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 20th 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: dark-fruited hop-sharpened 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.
