I’m proud to announce that theSt. Louis Craft Beer Week is coming back for 2010. This will be a week long event beginning on April 24th and culminating on April 30th, May 1st and 2nd with the St. Louis Microfest.

Lift for Life and the St. Louis Microfest are partnering with the St. Louis Craft Beer Week to make this year’s event even bigger and better than last year.

We had over 25 events that took place over 8 days.  We had trivia nights, brewery release parties, beer festivals and beer dinners.  I think this year will be even bigger.

I sent out an email to about 50 people in the area, if you’re a restaurant/bar, retail facility, distributor or brewery that didn’t get contacted, it’s because I accidentally forgot about you or didn’t have your email If you’re interested please contact me at mike@stlhops.com or mike@stlbeerweek.com.

This was a phenomenal year for STL Hops.  Not only did we all get to enjoy the first St. Louis Craft Beer Week, we also celebrated our Second Anniversary and had a few fantastic events like the tasting party at CP Pinball.

Stay tuned for big events coming up in 2010.  Happy New Year everyone.

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If any of you attended the History of Craft Beer discussion at during the St. Louis Craft Beer Week you’ll know that Henry is probably one of the most interesting and knowledgeable people in the St. Louis beer scene.  Henry is also one of the authors of the upcoming book St. Louis Brews, 200 Years of Brewing in St. Louis.

So, I thought it was important to let everyone know that Henry was diagnoses with pancreatic cancer and is currently in the hospital undergoing treatment. The good news is that his surgery to remove the cancer was successful, the bad news is that he’s still not able to drink any beer, the worse news he’s still in the hospital.

But with any luck, he’ll be out of the hospital in the next few days.  You can follow updates on Henry via a blog his family created to update everyone on his condition.  Please stop by and send some kind words to Henry, he’s a really great guy.

Also, be sure to check out a special label the guys at Schlafly created for Henry when he’s able to start drinking beer again:

I know it’s taken me a while to get this up, but better late than never, right?  Well, the first annual St. Louis Craft Beer Week is behind us and I’d like to think it was a pretty good success.  It seemed like all the events I attended had a good to great turnout and people were generally excited about everything going on.

The one small quibble was something that I was a bit concerned about, I heard from one retailer was that some of the events scheduled at the same time competed for the same people.   I knew that might be an issue going in, but I’m hoping that getting more word out next year gets more people interested in attending the events and therefore we won’t have to worry about as much competition.

And yes, I did say “next year.”  I plan on making this a yearly event, and next year the event will coincide with the 2010 Microfest in Forest Park.  So, look out for that.  In the meantime here is a collage of photos compiled from the photos section of the STLCBW website.

Thanks again to everyone who helped, participated and attended these events.

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Lots of stuff going on during the St. Louis Craft Beer Week, but one of the standout events is the Ss. Peter & Paul Craft Beer Fest. (Tickets are available for the festival here.)

Here’s the list of beers going to be seen at the event. If you see a beer you’re interested in trying, make sure to get it quickly, because some of these beers are available only in limited quantities.

• Black Dog Raspberry
• Black Dog Amber
• Blue Moon Belgian White
• Blue Moon Honey Moon Summer Ale
• Blue Moon Full Moon Abbey Ale
• Killians Irish Red
• Hoegaarden Belgian Wheat
• Stella Artois
• Leffe Blonde
• Wild Blue
• Redhook’s LongHammer (IPA)
• Beach Bum Blonde Ale
• Goose Island Honker’s Ale
• Goose Island Summer Time
• Bells Pale
• Bells Porter
• Bells Amber
• Big Sky Scapegoat
• Big Sky Trout Slayer
• Big Sky IPA
• Big Sky Summer Honey
• O’Fallon Smoked Porter
• O’Fallon Gold
• Rogue Dead Guy
• Anchor Steam

Schlafly

• Pale
• Hefeweizen
• APA
• Summer lager
• Oatmeal Stout
• Kolsch
• Belgian Quadruple
• Belgian Tripel
• Barleywine

Dogfish Head

• 90 minute IPA
• Indian Brown Ale
• Midas Touch

Lagunitas

• Undercover Investigation Ale
• Censored Copper Ale
• Hop Stoopid
• Imperial Red
• IPA

Three Floyds

• Behemoth Blonde Barleywine
• Dreadnaught IPA

Boulevard

• Pale
• Wheat
• Stout
• Bully porter
• Single Wide IPA
• Zon

Leinenkugel

• Sunset Wheat
• Classic Amber
• Honey Weiss
• Berry Weiss
• Summer Shandy

Sierra Nevada

• Pale
• Porter
• Stout
• Kellerweis
• Summerfest
• Torpedo
• Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale 09

To help celebrate St. Louis Craft Beer Week, The Wine and Cheese Place wanted to put on a tasting just for you. Tomorrow, Tuesday, June 2nd at 6PM, The Wine and Cheese Place will be hosting a tasting pairing craft beer with a selection of different cheeses.

