Where do you geek-out about beer? Moments where I can talk passionately about
the libation that so intrigues me are a rarity.
Certainly, my friends and family are all beer-lovers and they’re
definitely more knowledgeable than the average
Bud-swiller but, even so, I sometimes see their eyes glaze over when I start
talking about IBUs, beer history, and current craft trends. Bless their hearts, they humor me, but I know
I get too nerdy from time to time.
What about beer festivals? Those are always crammed full of beer geeks,
right? Well, sorta; for every true beer
fan in attendance there’s five attendees that are there just to get completely schnockered. The rowdies (and the general size of the
crowd) make a real conversation about beer near impossible.
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| Pale Ale at Kauffman Stadium |
Homebrew clubs, perhaps? It’s just my hang-up, I guess, but I don’t
feel comfortable interjecting myself into an already-established group; I’d
feel like the odd man out—the newbie that doesn’t know anybody. I’d feel more at ease in an environment where
nobody knows anybody and we’re all on the same level.
Where, then, do I get my fix for craft beer and craft beer conversations? If I were a dork for superheroes, I’d have
San Diego Comic Con. If I were a gearhead,
I’d have Sturgis. If I were an idiot, I’d
have Nickelback concerts. For beer
geeks, though, you haven’t lived until you’ve been to the Beer Bloggers Conference.
The Beer Bloggers Conference (henceforth referred to
as BBC) is a three-day event wherein those who write about beer network with
each other as well as brewery reps, explore a new city and see what it has to
offer in terms of beer, and learn a thing or two about how to more effectively blog
about their favorite brews. 2013 marked
the fourth annual BBC and Nicole and I’s second (our first being 2012’s Indianapolis conference). This time,
however, the conference was held in Boston, a city neither of us had previously
visited.
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| Fireworks at Kauffman |
We’re road warriors, Nicole and I, and we enjoy
seeing the country at a slower speed. We
hop around from state to state, city to city, brewery to brewery and really take in what this country has to
offer. Do you think 2,000+ miles
convinced us to fly? Heck no! We’re in it for the adventure so we packed up
the car, pointed east, and blasted across the wheat fields of Kansas.
First stop: Kansas City, MO where we camped and took
in a Royals game. I’m originally from
the Midwest so you’d think I’d be
accustomed to the sweltering heat mixed with saturating humidity. I’ve been in Colorado too long—I was melting
into a puddle at Kauffman Stadium. Ah,
but what doth I espy at left field? A
sight for sweaty eyes: the Boulevard Brewing Co. concession stand! We clamored over rows of perspiring fans,
bee-lined it to outfield, and shelled out for a plastic cup of Pale Ale. Oh, the cool, sweet liquid between my lips on
that clammy, miserable evening! The
glorious whiff of hops in a sea of body odor!
I don’t care if it’s sold at stadium prices; Boulevard saved my life
that night.
The next day we pointed south to Branson for some
non-beer and non-Yakov Smirnoff related fun (not that anybody could confuse
Yakov Smirnoff with anything resembling “fun”).
No, instead I indulged in my other
great, geeky passion: roller coasters.
Although the local amusement park—Silver Dollar City—is overpriced (even
more than usual) and cheese-ball to the max, they still have a healthy handful
of quality coasters namely Outlaw Run, the newest in the park. Despite its never-before-seen-on-a-wooden-coaster
inversions, this ride is great because it links all its major elements with fun
little hills and turns which, collectively, are more entertaining than the
marquee barrel rolls and steep drops.
Well, I don’t want you to tune-out as I gab on about stuff that isn’t
beer so let me just draw a quick parallel: Outlaw Run is intense yet nuanced
like a well-crafted Russian imperial stout.
Or, as Mr. Smirnoff might say, “In America, you kill bottle of Russian stout. In Soviet Russia, stout Russian kill you with bottle!”
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| Outlaw Run (most of the track is hidden by woodlands) |
After Branson, we headed back north, drove through
monsoon-worthy rainstorms, and arrived in St. Louis. We grabbed a campsite on the east bank of the
Mississippi and, with daylight left to spare, decided to hit up a local
brewery. I’m not terribly familiar with
St. Louis beer (except for the obvious so-called “King of Beers” and the
slightly less obvious Schlafly) but, thankfully, Tamre, my buddy in beer and
fellow conference attendee, had already informed me about the BreweryMap app
which locates breweries within a certain circumference of the user’s
location. I don’t mind giving them a
plug because it really is a great tool for when you’re away from home!
I set BreweryMap to a five mile radius and clicked
around mindlessly until I came across 4 Hands Brewing Co. I reiterate that I know little of St. Louis
beer yet this brewery seemed familiar.
Where had I heard it before? At a
festival? At the liquor store? Ah, yes; it was featured in Crafting a Nation (a fantastic
documentary; go see it if you haven’t yet)!
