Last May, Bill had planned a trip to Michigan to run a marathon so he could qualify for the 2008 Boston Marathon. While there, he decided to take a trip to visit Bell’s Eccentric Cafe in Kalamazoo. When he came back, he brought along some beer with him. One of these beers was the Consecrator Doppelbock. I remember it being this wonderfully malty, clean bock with a slight bit of sweetness. It was a really wonderful beer.

Well, I was just made aware that the Doppelbock has reached St. Louis and is now in stock at the Wine and Cheese Shop in Clayton and Rock Hill. Make sure to pick this one up and try it out for yourself. If it was a wonderful beer in May, it’ll be even better in February.

Someone suggested this idea a while back and I thought it was a great idea. So thanks to Bill we’ve now got our own forums to discuss beer matters and whatnot in St. Louis. If you have any suggestions or things you’d like to see just give me a heads up. So what are you waiting for? Sign up!

Edit: Let me quickly add that I’m not going to start posting information or news in the forum that I wouldn’t post on the blog.  I realize some people aren’t interested in posting on a forum and are only interested in the news I post.  So that’s not going to change.  I just thought people would like a relaxed atmosphere to discussed beer related stuff going on in St. Louis.  Like I said in the comments here, if the forum doesn’t fly and people aren’t interested that’s not a big deal.  I didn’t put that much time into it.

In my quest for trying to find as many of my homebrewing ingredients as humanly possible I’m reaching out to all of my blog readers to help me find a pumpkin. I was talking to Sauce’s own Mr. Burge yesterday and he recommended that I purchase a pumpkin now instead of in August, because in his words, “the early ones aren’t as sweet, the colder it gets, the flavors are more concentrated.”

So on his recommendation, I’m going to purchase a pumpkin now, roast it, puree it and freeze it for next August. I’d prefer finding a pumpkin from one of the local farmers, but I have a feeling that pickings may be light. Any help?

If you weren’t aware, tomorrow is Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day. It’s a chance for us homebrewers to teach someone else how their beer is made and how they could do it themselves. I plan on teaching my friend Bill Burge the ins and outs of homebrewing, we’re going to make a Scottish 80 Schilling.

So if you’re a homebrewer, bring a friend (or a couple of them) over and make an event of it. At worst, you can all sit around and enjoy some homebrew! Here are some of the particulars from the American Homebrewing Association:

What is Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day?

The American Homebrewers Association (AHA) Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day is an international event to introduce people to the homebrewing hobby and establish relationships with local homebrew supply shops.

Each year on the first Saturday in November, homebrewers around the world are encouraged to invite non-brewing and brewing friends and family to celebrate Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day and brew a batch of beer together.

Before the event, participants that have Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day events register their site on this web page. These registered sites help the American Homebrewers Association track how many participants celebrated the event. 2006 event results will be posted on this page a few weeks after November 4.