Champagne is overrated. Those of you who prefer to toast the New Year with a pint of beer instead will be happy to know that several of St. Louis' best beer bars and restaurants will be hosting New Year's festivities, and -- who else? -- Mike Sweeney has the rundown at STL Hops.- Ian Froeb
Wikimedia CommonsTomorrow and Saturday the Schlafly Tap Room (2100 Locust Street; Web site) is hosting its annual Cod and Cask Festival. Enjoy cod prepared by Icelandic chef Hakon Ovarsson and cask-conditioned ale while listening to the music of Icelandic band Vicky.It sure as heck beats eating fish sticks at home while listening to Sigur Ros!Want a primer on cask-conditioned ale? Read this post on Mike Sweeney's STL Hops.The festival runs from 5 p.m.-midnight both tomorrow and Saturday. Call 31
Slow Food St. Louis has announced that its Convivial Pursuit trivia night will take place on Friday, March 27. The event will be held at Mad Art Gallery (2727 South 12th Street). Doors open at 6 p.m., and the trivia begins at 7.The cost is $200 per table, with a maximum of ten persons per table. (That includes beer, wine and soda.) Proceeds benefit area farmers. The top two tables receive cash prizes, as does the table with the best "theme."You can sign up for a table at the Slow Food St. Louis
Alberto Gottardo, Wikimedia CommonsFirst, an apology: In this week's Gut Check column in the dead-tree Riverfront Times, I screwed up the dates for the first annual St. Louis Craft Beer Week. Events begin this Saturday, May 30, not last Saturday, as the column had it. My sincere apologies to Mike Sweeney and everyone else who's organizing this series of events.OK, so, Craft Beer Week kicks off, for real, this Saturday, with three events: The Beer and Brats Festival from noon-5 p.m. at Westport P
Mike Sweeney of local beer blog STL Hops, which last week was named the inaugural winner of Riverfront Times Best Food and Drink Blog, has been hired to rework the beer menus at Gerard Craft's Niche, Taste by Niche and soon-to-open Brasserie by Niche.Sweeney tells me that at Niche and Taste, "Styles are going to be my most important thing." He hopes to offer examples of ten to twelve individual styles at each, with minimal (if any) cases of having two beers in the same style.
Gut Check dishes on our favorite St. Louis food blogs.Off the Menu: Joe reported changes afoot at Kitchen K. Stl Bites: Bill's friend Mike Sweeney will be consulting on beer menus for Gerard Craft's expanding empire. Sounding My Barbaric Gulp: Kelly celebrated her birthday with lots of good chow.Cupcake Project: Stef's making cupcakes for another wedding. Pumpkin graham crackers are delicious, but not wedding-appropriate.
This Monday, November 9, 33 Wine Shop & Tasting Bar (1913 Park Avenue; website) will host a special cocktail event. Blood & Sand will bring together some of the area's leading mixologists, including Ted Kilgore and T.J. Vytlacil, to kick off the new local chapter of the United States Bartenders Guild. There will also be a wine tasting -- this is 33, after all -- as well as a beer tasting hosted by STL Hops beer guru Mike Sweeney. The event begins at 6 p.m. Admission is free. Call 314-231
As if the holiday itself wasn't great enough, this year's Twelve Days of Halloween included some pretty fantastic beer moments. Celebrating the long-awaited opening of Foam on Cherokee Street. Sharing a friend's homebrew made with hops he grew himself. Pouring my own beer during a Mike Sweeney-led brewhouse tour at the Schlafly Tap Room. Dressing up as Fidel Castro and knocking back a few Tecates with my buddy Che.The pinnacle of the week had to be to the autumn beer dinner at Duff's Restaura
