January:
- Deschutes' arrival in Missouri! After almost a year, it's easy to take it for granted we can buy it off the shelves, but they have so many good regular and seasonal choices. Gumbo Bottoms in Jefferson City had the first tasting opportunity, then the Columbia release party included 44 Stone, 1839 Taphouse, and Uprise. The Columbia Tribune did a great spread on this in the Food section, too (featuring: my arm!). Here' a photo at the end of the night with all the Deschutes gang.
- Our monthly tasting was the Blind Paper Bag tasting at 1839 Taphouse. I also wrote a post about a beer pairing class (with Mike Odette) and dinner by Inside Columbia magazine.
- And how can we forget the annual Bell's beer dinner at Sycamore? Hopslam on tap and cask, plus the unforgettable Black Note Stout. Next year's is on sale today at noon!
February:
- 1839 Taphouse had their 173 Anniversary Party, featuring the last keg of Boulevard's Chocolate Ale in CoMo.
- Jason and I went to the Big Chill, a beer and chili festival at 75th Street Brewery in KC. It was in a freezing, partially outdoor beer garden including Schlafly, Blind Tiger, Boulevard, Free State, among others, and 75th brought out their cellared collection.
- "Beer and a Movie" series presented "Blazing Saddles" at our house. Bigfoot vertical 09-11 was a highlight.
- True/False film festival was fantastic as always, sponsored by Schlafly and featuring appearances by James Franco and Morgan Spurlock.
March:
- 44 Stone had a Stone beer dinner, LeprechaunArchy pub crawl happened, CBE did another Beer and a Movie.
- 44 Stone had their 1 year anniversary party in conjunction with St. Patrick's Day. There was even a fancy cake!
- Another new brewery was Six Row, from St. Louis, which had a release at 44 Stone and another at Sycamore.
April:
- A group of us formed a team to play Geeks Who Drink trivia at Roxy's on Monday nights. Arrogant Bastards are still going strong (mostly).
- Attended Parkville Microfest, which had a mobile app this year to help navigate your beer itinerary for the day. FYI, beef brisket bourbon beer isn't a good idea in reality.
- We can't forget the Avery Tap Takeovers!! Split between Uprise, 1839 Taphouse and 44 Stone, we got some samples of some heavy hitters. Thank goodness 44 Stone had just implemented their small pour option!
- The 2nd annual Missouri Beer Festival featured the debut of Columbia's Rock Bridge Brewery and Mother's Brewing out of Springfield (which finally made it to our market the end of this year.)
May:
- I visited a friend in Lawrence, stopping by Free State, Blind Tiger, and bringing home a growler with a collaboration by those two, plus 23rd Street Brewing.
- local Rock Bridge Brewery released a firkin of their summer seasonal, Lizard Pale Ale at Taphouse.
- I visited a little beer town known as Denver for a conference. Stops included Cheeky Monk, Falling Rock, Wynkoop, and a huge beer haul was made.
- 44 Stone's live Tap cams made their debut.
- Our tastings included a blind IPA/DIPA tasting at our house, where Phil's blackberry lambic blew everyone's mind, and an impromptu tasting at Jonathan's to unload some beer buys.
- More press: The Missourian visited brew day with Holly and Jeff's crew. Como Collective went social with the craft beer scene.
June:
- We had the fabulous CBE Summer Picnic. We also provided the Top 10 Reasons to attend, as if you didn't already know. Rock Bridge donated a firkin and a keg, which was awesome.
- June-July I was moving into a new house, so things got a bit busy. But, the new fridge was stocked with summer beers, and many beers were shared on moving day.
July:
- Deschutes' Chainbreaker White IPA was released at Sycamore. Also at Sycamore was the Off the Vine tasting with lambics, sours, and fruit beers.
August:
- 1839 Taphouse hosted the Best of Summer tasting, which spilled over into the opening party for the new Shakespeare's pizza south location for some of us.
September:
- 44 Stone had us for the Aged to Perfection tasting. This was an epic event! Beast Vertical, and a Bigfoot Vertical.
October:
- English and Brown Ales tasting at Ryan's house. I was at Oktoberfest, so I missed this! But here's Tin Mill Brewery in Hermann.
- Broadway Brewery had a Stone takeover with 2012 RIS and 16th Anniversary.
- In the Kind of a Big Deal department, we found out we're getting an iTAP in CoMO!
November:
- CBE hosted the Farmer's Bounty tasting at Ragtag. I wasn't at this one, either.
December:
- We hosted the CBE Christmas Party and gift exchange at our house. Here's some highlights.
- Heard of the Santacon pub crawl? You should go. It's fun.
Whew! We had a lot of beer and a lot of fun. Jonathan has already scheduled many 2013 CBE events. They will soon all be on the CBE calendar, which you can find here, along with other beer dinners and special events as we hear of them.
Thanks again to Sycamore, Broadway Brewery, Uprise, 44 Stone, 1839 Taphouse for supporting us and hosting our events!
