Sauce Magazine // March 2016

the ultimate reuben at dalie's smokehouse

Where do you like to go to grab a beer?

MARCH 2016 • VOLUME 16, ISSUE 3

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The Civil Life for a few half pints, or letting Katie Herrera tell me what to drink at Side

Jonathan Gayman, Ashley Gieseking, David Kovaluk, Greg Rannells, Carmen Troesser, Michelle Volansky

Vidhya Nagarajan

Glenn Bardgett, Andrew Barrett, Matt Berkley, Kristen Chalfant, Sara Graham, Katie Herrera, Hilary Hitchcock, Heather Hughes, Kellie Hynes, Jamie Kilgore, Ted Kilgore, Cory King, Karen King, Catherine Klene, Tiffany Leong, Meera Nagarajan, Michael Renner, Dee Ryan, Kristin Schultz, David Schroeder, Carmen Troesser

Allyson Mace

Jill George, Kathleen Goodman, Angie

Rosenberg

Amy Hyde

Jill George

Kathleen Adams, Hannah Ballard, Christian Deverger

whole or in part, of the contents without permission of the publisher is strictly prohibited. While the information has been compiled carefully to ensure maximum accuracy at the time of publication, it is provided for general guidance only and is subject to change. The publisher cannot guarantee the accuracy of all information or be responsible for omissions or errors.

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EDITORIAL POLICIES The Sauce Magazine mission is to provide St. Louis-area residents and visitors with unbiased, complete information on the area’s restaurant, bar and entertainment industry. Our editorial content is not influenced by who advertises with Sauce Magazine or saucemagazine.com.

Our reviewers are never provided with complimentary food or drinks from the restaurants in exchange for favorable reviews, nor are their identities as reviewers made known during their visits.

A $30 CHECK TO: SAUCE MAGAZINE – SUBSCRIPTIONS for a 12-month

Project. Tick Tock Tavern for Pinner and Busch

(Flip the magazine over for Sauce’s Guide to

Pictured: Luke Oldham, 2nd Shift Brewing assistant brewer, is one of five faces changing the STL beer scene. Read more about these bold new brewers on p. 18.

by Greg Rannells

PHOTO BY CARMEN TROESSER

Photo

We are still daydreaming about the BROWN BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES at PAPPO’S PIZZERIA & BREW CO. Baked to order and served warm from the oven, these bronzed beauties rise into puffy domes with soft, cakey interiors. Melty chocolate and sweet notes of vanilla with nutty browned butter are balanced by a final flourish of

IF I HAD TO PICK A FAVORITE, IT WOULD BE THE CLASSIC, SIMPLE SALAMI SANDWICH. IT’S WARM, CHEESY, CRUNCHY, SPICY. IT HITS EVERY NOTE.

-

Jodi Werner, Salume Beddu

Our daily fish market ahi tuna is easily my favorite. Lightly seared with a peanut crust served over sauteed baby bok choy and shallots, finished with an orange togarashi butter sauce and topped with an Asian slaw.

- Sara Diefenbach, The Tavern

I'LL HAVE WHAT THEY'RE HAVING

Ever wonder what servers order for themselves? Here’s the insider intel on what to eat at St. Louis restaurants right now. – Compiled by Sara Graham

The aji de camarones (grilled shrimp covered in a spicy ancho, habanerocitrus cream sauce served with saffron rice) is the perfect amount of spice for a spicy girl like me.

- Jessica Smothers, Maya Café

The meatball sandwich. It’s got four juicy handmade meatballs and fresh mozzarella. It’s topped with fresh Parmesan and served on a warm hoagie. It’s so flavorful, warm and melty.

- Edgar Trevino, Blues City Deli

I LOVE THE SHRIMP AND GRITS! I NEVER LIKED GRITS BECAUSE THEY WERE ALWAYS GRANULAR AND LUMPY. HERE THOUGH, THEY ARE MADE PERFECTLY WITH JUST THE RIGHT BALANCE OF MELTY CHEESE AND SPICES.

- Michael Olwell, The Social Affair and The Station

THE CHOPPED KALE SALAD WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH VINAIGRETTE, FARRO, PICKLED CELERY ROOT, BEET CHIPS (MY FAVORITE PART) AND YOGURT. THERE’S A LOT OF DIVERSE TEXTURES, AND IT CAN EASILY BE A MEAL BY ITSELF.

- Amy Merrihue, Planter’s House

ONE OF MY FAVORITES IS THE YUKON GOLD GNOCCHI. IT IS MADE FRESH IN-HOUSE, HAS A BALSAMIC GLAZE AND IS TOPPED WITH FONTINA CHEESE. IT’S PAIRED WITH CHARD AND CABBAGE.

- Danielle Hart, Rooster South Grand

I ORDER THE CHEESE BOARD EVERY TIME. WE INCLUDE NUTS, DRIED FRUIT AND HOUSE-MADE FOCACCIA. MY FAVORITE CHEESE, PYRÉNÉES OSSAU-IRATY, IS A CREAMY AND MILD SHEEP’S MILK CHEESE FROM FRANCE. WE ALSO HAVE GJETOST – IT’S KIND OF CARAMELLY, NUTTY AND SWEET. IT’S LIKE PEANUT BUTTER AND CHEESE HAD A BABY.

- Alice Willson, Bridge

My favorite has to be the Which Came First ... ? which comes loaded with mozzarella. The egg is perfectly runny, covering the roasted chicken and bacon, jalapenos and onions. And the smoked chili oil and salsa verde gives it a kick of spice. Add a side of queso!

- Darren Mahurin, Sauce on the Side

THERE’S NO MORE COMFORTING DISH THAN THE PORK AND PAPPARDELLE: HOUSEMADE PAPPARDELLE NOODLES WITH BRAISED PORK SHOULDER, MASCARPONE AND FINISHED WITH PARMESAN.

- Brad Chapman, The Block, Central West End

We make a tostada that looks like a Jenga tower. We deep-fry a corn tortilla, then pile it high with beans and vegetables. It’s available off menu, but hopefully it makes it on at some point.

- Ben Lange, Taco Circus

I adore the daily selection of George & Martha Soups. Especially during this cold season, I look forward to offerings like the coconut curried butternut squash, dilled split pea, or lentil with ham hock.

- Jeffrey Hughes, Milquetoast Bar

hit l ist

6 new restaurants to try this month

Webster Groves residents have been waiting for this restaurant – the time it takes to get a table makes that clear. Step up to the bar while you wait and order the No. 36 for a sweet-tart, herbal treat with Yellow Chartreuse, Amaro Nonino, lemon and cardamom. The menu is full of thoughtful, well-constructed dishes you’d expect from former members of the Annie Gunn’s team. Beef tenderloin, so yielding you won’t need your knife, is served on a pool of cracked pepper grits and rounded out with a simple arugula salad. Don’t miss the light, fluffy gnocchi resting in rich lamb ragu that’s cut through with the tart tang of herbed goat cheese. The flavors and textures of each element complement the others with a balance worthy of Michelangelo’s most daring contrapposto

102 W. Lockwood Ave., Webster Groves, 314.736.1370, oliveandoakstl.com

OLIVE & OAK

PHOTO BY MICHELLE VOLANSKY

Prime aged strip at Olive & Oak

THE MUDDLED PIG GASTROPUB

The Muddled Pig Gastropub has joined the ever-growing ranks of Maplewood restaurants. Start with a local craft brew or house cocktail like the boozy Cherry Rye-It, filled with Bone Snapper rye, vermouth and fernet, or a zippy Spice Trade, with gin, ginger shrub and pink peppercorns. Support your libations with a bar snack of Pork Wings (fried bits of pork shank tossed in a soy-whiskey or sweet and spicy glaze) or opt for a healthy starter of Missouri Mushroom Farro Salad, which sees a generous bowl of the toothsome grain mingled with roasted local mushrooms, pickled red onion, creme fraiche and crunchy popped farro. The juicy house-ground burger doesn’t hold back with peppery bacon, thick-cut cheddar and a house pickle. And dinner appetites can try one of six entrees like a tender beer-braised pork steak slathered in house barbecue sauce with mashed potatoes and a crisp apple-blue cheese slaw, or get your caffeine fix with a coffee-braised pork shank served with grits and shaved Brussels sprouts.

2733 Sutton Blvd., Maplewood, 314.781.4607, Facebook: The Muddled Pig

BOUNDARY

Boundary, formerly The Restaurant at The Cheshire, has opened after a conceptual overhaul. The new restaurant offers a variety of dishes to share. The mussels frites features the meaty shellfish nestled under a crown of crispy fries suitable for eating by themselves or sopping up the vermouth-based broth, studded with smoky bacon and sweet, subtle fennel. Spicy Peruvian ceviche is served in a coconut shell, each spoonful giving a quick hit of intense heat up front, cooled by chunks of creamy corvina whitefish. Buttery rainbow trout is served atop a roasted cauliflower steak and sunchoke puree with barely roasted leeks to provide a bright bite.

7036 Clayton Ave., St. Louis, 314.932.7818, boundary-stl.com

OL’ SCHOOL SMOKEHOUSE

Experience a bit of Italy at Parigi, the newest restaurant from owner Ben Poremba. Start things off with the sweet and spicy Beauty School Dropout (a mix including vodka, local Big O ginger liqueur and orange bitters) and Parigi’s take on a grilled Caesar salad: lightly charred romaine lettuce topped with an oil-cured anchovy fillet and Parmesan. Other highlights include a New York strip – order it with a glossy red wine reduction. Red wine also serves as the braising liquid for rich veal plated with creamy mashed Japanese sweet potato. Desserts include a selection of ice creams from Clementine’s Creamery –we’re partial to the pistachio – and a cookie plate compliments of La Patisserie Chouquette.

