A Great Visit to Perennial Ales

I had some free time last night so I took a trip to one of my favorite craft breweries in Saint Louis; Perennial Artisan Ales. Brew master Phil Wymore who sure can brew it, had two new selections on his menu.

The first I tried was his IPA#2. It's a Belgium Style IPA and is tasty. It's labelled #2 because the first IPA created by Perennial was created by brewer Corey King. It is a traditional English IPA and very good. Personally I prefer the English style to the Belgium style, but IPA#2 is something I could drink regularly.

The second beer I had was Barrel Aged Mint Stout. It's like drinking a glass of the Girl Scout's thin mint cookie. And to top it off it's aged in what the brewery website calls Rittenhouse Rye barrels. I only had one because it is over nine percent Alcohol by Volume. Oh my was it fine! Perennial keep up the good work!

One Down and Hopefully Many More to Come

My beloved Cardinals won their season opener last night over the Miami Marlins 4-1. The Birds jumped on the Marlins early and Kyle Lohse was hitless until the 7th inning. The bullpen took care of the rest and Jason Motte came in and overpowered Miami to close out the game.

If you read this blog regularly you will know I'm not much of a prognosticator. Two years ago I said the Cards would kick ass and take names. Obviously, they had too many injuries to make that happen and didn't get a sniff of the playoffs.

Last year, I said they were one of the worst Cardinal teams I had ever seen, and they won the World Series.

So, this year I am cautiously optimistic. I dont think the Cardinals are good enough to win the Series but I think they are good enough to make the playoffs. (Especially the watered down version with an additional Wild-Card team). A lot will depend on how well, or how poorly, rookie manager Mike Matheny handles his first ever team.

In Praise of Good Beer - Part I don't know

I had a free night, so I headed down to iTap in Soulard. What caught my attention you ask? How about a nice IPA from 2nd Shift called El Gato Grande. Steve Crider sure can brew it. But, the girls tending bar were having issues with the keg so I switched over to another IPA. My server Emily recommended Odells Double IPA. It's name...Mercenary Double IPA. My was it good.

I had to get home and had time for one more, so I asked Emily for a recommendation of a really big beer. She knows her stuff and she knows me. Emily took about a half a second and said "how about a Boulevard Rye on Rye.

I have to tell you...it was amazing. Of course, it was sweet, but anytime you drink anything over liquor barrels you know it will be. But, Boulevard has done a really nice job with this. I can't wait to taste it again. And thank you Emily for a really great beer!