Beering in St. Louis: Schlafly

So I made it out to the NSBE national convention this past March, and the locale was St. Louis. The only things I knew about St. Louis is that they were trying to extend Pujols' deal and what I read on Byron Crawford's blog . That and the highest crime rate in the country. I land in the city and I have a couple of panel discussions I'm supposed to do this time, one of them with a US Congressmen on the panel, and lo and behold I did not have time to get my hair cut. So I ask the sistahs at the hotel and they direct me to this nice place in the hood. It was about 10AM so no need to worry about some bullish going down.

Anyway, after getting hooked up, I head over to the first of several brewpubs in the Lou, first up Schlafly Taproom . I made this one my first stop as I heard about them through the Brewing Network. I get there smackdab at 11AM when they open, and belly up to the bar. The place smells of wort and grain (nice) and is spacious yet cozy. The chalk board has a ton of beer and the man working the bar knew his baseball. So I order up a flight along with some mussels and fries and have at it...

Beer Log: March 22, 2011
State: feeling good, got a new empty beer diary, ready to roll son

Hefeweizen
Good banana and orange peel nose. The taste is high banana and yeasty esters. It's kind of lemony for my taste and has moderate carbonation. This is certainly Bavarian and very well done, however the lemon knocks it from a 4 to a 3 star.

Pilsner
Good strong hops taste and kinda gritty on the tongue. Crisp, cool, high carbonation. Similar to Pilsner Urquell with all those saaz hops. Managed to forget to put down a rating.

Oktoberfest
Gold-amber-copper color without much of a scent. Not bad with the malty taste but I'm not in the right season for it. No rating

Altbier
Now I'm really looking forward to this one, as I love alts but rarely get them. Kinda fruity and plain with the taste (the thing that sucks about flights is that you lose the head and thus a larger portion of the scent to enjoy it. And unless you are boning the bartender will someone bring out a several 3 oz samples every few minutes.) I could see the style here more like an amber lager which I typically love, hello Eliot Ness. Very clear with a low butter and corn, slight acidic. Low 3 Stars.

Dry Hopped APA
Finally an American Pale Ale. Very smooth, good crisp hops. There is a great light biscuity flavor to go with the hops. I wish they ramped it up on the malt, but otherwise drinkable. 3 Stars.

Oatmeal Stout
Pitch black and delish. Very English with the smoothness, big chocolate and coffee. to make it all come together nicely. 4 Stars.

They had an American Amber on Cask of which I ordered a full glass to go to the mussels (which were killer by the way). Warm, soft, and kinda caramely like my favorite strippers. Nice hops but very mellow. High 3 Stars.

Two Rows in Houston, Done

Turns out Two Rows in Rice Village is closing up shop, and boy the comments are a-flying on Beer, TX blog. As much as I thought Dos Rows' beer was kinda meh, it was a nice change of pace. They always managed too have a little something different on tap, maybe tried to do too much with the food. Not to mention Two Rows was surrounded by places like the Gingerman, Baker Street, and Lil Woodrows for beer, and was surrounded by Mi Luna's, Le Madeliene, Ruggles, and maybe another 20 restaurants for food.

Houston now has NO brewpubs. A city with twice the population of Jamaica has no brewpubs, and Portland has like 12. I think the competition is just too strong out here. If it's one thing Houston has, it's food. There is STELLAR tex-mex at like every other gas station, forget the restaurants themselves. Best of luck to the staff at Two Rows and screw the landlords who may have just tried to push them out. Crazy man.

Best of luck to the staff of Two Rows. Hopefully they can get that equipment and open up something a little more boutique brewpub in a less expensive part of town (read: anywhere but Rice Village). I wouldn't be surprised if one of these areas like Pavilions would put a flier on a brewpub. But we have a better chance of somewhere like old Katy or down in that 12,000 block of Westheimer. Regardless, I guess we'll just have to slam more Saint Arnold's and other local brews until someone can make a brewpub work in this town.

Beering in Ontario: C'Est What

I knew I wasn't that much of a lightweight. Before I went to the Beerbistro for some really classy beering, I made it to the brewpub C'Est What(SAY WHAT?!?!) on Front Street in downtown Toronto.