8025 Bonhomme Ave., Clayton, 314.899.9767, parigistl.com

THE PRESTON

It’s out with the Eau and in with The Preston as the newly renovated and rebranded eatery in The Chase Park Plaza. The Preston’s menu features a long list of shareable small plates like pillowy gnocchi with charred octopus or the sweet and meaty Pei mussels. Dessert takes the cake with the Melted Chocolate; served tableside, hot caramel is poured over a hollow sphere of chocolate that melts away to reveal salted peanut gelato and peanut brittle. Save room for the bread plate, especially when it comes with the ultra-flaky pretzel croissant. Order up a round of cocktails like the frothy, gin-based Mayfair or the boozy, bourbon-based Goodnight Mr. Preston, then pick a few plates and pass them around the table.

212 N. Kingshighway Blvd., St. Louis, 314.633.7800, theprestonstl.com

Ol’ School Smokehouse aims to teach you a lesson about from-scratch barbecue. Start with tender wings, brined in beer, slow-smoked over apple wood, then fried; we opted for dry-rubbed to savor the tender, smoky bite. Most meats are available in smaller portions as sandwiches or larger plates. Order the charred, shredded pit beef or chopped chicken, which is soused in a house-made whiskey sauce, or slice into the house-made garlic-pepper Polish sausage studded with fresh garlic. Fluffy garlic biscuits and sweet cornbread assist with soaking up extra sauce. Toothsome Chuck Wagon beans are savory, not sweet, with bits of pulled pork, and house-cut french fries are crisp, well seasoned and thin enough to eat five at a time. Class dismissed.

7565 S. Lindbergh Blvd., Mehlville, 314.845.8585, olschoolsmokehouse.com

roasted beets and charred carrots at boundary

PARIGI

rainbow trout at boundary

nancy's night out at the preston

red wine-braised veal at parigi

rosemary waffle with foie gras starter at the muddled pig gastropub

rev iews

new and notable Copper Pig

BY MICHAEL RENNER | PHOTOS BY JONATHAN GAYMAN

The next time Copper Pig features Peruvian Cornish game hen as a special, order it. It comes with fries and a can of Inca Kola, Peru’s iconic and disturbingly bright yellow soft drink. As owner Nhat Nguyen described the dish to me, a plate of the slow-roasted bird flashed by, wafting hints of garlic and cumin. It was the last one. Eighty-sixed by 7:39 p.m.

bibimbap bowl at copper pig

Such is the case at buzz-worthy restaurants, and Nguyen’s immensely popular addition to South Hampton has been buzzing nonstop since it opened four months ago. Nguyen formerly owned now-shuttered Urban Lounge on South Grand, where he mixed cocktails as exquisite as the ones here. Cinnamon simple syrup adds warm, sweet notes to his CP Sidecar; mezcal adds depth while a bit of ancho chile liqueur gently heats up the Gaucho, a smokier version of the margarita; Spanish Harlem, boozy with rye whiskey, balances the heat from that ancho chile liqueur with sweet vermouth.

This habit of messing around with the expected can be found throughout Copper Pig from the decor to the menu. Look down just before entering to appreciate a mosaic of the restaurant’s coppery namesake embedded in the subway tile foyer. Inside, look up while waiting for a table and take in the bare-bones simplicity of the exposed ceiling, animated with floating wooden parquet panels.

Nguyen’s sense of style and design provides the unifying motif: If the parquetry elicits images of clouds, then the room glows with the glamorous amber starlight of Edison pendants – some

hanging naked, some encased in skeletal wooden orbs. Brocade wallpaper on one side is contrasted by exposed brick walls dotted with colorful, surrealist local artwork. Even the copper-topped bar is crafted with wood salvaged from a Cupples Station warehouse. And when warmer months return, those beautiful floor-toceiling bistro windows facing the street will crank open for almost-alfresco dining.

Copper Pig has been likened to a gastropub, but the vibe is more

modish and the menu much more eclectic – even random – showing off influences of Nguyen’s Vietnamese heritage, chef Andrew Cisneros’ Peruvian roots and a fair amount of comfort food cookery. The current trend of starters looking more like side dishes than preludes to a meal is annoying. That is, except Copper Pig’s Brussels sprouts with miso and bacon: a dish that will enamor anyone upon first bite. Flash-fried sprouts laced with crispy bacon provided the earthy, salty flavor and texture expected from this ubiquitous dish, but the surprising sweet and savory twang of miso sent it into musthave territory. If Copper Pig is looking for a signature dish, this should be it.

Then again, there were the plump, thumbsized lemongrass beef rolls made by Nguyen’s mother, Nhung Tran. This special saw ground beef marinated in a miraculous lemongrass-oyster sauce mixture, rolled up in grape leaves, chargrilled and served with shredded daikon radish and hoisin-peanut dipping sauce. I suggest putting Mom on the payroll to keep these as a permanent menu item.

Somewhere between the deviled eggs with bacon chips and the duck confit poutine (pretty much as messy and delicious as it sounds) there was chao tom, a classic Vietnamese grilled party dish of shrimp meatballs wrapped around sticks of

sugarcane. Using lettuce leaves to remove the shrimp and dipping it all in nuoc cham (a Vietnamese condiment of chiles, fish sauce, sugar and lime juice) made a fun, fragrant nosh with a chaser of sweet juice from chewing on the sugarcane.

The four larger plates include a colorfully composed bibimbap bowl of tender bulgogi beef, bean sprouts, Chinese sausage slices, cucumber, pickled carrot and daikon, pungent kimchi and a sunnyside-up fried egg on a bed of seasoned rice. The gorgeous lamb shank I had one evening glistened from its long braise and was embedded in a bowl of citrusy, creamy barley risotto. (It’s now served with a risotto cake, winter veg and au jus.)

Both the bulgogi cheesesteak and pork belly Cuban sandwiches are successful twists on their original concepts: the former with bulgogi beef, kimchi and slivered apples, the latter with the addition of maduros (fried sweet plantains). There’s usually a burger special, like The Fredo: two patties topped with sun-dried tomato jam, basil aioli, bacon and melted mozzarella and drizzled with balsamic syrup, all on a grilled Bosnian lapinja roll. Yes, it’s over the top. Even the standard burger – double-stacked patties, grilled onions, pickles, cheese, a fried egg and, if you want, bacon – tries too hard.

Desserts are decidedly Latin, including a chocolate tres leches cake and a rotating selection of churro ice cream sandwiches; mine had Clementine Creamery’s strawberrybalsamic ice cream with a whisper of white pepper to balance the sweetness.

Copper Pig has already embedded itself in SOHA’s growing restaurant scene along Macklind Avenue, joining Russell’s on Macklind, Grapeseed, Onesto Pizza & Trattoria and its neighbor, The Mack. The area is capable of supporting a variety of eateries, especially one that serves bibimbap next to Peruvian Cornish game hen (when it’s available).

Copper Pig

Lunch Rush

ROBERTO'S TRATTORIA

BY HILARY HITCHCOCK | PHOTOS BY DAVID KOVALUK

This unassuming restaurant is located in a large strip mall, but inside the ambience is cozy with a fireplace, tablecloths and a rose floating in a wine glass on each table – not to mention Ol’ Blue Eyes crooning through the speakers. In a city with more old-school Italian restaurants than you can shake a stick at, Roberto’s distinguishes itself in one simple way: It makes better food.

FRIED CALAMARI

The fried calamari was exceptionally tender with light, perfectly seasoned breading. The tomato-based dipping sauce served on the side wasn’t necessary to add flavor to the dish, but it was satisfying nonetheless with a nice hint of heat.

FLASH-FRIED SPINACH

Don’t miss the flash-fried spinach. Rich, light and crispy all at the same time, it had an ephemeral, meltin-your-mouth fragility. A sprinkling of Parmesan added

a layer of savory complexity, and a squeeze of lemon brightened it up. This dish might be on my last meal wish list, and it’s spinach.

SOLE SCAMPI

Sole scampi was moist, delicate and flaky, served atop a bed of sauteed spinach with a classic, slightly tart sauce of white wine, butter, lemon and capers. The dish came with a refreshing side of roasted zucchini, carrots and cauliflower – a welcome alternative to the ubiquitous, soulless steamed vegetable medley.

FETTUCCINE ALLA ROMANA

Fettuccine alla Romana is fettuccine Alfredo topped with a dollop of Bolognese. The pasta was al dente with an enthusiastic Italian accent. The rich, red, slightly sweet (but not cloying) Bolognese’s encounter with Alfredo was a marriage for the ages.

Cioppino is a seafood stew served here with

fresh tagliatelle pasta. The bowl was brimming with frutti di mare, including clams, fish, squid, mussels and shrimp the size of a tangerine. The subtle seafood flavors were in no way overpowered by the light, tomato-y broth.

HOUSE-MADE GELATO

House-made gelato is available in a number of flavors. Get the amaretto for a boozy, creamy treat.

THE DOWNSIDE

Avoid the subpar Caesar salad, made with unpleasantly bitter lettuce that appeared to be all stem. Service is polite, but many customers are regulars, and if you’re not, it can be hard to get a server’s attention amidst the “How’s the family?” conversations at other tables. Charming on a leisurely date night, at lunch it’s frustrating to wait.

CIOPPINO

fettuccine alla romana

O’Fallon Brewery O’Bar

BY MATT BERKLEY | PHOTOS BY DAVID KOVALUK

O’Fallon

pairs O’Fallon Pumpkin Beer with 360 Madagascar Vanilla vodka. There’s also a small selection of wines, but you’re better off focusing on the beer.

