Dear Dierbergs,

You may not know me, but my name is Michael Sweeney and believe it or not, we go way back. I worked for you during high school, tending the produce department on many an early Saturday morning. I’ve shopped at your stores for my entire adult life. I’ve always appreciated your efforts to strive to not only be the friendliest store in town, but to also offer a wide selections of premium products (even if they are at premium prices sometimes).

One of the first things instilled in me during my first few days of employment was that Dierbergs Markets went out of their way to try and offer the best products and the best service one could find in St. Louis, which is why I don’t understand the disconnect when viewing your beer selection. I don’t think it always this way. In fact I can remember a time when you offer mix-a-six selections, but they are no more.

I understand that shelf space is always in huge demand, but why is it that you can offer such a large and diverse wine selection (even at case pricing) but still not have the same sort of love for beer. Sure if I want to find all of Sam Adams, Leinenkugel, Schlafly, and O’Fallon’s offerings, they’re always on the shelves waiting for me. But sometimes I want something more, sometimes I want an impulse buy.

I just can’t quite understand why a store that emphasizes itself as offering some of the best products in St. Louis fails to offer things like Bear Republic, Unibroue, Avery, or even Bell’s. It seems like you attract the perfect clientèle to offer some of these “unusual” beers from around the globe. Perhaps you could even have beer samples on the weekends sort of like you sample many of your other products.

With more and more breweries making their way into St. Louis, this is your chance to step out in front and say, “We’re your beer store in St. Louis.” Seize this opportunity and make us believe that you really do provide some of the best products in town.

Sincerely,

Michael Sweeney

P.S. Thanks for helping instill some great customer service instincts that have helped me my entire professional career.

A few weeks ago I had to travel to Champaign, IL for business. I’m not a huge fan of traveling for business, but I can usually make the best of it by finding some of the interesting beer stuff in other cities. While in Champaign I made sure to stop and try The Blind Pig as it was rated as one of the top 50 beer bars in the world by RateBeer in 2007. I was not let down. One of the first things I spied was New Holland Existential Hopwine on cask, which got me to wondering, “when do we see a bar in St. Louis that has a rotating cask selection?”

Don’t get me wrong, the addition of Dressel’s Pub to the cask beer scene is extremely welcome and I’d almost kick over my own brother to get a pint of cask 5 Day, but maybe I’m getting a bit greedy. I’d love to see a bar in St. Louis that not only serves cask beer, but serves a rotating selection of it. Now, I realize that this dream may not be as easy to attain as I’d like, because I’m sure there are plenty of logistical challenges. But a man can dream, can’t he?

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.

I was over at the Rock Hill Wine and Cheese Place on Friday and was pleasantly surprised to see a whole new expanded beer selection now available. I emailed Paul to find out the details and he informed me that they added about 150 beers at Rock Hill to bring the total up to around 460. Not too shabby for a friendly neighborhood wine store. (Paul also let me know Clayton W&C is up to 720 beers in stock!)

Happy Friday the Thirteen to you all, hope your spooky June day goes well.

There is one thing I want to talk about before I start today’s Round-Up, there’s been some rumblings as of recent that I’m in cahoots with certain retailers or breweries when it comes to posting information. Let me just say that’s patently false. I credit the person who provides me the information first. Some people are more active about providing information and I think it’s only fair to credit them.

This is a free site and I run it because I love beer. Anyway, on to the Round-Up

Stuff from around the web

• Anheuser-Busch is getting viral.
• Beer and St. Louis makes for a very small world.
• A review of AB’s Winter Bourbon Cask Ale.
• Drink more beer, make more electricity.
• Adam Jedhav’s newest article in the Pos-Dispatch.
• St. Louis isn’t the only area affected by AB’s possible buy-out.