I barely found the joint as the majority of the spot is underground. Despite the fact that the area on Front Street looks to be very popular. The interior was dark with a blue, green, and amber lighting. 35 beers on tap with 6 of their own. They had 5 beers on cask, and 3 on nitro. That's what I'm screaming.

Beer Log: Hanging in Toronto

State: Thirsty, dry throat

I started out with some samplers of the brewpub's own stuff, and a couple of full pints.

Al's Cask Ale

Straw colored with a muffiny nose. The beer is very smooth on the mouthfeel with a hoppy aftertaste. Low carbonation as is normal with cask beers. The taste has a light grass and bread thing, with a 60 second bitterness in the aftertaste. I'll give this a 2 Star on the plainess of it all.

Homegrown Hemp Ale

I saw this one all over interwebs when I was looking up beers to try in Toronto. The name says it all, this beer has some hemp in there. Doubtful you'll get high or anything, but just to try: Straw colored beer with a white head. Very light veggie nose. The taste is a little spicy with light pilsner character to it. The carbonation is low again yet it leaves my mouth feeling slightly sticky. Not sticky-icky-icky ooh-wee. But just a little sticky. The body is medium and smooth like a wheat beer. 3 Stars.

Not feeling to blitzed I burned through the sampler of the

Caraway Rye Beer

Thick mouthfeel you notice first, then it leaves you dry. I got a low spice and malt. 2 Stars as the last few sips are kinda sour.

At this point I wrote this passage in my notebook

"My palette is too American for this Canadian Beer. Ironically this beer would be fantastic in Texas with these English styles and the abundance of pilsner." I figure the irony comes from the fact that it's usually cold as all get out in Canada, and they would be well served with warming stouts and high gravity stuff. Anyway, time for another three beer sampler, but I'm going darker with the nitro beers.

Coffee Porter

I just need some stronger flavors here. Low sour and medium carbonation. A good mix of chocolate and coffee. The beer has a nice softness to it. 3 Stars.

Hazelnut Chocolate Ale

Nose is strong cocoa powder. Soft bitterness sneaking into a strong chocolate flavor. Very smooth and surprisingly dry. 3 Stars.

Old Town Brown Ale

Medium cinnamon and spice, as well as a little gritty on the tongue. Smooth again but loacking in flavor after the last two. Should've got this one first. No rating.

Excuse me... had to put the baby in her crib and grab a Lagunitas Brown Sugga, damn thats good beer. Like an idiot, I didn't think there was any affect with those samplers, so I few full pints of some other Canadian craft beer wouldn't hurt.

St. Ambroise Pale Ale

The only St Amb I've had was their Apricot Ale, which was on a dusty shelf at a beer store in Lafayette, LA. Then I held on to it for nearly a year before drinking it. Needless to say it was pretty terrible with a pinch of apricot. Anyway, the pale ale was copper/amber color, with a reddish white head. Rather malty nose. The taste is a light caram-malt and spice, with a pinch of grassy hops in the back of the tongue. Basically a Low 3 Star American Blonde ale.

Amsterdam Spring Bock

My kingdom for a bock. Cinnamon, malt, bread nose on a dark ruby colored beer. Low tan head. Fruity flavor (like sweet cherries) right up front, that seems almost peachy/apricoty on the second sip. Low carbonation. A few more sips and I get the light bread and notice the moderate body, followed by a very light hoppy aftertaste. 3 Stars. Feeling this one for sure.

King Czech-Style Pilsner

Some random rock due came in looking like 140 pound versions of the Undertaker and I asked the waitress for her favorite beer. Although I'd rather not try a pilsner at this late in the game, why not? Clear, straw and a touch of sourness on the nose. Good hops and low malt. Light-medium odies. GOes down really easy. 2 Stars.

Overall, C'Est What was pretty nice. The beer was okay, but is probably the balls for the Canadian pallete. Just love the selection

Beering in Atlanta: 5 Seasons

Finally making it up to the 5 Seasons in northern Atlanta, right near the perimeter. They say this is the best brewpub in the ATL, but we shall find out. I thought I would be beering solo, but I have a co-worker and his lady friend from his days in high and college.