Brewery O’Bar

45 Progress Parkway, Maryland Heights, 636.474.2337, ofallonbrewery.com

When it comes to enthusiasm for craft, O’Fallon Brewery is less than subtle. Discontent to have its motto “We Love Beer” simply emblazoned on all the awnings outside, the rallying cry is also stamped on merchandise, stitched into servers’ T-shirts, plastered all over the website and legally trademarked for good measure. They do love beer, and the proof is in the product, making the new O’Fallon Brewery O’Bar Tap House and Grill a welcome addition to Maryland Heights.

Nestled in a nondescript office and manufacturing space a few blocks away from Westport Plaza proper, the single-story O’Bar looks like a packing plant or sub-regional storage facility. But curbside is where the bland ends. Packed to the gills on a Saturday night, the massive, modern industrial Bierhall

teems with the energy and laughter of a frat keg party. What the 130-seat taproom lacks in warmth and Old World, reclaimed-wood coziness, it makes up in steel, looming windows, copper-clad tabletops and ubiquitous flat-screen TVs. Roughly 20 taps line the oh-my-God-sized bar that is so shiny and bright, you might need to turn away to readjust your vision after entering.

If you hate beer, you should leave. If you hate beer but are too stubborn to leave, you’ll still be able to quell the inner voices with a cocktail or three from the stone-wrapped bar, which is stocked with a nominal selection of standard spirits. A few of what my ex called “fun vodkas” are employed in O’Bar’s beer cocktail menu: The Fuzzy Orange melds O’Fallon’s Wheach beer with 360 Mandarin Orange vodka; and the Pumpkin Pie, a rich dessert cocktail,

O’Fallon isn’t a newcomer to the local brewery scene, having launched in 2000 and garnered a cult following at bars and regional retail outlets since then –and for good reason. Few breweries can consistently push out products that are both unique and approachable. A flight is the best way to explore what O’Fallon has to offer. Four substantial 5-ounce pours are served up and introduced by your server on arrival. The everyday beers menu is a good starting point with standard offerings like the crisp Wheach and spicy, tasting-room only O’Bar amber ale. Mix a few of the lighter options with their more substantial, seasonal cousins like the Pumpkin Beer or the King Louie toffee stout. It’s worth the small upcharge to include some special selections from the Brewer’s Stash and barrel-aged menu. The latter featured the Imperial Pumpkin Ale, a 10-percent ABV beer that will make a believer out of anyone on the fence about pumpkin, though a tall pint of O’Fallon’s elegantly smooth Pumpkin Beer is itself worth the journey. If there were a suggestion box, I would stuff it with requests to move the Pumpkin Beer to O’Fallon’s everyday beer list.

A restaurant this place is not. Skip the lame, warmed-over ribs and the floppy, flavorless French dip sandwich. Instead, focus on simpler beer-friendly fare, mixing and matching a few small plates. Order the Mainly Meat flatbread featuring mozzarella, marinara, pepperoni, house sausage and bacon, and get the pretzel plate: Companion pretzels with a hearty O’Fallon Gold cheese dip, honey mustard and a creamy Dijon-Sriracha aioli.

In the end, there’s nothing at O’Fallon as satisfying and deliciously gourmet as what’s in your pint glass.

ORDER IT: O'Fallon Brewery

O'Bar

Build your own flight of generous 5-ounce pours.

Try the Mainly Meat flatbread and the pretzel plate with O’Fallon Gold cheese dip.

dine & drink

A SEAT AT THE BAR

/ Five experts tell us what to sip, stir and shake

GLENN BARDGETT

Member of the Missouri Wine and Grape Board and wine director at Annie Gunn’s

Pinot noirs from the Pfalz region of Germany are growing in quality and can offer an unexpected, more affordable alternative to Burgundy reds. The 2011 Becker pinot noir from the Friedrich Becker estate in Pfalz has the varietal’s beloved earthy, cherry character for less than $20. This is definitely a wine worthy of your mama’s best pork roast. $17. The Wine & Cheese Place, wineandcheeseplace.com

TED AND JAMIE KILGORE

USBG, B.A.R. Ready, BarSmart and co-owners/bartenders at Planter’s House

Brooklyn cocktails are easier to come by thanks to Bigallet Viriana China China (pronounced CHEE’-nah). Hailing from France, “china” refers to the cinchona bark used in its production. The liqueur has bitter and sweet orange notes underscored by celery seed, anise, cinnamon and cardamom. For a Brooklyn, stir together 2 ounces rye, ½ ounce dry vermouth, ¼ ounce maraschino liqueur and ¼ ounce China China. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon twist. $40. Starrs, starrs1.com

CORY AND KAREN KING

Co-owners at Side Project Brewing and The Side Project Cellar

Earthbound Beer on Cherokee Street was recently awarded Best New Brewery in Missouri by the prestigious beer website Rate Beer. Earthbound’s adventurous takes and inventive ingredients earned it this prominent spot on the list. Stop by the brewery and try the hop-free gruits like the sweet and smoky Scandinavian-style White Knuckle or the smooth and chocolaty New World Stout Earthbound Beer, earthboundbeer.com

AWAKEN YOUR APPETITE

BY KRISTIN SCHULTZ

THERE ARE A NUMBER OF WAYS TO AMUSE YOUR BOUCHE BEFORE A MEAL.

The drinks best suited for the task are aperitifs. Referring to aromatized (infused with natural flavors) and fortified (pumped up with the addition of unaged brandy) wines like vermouth and light, crisp, bubbly cocktails, aperitifs open your palate and stimulate appetite.

“An aperitif makes your mouth water and reminds you of food,” said Planter’s House co-owner and bartender Ted Kilgore.

Low alcohol content is a characteristic of aperitifs. No one needs to be hammered by the salad course. “It’s important for pacing throughout the meal,” said Brian Hobbs, Bar Les Freres general manager.

Leave the robust red wine and heady Imperial stout for later. Here’s what to sip before you sup:

COCKTAILS Traditional aperitif wines are both bitter and sweet, so if that’s not your thing, opt for a cocktail that is described as light and fresh. A classic French 75 is boozy but has a citrusy nose and a full, bubbly texture

that finishes tart but smooth. Bar Les Freres’ new cocktail, French Horn, First Chair, is also tart, but a touch sweeter with a light berry aroma and effervescent flavor that finishes with citrus. Most light and crisp cocktails containing Champagne or no more than a couple spirits should do the trick, but talk to your bartender if you’re unsure.

AROMATIZED WINES

Vermouth is the top dog in this category, and while its history in the United States as an imported aperitif dates before Prohibition, its resurgence as an aperitif in Midwest watering

holes is as recent as 2010. Kilgore recommended asking what kind of vermouth your drinking establishment has on hand and how it is stored, since vermouth oxidizes quickly and should be refrigerated. Look for Punt e Mes, which is slightly herbal with orange notes, and Carpano Antica, which is smooth with dried fruit and orange peel flavors.

Another aperitif wine is Quinquina Mildly sweet and bitter, this libation has fruity notes and a lingering finish. Try a glass on the rocks or in the The Black Spot at Cleveland-Heath.

COCKTAILS

from left, french horn, first chair; french 75 and the chancellor at bar les freres

Vegan chicken salad wraps

BY KELLIE HYNES | PHOTOS BY CARMEN TROESSER

Like the Cardinals, my baseball-obsessed kiddos have already begun spring training, which means a lot of dining alfresco (by which I mean in the car, speeding to practices and games). Craving a more elegant meal than my usual PB&J, I decided to make a vegan chicken salad that would taste rich and travel well. Wraps are my preferred mobile entree because less of the meal drops into the juice box puddles on my floor mats.

But first, I needed a chicken substitute. My research suggested tempeh or processed faux chicken, but frankly, I find both textures as chewy as a catcher’s mitt. My friend saved the day – and the project –when she told me about The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon. It’s a fantastic collection of clever vegan recipes, including a “chicken” salad made out of chickpeas. It turns out canned chickpeas can be flaked into tender pieces that resemble roasted chicken. Home run!

Traditional mayonnaise is dairy-free, but it contains raw eggs, which are the scourge of both vegans and sunny allday baseball tournaments. There are several good plant-based alternatives on the grocery shelves, including Just Mayo, which tastes so much like the real thing that my carnivores have no idea they’ve been eating it (until now). But if you have the time, you should make your own vegan aioli from scratch because it’s surprisingly easy to whip up, tastes light and fresh, and is infinitely customizable with dill, rosemary and other herbs.

Liddon’s recipe calls for soy milk and a cup of oil, whirled in a blender until the watery liquids transform into a semi-solid mayonnaise substitute. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of soy milk’s taste, even when I add a full lineup of herbs. And while I will cheerfully snarf a cup o’ fries from the snack bar, I can’t stomach a cup of oil, no matter how mayo-like it looks. To reduce the amount of oil, I used firm tofu instead of soy milk. A few spins of my immersion blender and just two tablespoons of oil was all it took to make a creamy, neutraltasting vegan mayo.

Once the chickpeas are flaked and your mayo is fluffed, it’s time to play with your food. You can complement the chickpeas with Mediterranean flavors like garlic and tahini or go oldschool with a spoonful of pickle relish. Red bell peppers add crunch, as do the celery, raw red onion and bean sprouts I used in my own recipe. Here I chose a crisp green lettuce leaf to hold everything together, but you can just as easily substitute a sturdier flour tortilla. In the beginning, all I wanted was a yummy recipe that could be enjoyed with one hand on the wheel. But the beauty of this wrap is all the ways you can change up the flavors. And that feels like a win for team veggie.

