One way to avoid the hop shortage when making beer is to make a beer without hops, called a gruit.  Dogfish Head Brewery, a favorite around STL Hops land and a brewer of many unusual beers, has teamed up with Danish brewery Nørrebro Bryghus to brew a special beer based on a “15th century pre-hop era gruit ale recipe from the town of Odense.”  The beer contains star anise, blackthorn berries, maple syrup and herbs.

Only a single case made it’s way into St. Louis and Paul from the Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton was the only place to get it.  If that didn’t make it difficult enough to obtain, the case only contains 9 bottles.  This is a one time only release of a very special beer, so if this sounds like your thing I wouldn’t wait too long to pick this up.

Couple quick beer tastings to tell you about.

The Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton has moved their weekend tastings to Friday and they’re starting out with a bang. Today, from 4PM to 6:30PM they’ll be tasting Mikkeller All Others Pale, Jenlain Biere de Mars, Birolla Malthus, and Rogue Hazlenut Brown. More information can be found at their blog.

Mike at the Wine and Cheese Place in Rock Hill will also be holding a tasting today from 4PM to 6:30. He’ll be sampling these beers: Unibroue 400th Anniv, Schneider Weisen Edel Weisse, Hitachino XH Sake Cask. Once again, more information can be found at their blog.

Tasting is a great way to try before you buy.

On Wednesday, September 24th, The Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton will be hosting a tasting of beer from all seven Trappist Breweries. If you’re unfamiliar with Trappist beer, basically there are only seven breweries in the world that are allowed to use the Authentic Trappist Product logo on their labels.  These beers are sometimes brewed by the monks themselves, but most importantly they need to be brewed on the premises of the Monastery.

Anyway, six of the seven breweries now have beer available in St. Louis and Paul from W&CP wants to celebrate by having a tasting of beers from ALL seven breweries.  Here’s the info from the Wine and Cheese Place blog:

Wednesday - September 24, 2008
6pm-8pm

We will taste beers from all 7 breweries!
Chimay - 2 of the 3
Orval - only 1 made
Rochefort - 2 of the 3 (not sure which yet)
Westmalle - both Dubbel and Tripel
Achel - Blonde and Bruin (we are trying to get the Trappist Extra in time)
Koningshoeven - probably Quad and Tripel
and even Westvleteren Blonde, 8, and 12

The cost of this event is $25 per person and as you could imagine this will be a limited tasting with only 18 seats available.  Reservations are required and can be made by calling 314-727-8788. Payment required at time of reservation.

08/08/08. Fun. Anyway, I’m on may way to Madison, WI this weekend to attend Great Taste of the Midwest. I’ll try and take a lot of pictures and I will try to stay sober enough to remember all of the beers I plan on tasting. But that may be a tall order once you’ve seen the list of who’s coming and what they’re bringing. Anyway, it looks like St. Louis is in for a mild weekend, should be a nice one. On to the Round-Up:

Stuff from around the web

• Get out your sword and loin-cloth, and prepare for the Clash of the Beer Titans.
• Free beer coming to an end at AB?
• Ever interested in what crazy old people think about the AB/InBev Merger? Read Town Talk.

