Larry Chase of Granite City Food & Brewery emailed to let me know that one of their best-selling seasonals, their Oktoberfest, goes on tap as of October 8th. Here’s the breakdown of the beer from Larry:
Ingredients include:
Grain Cargill GC Special Blend, Munich, Vienna, Crystal
Hops Northern Brewer, Tettnang, Sterling
O.G. 1.055
Apparently this beer sells out within 2 weeks of it being tapped, so if you’re a fan of Oktoberfests make sure to get over to GCFB ASAP.
While we’ve seen more and more beers hitting St. Louis shelves as of recent, I’ve heard of a few that we won’t be seeing any time soon:
Bells – Java Stout and Sparkling Ale: Unfortunately, we won’t be seeing these two seasonals on store shelves this year as they’re being retired. According to Bell’s rep Jim O’Connor both beers are being retired due to raw material issues. But all is not bleak, we will see a return of Hell Hath No Fury to the St. Louis area along with a new Christmas Ale.
Founders Devil Dancer: While we’ve all tried to weathered through the hop shortages this year here’s a victim that cuts straight through my heart. Founders has announced that we will not be seeing their triple IPA Devil Dancer on shelves this winter. On the plus side, Founders has expanded their capacity which means we’ll be seeing more of the beers we love so dearly (Red’s Rye) and hopefully more of the special seasonals they put out as well (Kentucky Breakfast Stout.)
Being the greedy bugger I am, one of the first questions I asked when Avery first arrived was, “Awesome, but are we getting the specialty and seasonal beers too?” Sadly, at the time the answer was, “We don’t have them yet.” Well, things are finally looking up as Paul from the Wine and Cheese Place just informed me that Avery’s Imperial IPA Maharaja is now available in St. Louis. Here’s the description from Avery’s website:
Maharaja is derived from the sanskrit words mahat, – “great” and rajan – “king”. Much like its namesake, this imperial IPA is regal, intense and mighty. With hops and malts as his servants, he rules both with a heavy hand. The Maharaja flaunts his authority over a deranged amount of hops: tangy, vibrant and pungent along with an insane amount of malted barley – fashioning a dark amber hue and exquisite malt essence.
This newest Avery Dictator completes the “Dictator Series” joining the likes of The Kaiser & The Czar. Be aware that The Maharaja is a limited release only available for the summer. Welcome to his kingdom!
I’ve also been informed that we’ve only received 15 cases so far. But there is no guarentee that more is on the way. The easiest way to make that happen is to buy some as soon as possible. Show Avery we love their product, that way we’re more likely to keep getting these limited releases.
Ok, so yesterday’s post was completely terrible. From messing up twice on the type of bourbon barrels to doubting it would see store shelves this week. Sorry about that, should have checked with people in the know before spouting off. Oh well, onward and upward.
According to Derek Bean, the sales manager for O’Fallon, the bulk of the 31 cases should be hitting store shelves today. So I’d contact your local retailer to see if it’s available to pick up today. If the frenzy for Hopslam was any barometer, this one is sure to go fast as well.
This really should have been done earlier in the week, but life happens and it just didn’t happen when I wanted. But better late than never, right? As I mentioned last Friday, Saturday was the national Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day. As such I went over to St. Louis Wine and Beermaking to purchase some yeast to homebrew a Scottish 80 Shilling.
To celebrate National Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day, St. Louis W&B was putting on an all-grain homebrewing demonstration. Luckily I was smart enough to bring my camera to snap a couple of pictures:
What was originally going to be a 5 minute trip turned into an hour of standing around, watching a pot try to boil and talking homebrewing techniques with novices and experts. It was nice being able to help new guys out and give them some tips and also pick up some tips from people more experienced than I.
When I got home a small homebrewing task awaited me. I needed to move my Belgian Dark Strong from the carboy to a corny keg for aging. Usually this goes pretty easily, but for whatever reason I ended up with a lot of water on myself and the basement floor. Oh well, it least the beer is being aged now.
I cleaned myself up and let myself dry out a bit and then headed over to The Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton to visit with Paul and to sample the 06 Schlafly Barleywine vs the 07 Barleywine.
It’s amazing what a year can do, I found that the hops on the 06 have really dropped out and the malt character has really started to come into it’s own and develop a really amazing beer. That’s not to say the 07 isn’t ready to drink right now. It’s a fantastic beer that may make hopheads pretty happy.
I’ve never been to the Clayton Wine and Cheese Place as the Rock Hill location is right down the street, but I’m here to tell you that this is a dangerous place for a beer lover.
Everywhere you turn you think, “Oooh, I want that! And that! And That!” and the next thing you know you’ve given Paul 60 of your hard earned dollars. That’s if you’re lucky to keep it less than that.
One last thing that’s not all beer related (except it goes fantastic with it) is that Wine And Cheese Place is selling salami that has been created by the wonderful Salumi Cured Meats out of Seattle. If you’re a fan of salami, you’ll do yourself a huge favor by ponying up the dough and picking some of this up. It’s absolutely delicious.
As I mentioned earlier in the week the St. Louis Brewery and Ritz-Carlton will be hosting a beer dinner to kick off the release of the 2007 Barrel Aged Imperial Stout and Barley Wine on Thursday, November 8th. One of the most interesting parts of the dinner is that you’ll have the chance to taste the 2006 and 2007 vintages side by side. This is a great opportunity if you didn’t have the will power to hold on to a 06 bottle to see what a difference a year makes.
You’ll also be one of the first people to try this year’s Christmas Ale. I got a chance to talk to Dan Kopman from the St. Louis Brewery last night and he’s very excited about the Christmas Ale. He thinks it’s their best one yet.
The menu is as follows:
Reception: Featuring Schlafly #15
First Course: Cornmeal Fried West Coast Oyster, Anise Spinach Flan, Lobster Cream
Featuring Pilsner and Hefeweizen
Second Course: Hot Hickory Smoked Atlantic Salmon Fine Bean Salad, Mango Mustard Dressing
Featuring Dry Hopped APA and Christmas Ale
Third Course: Roast Pepper Crusted Rack of Lamb, Toasted Barley, Blue Cheese and Tarragon Caramelized Shallot Jus
Featuring 2007 and 2006 Oak Aged Barleywine and Winter ESB
Dessert: Gianduja Orange Mousse, Matchu Green Tea Financier, Citrus Sauce
Featuring 2007 and 2006 Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout and Coffee Stout
This is shaping up to be quite an event. Be sure to call the Ritz at 863-6300 to make your reservation now.
If you haven’t had a chance to try some of the fall seasonals, this is your chance:
Halloween Tasting
Friday October 26 from 5-7pmProvisions Gourmet Market
11615 Olive Street Road
Creve Coeur, MO
314-989-0020Come in and taste some great
Pumpkin and Oktoberfest Beers