VEGAN CHICKEN SALAD

Inspired by recipes in The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon

6 WRAPS

6 oz. firm silken tofu, drained

2 tsp. plus 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, plus more to taste

1 tsp. Dijon mustard, plus more to taste

1∕8 tsp. plus ¼ tsp. table salt, plus more to taste

2 Tbsp. canola oil

2 tsp. chopped fresh dill (optional)

1 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 Tbsp. red onion, finely diced ¼ cup celery, finely diced Pinch of white pepper

6 whole leaves romaine or bibb lettuce

1 Roma tomato, thinly sliced 1 oz. bean sprouts

• First, make the mayonnaise. Using an immersion blender, blend the tofu, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, mustard and 1∕8 teaspoon table salt until the ingredients are well combined. With the blender on, add the canola oil in a slow drizzle while gently moving the blender up and down until the mixture has the desired texture. Stir in the dill, if using. Taste, then add more lemon juice, mustard and dill as desired.

Set the mayonnaise aside, or cover and refrigerate overnight.

• Pat the chickpeas dry with a clean towel and place in a large bowl. Use a potato masher to gently press and flake the chickpeas until they have the appearance of shredded chicken. Add ½ cup mayonnaise, the red onion, the celery, the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice, the remaining ¼ teaspoon table salt and the white pepper. Mix well.

• Lay the lettuce leaves on a work surface. Divide the tomato slices evenly among the leaves. Place ¼ cup chickpea mixture on top of the tomato slices. Garnish evenly with the bean sprouts. Roll the lettuce leaves from the bottom up, or fold the leaves in half, taco-style. Keep cool until ready to eat.

MAKE THIS

DUKKA-CRUSTED LAMB CHOPS

ACTIVE TIME: 12 MINUTES

To make pomegranate molasses, bring 1 cup pomegranate juice and ¼ cup honey to a boil in a saucepan over high heat, then lower the heat and reduce by half. Or, find varieties of pomegranate molasses at Jay International Foods, 3172 S. Grand Blvd., St. Louis.

Dukka (pronounced DOO’-kah) is a blend of nuts, seeds and spices found in Egyptian cuisine that makes a rich, crunchy crust for cooked meat or fish. Place ½ cup salted and roasted pistachios, ¹∕³ cup toasted sesame seeds, 2 tablespoons coriander, 2 teaspoons cumin and 1 teaspoon black pepper in a food processor and grind until fine. Season 8 trimmed 3-ounce lamb chops with kosher salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat and add half the lamb chops to the pan. Cook 3 minutes per side, until medium-rare. Transfer chops to a plate and tent with foil, then cook the remaining chops. Dredge the cooked lamb chops in dukka to coat both sides, place on a plate and drizzle each with 1 to 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses. – Dee Ryan

SHORT LIST

reubens

Blues City Deli

2438 McNair Ave, St. Louis, 314.773.8225, bluescitydeli.com

Blues City Deli is sandwich royalty, so it’s no surprise its Prez Reuben is king. With two sizes (6 or 12 ounces), any Jack can find a sandwich to fit his hand. Big or small, you’ll be treated to a pile of house-smoked, slow-cooked pastrami speckled with peppercorns. The extra kick mingles well with the deli’s fresh kraut and Swiss, tinted pink by Thousand Island. The full house is courted by panini-pressed rye that absorbs the grease, sauce and brine, making for a sloppy feast – exactly how a Reuben should be.

I love sandwiches so much I named my cat Sandwich. And my favorite is the classic and satisfying Reuben. Pastrami or corned beef with sauerkraut, Swiss and Russian or Thousand Island on rye: nothing more, nothing less. It’s an old standard that deserves accolades piled on like its fatty meats. Here are St. Louis’ top three Reubens. – Andrew Barrett

Dalie’s Smokehouse

2951 Dougherty Ferry Road, Valley Park, 636.529.1898, daliessmokehouse.com

Dalie’s Ultimate Reuben lives up to the name. At a joint known for barbecue, housesmoked pastramis are Dalie’s best-kept secret. A mild kraut allows both beef and pork pastrami to star, supported by Swiss and Thousand Island backup vocals on a strong marbled rye stage. Try the sandwich with a side of Fire and Ice pickles for a duet that will leave you singing Dalie’s praises.

Carl’s Deli

6401 Clayton Road, Richmond Heights, 314.721.2393, carlsdelistl.com

Carl’s Deli casually drops a classic Reuben experience without any pomp or circumstance. It’s like walking into the New York delicatessen where the Reuben was invented. If your hunger is a force of nature, this mountain of corned beef won’t disappoint. The stacked sandwich is microwaved for a few seconds to get the Swiss a little melted and arrives sweet, sour, savory and greasy. You won’t find small talk here, but you will find a full stomach.

THE COST OF HUMANE

HUMANE FARMING

STORY AND PHOTOS BY CARMEN TROESSER

Gosherd Valley Cottage owner

Connie Cunningham

Connie Cunningham walks through a frosty pink dawn, flanked by her lion-sized Great Pyrenees as she crosses a wooden bridge to the pasture. A Pied Piper of sorts, she’s followed by almost a hundred animals: Geese, ducks, guinea hens and chickens, more dogs and a cat follow her inaudible music. It’s not that they’re hungry – they walk past piles of feed on the ground. They’re drawn to her. She talks to them as she walks past, calling some by name. She might call them Jerk or Weirdo with a smile and an affectionate eye roll.

She came to Gosherd Valley Cottage about 10 years ago. It was her mother’s farm, and when she fell ill, Cunningham came to care for her. What was supposed to be a few months turned into years, and that same kind of gravitational pull the animals feel toward her kept Cunningham here. She left her life as a successful organic landscape designer to Chicago’s elite. The pastures, she says, were empty and needed to be grazed.

With the dogs out at pasture, she walks back to her barn at the bottom of the hollow and surveys the sky. The Pyrenees are haloed in light as the sun rises over the trees along the creek. She might get to some of that clearing today, she says, and jokes about how she needs to get goats to chew away the brush along the fences. But goats or cows could take her down. “I could be killed by a cow so easily it’s not even funny. I can’t handle them. They’re just too big.”

When settling here, Cunningham went through the list of grazers from large to small and settled on birds. “We wanted something grazing, and geese are grazers,” she says. “They’re small enough for me

to handle. They can’t push me around … much.” They were the animals she could handle as a single woman in a remote part of Gasconade County.

Cunningham set out to raise geese and chickens sustainably and humanely. She succeeded in becoming the only Animal Welfare Approved goose farm in the country. AWA is a third-party labeling system for meat and dairy products grown under the most rigorous environmental and animal welfare conditions. For the past six years Cunningham has held firmly to her ideals and her certification, which means yearly audits from AWA. “They go over your numbers, what you feed them, what’s in your food, what’s in your supplements as far as electrolytes and vitamins. There can be nothing animal-based in it, and that means from start to finish,” she says. “Every step of it needs to be certified as humane. It’s really hard to get.”

AWA is a U.S. label that requires pasture access for animals, an idea Cunningham wholeheartedly supports. “They need space to run, to flap,” she says. “They need socialization with others, to mess with each other – get their pecking order straight, because they’re birds and they have pecking orders.” She also makes little pools around the fields and the barnyard for them. “When they get older, they have to have water because they start mating and you have to have that cushion of water,” she says. “They get to squabble over girls and everybody runs around and flaps their wings and screams at the sky and all of those things. That creates a happy bird.”

A bird’s life on the farm is only one third of the threepart AWA certification process – the nursery, farm and slaughterhouse must all be approved separately for a bird to be labeled AWA. “I had to make a deal with myself before I started any of this, and that deal was that I would not be a hypocrite,” Cunningham says. “That if I was eating meat, I would be part of that system and understand what the animals went through and how they were handled. I didn’t want to be disconnected from it.” Being connected, however, costs.

The first step is acquiring the birds. Shipping alone is $300 because as soon as they’re hatched at the nursery, the goslings are overnighted – as opposed to spending two to three days in big crates delivered through the mail system. Cunningham picks up her goslings from Lambert International Airport. After their lives on the farm, the circuit is complete with a certified humane slaughterhouse.

“The (conventional) method is bleeding them out, shoving their bodies in a killing cone to trap their wings and slitting their throats with their heads through the small part of the cone,” she says. “The other one is electric baths. They’re on a conveyor belt hung by their legs in shackles, which is really cruel for geese because they’re such heavy-bodied animals –incredibly hard on them and terrifying. They’re dunked into an electrified hot bath that stuns them. But too many times they’re moving around and jerking.”

Cunningham has teamed up with Four Quarters Processing in Perry to give her geese another exit. “What you’re trying to do is stop the fear and

the struggling,” she says. “You’re trying to make this as calm as possible for the animal, quick and painless.” Together, they bought a new, AWA-certified stun gun for poultry that reliably knocks out the geese. If all this weren’t enough, she added some steps of her own. Transportation can be traumatic for geese in crates made to fit chickens, so she designed and built crates, complete with nonslip pads, to transport her geese comfortably.

Back at the barn Gabri Brochu, a local teen and vettech-in-training, is waiting to help treat a small infection on a goose’s foot. Cunningham grabs the goose Lucy from her straw nest in a stall and Brochu stands by with a towel. They wrap her tightly, guiding her feet through holes they’ve cut in the towel, and place her squarely on a bucket of warm salt water. In freezing temps, Brochu supports a perfectly content Lucy on her warm perch for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, Cunningham walks across the barnyard to stoke the furnace in the adjacent cottage. She tosses logs into the fire and smoke billows out, forming a ribbon through the valley. Brochu and a handful of other local teens are a big help, but for the most part, Cunningham works alone.