Beer Releases and News

• Andrew from Bon Vivant Wines informs me to some new beers he has in his stock:
  • Avery 15
  • O’Fallon Whiskey Barrel Aged Smoked Porter
  • Brasserie Dupont Moinette Blonde
  • Brasserie Dupont Moinette Brune
  • Lagunitas IPA
  • Dogfish Head Festina Peche
  • Bolder Hazed and Infused
  • Bolder Copper Ale
  • Allagash Witte
  • Czechvar Pilsner
  • Westmalle Triple
  • Coniston XS Bitter
  • Urthel Hop-It
  • Ommegang Ommegeddon
  • Brasserie d’Achouffe Houblon Dobbelen Triple IPA
  • DFH 60min IPA
  • DFH 90min IPA
  • Victory Storm King
• Paul at The Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton alerts me to some new beers he has in stock at the Clayton and Rock Hill locations:
  • Gouden Carolus 2008 Grand Cru Blue
  • Gouden Carolus 2008 Grand Cru Red
  • Achel Blonde
  • Achel Bruin
  • Daleside Monkey Wrench Dark Ale
  • Oberon Mini Kegs
  • Hitachino Espresso Stout
  • Brasserie de La Senne Zinnebir Blond
  • Brasserie de la Senne Stouterkik
  • Nogne Imperial Stout Norway
  • Nogne Porter Norway
  • Daleside Old LegOver
  • Mahrs Jubelfestbier
• Mike Cherre, Beer Consultant at Lukas Liquor posts on their blog some of the new selections they have in stock:
  • Ommegang Witte (750ml bottles & 4-packs)
  • Southern Tier Cherry Saison (Seasonal)
  • Reunion ‘08 Organic Red Rye Ale (22oz bottles)
  • North Coast Le Merle (750ml bottles)
  • Samichlaus (750ml bottles)
  • Bell’s Hopslam (very, very limited so hurry!)
  • Bell’s Oberon 5L mini kegs

Here’s a list of upcoming beer events:

• June 17 - STL Hops Meet Up
• June 21 - Hermann’s Rhythm and Brews
• June 28 - Westport Beer and Brat Festival

The Stable the newest location from the people who brought you the Rotten Apple will be opening in just a few weeks.  Not only will they be brewing their own beer and distilling their own alcohol but they’ll also have a fine selection of draught beer as well.  I was just given the list and I have to say I’m pretty excited:

Reissdorf Kolsch
O’Fallon 5 Day ipa
Old Rasputin
Michelob
Schlafly Hefe
Red Seal
Stag
La Chouffe
Kasteel Rouge
Scrimshaw Pils
Hopmouth
Hoegarden
Maudite
Schlafly Export IPA
Duchesse De Bourgogne
Left Hand Milk Stout
Charleville Half Wit Wheat

This is a pretty exciting list with a couple of beers I’ve personally never seen draught in St. Louis.  Nice to see another place in the area that is giving beer the love it deserves.

It’s been a long time since I’ve traveled down Watson Road, it’s amazing to see some of the changes. There’s a whole new complex west of the Best Buy and Schnucks, Crestwood Mall is called Crestwood Court (also, it’s interesting that I remember when Crestwood was considered the “nice” mall and South County was the dirt mall, but it seems like they’ve swapped and South County is the nice one now) and the complex that houses Friar Tuck once held a Sport Authority and a Sears store. Anyway, enough of this Andy Rooney-esque rant.

Store: Friar Tuck Address: 9053 Watson Road, St. Louis, MO 63126 (Map it) Phone: 314-918-9230 Selection: “Everything that is offered in Missouri”

I’ll be perfectly honest, I was really impressed with Friar Tuck when I first walked in. It’s extremely well organized and very visually appealing. I probably should have snapped some photos of the wine section, but hey, this is a beer blog. After talking to a few to the store manager and assistant store manager, I quickly realized these guys were all about beer as well. They talked to me about what they had, what they’d like to see and even asked me what my dream list of breweries not distributed would be.

They claimed they have acquired every beer that’s currently being distributed in Missouri and after quickly looking over their selection, I’m prone to believe them. While the beer on the shelves is very impressive what also got my attention were the massive beer coolers. If I had to take a guess, about 60% of the beer on the shelves was also available cold.

Some other neat areas of mention was the large line of unbranded glassware they have to offer. Bill and I have discussed this quite a bit, and as we’ve gotten older, we’re not as interested in having advertisements on our beer glassware. I’d like to have glassware I can use for everyday use without looking like I’m still in college. Also mentioned was that they’re going to begin selling homebrewing equipment and ingredients as well.

Be sure to stop in and tell them what you think and what you’d like to see. It’s good to have another option in the excellent St. Louis beer retail scene.

Irene and I recently received some good news and I decided that we should celebrate by visiting Newstead Tower Public House. In reality we probably would have visited anyway, the celebrate is just an excuse to go. If you’re interested in a review of the food, I’d check in with a couple of guys that will do far better justice than I. But I’ll give you my thoughts from a beer nerd’s perspective.

