JULY-SEPT 2016 VOLUME # 001 ISSUE # 002
The Train Has Arived The story behind Narrow Gauge
Page 8
Drinkin’ at Brewer’s True Value
Page 6
AMERICAN FOOD WITH IRISH ATTITUDE
Come enjoy a smoke-free
IRISH PUB
right here in Saint Peters Missouri!
We have something for everyone here ...
30 Beers on tap and the whole family is welcome!
Shamrocks-PubandGrill.com 4177 VETERANS MEMORIAL PKWY | SAINT PETERS, MISSOURI
Inside: July brings Bur Oak’s Lily & Sept. means pumpkin beers. 4
Craft Tap’s back… alright! We’re back at you with issue No. 2 of Craft Tap Quarterly! Thanks for your support fellow beer nerds and nerdesses.
Ryan & Lindsay Sherring of Six Mile Bridge. 5
A peek into May’s bottle share at Brewer’s True Value. 6
The Train Has Arrived 8
A flight of questions for Davo. 12
If you’re a “long time” reader, you know the spiel. If you’re new, let us indoctrinate you. Craft Tap Quarterly is, get this, a quarterly publication founded and crafted by a duo of craft beer lovers with the purpose of showcasing the craft beer scene in and around St. Charles County. Our goals are many. First, we seek to promote local breweries, craft beer bars, bottleshops and home brew shops. Second, we strive to build an enlightened and supportive craft beer community. Third, we seek to keep you, the craft beer consumer, educated on new beer releases, events, breweries and more. Finally, we provide local brewers and other beer establishments a platform to share their story and passion for the craft. In this issue we’ll take you behind the scenes to discover the story of Narrow Gauge Brewing Company. You’ll also get to know a local home brew legend called “Davo” as well as Ryan and Lindsay Sherring of Six Mile Bridge. We’ll give you a preview of which brews are coming to town this quarter. And, we’ve compiled a pretty snazzy list of some upcoming festivals while recapping our recent bottle shares and revealing the locations -- and special guests -- of our upcoming shares. Thanks for picking up a copy of our publication. Please remember to drink while reading, but don’t drink or read while driving. Cheers,
Upcoming beer related events around town. 14
The Craft Tap Quarterly Team, Andrew - Writer & Sud Sipper Chris - Designer & Pint Pounder Published by Mash Tun Marketing, Craft Tap Quarterly is a quarterly publication focused on informing craft beer enthusiasts; providing breweries, craft beer bars, bottle shops, and home brew stores a platform to share their stories, events, releases & passion for the craft; and building an enlightened and supportive craft beer community in the greater St. Charles region. Print circulation is 500 while online viewership is over 5,500. Issues are available free online by searching Craft Tap Quarterly on issuu.com and in print at over 15 locations in and around St. Charles County. Our editorial team communicates regularly with the various craft beer related entities represented in the publication to ensure the information expressed is correct. All information expressed herein is true to the best of our knowledge. Granted, often we imbibe on the tasty beverage that is craft beer while gathering said information. Anything falsely reported was done in honest human error, not in an attempt to disparage anyone’s craft beer knowledge or reputation. We just like to drink beer and tell people about all things craft beer.
A list of upcoming Missouri craft beer festivals.
For advertising information, please contact us at: andrew@mashtunmarketing.com
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No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the expressed written consent of the publisher.
Copyright 2016 Mash Tun Marketing, LLC.
3
July
Here’s the guide to beers coming to shelves and taps near you this July - September. You’ll see new release brews, new to the area suds, seasonal beers and other such selections.