“If you don’t feel like getting up in the morning and going out, if you’re sick and have a cold or the flu, you still have to get out and do it … cause there’s nobody else that’s going to do it,” she says. “It’s just physical work every single day. (Even on a day off), you still have to go take care of the birds; you still have to stoke the stove; you still have to go feed all the dogs.”

Cunningham with her Great Pyrenees, who serve as guardian livestock dogs on the farm

After her mother’s death, she put her design skills to work and remodeled the cottage, a process that took nearly three years. The result: a tranquil space that feels like a Vermeer painting. Cunningham opened it as a bed and breakfast a little over a year ago and received warm response – even winning design website Houzz’s 2016 Interior Design Award. Swedish blues, greens and reds lure guests in to rest in cubby beds with windows to the pasture. The silence is tranquilizing; coffee being poured and a ticking vintage clock are the only sounds to be heard inside. Outside, the Pyrenees’ sounding a coyote alarm, and maybe some roosters crowing or guinea calling.

Cunningham’s motive for opening the cottage to the

public was originally financial, and she turned part of the barn into her own modest living quarters at that time. “It was supposed to be a supplemental income because the geese in particular have one season. I’ve got about 40 days to sell all those animals – really all your income is only coming in in one month,” she says. “So that makes it incredibly difficult for a solo farmer to make it through the rest of the year. You can’t actually.”

However, the cottage has become more than a financial motivation. “I love having people stay here,” she says. “It attracts a specific type of person. I’ve given up friends, community, like-minded people. I’ve given up having culture and art around me (in Chicago).” She closes the door to the furnace. “(The cottage) conveys what a specific group

Cunningham sells her humanely raised chickens and AWA-certified geese online.

of people want to see and those are the people who are coming. And they’re quiet and they’re looking for a respite.”

That person is the same who will buy her chickens, which sell for $17 to $25, depending on size. “We put in about $10 per chicken,” she says. “That means the cost of the birds, the delivery of the chicks, estimated electricity for the brooder house, the cedar shavings for the bedding. Then you have the supplemental chicken feed. Also, you have to add in the cost of the dogs overseeing them and the feed that they go through. And they were in there for almost three months.” Because of the rigorous standards and slim profit margin, her chickens are processed by a state-certified butcher and aren’t AWA certified.

She believes that for the most part people want to buy things that are produced sustainably and humanely, but back down when faced with the prices. “People go to the supermarket and say meat’s too expensive. They don’t say, ‘I can’t afford it,’” Cunningham says. “It changes the discussion when you say we don’t make enough money to buy meat at the correct price. That’s an entirely different situation. Saying meat’s too expensive puts the onus on the farmer and the industry.”

For Cunningham, the correct price is one that makes humane, sustainable farming practices tenable, which she acknowledges might change the way we eat. “One chicken can last a week, not one night,” she says. And she admits to being put off by requests for skinless boneless chicken breasts. “I say yes, there are two boneless skinless chicken breasts in every chicken I have, and there are two really delicious thighs, and there’s a nice carcass

to make soup stock and the whole thing will last you a week.”

Cunningham makes her way back to the barn where Brochu still sits patient and motionless with Lucy. Together they lift Lucy off the bucket and dry her feet before returning her to the nest where she’ll rest and continue to heal. The middle part of the day is filled with a trip to the vet, a run to the feed store and baking an impossibly beautiful chicken potpie.

As the day matures, Cunningham talks more about the future, a conversation full of “ifs.” A recent weekend numbercrunching tells a story: The goose business can’t continue as it is. The expenses are just too high. The chickens, the Pyrenees, the bed and breakfast, the other ideas and dreams Cunningham has for these 80 acres are still an unfinished puzzle with missing pieces.

At nightfall, Cunningham and Brochu wrangle Buffy and Lil’ Weirdo, two geese they’ve identified as Lucy’s friends, from the flock. It’s cruel to isolate herd animals, and she’ll heal faster with companionship, Cunningham says. The sky turns from orange to deep blue, the dogs come in from the fields for dinner and Cunningham and Brochu settle in by the barn’s fireplace.

“My mother would’ve loved what’s going on – that I made it a place where people would come to,” Cunningham says. Outside, the dogs now guard the perimeter. The chickens roost in the shed. The guineas settle into the trees. The white geese glow like longnecked ghosts in inky blue darkness below Cunningham’s window, staying close to their gravitational center.

received

Cunningham holds Lucy after the goose

treatment for a small infection.

stuff to do: MARCH

BY KRISTIN SCHULTZ

Stout & Oyster Festival

March 4 – 5 p.m. to midnight; March 5 – 11 a.m. to midnight, The Schlafly Tap Room, 2100 Locust St., St. Louis, 314.241.2337, schlafly.com

Indulge in unctuous oysters and big stouts at Schlafly’s annual festival, which will feature 50,000 bivalves in six varieties from East and West coasts. Try them raw, or if you’re squeamish, you can order from the weekend menu featuring po’boys, pizzetas and more. Sip on 10 stouts from Schlafly’s oatmeal and coffee to nitro Irish and extra Irish and even nip a limited oyster stout.

FestivALE

March 5 – 8 to 10:30 p.m., Casa Loma Ballroom, 3354 Iowa Ave., St. Louis, 314.733.1241, festivalestl.com

More than two dozen craft breweries come together for a cause. Fill your commemorative tasting glass with samples from 2nd Shift, Earthbound, Old Bakery, Piney River and more. Grab a bite from area eateries including Pi Pizza, Mathew’s Kitchen and Strange Donuts. The annual event raises money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Gateway Chapter. Tickets available online or by phone.

Whiskey and Beer Dinner

March 12 – 7 to 9 p.m., Cedar Lake Cellars, 11008 Schreckengast Road, Wright City, 636.745.9500, cedarlakecellars.com

Come thirsty to Cedar Lake Cellars and enjoy a four-course dinner paired with select bourbons. Lobster and smoked pork belly grits and a pour of Buffalo Trace will start the evening, which will feature

a salt-roasted beef tenderloin entree accompanied by a sip of The Quiet Man Irish whisky. A chocolate espresso truffle brownie is paired with a Broadway Brewery’s Dog Days stout for a sweet ending.

Seghesio Wine Dinner

March 13 – 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., Balaban’s, 1772 Clarkson Road, Chesterfield, 636.449.6700, balabanswine.com

Dine and drink in the bounty of Sonoma County, California when Seghesio Family Vineyards’ award-winning wines are showcased alongside Balaban’s fare. Dine on five courses with different wine pairings like lump crab salad with pinot grigio and a fig- and apple-stuffed pheasant breast served with Sonoma County zinfandel. Call for reservations.

Hermann Wurstfest

March 19 and 20 – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Hermann, 800.932.8687, visithermann.com

Follow your nose to Hermann for its annual weekend of all things sausage. Professionals and amateurs will compete in sausage-making competitions, while local vendors sample their wares and give demonstrations. Enjoy wine from Stone Hill Winery and Hermannhof Vineyards, then buy the best of the wurst to take home.

Cheese & Beer Tasting

March 19 – 1 to 3 p.m., Marcoot Jersey Creamery, 526 Dudleyville Road, Greenville, Illinois, 618.664.1110, marcootjerseycreamery.com

Head to the countryside for a taste of local cheese

and beer. Take a tour of Marcoot Jersey Creamery’s family-run dairy farm, then enjoy five cheese and beer pairings like Schlafly’s Pale Ale with Marcoot’s Tipsy Cheddar and Kolsch with cave-aged tomme. Sample and visit the store to buy a taste of the afternoon. Tickets available online.

sponsored events

Wine & Dine with Sauce Magazine

April 1 – 6:30 to 9 p.m., Dierbergs, 1081 Lindemann Road, Des Peres, 314.238.0440, dierbergs.com/school

Join us at Dierbergs in Des Peres for a taste of Sauce Magazine. Managing editor Heather Hughes, art director Meera Nagarajan and contributing writer Glenn Bardgett will demonstrate recipes from the pages of Sauce along with beverage pairings. Reservations online; seating is limited.

Lupulin Carinval

April 2 – 2 to 6 p.m., 4 Hands Brewing Co., 1220 S. 8th St., St. Louis, 314.436.1559, lupulincarnival.com

The big top returns to 4 Hands when the Lupulin Carnival comes to town. The fifth annual festival celebrates the release of its Warhammer Imperial IPA and the brewing industry’s love of hops. Nearly 50 breweries will join the festivties; sip samples from local favorites The Civil Life Brewing Co., Earthbound Beer, 2nd Shift Brewing Co. and national players like Firestone Walker Brewing Co. and Toppling Goliath Brewing Co. Enjoy grub from vendors like Seoul Taco, Gioia’s Deli and Completely Sauced and take a spin on the Ferris wheel. Tickets available online; a portion of the proceeds benefit Winter Outreach.

WHAT I DO Troika

Brodsky

Depending on the day, you might find Troika Brodsky at a Yoga Buzz event, Ices Plain & Fancy or working as executive director of the St. Louis Brewers Guild. After 14 years at Schlafly, Brodsky became a one-man PR machine for the Guild’s 40plus area breweries. Here, his thoughts on the power of St. Louis beer. – Catherine Klene

Which came first: your love of beer or your job at Schlafly? I got into beer because it was a job, and I stayed with it because it was a really cool job at a really cool company in a really cool industry. I fell in love with all three of those things, and at the same time … I really fell in love with my city.

What do you do as the Brewers Guild’s executive director? Our city is awesome.

What we haven’t always been awesome at is telling our story. … (This year), we will have more breweries operating in our city historically than ever before. … So my job is to tell really good stories about them.

What’s the mission of the Brewers Guild? At its simplest, it’s beer tourism. Its mission is really one of education and promotion. … It’s about supporting its member breweries so that people know who they are, and hopefully purchase their products and visit their places.