Beer Releases and News

• Paul at The Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton alerts me to some new beers he has in stock:
  • De Molen Rasputin
  • Just received a new batch. Only 380 bottles made.
  • De Molen Storm & Averij
  • Mikkeller It’s Alive
  • Mikkeller Monks Brew
  • Bieres-23 Biere de Mars
  • Cantillon Lou Pepe Gueuze 2005 Vintage
  • Duysters Loterbol Bruin
  • Weihenstaphaner Fest Bier
  • Schlafly Oktoberfest
  • Hofbrau Oktoberfest
  • Spaten Oktoberfest
  • Vapeur * En Folie (750)
  • Toren Ondineke * Triple (750)
  • La Rulles * Estavale (25.4)
• Mike at The Wine and Cheese Place in Rock Hill alerts me to some new beers he has in stock:
  • Mikkeller Draft Beer
  • Mikkeller Black Stout 17.5%
  • Mikkeller Monk’s Brew
  • Mikkeller It’s Alive
  • Bieres-23 Biere de Mars
  • Duyster’s Loterbol Brown (750)
  • Left Hand Twin Sisters IPA
• Dick Krekeler from Macklind Avenue Deli has some beers for you:
  • Avery Brewing - Collaboration Not Litigation Ale
  • Avery Brewing - Hog Heaven Barleywine
  • Avery Brewing - The Reverend
  • Avery Brewing - Salvation Ale
• Robin at Provisions Gourmet Market has some new beers as well:
  • La Rulles Estivale
  • Vapeur en Folie
  • Avery Karma
  • Mikkeller Draft Beer
  • Left Hand Twin Sisters
• Jerad Gardner, of the Rotten Apple lets me know about his most current draught selection. If you haven’t been to the Rotten Apple, take the time to visit:
  • Founder’s Brewing - Rubaeus
  • Two Brothers Brewing - Bitter End
  • Lagunitas Brewing - Gnarly Wine
  • Founders Brewing - Reds Rye
  • Victory Brewing - Hop Devil
  • Victory Brewing - Prima Pils
  • Dogfish Head Brewing - 90 Min IPA
  • Two Brother’s Brewing - Domaine DuPage French Country Ale
  • Pyramid Brewing - Apricot Hefe
  • Breckenridge Brewing - 471
  • Founder’s Brewing - Dirty Bastard
  • Stag
• Jerad also let me know about the most current draught selection at The Stable as well:
  • North Coast Brewing - Red Seal
  • North Coast Brewing - Old Rasputin
  • Bells Brewing - Oberon
  • Bells Brewing - Two Hearted
  • Sleeman Brewing - Cream Ale
  • Hoegaarden
  • Pabst
  • Riessdorf - Kolsch
  • Duechesse De Bourgonge
  • Lefthand Brewing - Twin Sisters
  • Lefthand Brewing - Milk Stout
  • Unibroue Brewing - Apple Ephemere
  • Schlafly Brewing - Barrel Aged Grand Cru
  • Charleville Brewing - Hoptimistic
  • Charleville Brewing - Half Wit
  • La Chouffe
  • Kasteel Rouge
  • Odells Brewing - 5 barrel Pale Ale
  • Kostriker Brewing - Schwartz
  • O’Fallon Brewing - Wheach
  • O’Fallon Brewing - Smoked Porter
  • Pilsner Urquell
  • Michelob
• Andy from Whole Foods let’s us know about some new beer he has in his stock (and remember if you don’t see it on the shelf, be sure to ask for it):
  • Left Hand Twin Sisters 22oz
  • Weihenstephaner Festbier 6pk
  • Lamar St. Organic Pale Ale 6pk (our house beer)
  • La Choulette Sans Coulottes 750ml
  • Duchesse De Bourgogne 4pk
• Kevin at The Wine and Cheese Place in West County has expanded his selection and has added these beers:
  • Mikkeller Black Stout
  • Mikkeller Monks Brew
  • Nils Oscar IPA
  • Loterbol Bruin
  • BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon Chien 2007
  • BFM Le Meule
  • Nogne Porter
  • Haandbryggeriet Dark Force

Here’s a list of upcoming beer events:

• Aug 14 - Whole Foods Belgian/Farmhouse/Sour Beer Tasting
• Aug 14 - St. Louis Brews August Meeting
• Aug 20 - Bell’s Beer Dinner at Newstead Pub

Couple quick beer tastings to tell you about.

Macklind Deli will be tasting Ommegang Abbey Ale today from 5PM to 8PM and tomorrow from Noon to 5PM. You can find out more about Macklind by visiting their website.

The Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton has moved their weekend tastings to Friday and they’re starting out with a bang. Today, from 4PM to 6:30PM they’ll be tasting Mikkeller Monk’s Brew, Mikkeller It’s Alive, Left Hand Twin Sisters IPA, La Rulles Estivale. More information can be found at their blog.

Mike at the Wine and Cheese Place in Rock Hill will also be holding a tasting today from 4PM to 6:30. He’ll be sampling these beers: Left Hand Twin Sisters IPA, Jolly Pumpkin La Roja, Ommegang Witte, Gouden Carolus Cuvee de Keizer Blue. Once again, more information can be found at their blog.
Tasting is a great way to try before you buy.

If you couldn’t tell by now, I’m a bit of a weather nerd. I’m constant checking Weather Underground for the latest forecast (and let me tell you, they’re quite reliable). What does this have to do with beer? Well it’s interesting to see that while we’re in for the hottest stretch of weather this summer so far, Fall is just around the corner. How do I know this? We’ve just had our first sighting of a couple of fall seasonals in this week’s Round-Up. Who’s ready for a pumpkin beer? On to the Round-Up:

Stuff from around the web

• If you were ever interested in a review of Bud Ice, I found one for you.
• Could this year’s big political issue be our favorite beverage?
• Don’t get too comfy AB Execs, you may be flying like the rest of us soon.
• Is there a chance that IT and AB may not mix?
• One in seven AB beers will soon be green.

