“This is the famous Budweiser Beer”
This is a pledge my brother Jim and I know very well. It was on every can or bottle we consumed growing up drinking at home with the old man. He gave us Michelob during the holidays. With the knowledge we had as beer drinkers and considering what was available, we WERE drinking “The King(s) of Beer”. Classic German ingenuity, mixed with true American consumerism. My brother now lives in the beer mecca, St. Louis, has his own wine cellar, and no longer drinks beer while I’m right smack-dab in the middle of the craft beer explosion in Louisville, KY.
“We know of no other brand produced by any other brewer which cost so much to brew and age”.
Now, we communicate with text-ing and FB-ing. While he speaks of special vintages, regional varieties, and old vines, I speak of stouts aged in bourbon barrels. We exchange information on an ’07 Zinfandel, big and meaty. I tell him to try a triple hopped IPA, with big floral up fronts and creamy, smooth finishes. A recent visit to his home in St. Louis, home of Budweiser, gave me a chance to expand his taste on a forgotten art form.
“Our exclusive beechwood aging produces a taste, a smoothness, and a drinkability you will find in no other beer at any price.”
Schlafly, a little brewery under the shadow of AB [Anheuser Busch] and on the cusp of twenty years of brewing quality ales, is being visited by said non-beer-drinking brother and myself. People I know pop up and we talk of new releases and celebrate successes that Schlafly has brewed. He warms up to the spirit young Kelly has when she speaks of dry-hopping their award-winning APA. He is excited when he sees the barrels and gets a sample. Aged in Jim Beam barrels, a Kentucky Bourbon, he becomes more familiar with his surroundings. He tastes the vanilla, the charred oak, and relishes the creamy finish only a stout aged in these barrels can deliver. He is at the vineyards where he has been before. Except this is not about wine. It is the new age of American beer. He purchases two case of the ’08 vintage. He promises to save at least a case for next year when I come back to St. Louis and play lousy golf. I can’t wait to shoot another round and have one, with an old friend and new beer-drinking buddy.
Story by Michael Beckmann.
Beckmann, manager of Highlands BoomBozz Taphouse and generally regarded as “The Dude of the Highlands”, enjoys exploring great craft beer, local and otherwise as well as having his beautiful Caroline by his side.
Tags: Beer, Louisville, People
Brewing Beer Equipment…
This article was featured by Beer College in reply to this article….