You credit much of the STL beer scene’s success to the return of neighborhood breweries. They have created their own little communities around themselves, and those communities are still big enough to support these paths of growth. … Part of what’s so

awesome about our beer scene is everyone is doing their own thing.

Where do you see the local beer scene in five years? I think you’re going to hear us talked about as much as any of the other big cities (with) beer scenes. … What’s going to differentiate us is being able to historically connect it back. … I think a lot of people think of Anheuser-Busch, and they don’t understand that we have had over 200 breweries here.

How will STLBG commemorate the 10th anniversary of Heritage Festival on June 11? We are moving the event to the riverfront. … We wanted to do something really big to celebrate the milestone and where the beer community is right now. Throwing a world-class beer festival underneath the Arch and the Eads Bridge is as St. Louis as you’re going to get.

You co-founded Yoga Buzz, which hosts yoga events at local breweries and businesses, with your wife, Elle Potter. How is the work there similar to what you do at the Guild? You’re creating community, and you’re operating as a connective tissue. There are a bunch of yoga studios, but Elle isn’t competing with them, she’s helping to promote them. … I’m not my own brewery and competing with them; I’m doing something to promote that whole community.

You also co-own Ices Plain & Fancy. Why did you take that on? Ice cream is delicious, that’s why.

Fair point. But why open another ice cream shop? Of course there are ice cream shops in St. Louis, but this is really, really good ice cream made in a really cool way. … St. Louis’ bullshit meters are pretty good. So if someone shows up and is screaming at the top of their lungs how cool they are, it’s going to raise some red flags for most of us. It’s put up or shut up. And that’s where we’ve had a lot of success.

What beer is in your fridge now? I have two cans of Stag. I have a bottle of (Perennial) Abraxas on my dining room table, and I also have an Urban Chestnut sampler pack on my porch left over from a turkey fry.

BY

PHOTO

GUIDE BEER

you should know p. 18

luke oldham, 2nd shift brewing assistant brewer, plus four more brewers

publisher’s perspective

I STILL REMEMBER MY FIRST BEER: AN OLYMPIA. (WE WON’T TALK ABOUT WHEN.)

I had never tasted anything like it – the distinct flavor of what I now know as hops tasted like straw or hay to my undeveloped palate. Admittedly, Olympia isn’t exactly high-brow stuff, but it introduced me to my love for years to come: the golden gift of my formative college years. As time passed, I advanced from a light beer drinker to a microbrewery explorer and now a craft beer lover.

Beer is at the heart of this city, and the love and support of the community (including our loyal readers) has allowed the vibrant St. Louis beer scene to evolve at a break-neck pace. Led by established favorites, it continues to grow, incorporating obsessive homebrewers-turnedprofessionals and a constant influx of new names and faces garnering national attention.

Examples abound. The prestigious James Beard Foundation has named The Side Project Cellar, co-owned by Sauce contributors Cory and Karen King, a semifinalist in the Outstanding Bar Program category. (See p. 15 for a guide to Side Project’s bottle releases and p. 16 to learn more about hops from Side Project tasting room manager Katie Herrera.) Beer website Rate Beer recently named Cherokee Street’s Earthbound Beer as best new brewery in Missouri. (Flip the magazine over to find out what to sip at Earthbound now on p. 21.)

It’s no secret that I have a special place in my heart for brewers: perfectionists, purists and literal tastemakers, and we’re keeping

our eyes on the next generation of bold new brewers in St. Louis. (Meet them on p. 18.) St. Louis is one of the best beer cities in the country, tantamount to our evergrowing food scene, featuring imaginative beers from world-class talent.

So with this year’s Guide to Beer, let’s raise a pint to the most passionate, hardestworking people in town. Cheers to you and thank you for making St. Louis a fabulous beer city!

Allyson Mace Founder and publisher

This month on Sound Bites, the Sauce team discusses Hit List Tuesday, March 1 at noon on St. Louis on the Air. Then tune in to St. Louis Public Radio 90.7 KWMU later in the month when editor Catherine Klene talks about the growth of the local brewing scene with 4 Hands Brewing Co.’s Andy Burgio and Perennial Artisan Ales’ Jonathan Moxey.

Steady as she gose

BY KRISTIN SCHULTZ

Sour skeptics don’t need to slink out of the room when beer buddies rave about a pour that smells like a ripe gym sock. Instead, they can grab a gose (pronounced GOHZ’-uh) and join the conversation.

Anyone can wax poetic about the complex, bright acidity and joyful effervescence of a lactic acid-laced brew.

“It’s a gateway sour,” explained Andy Hille, certified cicerone and Perennial Artisan Ales brewer. “Rather than being abrupt, goses have other elements like salt and citrus that bridge the gap. If you don’t like sour beers, maybe you haven’t had the right one.”

SPRING FORECAST /

Perennial Artisan Ales 17

Peppermint patties in liquid form: Bittersweet chocolate and mint are the highlight of this big, bold, aggressive Imperial mint chocolate stout.

The salt in gose beers is nothing like your grandfather shaking table salt into his Schlitz to offset the beer’s, um, distinctive flavor. Dating back to gose’s 18th-century German origins, salt is combined with ground coriander to provide a unique platform on which to build and balance other flavors.

While gose can have flavors that range from tart and juicy to direct and twangy, the brew should come together and finish with a mild but detectable salinity. This profile, combined with the beer’s bright sunny color, abundance of bubbles and relatively low alcohol content make it a perfect warm weather slammer. “It’s like a brewer’s Gatorade,” Hille said. “It’s got a low ABV and a salty, refreshing aspect with tartness.”

Perennial’s gose, Suburban Beverage , starts with a wheat beer base and the traditional salt, but takes a decidedly logical exit to Margaritaville with the use of orange and lemon peel and Key lime juice. But it’s more approachable (and safer) than the tequila-based cocktail at 4.2-percent ABV.

2nd Shift’s Green Bird is poured at Bridge.

4 Hands Brewing Co. also got in on gose in 2015 when it collaborated with two Kansas City restaurants

for its Preserved Lemon Gose. It’s a natural combination: “Preserved lemons and gose both involve salt,” said 4 Hands owner Kevin Lemp.

“It’s a gateway sour.”

– Andy Hille, certified cicerone and Perennial Artisan Ales brewer

The beer also incorporated lemon basil and bright, herbaceous lemon verbena from Prairie Birthday Farm in Kearney, Missouri.

Both 4 Hands and Perennial plan to rerelease their goses in mid- to late-summer 2016. If curiosity or good old-fashioned peer pressure from sour-fanatics necessitates you pop a bottle sooner, stop by any of Dave Bailey’s restaurants (Rooster, Small Batch, Baileys’ Chocolate Bar, Baileys’ Range or Bridge) and ask for Green Bird, a gose brewed by 2nd Shift Brewing especially for the restaurant group. “We wanted to do something for them that went well with their food,” said 2nd Shift’s Libby Crider. Green Bird’s light and lemony brew is a tart sip with citrus flavors complemented by the traditional coriander and salt. Given the increasing popularity of session beers and sours, it’s no surprise that interest in gose is rising as fast as bubbles after a pour.

Spring offers something for every palate to kick those winter blues out the door. Here, six local, seasonal offerings we can’t wait to swill. – Katie Hererra

The Civil Life Brewing Co. Big Belgian-Style Blond Ale

Boozy and Belgian, this beer is completely out of the Civil Life wheelhouse. Fortunately for STL, Civil Life has perfected perfection. This beauty is sure to please.

Piney River Brewing Co.

Crankbait Cream Ale

Smooth, crisp and clean with little bite, this canned American-style cream ale arrives just in time for yard work and float trip planning.

Mark Twain Brewing Co.

A Wee Bit Foggy

A little nutty with caramel sweetness, this lightly floral, earthy ale is more than a wee bit Scotch.

4 Hands Brewing Co.

Contact High Loads of zesty citrus and refreshing dankness round out this keep-inyour-cooler-for-the-nextsix-months, hoppy wheat beer.

2nd Shift Brewing

Technical Ecstasy

Put simply, this Czechstyle Pilsner has the ideal balance of biscuity, clean malt and floral, peppery hops.

750s that are worth it

The fear of paying a premium for a beer you won’t like is legitimate. But some of the best beer available is found in those intimidating, 750-milliliter bottles. Bottling beer like wine is cheaper and more efficient for breweries, but that’s not the only reason they do it. The reason you should venture into a larger format is the texture it produces.

Bigger bottles are the medium of choice for bottle conditioning, which is when a small, secondary fermentation takes place in the bottle. Like the méthode champenoise of Champagne, bottle conditioning creates softer, more velvety bubbles rather than the sharper bite of carbon dioxide in forced carbonated beers.

Is it wrong to associate good beer with the heft of a six-pack? No more so than it is to enjoy a 32-ounce Miller High Life – not wrong at all. But with a little research, you can eliminate the risk in buying big bottles and taste the reward. – David Schroeder

BRASSERIE DUPONT FORÊT SAISON

Forêt is an oftenoverlooked organic saison. The aptly named beer is dry but fruity with complex scents and flavors typifying the perfume classification chypre: citrus with woody, mossy notes. Parker’s Table, 7118 Oakland Ave., Richmond Heights, 314.645.2050, parkerstable.com

PANIL BARRIQUEE

Plum and red currant notes acquired from aging in cognac barrels anchor the balsamic vinegar-like acidity in this complex sour beer. The Wine & Cheese Place, 7435 Forsyth Blvd., Clayton, 314.727.8788, wineandcheeseplace.com

MYSTIC SAISON RENAUD

This saison is made with one type of Pilsner malt and a single addition of Saaz hops fermented with a clean, expressive yeast. The result emits both fruitiness and a dryness reminiscent of Pilsners. Craft Beer Cellar, 8113 Maryland Ave., Clayton, 314.222.2444, craftbeercellar.com/clayton

ANYTHING FROM SIDE PROJECT

This brewery’s legendary status (and international reputation) makes it hard to bring a bottle home – beer nerds will travel for this stuff, and release events sell out quickly. Follow @SideProjectBrew on Twitter for information on bottle releases of these amazing beers.

