For those of you that don’t know, Dave Miller is probably most famous for writing one of the most referenced and influential homebrewing books in the past 30 years, Dave Miller’s Guide to Homebrewing.  But Dave, who had been instrumental in getting Missouri’s laws changed to allow microbreweries to exist, was also Schlafly‘s first Brewmaster.

Time moves on and now Dave has decided to reitre from brewing.  Knowing that, Dan Kopman and Stephen Hale conspired to throw Dave a surprise retirement party using the guise of the Pre-Prohibition Festival Party.  Using this opportunity, they had a chance to roast Dave and also retire his signature plaid shirt.  I’m sure hombrewers will know what the numbers mean.

If you weren’t able to attend, please enjoy some photos from the evening.

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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.

After a tragedy befell The Brewing Network family, the last scheduled interview with Schlafly’s Stephen Hale had to be put on a hiatus. I’m happy to report that this Sunday, October 26th at 7PM, The Brewing Network will be hosting Stephen to talk about Schlafly beer on The Sunday Session.

Between the Reserve Series now available on the East Coast, political t-shirts and posters, and the soon to be released 2008 Reserve Series, Stephen sure has plenty to talk about. The BN crew will also be tasting both beers from the 06 and 07 Reserve Series along with Schlafly’s Biere de Garde and the Pumpkin Ale. It should make for a very lubricated event.  Make sure to tune in and if you can’t make it, you’ll always be able to download the podcast later.

Local homebrewer Anthony Harvey is nothing if not creative. When he was searching for a way to quickly make cider from apples he had collected from around the area he came up with a solution. No fingers were harmed in the video, but there is a high chance of seeing a man in a kilt.

I know jack squat about poetry, to the point that I answer every poetry question on Jeopardy with “Robert Frost.” (I usually hit it 20% of the time.) But that’s cool, I realize that some people don’t really know much about beer. It’s just different strokes for different folks. Well, Poetry Scores will hold its 2008 Experiential Auction from 5-8 PM on Sunday, Sept. 21 at Atomic Cowboy. All of the proceeds of this auction will go to benefit Poetry Scores, which apparently is “a St. Louis-based arts organization that translates poetry into other media.” I don’t know exactly what that means, but refer to the first line of this post again to see why.

While I may not know much about poetry, I do know cool beer stuff when I see it and Poetry Scores is auctioning off some really cool beer stuff:

• Award-winning homebrewer Anthony Brescia brews you a case of beer to your specification, with customized labels of your design.
• Attorney and entrepreneur Tom Schlafly has a beer with you at a Schlafly brewpub, answers all your questions and donates a signed copy of his book, A New Religion in Mecca: Memoir of a Renegade Brewer in St. Louis.
• Schlafly Tap Room chief brewer Stephen Hale takes your small group on a tour of a Schlafly brewing works, followed by a private tasting and discussion.
• Public house owner and gadabout Steve Fitzpatrick Smith of The Royale takes you on an escorted afternoon bar tour in the city.

Admission to the event is $10, which apparently will be discounted from your first winning bid. If anyone ends up going and winning something, make sure to give us all a firsthand report of how it was.

If you’re not a fan of lowbrow, childish humor, I’m going to stop you right here. This isn’t to imply that Schlafly’s Stephen Hale is some sort of vulgar comedian, but that The Brewing Network‘s Sunday Session has been known to turn a few people off on occasion. I often liken TBN’s Sunday Session as morning radio for the brewing crowd. So if you’re down for some great brewing information and knowledge and the occasional dick joke, then The Brewing Network is the place for you (and me, I love lowbrow humor.)

With that disclaimer out there, I’m happy to announce that Schlafly’s Stephen Hale will be this week’s guest on The Sunday Session. He’s going to talk Schlafly, the Reserve Series, and consistency. If you’ve never had the opportunity to talk to Stephen, then this show will be a real treat, he’s a card. The program airs live, online at 7PM. I expect Stephen to be on about 7:30-7:45. Don’t worry if you miss it, because all of the shows are archived for download later.

(09/14/2008) Update: Tonight’s show was postponed due to a death in the Brewing Network family.  My condolences to them.  The show will be re-scheduled in the near future.

“You’re dressing up tonight,” were the first words out of Irene’s mouth when I got home. It was probably a good idea, as I soon found myself rubbing elbows with many of St. Louis’ elite. While there were plenty of white tablecloths and mayors to be had, importantly enough this still felt like a beer dinner. Granted it’s difficult for it not to feel like a beer dinner when you’re sitting next to a couple of brewers.

Left: Drew Huerter, Marc Gottfried, and Dave Johnson talk beer before the event.
Right: People mingling around the dinner tables.

Left: The menu from the “Ultimate Beer Dinner”

Left: Stephen and Sara Hale talking before we sit down to Sauce’s Allyson Mace and Catherine Neville.

Right: A close up of the wonderful (and expensive) table setting.

Left: Mayor Slay helps to kick off the Brewers Heritage Festival

Right: Co-host Dave Liberman describes what went into the Ultimate Beer Dinner

Marc Gottfried (Morgan Street) and Dr. John Witte (Square One, Augusta) discuss their beers while Stephen Hale demonstrates the finer points of dry hopping a beer.

Four of the five courses, for some reason I completely dropped the ball and forgot to take a photo of the 5th course.

Also not pictured:

• Me peeing next to Mayor Slay
• Tom Schlafly’s after-party
• The Alstrom Brothers

And after the break, video of Stephen Hale discussing the Biere de Garde en francias.

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