Destihl Here Gose N othin (Can, Draft)
Odell Brewing Co. Drumroll APA (Cans, Draft) Bur Oak Lily (Can, Draft) Destihl Vertex IPA (Cans, Draft) Destihl Weisseheimer Hefe (Can, Draft) Destihl Abbey’s Single (Can, Draft) Destihl Hoperation Overl (Can, Draft) Perennial Meriwether (Bomber)
August
Earthbound Jeff Goldplum (Draft) Earthbound Mint Eucalyptus IPA (Draft) Earthbound Summer Stout (Draft) Earthbound Splash Party Saison (Draft) Earthbound Thai Basil IPA (Draft) Earthbound Apricot Gose (Draft) Exit 6 Watermelon Wheat (Draft) Exit 6 Coffee IPA (Draft) Mother’s Oktoberfest (Bottle) Mother’s Spiffy Britches (Bottle) Schlafly Pumpkin Ale (Bottle, Draft)
September
JULY
Schlafly Oktoberfest (Bottles, Draft) Boulevard Funky Pumpkin (Bottles, Draft) Boulevard Funkier Pumpkin (Bottles, Draft) Mother’s Mr. Pumpkin (Cans, Draft) Mother’s Peach Ale (Cans) Mother’s Squatch (Bomber, Draft)
We have 2 locations
Featuring the largest selection of Specialty Spirits, Wines and Craft Beer in St. Charles and St. Peters. 2190 1st Capitol Dr, St Charles, MO 63301 (636) 949-6633
7884 Mexico Rd, St Peters, MO 63376 (636) 387-0330
Ryan and Lindsay of Six Mile Bridge
The Fairy Tale
It’s a story as old as time: A management consultant meets the love of his life, they brew beer in South Africa, move to the U.S. to start a family and end up opening a brewery. While it may not be a story as old as time, it is the true-to-life story of Ryan and Lindsay Sherring, the husband and wife duo behind Six Mile Bridge in Maryland Heights. Bringing people together is an important theme in the life of Ryan and Lindsay. And, it was because of it that the pair got into the beer business in the first place. The duo hosted dinner parties at their home in South Africa where Ryan would often pour his home brew for guests. Lindsay was weary of if people were just being polite by imbibing or if they truly enjoyed it. Turns out at least one of their dinner guests, who happened to work for a beer distributorship, was a genuine fan of Ryan’s home brew and thought the rest of Cape Town would be too. Naming their brewery 021 Brewing Company after Cape Town’s zip code, the two found themselves driving an hour on Saturdays to a production brewery to brew their recipes five barrels at a time and distribute to local pubs. “We were actually brewing the beer,” Lindsay emphasizes. “It wasn’t contract brewing, we did everything from mashing in to labeling the bottles.” Ryan and Lindsay were drawn back to the States to be closer to her family as they eyed starting a family of their own. The family they ended up building didn’t involve a little baby, but rather a big brewery and the people who make it possible.
The American Dream Opening
on
August
21,
2015
with
a focus on building relationships and brewing classic beers, Six Mile Bridge has stayed true to that mission, and it has paid off. As of June of 2016, their beer is available at more than 100 locations in the St. Louis metro area. “Ryan’s detail focused brewing style allows us to consistently produce premium beers that wow our drinkers,” Lindsay says. This approach to brewing also allows Six Mile to execute classic styles while still adding their fingerprint. A brilliant example of this is the new Blood Orange Coriander Belgian Wit, which stays true to style while incorporating the tart, yet raspberry-like blood orange.
Building a Brewery
“We didn’t move [to the U.S] to start a brewery, we just so happened to connect to the right people when we got here, and that allowed us to practice our labor of love,” Lindsay says. Again, and again, the theme of relationships appears. Irish Poet WB Yeats’ words “There are no strangers here; only friends you haven’t yet met” are evident on the walls of the tasting room, as well as in the way the staff interacts with guests. It even goes so far as the fresh popcorn passed out in the tasting room. Lindsay claims the popcorn is not to make you thirsty, but rather a bit of nostalgia from a pub called The Slug & Lettuce in Cape Town where the duo used to hang out and enjoy a pint with fresh popcorn. With a great tasting room and over 100 locations pouring their beer, Six Mile Bridge recently added a 60-barrel fermenter to keep up with production. Working on an oversized 15 barrel system they can now triple brew batches and ferment them in one vessel, freeing two 30 barrel fermenters. Six Mile Bridge’s brewery and tasting room is located at 11841 Dorsett Road in Maryland Heights and is open from 5 - 11 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays and 2 - 11 p.m. on Saturdays.
