There are few tastier things than a sour beer. But why should you limit yourself to just a single sour beer? Wouldn’t you like to enjoy a large spectrum of the sour beers that St. Louis has to offer? Well, Andy Snead, the Beer Specialist for the Brentwood Galleria Whole Foods is giving you just that chance:

From the Lambics and Flemish Sours of Belgium to the farmhouse tradition of France, join us for a night of wild yeasts and spontaneous fermentations! We’ll sample a wide variety of styles including both Domestic and Imported. These beers will range from fruity and light to bitter and sour, but all have a rolling full palate and a great complexity of flavors. Light snacks provided.

If you’re just getting into sour/farmhouse beers, this event will really open your eyes to the full range of flavors these beers have to offer. The event is happening on August 14th from 6:30-8PM and the cost is $20. You can purchase tickets to this event here.

We have a new thread in the Forum titled, “What did you drink last night?” It gives everyone a chance to discuss what beers they enjoyed the night before and maybe even brag a little bit. As I was typing up a monster post for the thread, it occurred to me it would probably make a decent post on the main blog as well. So here’s a little of my weekend drinking:

Friday
Two Hearted: Had kind of a crappy day, so I started off with an old favorite. Unfortunately I had it at Growler’s and I was having a poor time there.
Green Flash Hop Head Red: Came home and popped open one of the three beers I picked up while in Champaign. I was looking for their West Coast IPA, had to settle for this instead. Nice beer, but didn’t really live up to the “Hop Head” moniker. Could have standed a bit more bitterness, but it was still a nice beer.
DFH Indian Brown Ale: Picked this one up because of a comment someone said about this beer on another message board I post on. He compared it to dishwater. I saw that it picked up good ratings on BA (I know it’s not the end-all be-all of ratings, but it’s a quick go-to) and decided to try for myself. I’m very glad I did, it has a very pleasant hop aroma that matches well with the roasted malts.
Founders Red Rye: If this was available in Missouri, it may usurp Two Hearted as may go-to beer.

Saturday
Schlafly Weiss Bier: I volunteered working the Art of Food event and as such we got free Schlafly Weiss. I had about a billion glasses before the night was over. I really enjoyed it and wish they would sell this stuff in the bottles they currently label as a hefeweizen.
De Proef Reserve Signature Ale: After AoF ended, we were beat and decided to get a drink. We hit up 33 Wine Bar as the laid back atmosphere suited our desire to relax. Dylan recommended this, but I wish I could remember more about it.
Péché Mortel: Forgetting this was not a 750, I was planning on sharing this with a friend, oops. I remember this being very pleasant, but that’s about it.
Bad Idea: I don’t remember what it was, but it was not a good decision by me to order one last beer at last call. So we’ll just go with the name “Bad Idea.” Let’s make it clear though, the beer was not at fault.

Sunday
DFH 90 Minute:We decided to hit The Rotten Apple as sort of a present to ourselves after AoF. Bill and Ellie had not yet gone and Bill was keen to try a draught 90 Minute. We agreed that it’s a completely awesome beer, but it’s honestly not that much different than drinking it out of a bottle. But we wouldn’t turn it down if it was offered to us.
Founders Rubeaus: This was my original reason for going up to the Apple. I really enjoyed this beer out of a bottle so I wanted to try it on draught. Unlike 90 Minute, this was is very different on draught. I found that the bottled version was a bit sweet and edged closer to a raspberry soda whereas the draught version reminded me more of a beer.
Three Floyds Alpha King: The American India Pale Ale that’s trying to disguise itself as an American Pale Ale. I wish I would have had this before the 90 Minute, because it almost seemed like an APA after the DFH offering.
Founders Dirty Bastard: An obvious Americanized version of a Scottish Ale, but a damn good one. It had a very thick, almost creamy mouthfeel and plenty of caramel sweetness that was never overwhelming.
Avery The Beast: Jerad then started breaking out some beers from in the back. The first was this 14.9% monster from Avery. The nose contained a big raisiny malty aroma along with some hot alcohol as well. The taste was sickenly sweet, in fact I think this beer is the reason why the word “cloying” was invented. Not my cup of tea.
Jolly Pumpkin Noel De Calabaza: I actually had this one a couple of weeks ago at Erato and at that time I remembered the previous bottles I’ve had seemed more sour. I don’t know if my palate has adjusted to these funky/sour beers, but this beer was no exception. It had plenty of funk, but not much of the sour I remember from previous bottles. Still a great beer though.

My liver is glad the weekend is over.

As gross as this may sound, I’m literally salivating just hearing about this news.  I don’t know why, but as soon as I start just thinking about sour beers I begin salivating like crazy.  But anyway, one of the best breweries in America with one of the worst names is coming to St. Louis.  Jolly Pumpkin out of Dexter, Michigan is now available at Starr’s Market.

Ben from Starr’s says they’ve received Mam Bier, Calabaza Blanca, ES Bam, La Roja, and Oro de Calabaza.  If you haven’t figured out, I’m so extremely stoked about this.

I heard about this a few weeks ago and it looks like it’s finally coming to fruition. New Belgium Brewery is going to be doing a new sour beer program where select restaurants will be receiving a few kegs of each beer as it’s seasonally released.  The first of these beers is New Belgium’s La Fleur Misseur.  I’ll let New Belgium Beer Ranger Ryan Beech describe it:

La Fleur was originally concocted for New Belgium’s 15th Birthday Party. But lucky all of us there was such a buzz about the beer by people that drank it at the brewery, we were forced to make more.

La Fleur is an ale with a deep hazy gold color. It opens with flavors of pineapple, clove and honey. Dry-Hopping gives it a nice flower-leaf aroma supported by tones of fresh bread and honey.

Because these are very special beers it means that they’re very limited in their release.  Bailey’s Chocolate Bar and Cicero’s are going to be the nly two locations in St. Louis will be receiving kegs of this beer (and it will be draught beer only).  I’ll make sure to let everyone know when this beer is available in a few weeks.

OK, it’s time for Round 2. If you didn’t get change to meet Eric or Lauren Salazar from New Belgium Brewing last night at Duff’s you have your chance to meet them tonight. Eric and Lauren will be a Bailey’s Chocolate Bar tonight to talk about and drink some great beer.

I got a chance last night to try Eric’s Ale, a beautiful sour beer with just a hint of peach. If this is your first foray into sour beers, this is the perfect entry point. It’s quite refreshing without being mouth-puckeringly sour.

Not only do you get a chance to try the beer, but you also get to talk to the guy who created it. Eric and Lauren are extremely passionate about beers and it’ll rub off on you. Plus, if you’ve never been down the Bailey’s Chocolate Bar, well then you’re really missing out on one of the best beer selections in St. Louis.

As I have the Schlafly Beer and Cheese tasting tomorrow, I hope Round 2 doesn’t deliver the knock-out punch.

edit: I can’t believe I forgot to mention a time.  I’ve been told they expect to be a Bailey’s between 7 and 8 tonight.