I have no idea if 4 Hands is the “best” brewery under the arch (it’s at
least really good) but there’s
something to be said for national media exposure; I experienced 4 Hands on the
silver screen and now I want to experience it in real-life!
After navigating the braid-like network of bridges
spanning the river, we were spit out somewhere near Busch Stadium and began
meandering towards a part of town in which Clark Griswold might ask for directions because, like most great breweries, 4 Hands is off the typical, tourist
path and is situated where the real St. Louisans live, work, and play. Like Wynkoop Brewing Company to LoDo, 4 Hands
is helping to bring up the neighborhood.
The façade of 4 Hands is that of an old-timey
warehouse complete with caged windows but the interior, while still retaining
an industrial feel, is much more inviting with its red brick walls, communal
table (made from the building’s original bay doors), exposed ceiling beams, and
rustic wood accents. Situated to the
left of the bar is a corner of glass that looks out onto the surprisingly vast
brewing floor.
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| Glass corner at 4 Hands |
Along with some tasty St. Louis-style BBQ, I ordered
Prussia Berliner-Style Weiss (3.5% ABV), a lovely, cloudy yellow, tart ale that
was the epitome of refreshing on a day that was—while less torturous than the
one before—nonetheless defined by heat and humidity. It features a touch of lemony citrus reminiscent
of lemonade making for an all-the-more invigorating drinking experience.
So good was Prussia that I branched out and ordered
samplers of three other beers: Second Hand (4.5% ABV), Prunus (6% ABV), and
Contact High (5% ABV).
Second Hand (which was brewed in collaboration with
nearby 2nd Shift Brewing Company hence the name) is what’s known as
a “table beer.” Table beers were once
Belgian staples—a large bottle of low-alcohol beer to drink and share with the family
during meals. Yes, the whole family, kids included. I don’t see the stigma, really; it’s smarter
to teach your children to drink responsibly instead of making beer the “forbidden
fruit” because, once they get their hands on that fruit, they’ll indulge in it a lot because they never know when the
opportunity will strike again. If beer
is an everyday kind of thing, there’s no reason to splurge. Hell, a low ABV beer’s still better for kids
than McDonald’s, soft drinks, and all that other crap we shove down their gullets. But, I digress.
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| Left to Right: Contact High, Prunus, & Second Hand |
Second Hand is dry-hopped with El Dorado hops and the
cloudy, orange beer packs a lot of fruity, spicy, complex flavors for having
but a wisp of alcohol (actually, 4.5% pushes the boundaries of the definition
of table beer).
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| Prussia |
Prunus, a sour cherry saison, pours a cloudy, dark
reddish-orange. It features a snip of
tartness amidst an otherwise typical mix of Belgian spices, fruity esters, and
other scents and flavors associated with the saison style. It’s a solid beer for summertime sipping.
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| 4 Hands |
Contact High is a highly-hopped wheat ale. The bright, rich, yellow beer’s northwest
hops and orange zest impart a bitter, citrusy bite that may be an unpleasant
surprise to those who usually like wheat beers but shun hoppy beers. However, if you’re a fan of both wheat and hops, then Contact High
is right up your alley!
Wow, that’s a long post and it’s only a fraction of
what’s yet to come! Stay tuned for more
beer adventures as we head ever eastward towards Boston and the BBC.
Prost!
Chris
After sitting all day in the
car on that first leg of the journey, I was ready to spend the evening watching
some baseball! We had visited Kansas
City a couple of years ago and walked around Kauffman Stadium but this was the first
time we were able to catch a game. In
Colorado, the summer days may be hot but the evenings are comfortable enough to
sit outside and enjoy yourself but KC’s weather is definitely not Colorado’s weather. Chris and I got to the game about an hour
before the game started and thought we would wait a few innings before finding
something to quench our thirst. However,
we only lasted one inning before finding some good beer and good BBQ.
Chris already said his second
geeky passion is roller coasters but he neglected to mention that he has a
spreadsheet detailing each and every coaster that he and his family members
have ridden. Right now, he ranks in
first place with 261 coasters while I have a mere 89 (24 new ones on this trip,
though). Considering I had been on but
one roller coaster before I met Chris (and I cried when I was on it), 89
coasters isn’t too shabby.
Leaving Branson, we
headed northeast in search of more beer, cooler weather, and more
coasters. First up: more beer. 4 Hands Brewing Co. has an inviting taproom with
a large community table along with several smaller tables. One of the things
that I really like about 4 Hands is the recycled materials in the taproom; the community
table is the original dock door from the building, the foot rests on the bar were
once fire sprinklers for the building, the bar is made from recycled glass, and
the tables and chairs are from the walls of an 107-year old barn and some recycled
pallets.
More of our journey to
come! We’ll be back with more stories
soon.
Nicole
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| Outside seating at 4 Hands. |
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