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Brewer’s True Value May Bottle Share
O
n the second Tuesday of each month, Craft Tap Quarterly teams up with a local beer related establishment -- be it brewery, bottle shop, craft beer bar or home brew shop -- to host an open-to-all bottle share. Everyone’s welcome to attend, the only rule is you’ve gotta’ bring a bottle or two to share with your fellow beer lovers! In May, our friend David Brewer of Brewer’s True Value / Brewer’s Beer & Wine Making in St. Peters, hosted a truly unique bottle share experience. As unsuspecting DIY’ers shopped the aisles for their latest project, a group of more than 30 beer geeks (and nerds) took over the front of the store and unloaded more
David Brewer and the set of beer Robert Schowengerdt poses with prize at the May bottle share. door a as glasses Schowengerdt won
than 70 cans, bottles, bombers and growlers. As customers checked out, they were greeted by the strange view of a bottle share in a hardware store. David made everyone at home with snacks, door prizes and even a few of his home brews poured out of a jockey box build at his store, using parts from his store. The great combination of hardware and home brew shop makes Brewer’s True Value a home brewer’s paradise. Special guests of the May bottle share included Jenny and Eric of StolzeStyle Brewing who brought along a bottle of their Jenny O’s Imperial Oatmeal Stout. The home brewing duo’s beer, brewed and named for Jenny’s love for stouts and breakfast cereal, was brewed in collaboration with Excel Brewing out of Breese, IL after winning first place at the Breese Fall Fest. Thanks to this collaboration, bombers of this toasty chocolaty brew are on area shelves now, and some kegs have found their way onto taps too. In April, The Barrel Bar in Dardenne Prairie hosted us for the second time, and Mike’s Grill + Tap took us back for the June gathering. The Mike’s share featured special guest Jake Flick of Schlafly and a two year vertical of the St. Louis institution’s Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout.
David Brewer of Brewer’s True Value welcomes guests and kicks things off at the May bottle share.
Join us at the next bottle share from 7 - 10 p.m. on Tuesday, July 12 at Bike Stop Cafe in historic St. Charles. Special guest Stuart Keating of Earthbound Brewing will be on hand with some special beers, and lots of beer knowledge. Learn more by liking St. Charles County Craft Tap on Facebook.
St. Louis’ smallest, weirdest beer. Mo-Tue: Closed. We-Th: 4PM-1:30AM. Sa: Noon-1:30AM. Su: Noon-8:00PM.
2710 Cherokee Street in St. Louis @EarthboundBeer
/Earthbound Brewing
earthboundbeer
NOW OPEN!
BREWERY Inside of: Cugino’s in Florissant 1595 N US Highway 67 Florissant, MO 63031
$
3 pints on Wednesdays (Select beers only)
5055 HIGHWAY N, STE 113 COTTLEVILLE, MO 63304 (636) 244-4343 HOURS: SUN 4pm-12am; MON 4pm-10pm; TUES-SAT 4pm-1:30am /Exit6PubandBrewery
@exit6brewery
www.exit6brewer y.com
THE TRAIN HAS ARRIVED By Andrew Tessmer - Head Sud Sipper
I
n 1878 the West End Narrow Gauge railroad was extended from St. Louis to Florissant. It was a 16-mile trip that took about an hour and cost $0.03 per mile. 138 years later, Narrow Gauge Brewing Company has adopted this historic spur of rail as the inspiration for its name and commitment to the history of the town they love. On a Friday evening just a week before opening night, Narrow Gauge’s head brewer Jeff Hardesty pops out from under the shiny eight-tap system that sits atop the new tasting room bar and grabs a pair of channel locks as a few patrons look on, sipping his creations. Jeff quickly takes cover under the bar again. “Just running some beer lines” he replies as a nearby beer-sipper asks what he’s doing under there. A couple of these lines run directly to the brite tanks that hold the fruit of Jeff’s 16-hour brew day a couple of weeks pri-
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or. The Fallen Flag and SHB: Galaxy IPAs now run the line from Jeff’s domain -the three barrel brewery a story below -- to the new tap system that resides in the recently renovated pine and corrugated metal clad space inside Cugino’s Italian Bar & Grill in Florissant. Also available, thanks to Jeff’s handy work, are the Old Town Porter, a coconut variant of the porter called Copra, and the Mordecai APA. Starting out as a family owned Italian restaurant in 2004, Cugino’s turned its attention to craft beer about three years ago when cousins and co-owners Dave Beckham Jr. and Ben Goldkamp caught the craft beer bug and added 56 craft beer taps to the bar, the most in the area at the time. It was after sampling a majority of these brews that the idea for opening a brewery started to take shape for the craft beer enthused cousins. Ben and Dave admit they did try their
LEFT PAGE: Located on the ground floor of Cugino’s in Florissant, Narrow Gauge Brewing Features a 3-barrel brew system, with two fermenters and two brite tanks. ABOVE: Narrow Gauge offers smaller, 32-oz growlers to ensure freshness.
