As I mentioned last week, I wasn’t able to attend the Wine and Cheese Place 2008 Beerfest because I was in Munster, IN attending Three Floyds Dark Lord Day (photos and thoughts tomorrow). But thankfully Paul took plenty of pictures for those of us who couldn’t attend. Looks like it was a lot of fun tasting and discussing beers with a bunch of other enthusiasts.

You can find more photos of the event here. Paul promised we’ll see a 2009 Beerfest and he also promised not to make it on Dark Lord Day next year. That’s a win-win for everyone.

In the continuing series of beer classes put on by Andy Snead from Whole Foods, this month brings us a tasting of Tripels from around the world:

Come with us on a “tripel” around the world as we celebrate this fantastic style of beer. The name “Tripel” actually stems from part of the brewing process, in which brewers use up to three times the amount of malt than a standard Belgian ale. Traditionally, Tripels are bright yellow to gold in color, which is a shade or two darker than the average Pilsner. Head should be big, dense and creamy. Aroma and flavor runs along complex, spicy phenols, powdery yeast, fruity with a sweet finish. Bitterness is up there for a beer with such a light body for its strength, but at times is barely perceived amongst the even balance of malts and hops. The lighter body comes from the use of Belgian candy sugar (up to 25% sucrose), which not only lightens the body, but also adds complex alcoholic aromas and flavors. Small amounts of spices are sometimes added as well. And, they are downright delicious. We’ll taste tripels from all over, so join us on this ride round the world, or at least through America and Europe. Cheers!

These are always extremely fun events with plenty of knowledge along with plenty of great beer. This event will be held on April 16 at Whole Foods in Brentwood from 6:30-8PM. The cost of the event is $20 and tickets can be purchased here.

With all of the talk of beer festivals and tastings as of recent, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that on April 26th the Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton will be holding their 2008 Beerfest from 1-4PM. Here is a quick list of just some of the beers they’ll be tasting:

• Left Hand
• Avery
• Great Divide
• New Belgium
• O’Fallon
• Bells
• Schlafly
• Chimay
• Delirium Tremens
• Rochefort
• North Coast
• Kasteel
• Brasserie de St. Rocs
• La Chouffe
• Sam Adams
• Sam Smiths
• Unibroue
• Gouden Carolus
• Ommegang
• St. Bernardus

No reservations will be required for this event, but with over 200 people attending last year I wouldn’t show up late. Paul is still working on an official list of beers they will be tasting, so I’ll be certain to provide more information as the event nears. Stay tuned.

With two beer events happening at the same time in St. Louis, it sometimes gets a bit difficult to decide which one to attend. Light night you had the option to attend the O’Fallon Beer Dinner at Big Sky Cafe or the Imperial Tasting at Whole Foods. How is a beer lover to decide? Luckily for me, I had already paid for my ticker for the Imperial Tasting before the beer dinner was announced, so I had the decision made for me.

Andy and Ric put on a fantastic spread of beers and snacks that not only allowed us to cut some of the big beer’s alcohol content, but also allowed us to pair beers with certain foods. For instance Ric provided malted milk balls to pair with things like the Imperial Stouts and a mildly sharp cheddar cheese to match with a bitter Imperial IPA.

The beers provided on this beer adventure were:

• Schlafly Imperial Stout (’06 and ‘07)
• Schlafly Barleywine (’06 and ‘07)
• Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout
• Rogue - Old Crustacean Barleywine
• Arcadia - Imperial IPA
• Goose Island - Imperial IPA

Now you may be asking yourself, how did they get an ‘06 Imperial Stout and Barleywine? Normally I’d say that Andy is one of the few beer managers in St. Louis that actively holds beers back to age and sells them at reasonable prices. But in this case it’s because we had some very special guests, Dan Kopman and Nick Vickery of St. Louis Brewery, who brought along this wonderful beer.

If I were to rank my personal favorites from the evening, I’d probably choose the ‘06 Barleywine and ‘06 Imperial Stouts as my two clear cut favorites. It was amazing to try the beers side by side and see just how much they’ve mellowed and smoothed out over time. I also really enjoyed the Oak Aged Yeti from Great Divide. I’ve had both the oaked and un-oaked versions of this beer and have always preferred the oaked version. To me, the oaking really softens some of the harsher notes and gives the beer a subtle vanilla flavor as well.

This was a very fun event because it lets you really nerd out with fellow beer enthusiasts and really talk about beer. Andy and Ric are always looking for suggestions about styles for these tasting sessions. Feel free to comment here or in this thread on the forum to give them your ideas for future tastings.

Did anyone attend the event at Big Sky?  Feel free to leave comments about that as well, I’d love to hear about it.

“You’ve done it,” Stephen Hale said, “you’ve achieved the trifecta!”

“The trifecta?”

With a sinister smile he says, “Three beer events in three nights!”

Yes, three beer events in three nights. I was never so glad to be able to just sit and watch TV on a Thursday night. That’s not to say we didn’t have fun, if we had to do it over we’d do it in an instant. I’m sure I sound like a broken record at this point, but all of the events contained people who really loved beer. It’s very exciting to be surrounded by that kind of energy.

In the case of the Beer and Cheese Tasting, it also included people who were ready to take the next step into the beer world. And in some cases, people who were ready to take the plunge into the cheese world (like me.) Not that I’m about to make STL Curds. But hey, everyone loves cheese! Right, Bill?

I found that the Gruyere paired quite nicely with the Pale Ale. They both complimented each other’s flavors without one being stronger than the other. The Goat Cheese/Oatmeal Stout combination was the standout of the night for me. The flavors melded so well together. Both items had a silky quality that made the pairing so enjoyable to me. Plus it was interesting to see such a dark beer pair with such a light cheese.

I found that the Parmigiano Reggiano was quite strong and fought a bit with the Christmas Ale. I didn’t really enjoy the spice pairing of the Christmas with the Parmigiano. The Red Dragon contained mustard seed which once again didn’t really pair well in my eyes with the delicate spicing of the Pumpkin Ale.

The next cheese, Morbier, seemed to be one of those love/hate cheeses. Unfortunately I was in the “hate” camp. It had a very dank flavor that reminded me of dirty rag that had been sitting around for quite some time. I’m sure this cheese is like the lambic of the beer world, to a novice it can be overwhelming and unusual. As for the pairing, I thought it completely overpowered the beer. I just didn’t enjoy it at all.

The last pairing was the Smoked Cheddar and Hefeweizen was probably one of the most interesting. One their own they seemed pretty straightforward, but once you paired them they developed a really complex smoky flavor that was present but not as obvious as before the pairing. It was very impressive to see how the Hefe brought the smoke of the cheese forward and how it enveloped your mouth.

Some of you beer nerds may be looking at the menu and may be wondering about why they chose the order they did. Usually you want to start with some of your lightest beers and move up to your darker beers, as not to cause palate fatigue. But the reason they chose the order they did is because of the cheese. They were concerned that the cheddar and the morbier would cause the same sort of palate affect as a strong beer. I believe it was a good decision as some of the creaminess of the cheese really helped to subdue much of the stronger alcohol flavors.