For more on how to survive Side Project bottle releases, see p. 15.

BONNY DOON ¿QUERRY? CIDER

In a market overrun with saccharine, single-note options, this cider offers gratifying complexity. The winery ferments pears and quince fruit along with apples from its vineyard to produce this multifaceted cider. Grapevine Wines, 309 S. Kirkwood Road, Kirkwood, 314.909.7044, grapevinewinesandspirits.com

2ND SHIFT KATY

Barrel-aging and wild yeast Brettanomyces in Katy produce a textured complexity that offsets the subtle tartness of the beer. Saint Louis Hop Shop, 2606 Cherokee St., St. Louis, 314.261.4011, saintlouishopshop.com

BEST BEER LISTS

You can hit up just about any restaurant in St. Louis and have a beer with your food, but there are certain restaurants that bring craft beer to life. Here are seven places that take pints to the next level. - Kristen Chalfant

BRIDGE TAP HOUSE & WINE BAR

Pair Bridge’s a la carte cheese and charcuterie boards with 57 taps and more than 200 bottles, and you’ve got a match made in beer heaven. The list ranges from local favorites to well-balanced beers from around the world with familiar names alongside harder-to-find gems like Crooked Stave’s Colorado Wild Sage Mountain saison. 1004 Locust St., St. Louis, 314.241.8141, thebridgestl.com

RETREAT GASTROPUB

New to the scene, Retreat offers an elevated pub menu along with 10 taps, eight showcasing some of St. Louis’ best breweries. But what sets it apart is the thoughtful selection of specialty bottles and cans, like the collaboration beer Geyser

Gose from Evil Twin and Two Roads, along with those two other taps which offer weird, frequently rotating sours like Prairie’s Funky Gold Simcoe. 6 N. Sarah St., St. Louis, 314.261.4497, retreatgastropub.com

MIKE’S GRILL & TAP

After visiting Mike’s Grill & Tap, you’ll start making up excuses to drive to O’Fallon, Missouri. Mike’s offers 24 delightfully diverse drafts, ranging in varieties from 2nd Shift Art of Neurosis IPA to 4 Hands Absence of Light peanut butter chocolate milk stout. 2447 State Highway K, O’Fallon, 636.240.0633, mikesgrillandtap.com

ELIJAH P’S BURGERS & BREWS

The 60-plus beer menu at Elijah P’s is cleverly organized by tasting note, starting with the broad categories: crisp, hop, malt, roast, smoke, fruit and spice, and tart and funky. It’s a classy, yet relaxing old-school hangout perfect for sampling a wide variety of beers from everywhere, including the Old Bakery brewery around the corner and Belgian breweries like Brasserie d’Achouffe. 401 Piasa St., Alton, 618.433.8445, elijahps.com

SALT & SMOKE

The extensive selection of whiskey might tempt you to ignore this barbecue haven’s beer list. Don’t. Salt & Smoke’s taps offer a range of styles and flavors from local breweries – from Perennial’s Saison de Lis to The Civil Life’s American Brown. 6525 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314.727.0200, saltandsmokestl.com

5 STAR BURGERS

5 Star Burgers is the place to be during happy hour with half-price local draft beer and mini munchies that will keep you there ’til your belly’s full and your heart’s content. Order a pint of Six Mile Bridge’s Irish Red Ale at the Kirkwood location. 312 S. Kirkwood Road, Kirkwood, 314.394.2250, 5starburgersstl.com

DRESSEL’S PUBLIC HOUSE

With rotating food and beer menus, you might not know what to expect at Dressel’s but you know it will be good. The most recent rotation included house-made chorizo corn dogs and Points Unknown IPA from Ecliptic Brewing. I need not go on. 419 N. Euclid Ave., St. Louis, 314.361.1060, dresselspublichouse.com

BACK TO BASICS

COMPILED BY TIFFANY LEONG

Craft brewers only drink esoteric beers you’ve never heard of, right? Wrong. At the end of a long day, grilling with friends or hitting a dive bar, these beerwater American lagers still hit the spot. Here, St. Louis craft brewers proudly declare their guilty pleasure beers.

My not-so-guilty pleasure is definitely Stag. After you drink a lot of craft beer, you seek out the opposite. It’s light, easy-drinking and doesn’t end on a sweet note. – Rebecca Schranz, Earthbound Beer co-owner and brewer

A bottle of Busch. I don’t even know why; maybe it’s the nostalgia. When I go to a dive bar that doesn’t have craft beer, I’ll go for a bottle of Busch. – Lauren Pattan, The Old Bakery Beer Co. co-owner

I’ll grab any light, hoppy beer; a nice Pilsner or a pale ale. I’m not picky – anything from a Stag to a Pivo pils from Firestone Walker – Dave Johnson, Kirkwood Station Restaurant and Brewing Co. brewmaster

Stag, but Budweiser classic is a close second. My grandfather was a distributor for Stag in the ’50s. It’s nostalgic; it takes me back to those days at my grandpa’s parties. (Budweiser) is what my dad would drink when he was grilling. – John Witte, Square One Brewery & Distillery director of beverage operations

I have no shame putting quite a few Natty’s (Natural Light) back if I’m in for a long drinking session with some old friends. Sometimes you have to go back to your college roots. – Ryan Landolt, Ferguson Brewing Co. head brewer

If I’m drinking all day or if I’m barbecuing, PBR is a good way to go. – Darren McLean, Excel Brewing Co. head brewer

TAP LINEUP AT ELIJAH P’S BURGERS & BREWS

WHERE SHOULD I GET A BEER?

Main & Mill Brewing Co., 240 E. Main St., Festus, 636.543.3031, mainandmillbrewingco.com; Modern Brewery, 5231 Manchester Ave., Unit E, St. Louis, modernbrewery.com; O’Fallon Brewery, 45 Progress Parkway, Maryland Heights, 636.474.2337, ofallonbrewery.com; The Old Bakery Beer Co., 400 Landmarks Blvd., Alton, 618.463.1470, oldbakerybeer.com; Peel Wood-Fired Pizza and Brewery, 104 S Cherry St., O’Fallon, Illinois, 618.726.2244, brewery.peelpizza.com; Recess Brewing, 307 N. Main St., Edwardsville, 618.692.5101, recessbrewing.com; Six Mile Bridge Beer, 11841 Dorsett Road, Maryland Heights, 314.942.2211, sixmilebridgebeer.com;

THE ROOKIE’S GUIDE TO A SIDE PROJECT BOTTLE RELEASE

The forums are abuzz; Twitter is atwitter. The latest Side Project Brewing creation will be released tomorrow at Perennial Artisan Ales, and this time, you’re getting your hands on some of the world-class beer. But before you bumrush the bar, take note: A certain standard of behavior applies. We chatted with brewer and co-owner Cory King – and stood in some long lines – to make sure you don’t look a fool at your first bottle release. – Catherine Klene

DO get there early. A recent Side Project Cellar release started at 4 p.m., but the line started at 8 a.m. Make a fake dentist appointment and leave work ASAP. However …

DON’T panic. “If the release is at 4 p.m., as long as you get there by 4 p.m., you’re going to get some beer,” King said. “I never announce beforehand how many bottles there will be.”

DO bring a bottle. Hell, bring a cooler. The Perennial and Side

Project teams are fine with bottle shares. Just don’t run your mouth about your latest and greatest without offering neighbors a pour.

DON’T get shitfaced. Some of those fancy beers pack a punch. Have fun, but stay classy.

DO trade. Swapping one of your prized bottles for an equally rare treat is called good fun. Auctioning a bottle to the highest bidder is called profiteering. Rude.

DON’T hire a beer mule. And yes, this actually happens. If you want more than your allocation, do what everyone else does and lie to your friend about how long you’ll wait in line.

DO clean up. Glass bottles go in the recycling; trash goes in the dumpster. The sidewalk should not look like Soulard Mardi Gras.

DON’T cut. Look, ninja, we all saw you. If you really want to stand

with your BFF Steve, you can both go to the back of the line.

DO inform your neighbor. If you need to leave the line for a bathroom break or to hit the bar, that’s cool. Just give a heads up so the people around you know you didn’t abandon ship.

DON’T be a loner. “Be prepared to meet some locals, be prepared for beer to be shared and be prepared for a calm release,” King said.

Beginner’s Guide to Hops

BY KATIE HERRERA

Hops are getting a lot of attention these days. Brewers are experimenting with new varietals and different levels and combinations of hops, while consumers debate the attraction of aggressively bitter beers. Even if you’re not a fan of the (perhaps waning) trend of abrasive, hop-heavy brews, it is important to understand the role hops play beyond bittering your beer.

Interested in learning more? Check out STL native Stan Hieronymus’ For the Love of Hops: A Practical Guide to Aroma, Bitterness and the Culture of Hops. amazon.com

BY CARMEN

PHOTO

TROESSER

“I don’t like bitter beer, so who cares?”

Not many people do like bitter beer – or bitter anything, for that matter. Bitterness in beer is designed to balance sugar, a byproduct of malt, which is what produces all that alcohol we’re so fond of. Bitter flavors add a refreshing zip to prevent cloying, sweet tastes from saturating your palate. So you can drink more beer.