Newstead Tower Public House
4353 Manchester Avenue (Map It)
St. Louis, MO 63110
(314) 535-7771

Beers: (Menu) The first thing you think of, or at least when I think of, when you hear the word “pub” is beer. Newstead carries 12 draught beers and 14 bottled beers. The 12 draught beers have a heavy emphasis on local and American craft beers, whereas the bottle selection tends toward European beers with a lot of the old standards (Orval, Smithwicks, Guinness, Sammy Smith). I appreciate the selections of the local beers, but I personally would have liked to have seen a couple of export draught selections as well. While by no means a terrible selection of beer, I think a little more creativity could have been put into the bottle selection. Perhaps the addition of a cask beer would have also lended a more authentic feel to the pub.

Food: (Menu) Instead of trying to juggle a number of different dishes, it looks like Chef Anthony Devoti has deicded on concentrating on kicked-up versions of classic pub cuisine. While the menu may seem limited, each dish seems like it’s extremely well put together and well-thought out. Prices are extremely reasonable as well.

Intangibles: This is an extremely beautiful location, with a warm and rich decor. This is a place where if I lived within walking distance I could see visiting on almost a nightly basis. While I’ve never visited a pub in the UK, this is almost exactly what I think of when I think of a pub. And if you’re lucky a Mardi Gras float will stop by.

Interesting Note: If the trend continues, it looks like Newstead will have a beer dinner at least once a month. This is an exciting proposition for those of us who love to see people pair food with beer.

I think Newstead is really on to something here and I can see myself visiting here quite often. The beer menu could perhaps use a little tinkering, but overall I think it’s living up to it’s gastropub moniker nicely.

As I mentioned in the last Round-Up, last Friday was my girlfriend Irene’s birthday. We celebrated by going to an amazing restaurant that we had heard excellent things about. When we had arrived I was not at all surprised by the lack of a beer menu or even the inclusion of a beer list in the wine menu, that’s pretty par for the course.

I asked my server what beer choices they offered and after the obligatory St. Louis selection he then began listing their craft selection. New Belgium, Boulevard, Schlafly, and a couple of the standard Belgian choices. I was completely deflated. Here I was in one of the best restaurants in St. Louis and these were their choices for beer? It felt like the beer choices were an afterthought and not something chosen to compliment the cuisine.

Bill and I have had the wine/beer debate for quite some time and for the most part I agree with him. Wine still has the perception of being a more upscale drink than beer, which is normally viewed as the beverage of the working man. Wine can be sold for a much higher profit margin, especially when sold by the glass, than beer which makes it more attractive to restaurateurs.

Some of the things in beer’s favor is that it has less of a footprint and therefore requires less storage space than wine. You’re usually only opening one 12oz bottle at a time so there is no need for quality control concerns (unless the beer isn’t selling.) Not to mention that draught beer also provides a mighty mark-up if you have the space and the equipment to do so.

So given some of it’s upsides why is it that restaurateurs and chefs don’t put more effort in choosing the beers that they offer in their restaurant? If you were to visit a world class restaurant and ordered a cup of coffee, would you be unhappy if they served you Folgers? If you ordered a mixed drink would you be OK with them using Popov? Of course not, you expect more out of a restaurant like this. So why is it OK for beer to get the shaft?

I fully understand that (especially in St. Louis) you’re never going to get away from serving beers from the big boys. People love their light lager and when they order a beer, they better have their go-to. I also understand that there is always going to be limited shelf space because of the smaller mark-up that beer has compared to it’s cousin wine. But if you’re going to offer a selection of beer, why can’t the beers that aren’t from the big boys be something that offers your customers some intriguing flavors and aromas that will help to compliment your food? Why should the beer choices be so blasé?

If it’s just a matter of education all you need to do is find a local beer nerd, we’ll be more than happy to talk your ear off about beer and help put together a beer menu to be proud of. If it’s a concern that the beer won’t sell then maybe it’s a matter of educating your staff or even providing a beer menu! There is no reason that you have to have the same old beer choices as everyone else, you just have to take the first step and make it right.

_{(If you haven’t figure it out by now I’m being very ambiguous about the restaurant we went to on Friday night. I really liked the place and don’t really want to trash it. But this post is really directed at all restaurants who want to hold their food and wine selections to a very high caliber but don’t do the same for beer. )}