Beer Releases and News

• Paul at The Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton alerts me to some new beers he has in stock:
  • Southern Tier PumKing Imperial Pumpkin Ale
  • Val-Dieu Grand Cru
  • Val-Dieu Tripel
  • Weihenstephaner Fest Bier
  • Left Hand Twin Sisters
• Mike Cherre, Beer Consultant at Lukas Liquor posts on their blog some of the new and special selections they have in stock:
  • Pyramid Curve Ball Kolsch
  • Pyramid Crystal Wheat
  • Southern Tier Pumking
• Robin at Provisions Gourmet Market has some new beers as well:
  • Southern Tier Creme Brulee
  • Southern Tier Big Red Ale
  • Southern Tier Heavy Weizen
  • Southern Tier Unearthly
  • Grande Blanche
  • Unibroue 400th Anniversary
• Jerad Gardner, of the Rotten Apple lets me know about his most current draught selection. If you haven’t been to the Rotten Apple, take the time to visit:
  • Founder’s Brewing - Rubaeus
  • Two Brothers Brewing - Bitter End
  • Lagunitas Brewing - Gnarly Wine
  • Founders Brewing - Reds Rye
  • Victory Brewing - Hop Devil
  • Victory Brewing - Prima Pils
  • Dogfish Head Brewing - 90 Min IPA
  • Two Brother’s Brewing - Domaine DuPage French Country Ale
  • Three Floyd’s - Alpha King APA
  • Breckenridge Brewing - 471
  • Founder’s Brewing - Dirty Bastard
  • Stag
• Andy from Whole Foods let’s us know about some new beer he has in his stock (and remember if you don’t see it on the shelf, be sure to ask for it):
  • Southern Tier Crème Broulee 22oz
  • Unibroue 4ooth 750ml
  • Pyramid Curve Ball 6pk
  • Schlafly Oktoberfest 6pk

Here’s a list of upcoming beer events:

• Aug 1 - Oakville Beer Tasting
  
• Aug 14 - Whole Foods Belgian/Farmhouse/Sour Beer Tasting
• Aug 14 - St. Louis Brews August Meeting
• Aug 20 - Bell’s Beer Dinner at Newstead Pub

Couple quick beer tastings to tell you about.

Macklind Deli will be tasting New Belgium Sunshine Wheat today from 3PM to 8PM and tomorrow from Noon to 6PM. You can find out more about Macklind by visiting their website.

The Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton has moved their weekend tastings to Friday and they’re starting out with a bang. Today, from 4PM to 6:30PM they’ll be tasting So Tier PumKing, Val-Dieu Grand Cru, Unibroue Blanche de Chambly, and Jolly Pumpkin La Roja. More information can be found at their blog.

Tasting is a good way to try before you buy.

I think this may be the last big beer “festival” for a little while, unless someone can prove me wrong (and I hope you do.) So who else is planning on hitting on the Schlafly Belgian Beer and Musselfest tonight? I’m pretty excited to try some of these beers they’re going to have to offer. On to the Round-Up:

Stuff from around the web

• A lot of different news and observations about the AB/InBev deal.
• Now that’s some walking around money!
• Interesting story about baseball and O’Fallon Beer.
• The Post Dispatch talks about Mussels and Mania.

Beer Releases and News

• Andy from Whole Foods let’s us know about some new beer he has in his stock (and remember if you don’t see it on the shelf, be sure to ask for it):
  • Nogne O Imperial Stout 500ml
  • Nogne O Porter 500ml
  • Lemp Lager 6pk
  • Southern Tier Heavy Weizen
  • Mendocino Cast of Hawks Mixed 12pk
• Paul at The Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton alerts me to some new beers he has in stock:
  • de Dolle Ara Bier
  • Southern Tier Heavy Weizen
  • BrewDog Rip Tide Twisted Merciless Stout
  • BrewDog Paradox Macallan 1987 Stout
  • St. Louis Peche
  • St. Louis Framboise
  • Schlitz Beer (whopping $5.99 / 12pk cans)
  • Blue Moon (22oz)
  • Stella Artois (22oz)
  • Dundee Honey Brown
  • Portland MacTarnahans Black Watch
  • Bayerischer Bahnhof Berliner Style Weisse
  • Portland MacTarnahans Amber
  • Warsteiner Radler
• Mike at The Wine and Cheese Place in Rock Hill alerts me to some new beers he has in stock:
  • de Dolle Ara Bier
  • Magners Irish Cider
  • Southern Tier Heavy Weizen
  • BrewDog Rip Tide Twisted Merciless Stout
  • BrewDog Paradox Macallan 1987 Stout
  • Bayerischer Bahnhof Berliner Style Weisse
  • Schlitz Beer
• Robin at Provisions Gourmet Market has some new beers as well:
  • Nils Oscar Barley Wine
  • Nils Oscar Kalasol
  • Nogne IPA
  • Nogne Stout
  • Achel Trappist Bruin
  • Achel Trappist Blonde
  • Mikkeller Stateside IPA
• Jerad Gardner, of the Rotten Apple lets me know about his most current draught selection. If you haven’t been to the Rotten Apple, take the time to visit:
  • Alpha King
  • Gaffel Kolsch
  • Lagunitas Gnarly Wine
  • Lagunitas Lucky 13
  • Hardcore Cider
  • Lefthand Chainsaw
  • Stag
  • Dogfish 90 min IPA
  • Lagunitas IPA
  • Founders Dirty Bastard
  • Two Brothers Domaine Dupage
  • Allagash White
• Jerad also let me know about the most current draught selection at The Stable as well:
  • Sleeman’s Cream Ale
  • North Coast Old Rasputin
  • Schlafly Schwartz
  • Duchess De Bourgone
  • Riessdorf kolsch
  • Michelob
  • Hoegaarden
  • Schrimshaw Pils
  • Bells Two Hearted
  • Red Seal
  • O’Fallon Smoke Porter
  • Kostriker Schwartz
  • O’dells 5 barrel pale ale
  • Charleville Half Wit
  • Charleville Hoptimistic
  • Arcadia Hopmouth
  • Ayinger Brau Wiesse
  • Kasteel Rouge
  • La Chouffe
  • Unibroue Maudite
• Joe Billhartz of Specialty Import Distributing Co. let me know of some beer over in Illinois. Contact your favorite beer store to see if these are available:
  • Lost Coast Raspberry Brown
  • Dogfish Head Black & Blue (Limited)
  • Two Brothers Dog Days (almost gone)
  • Hoppin Frog Silk Porter
• Joe Billhartz also let me know that Rotten Apple is supposed to get Founders Rübæus on draught soon. Also Erato on Main is getting 90 Minute on draught soon as well!

