So I’ve teased it in the forums a bit, but I thought I’d list some of the prize we’d have available for the STL Hops Anniversary Party!

New Belgium

• New Belgium Tulip Glasses
• 05, 06, 07 La Folie
• New Belgium Grand Cru
• 12 Pack of Fat Tire cans

Major Brands

• Avery Salvation
• Great Divide Hercules Double IPA
• Avery 14′er ESB
• Great Divide Titan IPA
• Avery IPA

Whole Foods

• 4 – $20 Gift Certificates

Amalgamated Brewing

• 2 – $25 Gift Certificates

Wine and Cheese Place

• Samuel Smith Imperial Pint Glasses
• Samuel Smith Pilsner Glasses
• Samuel Smith Tulip Glasses
• Spatan Illuminated Bar Sign

Missouri Beverage

• Old Rasputin Metal Sign
• Gouden Carlous Tulip Glasses
• Kapuziner Ceramic Pilsner Glasses
• Mahr’s Brau Mugs

Starr’s Liquors

• Sierra Nevada Harvest Wet Hop Ale
• Samichlaus 750ml
• Deus Brut des Flanders
• Boulevard Saison Brett

Stephen Hale

• 1995 Thomas Hardy’s Ale

Syberg’s

• 4 – $25 Gift Certificates

Some of these items will be door prizes, some will be raffles, some will be silent auctions. So bring some money along with you as this is for a great cause, Stray Rescue of St. Louis.

July 17th marks the date of yet another dinner being put on by Starr’s Market. As always, you have five courses and 10 beers to sample during the dinner. Here’s the menu:

Summer Vegetable Salad
Sierra Nevada Summer Fest
Reisdorf Kolsch

Fried Green Tomatoes with Fried Oysters and a Light Blue Crab Sauce
Fried Green Tomatoes with imperial sauce (no crab) – Vegetarian
Tomos Watkin OSB Bitter
Buffalo Belgium Stout

Tender Fried Rabbit Pieces and homemade Fettuccine with a sherry cream sauce
House made Fettuccine with Wild Mushrooms – Vegetarian
Thirez Blond dry Hopped Farmhouse Ale
Karmeliet triple

Pittsburg Style NY Strip Steak with New Potato Hash
Tofu, Hicama, and Vegetable Stir Fry – Vegetarian
Jolly Pumpkin La Roja Amber ale
LaChoulette Amber

Normandy Apple Tart with Vanilla Ice Cream
Unibrou Ephemere Apple
Black Dog Kristal Weiss

Dinner starts at 6:45PM. The cost of the event is $36.95 (plus tax and tip) for the carnivores and $26.95 (plus tax and tip) for you veggies. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 314-781-2345. If you’re concerned about missing the Tour de France, do fret. Bud informs me that it’ll be on the TV so you won’t miss a moment.

This was not only another fun night thanks to the crew at Starr’s Market but also a sold out one. I’m glad to see more people attending not only the beer dinners at Starr’s, but beer dinner as a whole. The actual food this month was not nearly as good as the April dinner, but it was still adequate. But I thought the pairings this month were outstanding. It took a beer like the Southern Tier Unearthly DIPA, a beer that I don’t quite care for, and turn it into something I loved with the dinner. Here are some photos:

Just a reminder for those of you who may have forgotten and have not yet made dinner plans, but the May Beer Dinner put on by Starr’s Market is tonight. The event begins at 6:45 PM and costs $36.95; you can make reservations by calling (314) 781-2345. Here is the menu if you’ve forgotten:

First Course
Summer Bean Salad with Herb Vinegrette and Cherry Tomatoes
Bell’s Oberon
New Belgium Mothership Whit

Second Course
Spicy Schezwan Quail over Asian Slaw with a Lemon Grass Glaze
or Spicy Grilled Tofu Steak over Asian Slaw with Lemon Grass Glaze
Southern Tier Unearthly Imperial IPA
Great Divide Hercules Double IPA

Third Course
Apple Butter Mustard BBQ Pork Tenderloin , Sweet Potato Mash & English Peas
or Sweet Potato English Pea Risotto (Vegetarian)
Caracole Nostradamus
Wostynte Mustard Ale

Fourth Course
Cipollini Onion and Goat Cheese Tart
Fullers Vintage Ale 2007
Aventinus Dopplebock

Fifth Course
Mini Blueberry Pie with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Cantillon Iris
O’Fallon Weach

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.

No sooner do I post the images of the April Beer Dinner at Starr’s that they send me the menu for the May Dinner which is happening on May 29th at 6:45 PM. The cost of this event is $36.95 and reservations are required. You can make reservations by calling (314) 781-2345. I strongly encourage you to attend. The last one was a real blast and provided ample opportunity to try all kinds of different beer.

First Course
Summer Bean Salad with Herb Vinegrette and Cherry Tomatoes
Bell’s Oberon
New Belgium Mothership Whit

Second Course
Spicy Schezwan Quail over Asian Slaw with a Lemon Grass Glaze
or Spicy Grilled Tofu Steak over Asian Slaw with Lemon Grass Glaze
Southern Tier Unearthly Imperial IPA
Great Divide Hercules Double IPA

Third Course
Apple Butter Mustard BBQ Pork Tenderloin , Sweet Potato Mash & English Peas
or Sweet Potato English Pea Risotto (Vegetarian)
Caracole Nostradamus
Wostynte Mustard Ale

Fourth Course
Cipollini Onion and Goat Cheese Tart
Fullers Vintage Ale 2007
Aventinus Dopplebock

Fifth Course
Mini Blueberry Pie with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
Cantillon Iris
O’Fallon Weach

Irene and I attended that first Starr’s Beer Dinner on Wednesday, April 30th and I thought I’d provide some photos for you. But before I post the photos, here are some quick thoughts:

• All of the food was pretty good. The pairings were excellent in some cases and missed the mark on others. But having two beers per course to pair them was a nice addition.
• Five courses and the amount of food they gave us was a bit much. By the time dessert rolled around I was stuffed.
• Bud Starr mentioned to me that he’ll probably be doing all of his beer dinners with different beers from different breweries each time.
• If you didn’t make this one, I strongly recommend making the next one, it was a great, great time.