Only a few tickets for this event remain, but fortunately for you Paul was kind enough to give us 4 tickets to give away for this event. So, email contest@stlhops.com with the subject line of: Beer and Cheese.

As this event is tomorrow, I’ll be picking two random winners tomorrow (06/02/2009) at 9AM.  Send your email now if you want to attend!

All of this week I’ll be detailing the events of the inaugural St. Louis Craft Beer Week on STL Hops to bring more visibility to the event.

I can’t begin to stress enough how important it is for all of us to help make this event successful.

If you care about beer and beer awareness in St. Louis, it’s important to show the retailers, breweries and restaurants involved that there are people that care about beer. If you love beer and I know you all do otherwise you wouldn’t be here, it’s time to show it.

Anyway, here’s a rundown of the events taking place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday:

Thursday, June 4th

Craft/Beer – The Royale – 2PM-6PM
Free Event (Food and drink available for purchase)
In the spirit of handcrafting unique and local treasures, The Royale is inviting the local craft community during the first annual STL Craft Beer Week. Independent crafting–be it with yarn, paper, glass, metal, or barley and hops–is one of the things that makes Saint Louis great. Come celebrate people-based production and meet others doing the same.

Beer Tasting for Wine Lovers – The Wine and Cheese Place Clayton – 6PM
$20 Per Person – Reservations are required (314-727-8788)
So many people say “I don’t really like beer”, I only drink wine. I think this is based on a limited exposure to just trying nothing outside of light American lagers. We will introduce you to a whole new world of beer. We will pick some beers from many different styles, different countries that we think will surprise you and expand your horizons.

History of Craft Beer – Schlafly Bottleworks - 6:30PM
Free Event
Join local beer historian Henry Herbst as he explains how craft beer got to where it is today. Henry will provide plenty of fascinating information that will teach you that the world of craft beer existed before Dogfish Head and Stone. If you’ve never had the chance to hear Henry speak, make sure not to miss this event.

O’Fallon Brewery Garden Party – Missouri Botanical Garden - 5PM-9PM
Free Event
In a series of events called Garden Party Nights, the Missouri Botanical Garden will be hosting O’Fallon Brewery for a beer tasting from 5PM-9PM.

Beer Tasting – Wine and Cheese Place Clayton - 4PM-6:30PM
Free Event
Paul Hayden of The Wine and Cheese Place on Forsyth continues his series of weekly beer tastings with what he promises with be a jam-packed, extra-special tasting.

Brewers Heritage Festival – Forest Park - 6PM-10PM
The premiere beer festival in St. Louis, the Brewers Heritage Beer Festival will be kicking off its third year with the addition of new beers, new breweries, and a new Festival Beer! With over 18,000 attendees, this is one of the biggest festivals in the nation. This year we’ll see the addition of Mattingly Brewing Company, Buffalo Brewing Company, and Trailhead Brewing to join Schlafly, O’Fallon Brewing, Anheuser-Busch, Square One, Augusta Brewing, Alandale Brewing and Morgan Street Brewing. This event is the perfect way to cap off St. Louis Craft Beer Week.

Ss. Peter & Paul Craft Beer Fest – Alton Sportsmen’s Club - 6PM-10PM
Price $15 Per Person
Sample over 25 different beers from the likes of Schlafly, Boulevard, Bells, Sierra Nevada, O’Fallon, Dogfish Head, Three Floyds, Lagunitas and more. Tickets are $15 and include 10 three ounce samples. Additional Samples can be purchased for $1 each at the festival.

Brewers Heritage Festival – Forest Park - 12PM-4PM
The premiere beer festival in St. Louis, the Brewers Heritage Beer Festival will be kicking off its third year with the addition of new beers, new breweries, and a new Festival Beer! With over 18,000 attendees, this is one of the biggest festivals in the nation. This year we’ll see the addition of Mattingly Brewing Company, Buffalo Brewing Company, and Trailhead Brewing to join Schlafly, O’Fallon Brewing, Anheuser-Busch, Square One, Augusta Brewing, Alandale Brewing and Morgan Street Brewing. This event is the perfect way to cap off St. Louis Craft Beer Week.

Brewers Heritage Festival – Forest Park – 6PM-10PM
The premiere beer festival in St. Louis, the Brewers Heritage Beer Festival will be kicking off its third year with the addition of new beers, new breweries, and a new Festival Beer! With over 18,000 attendees, this is one of the biggest festivals in the nation. This year we’ll see the addition of Mattingly Brewing Company, Buffalo Brewing Company, and Trailhead Brewing to join Schlafly, O’Fallon Brewing, Anheuser-Busch, Square One, Augusta Brewing, Alandale Brewing and Morgan Street Brewing. This event is the perfect way to cap off St. Louis Craft Beer Week.