1000 Beers

After a long day of hitting a few St. Louis microbreweries, including 4 Hands and Urban Chestnut, we headed out for dinner at Dressel’s Public House in the Central West End.  Despite having just left Urban Chestnut Brewing Company, this was one of the only local beers on their list I haven’t had yet.  According to UCBC, “Zwickel, our flagship lager, pronounced ‘zv-ick-el’, is an unfiltered, unpasteurized, German classic that finishes as a smooth-drinking, vitamin rich (from the yeast), naturally cloudy bier.”

Location: Enjoyed in a weizen glass at Dressel’s Public House in the Central West End area of St. Louis, MO.

Numbers: 5.1% ABV,  19IBUs, 11.5 Plato, ~ 3 Calories

Ingredients: Malts: two-row, pilsner; Hops: Hallertau

Appearance & Aroma: It was copper colored and fairly hazy with a very thin head. However, there did appear to be a decent amount of carbonation it in.  There was a light malt and bready aroma.

Taste & Feel: The body was somewhat light and the mouthfeel was crisp from the carbonation.  The carbonation crispness up front brought out a slight spiciness and… (More on Urban Chestnut Brewing Co. – Zwickel)

We’ve decided to hang out at Urban Chestnut Brewing Company for a while on my mini-microbrewery tour of St. Louis.  We’ve visited a couple places in the last couple days, and my friend Joe and I are making our way through the extensive beer menu here at UCBC.  After getting a sample, I decided to go ahead and get this beer, which is bittered spruce tips.  Accroding to the brewery, it “is an aggressively ‘pined’, higher ABV, palate smacker that gets its name from the nearly 10,000 year old Norway Spruce living in the climes of Sweden. Like its namesake, this beer is dark, complex and fantastically fragrant.”

Location: Enjoyed in a snifter at Urban Chestnut Brewing Company in St. Louis, MO.

Numbers: 6.3% ABV, 37 IBUs, 15 Plato, ~ 208 Calories

Appearance & Aroma: It was black in color, and there was a thin, cream colored head on it.  As you’d expect, it has a really big spruce aroma that reminds me of Christmas tree scent.  There’s also a bit of roasted malt aroma in the background as well.

Taste & Feel: The mouthfeel is smooth and slightly crisp, with a medium body.  The flavors up front were… (More on Urban Chestnut Brewing – Old Tjikko)

After a few beers at 4 Hands Brewing, and a couple more at the International Tap House (ITAP) in Soulard, Joe and I continued our St. Louis microbrewery tour by heading to Urban Chestnut Brewing Company. I finally got a chance to try this new brewery last summer and really enjoyed it. One of their signature beers I tried last time is their Winged Nut, which is made with milled chestnuts. This beer is what they refer to as their “Winged Nut on Acid – A high ABV, chestnut beer fermented with a Bavarian Weissbier yeast strain.”

Location: Enjoyed a snifter of this in the tasting room at Urban Chestnut Brewing Company in St. Louis, MO.

Numbers: 7.3%, IBUs – 35, OG – 18.0 Plato, ~ 2 Calories

Appearance & Aroma: It was a deep brown/mahogany color with a decent sized, creamy, cream-colored head, which stuck around and left some nice lacing on the glass. The aroma was a nice mix of caramel, nuttiness, and a hint of banana.

Taste & Feel: The body was medium and the mouthfeel was fairly crisp from carbonation. It had a sweet and toasty malt flavor up front with a bit of… (More on Urban Chestnut Brewing Company – Wolpertinger)

Father’s Day is just around the corner, and it’s time to start thinking about good gift ideas.  If you’re looking for something for that beer geek in your family…

As I’ve mentioned in my last several posts, I’m in St. Louis today doing a tour of microbreweries.  However, we’re currently at the International Tap House (ITAP) in Soulard to enjoy a few more beers and watch the Missouri Tigers in March Madness.  I was looking for something local on tap I hadn’t had yet, but I couldn’t find anything.  This beer caught my eye, and since I hadn’t had it yet, I went for it.

Location: Enjoyed in a large tulip shaped glass at the International Tap House (ITAP) in the Soulard area of St. Louis, MO.

Numbers: 10.8% ABV, 100 IBUs, ~ 323 Calories

Ingredients: Malts: Pale Malt, Cara-Bohemian, Carafa III Special, and Chocolate Malt; Hops: Columbus (bittering), Citra (flavor/aroma). Dry-hopped with Nelson Sauvin and Pacific Jade.

Appearance & Aroma: It was black in color, with some ruby colors visible when held up to the light.  There was a creamy/soapy head which was dark tan in color and left some nice lacing on the glass.  The aroma was mostly citrusy hops with a bit of roasty malts and licorice.

Taste & Feel: The body was medium to full and the mouthfeel was fairly smooth and… (More on Stone Brewing – 15th Anniversary Escondidian Imperial Black IPA)

After a very successful trip to 4 Hands Brewing (where I had their Reprise Centennial Red Ale, Divided Sky Rye IPA, and Bona Fide Russian Imperial Stout), we headed over to the International Tap House in Soulard (near downtown St. Louis, MO) to watch Missouri play in the NCAA tournament and enjoy a few beers.  My friend Joe said he had enjoyed 2nd Shift’s beers after he went to their 2nd Shift and Friends Festival last year, so I thought I’d give this one a try.

Location: Poured from the bottle into a pint glass, at Bazbeaux Pizza in downtown Indianapolis, IN.

Numbers: 7.6% ABV,  62IBUs, ~ 247 Calories

Ingredients: Hops include Columbus, Amarillo, and Citra.

Appearance & Aroma: It was slightly hazy and had a copper/orange/amber color with a very thin head.  The aroma was a big floral hop aroma with hints of citrus and caramel malts.