hands at home brewing, but their attempts were self admitted “whiffs.” The guys realized they needed someone to brew solid beers before their imaginary brewery could become reality. Be it fate, coincidence, or the “beer god’s” doing, a home brewer with an eye on opening a place would soon enter their lives. As Dave tells it, soon after some rare beers were tapped at the Cugino’s bar, a server told him there was a guy ordering a few of the beers and he seemed to really know his stuff. Turns out that guy was area home brewer Jeff Hardesty. As Dave and Jeff started talking beer, the conversation quickly turned to brewing. Turns out Jeff and his wife were actually working on the last bits of a business plan to open a brewery of their own. Jeff’s vision for the brewery he and his wife were planning to bring to fruition was one of a more rural setting. It was something reminiscent of The Alchemist
brewery in Vermont, a world apart from the location where he now plies his craft. “When Dave and Ben told me they were thinking about placing the brewery in the often unused basement, I was like, ‘that’s not gonna’ work,” Jeff recalls. “But once I saw the space, I quickly realized we could make it work!” Conversation escalated to action and soon plans were drawn, construction commenced and a brewery started to take shape. The official debut of Narrow Gauge’s beers finally happened on June 16, 2016, and with it former home brewer Jeff Hardesty became a professional brewer, and to many beer geeks, a quasi celebrity. “My focus is on creating classic imperial stouts, in-your-face porters and unique Northeastern style IPAs,” Jeff said. Co-owners Ben and Dave agree with Jeff’s assessment, explaining that they aren’t looking to produce “gateway” craft beers.
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“Our beers aren’t for everyone,” Jeff says. “We’re brewing what we want to brew.” Having spent years curating some of the best craft beer the region has to offer, Cugino’s has developed a solid following of craft beer aficionados, and their goal with the addition of Narrow Gauge is to please that following. “The best way to describe my brewing style is aggressive, but balanced” Jeff explains. In the case of Narrow Gauge’s Fallen Flag IPA, which takes its name from a railroad term referring to a decommissioned railway, the aggressive label is applied not because Jeff hops it to the max, or imparts a harsh bitterness, but rather because he allows the complex aroma and flavor of the hops to shine through. Inspired by The Alchemist’s Heady Topper and others of the style, the Fallen Flag is considered a Northeastern Style IPA, which means it is low in bitterness, huge on hop flavor, hazy in appearance and features a creamy and soft mouthfeel. The Old Town, a robust porter named
Tap Room Open
Thursday - Saturday
314.942.2211 11841 Dorsett Road Maryland Heights, MO 63043
www.sixmilebridgebeer.com
While attempting to dry hop a batch of Mordecai APA, brewer Jeff Hardesty forgot to relieve the pressure from the fermenter prior to opening the dry hop port. Needless to say, it created a beer fountain and beer shot everywhere, including all over Jeff.
