Snowpocalypse Edition

Here is a list of upcoming events that have somehow survived the snow...

• Super Bowl Party - The location has been updated. There are limited seats on the couch, so RSVP ASAP. Also, plan to bring food and beer (of course). This event is open to non-members.
• Homebrew Only Tasting - This was promised and Josh Rein delivered. On February 13th at 4:00 PM, Josh will host a tasting limited to homebrews only. More details to come. Relax. Don't Worry. Have a homebrew. This event is open to non-members, but is limited to 10 guests.
  
• Porters/Stout Tasting - Bring a stout, porter, or one of those cellared beers you saved for the cancelled tasting this past week to Flat Branch on February 27th at 4:00. This is for members and all regular charges apply (membership OR $10 if you don't bring beer and $5 if you do bring beer).
• The last of the Hopslam is set to be unleashed on the public at Uprise Bar this Wednesday. If this doesn't happen on Wednesday, I won't bother posting anything more on Hopslam.
• There will be a field trip to Kansas City in April. Contact a CBE officer for details. If you don't know a CBE officer, leave a comment here and we'll get back to you.

That should do for now. Carry on.

January and February Events

Inspired by Jade's initiative to post on this blog, I figured you all would like to know what's going on...

January has nearly passed us by without so much as one tasting. Luckily for you, the CBE has one event before February. Additionally, there are two more events planned for next month.

On Monday, January 31st, Broadway Brewery will be hosting our cellared beer/barley wine tasting. So, dust off those bottles in the back of your cellar and bring them in for this tasting. If you are not one to save beers for more than a year, there are plenty of options in the stores. Besides finding newer versions of some of the proposed beers on hand, a careful inspection of labels will reveal there are many already-cellared beers waiting for you. I've personally noticed several vintages of Schlafly's barley wines and imperial stouts from previous years still occupying shelf space all around Columbia.

To RSVP, go to either the Facebook group or the CBE Groups site. Be sure to list the beer(s) you plan to bring. The tasting will get underway around 8:00 PM. We'll conduct the tasting differently as we'll ask that you give your beers to a CBE officer so that we can pace and sequence the beers. As usual, the tasting fees apply if you are not a CBE member. $5 with beer, $10 without.

The following Sunday, February 6th, is the Super Bowl party, hosted by members Kate and David. Although the pregame show starts sometime this week, our hosts ask that you show up around 5:00 PM. Kids and family members are welcome. This is a free CBE event. There will be food, but contributing to the effort (both food and beer) is encouraged. RSVP here and/or here and list any beer and food you plan to bring.

From 4-7 PM on Sunday, February 27th, Flat Branch will host our porter/stout tasting. Again, tasting fees apply to non-CBE members. RSVP here and/or here.

Also, in February, we are tying to organize a homebrew-only tasting. If you have any interest in participating and/or hosting, please let a CBE officer know or leave a comment on this blog.

We are still working on a road trip to Kansas City in April. There will be more word on that as information is gathered. CBE members will get first dibs on spots in the van. So, it behooves one to join ASAP.

As always, keep up with CBE happenings on Facebook, Groups, Twitter, and through our Google Calendar.

News/Rumors/Happenings

Social media is great, but sometimes overwhelming when you get a lot of news coming at you from different places. I thought I'd condense it, since there's a lot in my RSS feed today.

Evan Benn of Hip Hops column in the STL Post-Dispatch reports on the opening of the new Urban Chestnut Brewery on Wednesday with 5 of their beers on tap. Read more about the brewery and sign up for their newsletter or read their blog here. He also talks about the new Parma Grill (not quite open yet) that will take over Mattingly Brewery's former space.

In addition, a Hip Hops mobile beer app will be unveiled on Friday. I can only assume it will focus on St. Louis breweries and stores, but good to know for future roadtrips. Between that and OnTapKC, we can find out about beer releases sooner. Now all we need is an app for CoMo. Developers....? I've been playing around with Untappd which is a mobile website rather than an app, so you can share your beers/location with your friends through that site, and choose whether to also post on Facebook or not. You earn badges for adding certain beers to your roster.

The other rumor going around is that Green Flash Brewery is scouting around in Missouri. That would be another welcome addition to our shelves in 2011. Stl Hops got it straight from the horse's mouth that it will be July/August. I brought a bottle of their stout back from California and found Le Freak in Chicago and enjoyed them both. Oh, and in case you're wondering which Firestone Walker beers are coming, here you go.

Locally, the Hopslam frenzy is nearly over, but we're still waiting to hear when Uprise Bar at Ragtag will tap their keg and bring out last year's bottles they saved. CBE has several events coming up: the cellared/aged beer tasting on Jan. 31st, the Super Bowl party, and the stout/porter tasting in Feb. Be sure to RSVP and report what you're bringing on our Facebook page.

Update: Hip Hops also posted a good St. Louis Brewery Guide today.

2011 Schedule of Events

Recently, using some of the survey results, the CBE officers got together and mapped out the year's events. None of the dates nor sequence is set in stone, but this schedule should allow CBE members and potential members to stock their cellars and beer fridges with beers to share at future tastings. Also, this schedule should help in planning out your calendars for the year.

More details as far as specific times, dates, and locations are still to be determined. We are looking to schedule events at a variety of times and locations so that we can include as many members and interested parties as possible. In the meantime, look through the lists below and leave suggestions in the comments. There are at least two events planned per month.