Here’s a list of upcoming beer events:

• July 18-19 - Schlafly 2008 Belgian Beer & Mussel Mania

The dog days of summer may be upon us, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t still enjoy beer. I think I’m going to try and make it up to the Rotten Apple and try some of the delicious draught beers listed in this week’s Round-Up. Do you have some beer related plans this weekend?

Stuff from around the web

• I totally dropped the ball on this, luckily Dave picked it up.
• The Post-Dispatch talks about IPAs and Cicero’s Beer School.
• The Brewers Heritage Festival made a complete mess of Forrest Park, but it’s getting back in shape.
• If you were concerned about the rice crop due to the InBev/AB deal, have no fear.
• Beer vending machines? When can I put in a couple of quarters and get a draught pint

Beer Releases and News

• Andy from Whole Foods let’s us know about some new beer he has in his stock (and remember if you don’t see it on the shelf, be sure to ask for it):
  • Avery - Sameals Oak Aged Ale 12oz
• Paul at The Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton alerts me to some new beers he has in stock:
  • BFM La Meule Swiss Golden Ale
  • De Glazen Toren Saison d’Erpe - Mere
  • Professor Briem 13th Century Grut Beer
  • Avery Samaels Oak Aged Ale
  • Miller Genuine Draft Light “64″
• Jerad Gardner, of the Rotten Apple lets me know about his most current draught selection. If you haven’t been to the Rotten Apple, take the time to visit:
  • Lagunitas Brewing Lucky 13
  • Two Brothers Domaine DuPage
  • Lagunitas Gnarly Wine
  • Left Hand Brewing Chainsaw
  • Dogfish Head Brewing - 90 min IPA
• Shelby Durham at Lukas Liquor posts on their blog some of the new and special selections they have in stock:
  • Avery Karma
  • Avery 14′ER ESB
  • Avery Redpoint Amber
  • Avery Samael’s Ale

Here’s a list of upcoming beer events:

• July 16 - Newstead Tower Public House Boulevard Beer Dinner
• July 17 - Starr’s July Beer Dinner
• July 18-19 - Schlafly 2008 Belgian Beer & Mussel Mania

One of the most sought after beers in the world has made it’s way to St. Louis. With only about 50 cases brewed at a time and the fact it’s only brewed three or four times a year, you can quickly see just how rare Péché Mortel is. Here is the description from the Shelton Brother’s website about Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel’s mortal sin:

If you love really good coffee and really good beer equally, you will be thrilled with Péché Mortel. If coffee isn’t your cup of tea, and caffeine makes you bounce off the ceiling, then just put the bottle down and find something else to drink. This beer is all about coffee. Indeed, you may have seen ‘coffee stouts’ before, but no brewer has ever married coffee and beer so naturally and seamlessly.

And this isn’t just any stout, but an imperial stout, which means that it is modeled on the strong, rich, and very complex stouts that were made in England in the 19th and early 20th centuries exclusively for shipment to Russia, where they were a special favorite at the court of the Czars.

Just two cases made it into St. Louis and only two places have it for your enjoyment: 33 Wine Shop and the Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton. Fair warning, I’ve heard this is rather expensive, but it may be worth a little extra cost to try this very special beer.