5 Seasons was not all that packed when I showed up a 6:00ish. It was nestled away in yet another one of those uber-high class shopping/restaurant/bar areas. Very nice soft decor with a massive projector with ESPN on. I belly up to the bar and strike up some convo with a guy rocking a Thrashers Jersey. I'm a Carolina Hurricanes man myself, so it was good hockey talk, though I don't really keep up until playoffs. I count 5 taps directly in front of me with another 4 on another side of the bar. I figure let's just get a 12 ouncer to get us started while we wait.



Beer Log: December 9, 2008
State: Waiting on the folks to show up, not eating right now

Chug Monkey Cream Ale
Got it in a pint glass on draft. Straw colored and very clear with a white creamy head. My nose doth detect the caramel notes of what I think is munich malt. The first draught I notice medium carbonation and a moderate amount of bread. There is an icky hop flavor late in the taste but dammit it works out very well. If there was a lighter beer I need to have in the house, this would be it, hands down. High 3 Star.

I'm actually a little fired up for this brewpub.

I knock back the monkey (that didn't come out right) and decide to go for a sampler of the other beers on tap, and then round out the night with the Belgians.

Hopgasm IPA
Sounds interesting and a little bit sexual. White head sitting on top of an orange beer. Very . There is a strong citrus and flower hop thing going on with the scent. I wrote in my book "OMG". Excellent balance, but not as strong as hoppy as the smell suggests, probably a good thing in Atlanta. In fact its almost pale ale ish. The quick finish is very nice. The more I sip it the more that citrus is coming out along with a slight hoppy aftertaste, along with a hint of pine. 3 Stars.

Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale
Whoever is naming these beers probably needs to watched by the sex offender database. Chocolate and RUM smell coming off of this one. There is a good maltiness with something akin to scotch actually. It's a very very smooth in its mahogony shell with the white head. Not too strong on the hops but there is some roast in there. High 3 Star.

Blackbird Porter
Strong chocolate smell in this ebony colored beer. Tan head. There si a strong chocolate and coffee taste. IT's a little dry as well but comes off with a great finish. Certainly 4 Stars, especially considering the beer I just had before it. The more I drink it the more I get what I think is citrus. It's not that much caramel malt but with a subtle hop presence to round it out.

Loving it!!

The crew has shown up now and we moved to a table. I've already got some sort of a lamb appertizer, perfect for belgians.

Flanders Golden Ale
Orange and cloudy. Banana and that sour smell of a belgian, I miss it so. It tastes of banana and fruit. It's super smooth with low carbonation. It tastes even better when it's a little warmer. It reminds me of a leffe, but smoother. 4 Stars once again.


At this point, I wrote down the head brewers name: Kevin McNerny. Turns out these guys at 5 Seasons have their roots in Sweetwater beer also of Atlanta. This one is fast becoming my most favorite brewpub PERIOD. And I still have a full glass of a tripel and a sampler of Barleywine to go.

West Mall Tripel
Not to be confused with Westmalle. STraw and cloudy. Smells like a port wine or a liquor, AWESOME. Sweet and shockingly a little empty at first. The more I drink it I see that it is nice and full bodied with a touch of brown sugar. I now change my note from "empty" to a very quick finish. Oh hell yeah. 4 Stars.

For those of you keeping score at home, I wasn't really tipsy, as all but that Tripel and the Monkey were full glasses. So don't go thinking I'm just gone off the booze and giving out the most 4 Star beers I've ever given for a brewpub.

Barley Wine
The guy got me a sampler of this apple cider looking beer. It's offwhite head gives a scent that is sweet like apples, yet subtle. It kind of has that Fall beer smell with that maltiness. The maltiness is there but then bitterness take over the palette. The alcohol is a little much. Medium-full bodied and rather fruity. It's a little dry. His girl finds it "yucky". Me, 3 Stars.

All in all I have to go on and say that this is the best beer I've had a brewpub since I started the beer blog last year. The decor, the place was packed within an hour of my showing up. Very eclectic food, and just an array of excellent beers any one of which I would like to have on tap at the house. I find that brewpubs are better at some things than others, and I see these guys steered clear of the lagers. Fine by me. If I come back to Atlanta, there is no question where I'll be beering every chance I get. Fantastic job 5 Seasons. Look forward to trying some more in the future.