ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI After perusing Route 66 Brewery, visited SCHLAFLY’S central courtyard for lofty liverwurst sandwich, tasty appetizers, and mediocre beers, August ‘04. Open since ’91, this uptown early 20^th century brick structure matches the riverfront properties one-mile east at the Mississippi River. Though I disliked many Schlafly's brews on site, the bottled selection of 'Big Beers' such as Schlafly Reserve Barleywine and Schlafly Bourbon-Barrel Imperial Stout ('07), reviewed in Beer Index, have been extraordinary. From best to worst: dried-fruited hop-sharp orange peel-embittered American Pale Ale; lemon-dried tea-tobacco-rye-embraced English Mild Ale; coffee-roasted dry-bodied Oatmeal Stout; muted banana-pineapple-clove-absorbed Hefeweizen; caramel-honeyed moderate-hopped Pale Ale; and astringent wheat-cracked corn-dampened foam-soaped American Lager. Sadly, Schlafly’s pale-lagered bitter-grained Pilsner fell short, Summer Kolsch remained blandly acrid, and diacetyl yellow-fruited Dortumunder was flat. Bottled versions are available locally. By 2010, Schlafly had a new line of great beer that took 'em nationwide. www.schlafly.com