Now that I have your attention, let’s talk about what makes this climbing nettle plant so special – aside from it being a close cousin to marijuana. The answer lies in the lupulin found inside those hop cones. Lupulin contains resins and aromatic oils that, depending when hops are added during the brewing process, help to bitter and impart a multitude of scents and flavors to your beer.

When hops are added at the beginning or middle of the boiling stage of

brewing, they add a lot of bitterness. When added toward the end or after the boiling stage (dry-hopping), they contribute powerfully to the flavor and aroma of a beer. Hops are unique and draw a lot from their terroir. Adding them late in the brewing process lets hops show off what they got.

“But what if I don’t like the taste of hops?”

Don’t give up! Hop traits vary by growing region and are dissimilar. American hops, mostly grown in the Pacific Northwest, tend to be piney, citrusy and resinous, while English hops are more herbal and woody. German and Czech varieties, called noble hops, are floral and peppery. Australian and New Zealand hops emit juicy tropical and stone fruit notes.

And if you want to learn more about what particular varieties taste like,

all you have to do is head to Schlafly. The brewery has started its own SMASH (Single Malt and Single Hop) program called The Hop Trial Experience. SMASH programs aim to isolate and highlight the intricacies of specific beer ingredients. Schlafly pairs the same single-malt base with different single hops in a series of IPA trials, then polls public opinion to gauge effectiveness and likability of the specific hop.

Schlafly co-founder Dan Kopman has traveled the world meeting hop farmers and looking for exciting varietals to bring back to St. Louis. Some that have already been tested include Galaxy (Australian with ripe passion fruit notes), Barbe Rouge (French with berry brightness), Azacca (American with juicy tropical fruit and woodsy notes), Jarrylo (American with spicy pear and citrus notes) and Hüll Melon (German with honeydew melon notes).

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE IBUs

The Schlafly Tap Room and Schlafly Bottleworks will see nine Hop Trials this year, with experimental American hop Hopsteiner 07270 on deck. Look for dank and fruity aromatics and a savory palate.

“So, you’re saying I might like hoppy beers after all?”

Yes! A little research with trial and error goes a long way. Looking for single dry-hopped beers is a great way to assess individual hop characteristics and grow your palate beyond discerning bitterness. Start with Schlafly and any other single-hopped beers you see at local breweries, then look into the many accessible, hop-forward styles available year-round in St. Louis. Not all these beers are single-hopped, but they highlight the distinctive characteristics of the key hop featured.

Bitterness in beer is measured through International Bitterness Units. High IBUs are a good indicator of bitterness, but they don’t tell you everything about how drinkable a beer is. Think of it like lemonade: High acid (IBUs) can make for a bitter sip, but adding extra sugar (or sweet malts) will balance your beverage.

Hallertauer Hüll

Melon, Hallertauer

Mandarina Bavaria and Hallertauer Cascades

Luke Oldham

ASSISTANT BREWER, 2ND SHIFT BREWING, NEW HAVEN

AREAS OF INTEREST

The entire process. Though Oldham hasn’t debuted a beer of his own (yet), he has taken on 2nd Shift Brewing’s day-to-day responsibilities (brewing most of its beers) while co-owner and brewmaster Steve Crider focuses on growing the brand.

PRAISE FROM THE BOSS

“Luke is truly a go-getter. He’s a person who does exactly what you need him to do with zero problems,” Crider said. “And he’s also a goofball.”

bold new brewers

ST. LOUIS BREWERIES DON’T EXACTLY ADHERE TO REINHEITSGEBOT PURITY LAWS OR THE STRICT HIERARCHY OF TRADITIONAL GERMAN BREWING. INSTEAD, LAISSEZ FAIRE EXPERIMENTATION AND COLLABORATION HAVE PRODUCED AS MANY EXCITING NEW BREWERS AS BEERS. LOCAL FAVORITES LIKE 4 HANDS INCARNATION IPA AND PERENNIAL SUBURBAN BEVERAGE WEREN’T CONCOCTED BY OWNERS OR BREWMASTERS, BUT RATHER THESE RISING TALENTS.

by MATT BERKLEY \\ photos by GREG RANNELLS

Andy Hille

BREWER, PERENNIAL

ARTISAN ALES, ST. LOUIS

BEERS | Regalia, Stefon and Suburban Beverage

AREAS OF INTEREST

“Everything: recipe formulation, experimental styles,” Hille said. When developing recipes, he’s in pursuit of balance. “More like a culinary approach to beer – beers that don’t sway too far one way or another with flavor.”

PRAISE FROM THE BOSS

Perennial co-owner Phil Wymore is impressed by Hille’s creativity as much as his skill. “Andy is very freeform and creative,” Wymore said. “And he helps us incorporate a lot of pop culture in our brand.”

Andy Burgio

AREAS OF INTEREST | Recipe development – especially for sour and barrel-aged beers. He is focused on achieving efficient brewing without compromising on quality.

PRAISE FROM THE BOSS | “Andy’s passion is unparalleled,” said Kevin Lemp, 4 Hands owner and founder. “He isn’t satisfied easily, and from an owner’s perspective that is really what you’re looking for – because you don’t want to just put out a product. Andy helps us make sure that we’re putting out the very best beer we can.”

LEAD BREWER, 4 HANDS BREWING CO., ST. LOUIS

BEERS | Incarnation IPA, Prelude

Brandon Stern

BREWER, THE CIVIL LIFE BREWING CO., ST. LOUIS

BEERS | Burton-On-Holt pale ale, Wee Bit Heavy Scotch Ale, Oatmeal Stout, Belgian-Style Table Beer, Belgian-Style Dubbel Ale, Big Belgian-Style Blond Ale

AREAS OF INTEREST

Recipe development.

“Playing around and experimenting with new ingredients – continuing education and research,” Stern said. He is leading Civil Life’s Belgian series, as well as the brewery’s new cask beer program.

PRAISE FROM THE BOSS

“He has a lot of skill,” said head brewer Dylan Mosley.

“But also, I like (that) he doesn’t always agree with me. He’s not afraid to speak his mind. Brandon is definitely not for hire.”

Jonathan Moxey

BREWER, PERENNIAL

ARTISAN ALES, ST. LOUIS

BEERS | Fête de Nöel Winter Ale, Anniversaria, Dubbel Block, Dealers’ Choice cocktail series beers

AREAS OF INTEREST

Barrels and wild yeasts like Brettanomyces. “(But) my main interest is introducing people to the wonderful relationships beer has with food and how well it can work together when you find the correct harmonies and contrasts,” Moxey said. “My brother Brian (Moxey) is the chef here at Perennial, and I really enjoy making beer for his food and encouraging him to make food for my beer.”

PRAISE FROM THE BOSS

“Like being a great chef, great brewers need to have a good palate to be able to be critical of a beer and perfect certain elements,” said Perennial coowner Phil Wymore. “That’s something that Jonathan has in spades, and it makes him a really talented brewer.”

Be a Beer Kingmaker

Pioneer new local beer at area pilot breweries. Sample small batch beers at Schlafly Bottleworks’ weekly Small Brews Programs or share your thoughts on Urban Chestnut’s latest efforts at its upcoming Urban Research Brewery, opening late spring or early summer. Schlafly Bottleworks, 7260 Southwest Ave., Maplewood, 314.241.2337, schlafly.com; Urban Research Brewery, 4501 Manchester Ave., St. Louis, 314.222.0143, urbanchestnut.com

Fermenter to Farm

Almost every day, farmer Bill Hofstetter makes the rounds to Perennial Artisan Ales, The Civil Life Brewing Co., Modern Brewery and 4204 Main Street Brewing Co. and carts off 2,000-plus pounds of spent grain for the mutual benefit of the breweries and his cattle. Ferment, reuse, recycle.

BEER ET AL.

by heather hughes, catherine klene and meera nagarajan

Adults-Only Coloring

Local blogger Jessica Leitch brings the adult coloring book trend to Urban Chestnut in The Grove with a monthly coloring club. Check in and collect your coloring sheets, grab a pint and some pomme frites and scribble outside the lines. Register online. Urban Chestnut Brewery & Bierhall, 4465 Manchester Ave., St. Louis, jessicaleitch. com/coloring-club-stl

Eat your beer

Union Loafers Cafe and Bread

Bakery’s naturally fermented oat porridge bread won’t get you tipsy, but it does offer the nutty richness of an oatmeal stout. Bonus: You can top this one with butter. $8. Union Loafers Cafe and Bread

Bakery, 1629 Tower Grove Ave., St. Louis, 314.833.6111, unionloafers.com

Hoppy Hour

It’s easy as 1, 2, 3. Combining equal parts gin, club soda and this Bittermilk No. 2 Tom Collins with Elderflower & Hops makes a refreshing and floral beerinspired riff on the classic. $13. The Wine & Cheese Place, 7435 Forsyth Blvd., Clayton, 314.727.8788, wineandcheeseplace.com

Bachelor’s in Beer

Class is in session at Cicero’s Beer School. Each semester, learn how to tell your ales from your lagers, meet brewers and take field trips to local breweries. Graduate with honors – and a more refined palate. Cicero’s, 6691 Delmar Blvd., University City, 314.862.0009, ciceros-stl.com

Civil Reads

Books are better with beer. Double-fist one of each every other month at The Civil Life Brewing Co.’s reading group. Go online or check the chalkboard upstairs for the current read, then sign up for the mailing list at the bar. The Civil Life Brewing Co., 3714 Holt Ave., St. Louis, thecivillife.com

Wall-Mounted Bottle Openers

Display your beer nerd status permanently with a stylish, wallmounted bottle opener. These locally made beauties come from the proudly bearded woodworker Daniel Kruger. $20 to $25, beardedboardsstl.com