to honor the city of Florissant, pours a dark brown with ruby undertones and a small, tan head. The roasted, toasted malt aromas are ever present and provide the appropriate notes of chocolate and coffee. The hop backbone and the beautiful dark roasted qualities work in tandem to present a well balanced, robust beverage. The grain bill presents chocolate, coffee toffee and biscuit notes and a full, silky mouthfeel. A pop-culture reference to the name of Richie’s falcon in the Royal Tanenbaums and to the fact that it is brewed using Falconer’s Flight hops, the Mordaci is an American Pale Ale that is also hopped with Galaxy. Look for a small batch series soon. Jeff says a series of small batch variations on the Mordaci are on the list. A pineapple variant is first up. Jeff also plans to get a barrel aging program rolling and says sours will likely roll out around the same time. The plan is to have eight Narrow Gauge beers on tap at Cugino’s and their on premise tasting room, which will also offer 32-oz half-growlers. The craft beer focused Cugino’s bar will still keep an impressive 28 guest taps and Dave is also working to develop a beer cocktail menu. The tasting room, inside Cugino’s Italian Restaurant, is located at 1595 U.S. 67 in Florissant.
ms
lia e MacWil v a D : h it w A flight of questions for area homebrewer, Dave MacWilliams
What’s your brewing nickname? Davo How long have you been brewing? More than 10 years Describe your brew system. I have an indoor, manual, natural gas, immersion chilled setup. My normal batch size is 18 gallons, but can do 12 or 23 gal. batches too. Gravity takes the strike and sparge water from an elevated stove to a 75 Quart Mash Tun with False bottom. An 8.5 foot deep basin stainless steel sink with dual wings makes cleaning easier. Other items include LED lighting, a tread-mill grinder and four temperature controlled deep freezers. To what organizations do you belong? Garage Brewers Society, STL Hops, AHA, BJCP What homebrewing awards have you won? This is the tenth straight year to medal in the Microfest. I took best of show this year, with two previous second best of shows. The Champion of the Pint and the Ballpark Village Brewfest by Budweiser have been good to me too. You can share just one piece of advice with a new homebrewer. What is it? Provide a nutritious temperature controlled environment for your yeast. Use the proper amount of quality yeast and supply pure oxygen for the growth phase of fermentation.
Visit Visit BREWERS BREWERS TRUE TRUE VALUE VALUE
FOR FOR ALL ALL OF OF YOUR YOUR
BREWING NEEDS!
915 JUNGERMANN RD. | 636-477-7799 ST. PETERS, MO 63376-3093
MoMashOut The Show Me State’s newest homebrew competition Round 1 Winners: Standard American Beer with Ginger & Lime First Place:
Todd Brenningmeyer
Second Place:
Matt Krause
Round 2 Beer is a British Brown with Maple Syrup and Pecans
Register now at MoMashOut.com Winning recipes will be sold at Design2Brew and brewers will go head to head at Cottleville Beer Festival 2017 where the grand champion will be named and awarded a Blichmann Top Tier System and will have their beer brewed and served at Exit 6 Pub.
Official Sponsors:
For the full grain bill visit MoMashOut.com
A brief rundown of this quarter’s events at area craft beer bars, breweries and bottle shops.
July 1 | 7 p.m.
StolzeStyle Brewing Release of Jenny O’s Shamrocks Pub & Grill
July 12 | 7:30 p.m.
July 29 | 5 - 9 p.m.
August 6 | 12 - 10 p.m.
July 30
August 9 | 7:30 p.m.
St. Louis Brewer’s Picnic Bridge Tap House & Wine Bar
Breckinridge Beer School Shamrocks Pub & Grill
St. Louis Craft Beer Week Begins
July 12 | 7:00
July 30 | 10:30 a.m.
Craft Tap Quarterly Bottle Share Bike Stop Cafe
July 14
Ballast Point Tapping Thursday Shamrocks Pub & Grill
July 14
2nd Shift Tap Event The Barrel Bar
July 16 | 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Introduction to Homebrewing Brewer’s True Value
July 17 | 1 p.m.
Big Brew Day + Brewing Science Design2Brew
August 1 | 12
- 5 p.m.
National Mead Day Design2Brew
August 2 | 7:30 p.m.