Taste & Feel: The body was medium and the mouthfeel was a bit crisp from the carbonation and hops.  The flavor up front was a bit sweet, malty/bready with a hint of caramel, along with a bit of… (More on 2nd Shift Brewing – El Gato Grande AIPA)

I’m at 4 Hands Brewing in St. Louis, MO, enjoying a few beers in their tasting room, including their Divided Sky Rye IPA and their Reprise Centennial Red Ale.  My friend Joe just had this beer, and recommended I try it myself.  As a fan of Russian Imperials, I indulged in a third beer here before we headed off to another local microbrewery.

According to 4 Hands, “Bona Fide Imperial Stout is a collaborative effort with Goshen Coffee, a local fair trade coffee roaster. This beer is big, bold, and in your face. Bona Fide pours black as night with a smooth mouth feel. Aromas of espresso, dark chocolate, roasted malt, with nuances of vanilla.”

Location: Enjoyed in a snifter at the tasting room at 4 Hands Brewing Co. in St. Louis, MO.

Numbers: 9% ABV, 65 IBU’s,  ~ 283 Calories

Appearance & Aroma: It was very black in color, and almost no light shown through it when I held it up to the light.  The foamy head was dark tan in color and stuck around for a bit, leaving some lacing on the glass.  There was a roasted malt aroma with a good amount of coffee and cocoa smells, along with a lightly noticeable grassy hop aroma.

Taste & Feel: The body was full and the mouthfeel was slightly crisp from the carbonation with some smooth oiliness.  Up front there was a roasty malt sweetness along with a… (More on 4 Hands Brewing – Bona Fide Russian Imperial Stout)

I’m in St. Louis on a mini tour of microbreweries with my friend Joe. Last night we hit Perennial Artisan Ales, and today, after an incredible lunch at Bogart’s Smokehouse in Soulard, we headed over to 4 Hands Brewery.  I started with their Reprise Centennial Red Ale, which could probably be classified as a red IPA, and decided to move on to their rye IPA offering.

Location: Enjoyed in a tulip shaped glass, at 4 Hands Brewing tasting room in downtown St. Louis, MO.

Numbers: 6.5% ABV, ~ 207 Calories

Appearance & Aroma: It was extremely cloudy and had a yellow-dark gold color to it.  It had a big, creamy white head on it, which left some nice lacing on the glass.  It had a citrusy and tropical fruit aroma with hints of bread and biscuit.

Taste & Feel: The body was medium and it had a smooth, creamy mouthfeel.  The big citrusy hop flavors were apparent right up front with some big grapefruit flavors, with a good amount of yeasty flavors with it. In the middle, some rye spiciness started to come in, adding a bit of… (More on 4 Hands Brewery – Divided Sky Rye IPA)

Voting begins today (5/1/12) for the 2012 Beer City USA Poll by Examiner.com.  The 2011 winner, Asheville, NC will be hard to knock off with both Sierra Nevada and New Belgium announcing plans to open in Asheville…

As I’ve mention in my last few posts, I’m in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, enjoying my semi-annual tour of microbreweries around the city.  We hit Perennial Artisan Ales the night before, and today we are at 4 Hands Brewing in downtown.  This is one of St. Louis’ newest microbreweries, having just opened in December.  They have four core beers on tap, including: Divided Sky Rye IPA, Reprise Centennial Red, Cast Iron Oatmeal Brown, and Single Speed Session.  I’m a big fan of Centennial hopped beers, as well as Red IPAs, so this single-hopped red ale was calling my name.

In addtion, to make this posting a little more interesting, I’ve partnered with Audra over at “Once a Mom… Always a Cook“ for the food pairing on this one.  This blog crosssover is brought to you by Appliances Online.  Let me know if you like it, and if so, we’ll look into partnering with other foodie blogs for our beer pairings.

Location: Enjoyed in an imperial pint glass, at 4 Hands Brewing tasting room in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

Numbers: 6% ABV, ~ 195 Calories

Appearance & Aroma: It has a dary copper/rusty-red color and appears to be a bit hazy.  The head was creamy-tan, big and foamy, and as you can see, left some incredible lacing on the glass.  The smell was lightly caramel and biscuity with a good amount of citrusy, slightly piney, hop aromas.

Taste & Feel: The body was light-medium and the mouthfeel was a bit foamy-creamy with a little bit of a carbonation crispness.  The flavors up front were a mix of bready and lightly sweet caramel maltiness, which was quickly followed by… (More on 4 Hands Brewing – Reprise Centennial Red Ale)

As you can see by my last few posts, my friend Joe and I have been out in St. Louis, hitting Perennial Artisan Ales earlier this evening. After enjoying their Vermilion and Abraxas, we headed back to Joe’s place, where he cracked open a Deschutes Black Butte Porter. It wasn’t quite time to call it a night, so Joe dug into his celler and pulled this one out.

Location: Poured from the bottle into a pint glass, at my friend Joe’s house in St. Louis, MO.

Numbers: 8.8% ABV,  45 IBUs, ~ 269 Calories

Appearance & Aroma: As you can tell, it was very black, with only some slight ruby notes visible when held up to the light.  There was a nice, creamy, tan head on it, which held or a while and left some nice lacing on the glass.  The aroma was roasty with a mix of coffee, chocolate, mocha, and barley malt.

Taste & Feel: The body was full, and the mouthfeel was very smooth and creamy, almost velvety.  The flavors up front were malty and lightly sweet with a fair amount of coffee like roastiness.  In the middle,  chocolate, cocoa, and maltiness cut through and become the prominent flavors.  Some… (More on Green Flash Brewing – Double Stout Black Ale)