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St. Louis Craft Beer Week chat

Evan Benn takes questions on St. Louis Craft Beer Week and other general STL beer stuff.

by Charles Williams...on Jul 18, 2012 at 2:27 PM

Evan Benn answers questions on St. Louis Craft Beer Week and other general STL beer stuff at 2 p.m. on July 27. The chat will open for early questions at 2 p.m. on July 26.

by Charles Williams... edited by EvanBenn 7/18/2012 6:31:14 PM
Hi, gang - we'll start the chat at 2 p.m. Friday, but you can go ahead and post questions now. They won't appear until we launch the chat, but they'll be saved for safe keeping!

by EvanBenn 7/26/2012 7:07:22 PM
St. Louis Craft Beer Week: Tomorrow through Aug. 5

by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 5:26:35 PM
by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 5:30:27 PM
I'm going to go fill up my Widmer Bros. pint glass with some water (whomp, whomp), and we'll start in a jiff.

by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 6:51:07 PM
it's never too early to drink. um. water.

by SoccerSteve 7/27/2012 6:55:33 PM
A note from Ryan Wolf of Wolfbrau House of Beer:

by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 6:56:05 PM
FYI, watch for info soon about an event here at Wolfbrau on Aug 4 for a VERY special one-off beer

by Ryan @Wolfbrau 7/27/2012 6:56:06 PM
What other Colorado beers (other than New Belgium) will be making a St. Louis appearance this week?

by tonymess 7/27/2012 6:57:13 PM
Here we go!

by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 6:59:30 PM
@tonymess Lots of good Avery events this week, Tony. Three Kings is hosting a vertical tasting of Avery Samaels, Beast and Mephistopheles tomorrow night, and a beer & tapas night with some funky Avery stuff next Saturday.

by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 7:01:02 PM
Which came first, St. Louis beer or St. Louis baseball?

by DirtCheapChickn 7/27/2012 7:01:18 PM
@DirtCheapChickn A chicken or egg question from an actual chicken -- I love it. The St. Louis Cardinals (then the St. Louis Brown Stockings) were founded in 1882. John Adam Lemp started brewing lagers out of his South Second Street brewery in 1840. Beer wins.

by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 7:01:40 PM
@tonymess Avery from Colorado has a long list of events at different venues this week. More info at www.stlbeerweek.com

by HeWhoHailsFromFlanders 7/27/2012 7:02:33 PM
If I were "just landing at the airport", and knew nothing about the event, what is the first event place you suggest i visit, and tell me a bit about it.

by Patricia 2Hill edited by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 7:02:39 PM
@Patricia 2Hill I'd point you to the traditional STLCBW kickoff party, which is the B33R and Brats event at 33 Wine Bar in Lafayette Square, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday (tomorrow). Besides goodies like a cask of the wickedly good Katy saison from 2nd Shift Brewery and gourmet encased meats from Guerrilla Street Food, you're sure to bump elbows with some of the local beer community's finest and kindest citizens. They'll welcome you with open arms and help you plot out the rest of your stay in town.

by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 7:03:08 PM
Time to announce the first winner of our ticket giveaways for STLCBW events at the Wine and Cheese Place!

by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 7:03:35 PM
The first event: Goose Island Beer and Cheese Pairings at 6 p.m. on Monday at The Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton.

by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 7:04:02 PM
And the winner is...

by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 7:04:08 PM
Robyn Harris of Nashville! Robyn is coming to St. Louis just for Craft Beer Week. Goose Island isn't distributed where she lives, so this event should be a special treat. Congrats, Robyn!

by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 7:04:35 PM
What are some good (read: free or dirt cheap) events for cheapskates?

by willfru 7/27/2012 7:05:12 PM
@willfru No fewer than eight events are absolutely free or less than $10. See the bottom section of this post to check 'em out. There are also many events that cost nothing to attend; you just pay for what you eat/drink.

by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 7:06:11 PM
What beer are you most excited to try at MWBF tomorrow? Naturally I cannot get enough Funk Fest Flanders.

by HeWhoHailsFromFlanders edited by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 7:07:13 PM
@HeWhoHailsFromFlanders My Twitter feed was abuzz with great comments about the Funk Fest Flanders that Cory King at Perennial brewed and sampled last weekend at Bigelo's Bistro in Edwardsville. There is some *crazy* good stuff coming to that (sold-out) fest tomorrow from all kinds of cool breweries (full list ). The one beer that keeps jumping out at me is the Saison collab from Perennial & Scratch, brewed with Rose Root, Goldenseal and Wild Ginger Root). Should be awesome. Scratch poured some of the best beers I tasted at this year's Microfest, so I'm very eager to try this new brew.