Tasting Schedule:
January: (Look for these dates and locations to be determined in the coming weeks.)

• Cellared Beer/Barley Wine
• CBE BowlingNight*

February:

• Stout/Porter
• Super Bowl Party - February 20, 2011*

March:

• Out of Market Beers Only (beers only available outside of Missouri)
• Chocolate & Beer Pairing (featuring Patric Chocolate)

April:

• Blind Tasting (Belgians vs. Non-Belgians)
• KC Field Trip**

May:

• Rye/Black IPA
• Introduction to Beer Tasting*

June:

• Wild Night
• Cheese & Beer Pairing

July:

• West Coast Beers
• Picnic*

August:

• Summer Beers
• Members Only

September:

• Bring Whatever
• Cooking w/Beer Potluck

October:

• Beers from Michigan
• High Gravity Beers

November:

• Fall Seasonal
• CBE Bonfire*

December:

• Holiday Seasonal
• Yankee Swap 

* Open to anyone. No membership fees required.
** Open first to members. Non-members will have an opportunity if there are empty slots.

The homebrew events will be open to anyone who is interested. We're even more flexible with these events so as to meet the needs of the homebrewers in the group.

Homebrewing Schedule:
Feb. - Homebrew Only Tasting
April -  Homebrewing w/John Cannon
June -  Homebrew Demo
Aug. -  Mini-Hoembrew Contest
Oct. - Homebrew night to discuss what different hops can add to a

beer

Dec. - Homebrew night to discuss what different grains can add to a
beer (or yeast)

What are you thoughts on this tasting schedule? Are we missing something? Which events would you attend?

If you can provide space for any events, either leave a comment or contact a CBE officer.

The Weekend Update: Pub Crawls, Spiked Beer, & Brew Masters

It was a busy weekend for CBE members.

Friday, several of us hit the streets downtown to celebrate one member's birthday. We started at CBE favorite Sycamore with pork belly sliders and various selections from their extensive beer list. It's worth noting that all Sycamore bar menu items and specified beers on tap are half off during happy hour.

We then sauntered over to Broadway Brewery just down the street. Several of us enjoyed Broadway's Winter Warmer while other's raided Broadway's nice bottle and guest tap list. We weren't there for long as we had other stops to make.

A detour was taken down Ninth to Top-Ten Wines. Out came the Goose Island Nightstalker, He'Brew "13", and ping-pong table as this haven for the wine-obsessed was invaded by a bunch of beer nerds.

The night was completed at Uprise where we all sipped on our beers outside, on the patio.

It's great to know that we have so many good options to fill our craft beer needs. We didn't even make it to Flat Branch and we still filled the evening with great beers.

This wasn't an official CBE event, but there's no reason more of us can't organize such get-togethers on the website or Facebook group page. Feel free to use these forums to schedule the kinds of beer events you want. There certainly is an audience on either site.

Saturday rolled around and several members met at my house for the Spiked Beer Tasting. Normally, would never subject ourselves to drinking bad beer, but in the name of science, we carried on. Jarrett walked us through each spike, helping us identify what we were tasting and what caused each off flavor. And because we all homebrew, there was talk of a collaborative beer to only be known as "Nanna".

Afterwards, we washed the bad taste from our mouths with some good beer.

Sunday was a big night for the craft beer community in general as Discovery Channel's Brew Masters debuted. The show created quite a bit of buzz on Twitter and in the blogosphere as well as among CBE members. Some discussion can be found on Facebook, the CBE site, and even on at least one member's own beer blog.

What did you think of Brew Masters? Will you watch it again? Is it just an infomercial for Sam Calagione's Dogfish Head Brewery? Should the CBE organize an event around future episodes?

What do you think about more spiked beer or other homebrew events? What are you thoughts on more CBE (official or unofficial) pub crawls?

Colorado Beer Tasting

Despite a few homebrews produced here in Columbia, a beer from Idaho, and one arguably from Maryland, the Colorado tasting went off without a hitch. We tasted a nice variety of beers. The '07 La Folie and Avery Beast vertical seemed to garner the most attention. Here's the lineup...

• Great Divide Espresso Oak Aged Yeti
• John Baker's Porter
• Matt's Altruistic ESB
• Avery's Seventeenth Anniversary Black Lager
• Grand Teton Lost Continent DIPA
• Ska Decadent DIPA
• Odell Bourbon Barrel Stout
• Avery Ellie's Brown Ale
• Avery IPA
• Matt's Dubbel My Dosage
• Left Hand Milk Stout
• Great Divide Hercules DIPA
• Great Divide Titan IPA
• Ryan's Mango-Habanero 
• '07 New Belgium La Folie
• Twisted Pine Hoppy Knight
• Ska ESB
• Flying Dog Horny Dog Barley Wine
• '06, '08, '09 Avery The Beast vertical

What was your favorite beer of the night?

Survey Says...

If you remember, we here at the CBE asked you all to complete a survey covering some demographics, social media usage, and ideas for future events. The results of the survey can be found here for the most part. I've taken the liberty to compile the write-in answers below since the results link won't do that for me.

Read through the results. Tell us what you think they mean. Is there something we missed with this survey?

In the meantime, be sure to come out for the Colorado beer tasting tonight at Sycamore at 9PM. A list of beers had will be posted here. Also, keep your calendars open for the December 11th Yankee Swap.