diamond.”  How true that is.  I mean how often do you have picture perfect weather, sixteen local breweries and the ability to drink with a goat?  Not very often, let me tell you.

If you didn’t make it this year, you need to make sure you plan to take a trip out to Augusta next year for this festival.  It’s such a laid back, fun time.

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Well, you dirty bastards. Where were you? “Oh, we’ll show up!” Yeah… Well, you know what? Those of us that did show had an awesome time. The photos below are proof of that it’s not about quantity, it’s all about quality.

But seriously was it a bad date? Bad time? People were interested in doing these monthly meet-ups, but only about 10 people showed. My concern is that if we tell some of these venues that we’re attending and no one shows, it looks bad on us all as a whole.

Anyway, we had a great time, you should have attended. Thanks to everyone at The Stable for allowing us to invade your space for a while last night and to all of the readers who attended.

Edit: Please don’t take that first paragraph seriously.

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Maybe it’s because it was my first festival while doing STL Hops, but Schlafly’s Hop in the City always feels like the beginning of a new season of beer. It feels like the kick-off to a new year of beer and beer festivals and this kick-off did not disappoint. The rain held off and the nice breeze kept everyone cool and it looked like everyone had a great time. If you were unable to attend, here are a few photos of the festival which will hopefully tide you over until next year:

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Schlafly’s Belgian Beer and Mussel Mania is not so much a “festival” as it is an excuse to get together and drink some beer.  I don’t really need an excuse to visit the Tap Room, but having one is always nice.  We didn’t arrive until about 8PM on Friday evening, so not surprisingly a lot of the neat-o beers were depleted.  But, never one to complain, I just enjoyed things like the Wit and the Tripel instead.

I did get to sample the cask Biere de Garde and I have to admit, I’m not a fan.  Part of the reason I enjoy Belgian beers so much is because of their spritzy effervescent nature and the cask just kills that.  It’s missing some of things that make a “Belgian” beer in my mind.  Interesting experiment, but not something I would want to see back.  What did you think of the festival?

A few weeks ago Irene and I traveled to Kansas City to see the Cardinals take on the Royals. Not unlike any other city I travel to, I thought I’d take in some of the KC beer culture. The Flying Saucer is a chain of restaurants that specializes in beer, and a lot of it. This location carries over 220 beer selections and I believe almost 100 draught choices.

Even though there are obviously a lot of chain aspects to the place, it’s actually a really nice location. There is a lot of wood fixtures giving the location a very warm feeling. They also provide couches and lounge area to help provide a very relaxed atmosphere.

When we arrived on Friday evening after the ball game, the place was hopping, but it was still easy to find a place to sit. The rain came through a few minutes before we arrived and really cooled off the warm summer air. The wide open windows were a lovely touch as they provided a nice breeze throughout the location.

We tried the food when we returned on Saturday night and it was good, but not great. Good enough for a quick snack or an excuse just to visit. If I have one complaint is that it’s previous obvious that the people working at the place aren’t really “beer people.” Sure they’re friendly, but I had one person (who may have been a manager) tell me that Schlafly had a sour beer. Now, in all fairness this place has only been open since May 5th, but that still isn’t much of an excuse for getting the wrong beer.

As a member of Slow Food it’s really difficult saying what I’m about to say, but even though it’s a chain I really liked this place. Sure the food wasn’t that great and the service was sub-par, but the beer selection and the ambiance more than made up for it. It’s a really nice spot to sit back with some friends and enjoy some quality beer. If the Flying Saucer landed in St. Louis, I think I’d board the ship.

All of the bands that showed up to the 2008 Microfest should have played Buster Poindexter’s tune “Hot, Hot, Hot” on a loop just to remind you that the sun was no one’s bitch today. It was a lively event, but the hour I showed up I developed a slight sunburn. No fun. Also, what’s the point of getting a 6oz VIP tasting glass if you’re still only going to fill it up 1oz? I’m sure it has something to do with liquor laws, but it just seemed silly. Anyway, here are some of the photos: