Meet Me in St. Louie, Louie. Meet me at the.... other brewery?

Big thanks to my friend Nick for not only providing me with a new wireless mouse and keyboard, but also for introducing me to another St. Louis based beer (kinda). Originally brewed in St. Louis, the dark lager is now brewed and bottled in Pennsylvania, but is still distributed here in St. Louis.

With claims of not only being the first beer brewed in St. Louis, but in America as a whole, Lemp (started in 1838) apparently has a lot of history. Why then would I, a St. Louis native, not have heard of the oldest brewery in the country? Where are the Lemp Brewery tours? The Lemp family? Sure, there's a building in the city called the Lemp Arts Center but.... what happened?

Prohibition happened, that's what. A quick gander at the history page on the Lemp Lager website will show that this once thriving company was bought out after prohibition and made into a warehouse for some shoe company.

Luckily, the Lemp name (and recipe..hopefully) were bought in 1988 by a St. Louis-an who decided it was about time that Lemp made a comeback It was once known throughout the whole of the United States...or so the story goes.

It's ironic. With the "loss" on Anheuser Busch, I've been in search for a decent American Lager. I thought I would have to travel far across the nation to find one, but thankfully, there just happens to be another great lager here in St. Louis. Coincidence or fate? Who knows.

And yes, it really is a great lager. However, if you're searching for a light, crisp Budweiser-like lager, I suggest you try something like Tennent's (apparently, Scotland's favorite pale lager.) This is a dark lager that is much thicker, and much less carbonated. If I didn't know it was a lager, I would've said that it was a porter. Now I must say, I was given a relatively cold bottle of this to try. My suggesttion would be to drink this at a little warmer temperature than "straight out of the fridge." My first taste of this beer was dominated by a roasted/woody flavor (like a fat tire), followed by lingering bitter after taste.

Yet, once I had consumed about 1/2 of the bottle, much more complex flavors began to surface, as the chill of the liquid dissipated. Tobacco and honey-like flavors are the true make up of the taste of this beer. Mouth feel, whether the beer is cold or warm, is definitely smooth. It finishes like you've been drinking coffee.

With everything that's good about this beer, It's not something that I can come home to. I would have to be in the mood for this beer. I could drink it in a pub, or as something to drink with a meal. It's not the "sit on my ass and watch TV" lager that Budweiser is. It's a beer from a generation long gone, probably, best enjoyed in older settings, like listening to jazz, or beat poetry.

Verdict: The beer I'll drink when I have children

The bottle: American, The taste: bittersweet

*This post is a little late...I've been playing Diablo II and studying for the MCAT...and at the bar*

July 14, 2008, Anheuser Busch was sold to Inbev, and with it....a part of my St. Louis soul died. After being of legal drinking age for only 3 months and looking forward to a whole lifetime of Budweiser consumption, the fledgling-beer-drinker-in-me was shot though the heart...and Inbev's to blame...(they give beer a bad name.)
To someone not from St. Louis, Anheuser Busch's sale may not be such a big deal. To the average beer enthusiast, the AB-Inbev merger may be seen as the loss of the last big American brewery, but to me, it's like the death of royalty. St. Louis is the city it is because of the Busch family--August Busch's sons even go to my high school.
If you ever enter the city of St. Louis through highway 40, coming from across the Mississippi, you will notice 3 things: the Arch, Busch Stadium, and a lit A and Eagle sign (it looks like it's flying at night.) Is it a coincidence that 2 out of the 3 first visual cues one sees when coming into the city represent Anheuser Busch? I think not.
In fact, the "Gateway to the West" would not be what it is today without the King of Beers. For years the highways were maintained on the AB dollar. Many of St. Louis University's buildings were funded by AB (like the Busch Student Center.) Also of note, the brewery itself brings in tourists and defines the Soulard area of the City.
Unfortunately, all public works that AB has been doing for the city of St. Louis WILL cease when the AB-Inbev merger is complete. Inbev is known as a cost cutter, and last time I checked, charity did not improve profits. Many hard working men and women will be laid off, blue and white collar alike. (Even Obama agrees.)

This Bud's for you, Mr. August Busch.

It's only fitting that I drown my sorrows with a tall, cold Budweiser (not lite, the original). I'll be honest, my bias will get in the way here. To ME, this is the king of beers (and by that I mean it's the standard of American Lagers). I'm not saying that it's the smoothest. It's definitely not complex, but when I want a beer, and someone offers me a Budweiser, I know I'm going to be satisfied. It's color (when out of the bottle), is a clear light amber. There is no strong aroma to the beer- it can be best described a faintly sweet scent. This sweet scent is accompanied by the slightly sweet taste. It starts smooth, is light bodied, and finishes cleanly. Also, the beer tastes slightly acidic due to the carbonation/water used. This gives the an almost "soda" like character, allowing it be used to wash down meals, or just as a drink in itself.
The only "downside" to Budweiser is that it has no distinguishing characteristics. It doesn't have the strong flavors of other lagers, like St. Pauli girl, but also, it's much less expensive.

Verdict: It's goes with anything, anytime
...and no, it is definately not Miller Time

Konami, Kirin, and SNNAAAAAAKE

If the time I've spent (or wasted) playing videogames and watching anime has taught me anything, the longer the name, the better the product. For example, Metal Gear Solid: Tactical Espionage Action. Unnecessarily long name, good game. Speaking of Metal Gear Solid...
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, the latest and last of Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear series, is shaping up to be a fitting adieu. So far (I'm only starting the third act), the game has finally mixed the balls-out FPS shooting that's so popular with current games, with the sneakiness the Metal Gear series has had since it's Playstation(and NES) days.
Not to say that you can just run around Master-Chief Style and become a one man army...it's still a sneaking game at heart.
Along with all the sneaking around, there are a TON of cut scenes, and there's a bit of loading time in between major story arcs of the game. Once, these were annoying wastes of my time....but now...

They're time blocks of the perfect length for trying beer!

And what goes better with a Japanese game about the exploits of an American spy than a Japanese beer brewed by an American Company! Coincidence? I think not...
Said so right on the bottle, brewed in California, owned by the one and only Anheuser-Busch.
Taking anticipation up another notch this "Japanese" beer(specifcally a Pale Lager) has one long name, Kirin Ichiban Special Premium Reserve. Sounds fancy...yet, all my enthusiasm for the beer ended after a few swigs.
Don't get me wrong, it's not a "bad" beer, and cheaper than most other bottled beers (about $7 for a six pack), but if I wanted a lager, I would have just gone with Budweiser, it's cheaper.
I tried to find a pint glass to put this "special reserve" beer in (didn't want to keep it in the bottle), but alas, since I've been gone, my family has resorted to hiring cleaning staff to clean the house, resulting in just about everything I own being misplaced once a week.
Seriously, I found my shower soap in my closet...I don't even know how that's possible, since it was in the bathroom...but whatever.
Anyways, back to reviewing this beer. I drank this one straight out of the bottle(for shame!) Mouthfeel is pretty smooth, with enough carbonation to give the beer some character(let's say, mineral-water esque). The taste, however, is pretty watered down. About mid-way through the beer there were times when I couldn't tell I was drinking anything, since the faint bitter (or perhaps, faintly-yeasty) after-taste somehow overpowers the already watered down main event. This after-taste (or finish if you will) doesn't even linger that long...somehow it just cancels out the flavor of your next swig.
What was nice about the beer was that when it's flavor did find my tongue, it was greeted with a slight sweetness--oddly enough, akin to the suman I had earlier--which canceled out the faint-hops finish, leaving my palate seemingly cleansed of all flavors....yet this happened sporadically.
Lack of glassware and flavor-sporacity aside, it's just not worth the price. The name promises something big, and doesn't deliver. Granted, it's a pale lager... definitely not going to deliver the same flavor as a stout, but this beer just left my taste-buds wanting something more.

Verdict: Looks Japanese, feels American, leaves me wanting more.

P.S. It's my first bad review? Already? I dont' want to be known as a beer snob, so let me just say, this beer was quite drinkable and didn't ruin my day, it made it better...after all, it is beer.

Thanks for the Pale Ale, Poppa Garner

It just so happens that one of my friends turned 21 today (or yesterday if you want to get technical.) Unfortunately, he did not enjoy the same shit-faced night that I experienced on my birthday.
In fact, there was very little fan-fare involved. No free-shots from the bartender, no hitting on obviously ugly women, or drunk dialing (the boy even forgot his ID). Just his parents, him, and myself eating at the very fancy and expensive Annie Gunn's.
On the bright side, he did get a Wii for his birthday... and there's still a month and a half left of summer to recreate the liquid-havok my brother put into my stomach on my 21st.
Anyways, after asking what was on tap, I ordered a Pale Ale from a St. Louis micro-brewery, Schlafly Beer. After taking a few tastes, I realize....

"The words to describe this....aren't in my vocabulary"

I mean, it tasted good, but how the hell am I going to describe this beer taste? Malty? Barley-y? This would be a totally different story with bad beer, I could say "this tastes like watered-down piss" or "this smells like the basement of a frat house." But no sir....this was a good beer. So, to do this Pale Ale any sort of justice, I'll just give you the play by play:

1. Beer and food are ordered ( I had the pork tenderloin by the way, and it went well with the pale ale, the roasted flavor of the beer mixed well with a very filling tenderloin.)
2. Waiter knocks over empty wine glass. Mr. Garner tries to catch it, but fails.
3. Mr. Garner waits for waiter to leave and says he needs to check if there's glass shards in his sandals (He doesn't actually check until an hour later.)
4. Said waiter comes back and cleans up glass. Mr. Garner makes a crack about how he was never good at catching things. Waiter laughs and expects depreciated tip.
5. Drinks are served. Beer was served cold in a pint-glass with little head ( as I understand, this is the norm for pale ales). Beer was an amber color.
6. First taste went well with the conversation. Smooth, with a lightly "roasted" flavor, and a small hoppy bite at the end. Very little carbonation lent to the smooth texture. It finished with a light-bitter after taste.
   
7. Beer in hand, I realize from the conversation between Drew and parents that Poppa Garner has a detailed dossier on every single one of Drew's friends (if only in his head), and that I may only be present because I might be the only one capable of paying him back for these expensive meals (as a future doctor) ... I drink my beer with less enthusiasm.
8. Beer and food go well together! Success!
9. After dinner, Beer has warmed up and has a longer,more bitter after-taste than before, but that doesn't ruin the smooth texture of the beer.
   

Conclusion: Pretty much, the Pale Ale was "beer" enough to have the body and bite to keep me interested in drinking it, while not being a shock to my taste buds. Seems best enjoyed with a light conversation, or when generally just lounging around.

Dubbed: A Lounging Ale

Oh, and just in case you were wondering, the Pale Ale did, in fact, smell much better than a frat-house basement. The aroma smelt faintly of a brewery tour....a free Anheuser-Busch brewery tour that I don't want to be taken over by InBev. Go America.

Birth!

So, having turned 21 just a few months ago (on Easter Sunday no less!), I find that the name of the beer in my hand has changed from the frat-favorite Keystone and Miller Lites to lesser known microbrews and imports. The drink, beer, isn't even "beer" anymore, it's stout, pale ale, hefeweizen, and whatever else there is.
In an attempt to explore the finer points of beer--those "points" that don't involve shotgun-ing, beer pong, and circle of death-- I've decided to chronicle my new beer-experiences in this very blog. Will there be arbitrary number rates (1 out of 5 stars?), catagories ( a 4 in robustness?), suggestions (goes good with left-over chinese food?). Only time will tell.
Also, expect rants about how people from Milwaukee can't stand my love for Budweiser, the lack of females in Marquette's engineering school, and how beer makes Metal Gear Soild 4 that much more enjoyable.