Goose Island Beer School Shamrocks Pub and Grill
August 2 7 p.m. - midnight
O’Fallon Brewery Tap Takeover & Beer Dinner 99 Hop House
August 3 | 8:00 p.m.
Tap Into Kegging Design2Brew
Trivia sponsored by Bell’s Shamrocks Pub and Grill
July 18
August 4 | 5-11 p.m.
St. Arnoldus Day Tap Event The Barrel Bar
Cugino’s Civil Life & Cathedral Square Tap Share Cugino’s
Mini Festival & Beer Olympics Shamrocks Pub and Grill
Six Mile Bridge Beer School Shamrocks Pub and Grill
August 9 | 7:00 p.m. Craft Tap Quarterly Bottle Share Standard Brewing Co.
August 10 | 8:00 p.m. Trivia sponsored by Old Bakery Shamrocks Pub and Grill
August 16 | 7:30 p.m. Lagunitas Beer School Shamrocks Pub and Grill
Aug 20 | 11 a.m. - 2p.m. Introduction to Homebrewing Brewer’s True Value
August 23 | 7:30 p.m.
Big Muddy Beer School Shamrocks Pub and Grill
August 25
August 5
Mark Twain Tap Event The Barrel Bar
New Belgium Independence Day Tap Event The Barrel Bar
August 5 | 5 - 11 p.m.
Craft Tap Quarterly Bottle Share Shamrocks Pub and Grill
July 26 | 7:30 p.m.
August 6 | 1 - 11 p.m.
Man Day with New Holland Brewery The Barrel Bar
August 6 | 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Fall into Pumpkin with Elysian The Barrel Bar
July 19 | 7:30 p.m.
Old Bakery Beer School Shamrocks Pub & Grill
July 21
Cathedral Square Beer School Shamrocks Pub & Grill
July 27 | 6 p.m.
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Brewing with Herbs & Spices Design2Brew
Odell Brewing Tap Takeover Shamrocks Pub and Grill Secret Beer Release Six Mile Bridge Beer Lover Appreciation Day Six Mile Bridge
Introduction to “Brew In a Bag” Brewer’s True Value
Sept 12 | 7:00
Sept 17
Sept 22
an American Grill featuring
July 29
St. Louis Brewer’s Picnic St. Louis
July 30
KC Nanobrew Festival Kansas City, Missouri
July 30
Midwest Belgian Beer Fest St. Louis
fresh ingredients and
local microbrews
August 20
COMO Beerfest Columbia, Missouri
September 10
KC Beer Fest Kansas City, Missouri
September 17
2016 Craft Beer Festival of the Lost Township Raytown, Missouri
2447 HWY K O'FALLON, MO 63368
(636) 240-0633
September 21
Wentzville Beer, Wine, Food Festival Wentzville, Missouri
www.mgtofallon.com
st. louis craft beer week
july 29th - aug 6th
mixed six packs to go
daily beer specials
FRI 29TH - GOOSE SOUR SISTERS, BCS & RARE SAT 30TH - STL DAY - 4 HANDS, SCHLAFLY, UCBC, EXCEL & SIX MILE BRIDGE SUN 31ST – TWO BROTHERS BREWING COMPANY MON 1ST – AVERY BREWING CO.
TUES 2ND – OSKAR BLUES WED 3RD – SIERRA NEVADA THURS 4TH – ABITA BREWING COMPANY FRI 5TH – SUDWERK BREWING COMPANY SAT 6TH – FIRESTONE WALKER BREWING COMPANY
daily tap takeovers - specials - keep the glass eve
nts
y a d s r u h T k c a b w Thro
FEATURES:
! o i t a P e h t n o y Part
LARGEST SELECTION OF SCOTCH IN COUNTY
OVER 180
WHISKEYS
FAMOUS BARREL ROLL JUST OFF 1001 RONDALE CT THE NEW PAGE dardenne prairie mo 63368
636-294-5911
FOLLOW our events at:
EXTENSION and bryan rd on hwy n
@EverythingWine1
bry
an r
d
HOME OF THE
hwy n page ext - hwy 364
/EverythingWineAndCigars