by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 7:08:09 PM
Can't way for the kickoff party! At least it won't be 107 degrees!

by STLRD2Be 7/27/2012 7:09:33 PM
I see you're doing an event with Pi. Do you know what beer you'll serve with the pies?

by JKM edited by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 7:09:57 PM
@JKM Yes! I'm co-hosting a beer-and-pizza cooking demo with Steven Caravelli, executive chef of Pi Pizzeria, at Schnucks Cooking School from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 2. Steven's going to show us how to make some great eats: Onion Dip with Spudmaster Chips; Deep Dish Chicken, Artichoke and Spinach Pizza; Deep Dish Sausage, Mushrooms, Onions and Green Peppers and Thin Crust Olive Oil, Goat Cheese, Prosciutto and Figs. For dessert, Oatmeal Stout Chocolate Pudding. I have no idea what beers I'll pair with everything yet. But, in the spirit of St. Louis Craft Beer Week, I'm going to keep everything local.

by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 7:10:54 PM
Shall we announce our second ticket winner? We shall.

by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 7:11:35 PM
This pair of tickets is for the St. Louis vs. USA Beers at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 2. And the winner is...

by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 7:12:08 PM
Jack Cox! Jack is entertaining a visiting friend from Colorado next week. Jack's friend likes to brag about Colorado being home to the country's best breweries. Jack's hoping this event convinces his pal otherwise. Congrats, Jack!

by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 7:12:44 PM
i know Mike and Eric put a lot of effort into this upcoming week, but who worked harder on it?

by Beerboy314 7/27/2012 7:13:56 PM
@Beerboy314 Mike Sweeney, Eric Hildebrant, Sean Conroy and others did a great job organizing all of these events. Kudos to them!

by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 7:14:04 PM
@EvanBenn Didn't hear about the Perennial/Scratch collaboration until now, and I even talked with Cory at length last night. Stratch was AWESOME at 2nd Shift's festival and I can only imagine the alimentary goodness to come of a collaboration with Cory, Jim, and Ryan -- uh uh I'm mean Phil

by Kai 7/27/2012 7:14:18 PM
I've heard rumors of a micro brewery opening in the Dogtown neighborhood. Can you shed any truth on these rumors?

by dashton 7/27/2012 7:15:10 PM
@dashton That would be the brotherly Heavy Riff Brewing. Keep an eye on their Twitter account for progress updates and new recipes they're working on.

by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 7:16:04 PM
What's the word on the new breweries in Dogtown? What are their names and when can we expect them to open?

by beerguy 7/27/2012 7:16:14 PM
@beerguy Does the last answer clear up your question?

by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 7:16:25 PM
I follow you on Twitter & in the Esquire, but what's the best craft IPA I can buy here in STL that I may not have heard of yet?

by @bluenotebacker 7/27/2012 7:16:45 PM
@@bluenotebacker First, thanks for reading. I'm not sure if I can come up with anything available locally that you haven't already tried or heard of, but some of my favorite craft IPAs (and maybe a double IPA or two) that you can find on a store shelf right now: Firestone Walker Union Jack, Bell's Two-Hearted, Stone IPA, Schlafly AIPA, Charleville Ale Mucho Hoppo, Odell IPA, Perennial Hommel (a hoppy Belgian-style pale). You may not have had Cathedral Square's Hail Mary Belgian-style IPA, but I recently rediscovered how pleasant of a beer that is. And it's not available in bottles, but Urban Chestnut's Hopfen (Bavarian-style IPA), is one of the best in town.

by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 7:17:22 PM
Supposed to open in August, but it's almost August...

by Kai 7/27/2012 7:17:25 PM
Heavy Riff was the clear winner at the 2nd Shift festival. Can't wait for those guys to open.

by pmcgrew 7/27/2012 7:17:30 PM
why are there no events on the Eastside, if you know what i mean?

by Beerboy314 7/27/2012 7:17:59 PM
@Beerboy314 I do know what you mean. But seriously, I am surprised there isn't more stuff over there, save for the cool things going on at Bigelo's Bistro. Maybe Global Brew will get into the action next year?

by EvanBenn 7/27/2012 7:18:37 PM
I'm excited about GreenFlash, Half Acre, Scratch, Brugge -- Things I don't get to taste often or at all.
what about you all?

by Kai 7/27/2012 7:18:50 PM
so, if one can only make it to one of the 6 row special casks, which one should it be?

by timelimited 7/27/2012 7:19:29 PM