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12.29.09: ALL CAUGHT UP!
I updated the website with reviews from my little travel book. 16 new beers in all! I had some from as far back as March 2009.
12.04.09: 400 beers and counting!
I have reached another century mark in my beer journal saga: beer #400, a review of Bell's new Christmas Ale. One of my favorite breweries and a beer that is festive enough to celebrate the acheivement.
06.24.09: ALMOST 400!!!!
OK, I know the beer site only brags 363 reviews, but I have actually 377 reviews. Some of them were deleted in a terrible misunderstanding between me and my computer after a beer tasting.
In honor of the 400th review's arrival, I am going to take the news items in a new direction. Coming soon, I'll be adding reviews with people in beer related fields!
Do you know someone who would be great for an interview? Let me know!
05.29.08: New Brewery Reviews!!!
I recently took my first trip to St. Louis, Missouri. And what would a road trip be without checking out the local beer scene. Liz and I had already planned our trip to Schlafly brewery before leaving, but with an unexpected turn of events, we ended up touring two breweries.
On the day we intended to see the Schlafly folks, they were bottling and tours were not possible. Don't worry - we went the next day! But what to do with this mysterious time-slot in our vacation time? We opted to go face to face with the "Oscar the Grouch" of brewing companies - Anheuser-Busch.
Anheuser (not just a left to right disc golf throw) offered us exactly what we thought: a tour about QUANTITY. I was baffled by the sheer amount of beer going out of that place. In fact, at almost no time did the company mention quality, save to say that "regardless of whether you drink a Budweiser in Kansas, Oregon, from the brewery...or even China" that they would taste exactly the same (an easy feat, mind you, when your beer is nearly bottled water). We saw the horses and the trolley and the bottling. They even showed us how they use beach wood during second fermantation - careful to mention that they chose beach wood because it does not add any additional flavors to the beer. Yes, they only use it to allow the yeast to do its work. Seems like a wasted opportunity to add ...oh I don't know...flavor?
It was about as personal as touring a Walmart. All the while, the tour guides informed us that it was all worth if for the free beer at the end of the tour. Oh boy! Free Bud! To our surprise, however, they had a few beers that run through their distributor, and unlike the rest of the 50+ tourists, we opted not to drink the Bud products but instead settled with glasses of Stella Artois and Bass. Bad tour - good ending.
The Schlafly tour was very good. They started us out with a sample prior to walking into the brewery. The tour guide was personable, knowledgable, and according to my girlfriend "very pleasant to look at." We both threw a few too many questions at him until we realized we were being tour-assholes. But he was kind and answered each one. The beers we tasted after were very good and we stayed for a late lunch as well. Their food is seriously delicious. Take note - bring an empty belly! If you are in the St. Louis area, you owe it to yourself to go to the Schlafly bottleworks, where they care deeply about the flavor of both their food AND their beer.
04.11.08: NEW BEER AND BURGER VENUE IN KANSAS CITY!
If you are in the Kansas City area, you owe it to yourself to check out BLANC, a new gourmet burger and bottles venue in historic Westport. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the impressive line-up of 750ml bottles. Their beer list, all told, is a two sided menu with solid information for each of the beers that they serve.
In addition to excellent choices in beer, this place has amazing burgers, delicious sides, and friendly service. If meat isn't your style, try their curry lentil burger!
