World Series bets, and some beer news 10/23/13

Happy World Series everyone. There's been a lot of poo slung in the direction of Cardinal Nation recently, as apparently having the best fans in baseball, and having a team with a rich history of winning and playing the game the right way ruffles the feathers of some. I don't know about you all, but I kinda enjoy being the underdogs, the forgotten ones from flyover country. Anyhow, this is a beer blog, not a baseball blog so I'll leave it with a simple Go Cards!

The baseball tie in here is that St. Louis and Boston are home to some very fine breweries, and they've decided to place a friendly wager on the outcome of the Series. From the Schlafly blog:
http://schlafly.com/blog/2013/10/23/time-for-some-world-series-wagers/

Boulevard Brewing has been sold to the Belgians. Duvel Moortgart has acquired the Kansas City brewery, Missouri's largest after the InBev buyout. That title reverts back to our side of the state with Schlafly taking over the top spot. Read about it here. From The Kansas City Star:
 http://www.kansascity.com/2013/10/17/4558825/kansas-citys-boulevard-brewing.html

Less beer was sold in Missouri in the state’s most recent fiscal year, but several craft brewers continued to see growth.

Overall beer sales fell 1.3 percent to 134.08 million gallons through June 30, the end of Missouri’s fiscal year, as some consumers shifted to wine and spirits.

That’s down from 135.86 million gallons in 2012, according to new data from the state’s Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control.

It’s the fourth straight year of declining beer sales in Missouri.

TOP SELLERS

The top 10 beer sellers in Missouri, by gallons sold in the state:

Rank. Brewer. FY 2012 sales. FY 2013 sales.

1. Anheuser Busch   84,521,510   83,670,624

2. MillerCoors          33,289,663   31,804,430

3. Pabst Brewing       3,229,430   3,222,611

4. Crown Imports      2,557,184   2,554,360

5. Boulevard Brewing 1,969,138   2,056,191

6. Heineken USA       1,536,187   1,538,288

7. Diageo/Guinness   1,447,162   1,297,430

8. Schlafly                1,052,797   1,135,777

9. Boston Beer Co.       929,482     996,310

10. Mark Anthony/Mike's 787,896   713,057

Source: Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control

Weston Brewing Lil Lucy Hot Pepper Ale

Today, we're looking at a beer we discovered on our summer vacation to the Kansas City area. Weston, Missouri is a tiny town just north of the K.C. Metro area with a population of around 1600. At one time it was the second largest port on the Missouri River, ahead of both K.C. and St. Joseph, but a flood in 1881 shifted the river 2 miles west. Weston was also once the home of Buffalo Bill...the wild west star...not the "it puts the lotion on it's skin" one...

Weston is also home to the McCormick Distillery, a name I'm sure you've all seen on the bottom shelves of many liquor stores and gas stations. What you may not know, is that they were founded in 1856, and are the oldest distillery west of the Mississippi, and the oldest continuously operated distillery in the United States.

Cheap liquor aside, lets get back to the beer. Weston Brewing has a long history, dating back to 1842. It hasn't been continuously operated the whole time. If so, it would have landed in the top 5 oldest in America. You can check the website, and I recommend you do, for more info on the history.

Lil Lucy was one of their experimental brews, that became quite popular...somehow. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad...just seems more of a novelty really. They claim it to be great for cooking, and I could see that, however they offer no recipes on the site. It pours a medium amber color and has a strong ale and pepper aroma. You can tell it's gonna be spicy, but it doesn't kick in right away. It waits till it hits the back of your tongue and throat, and lingers there. Some who don't care for spice might want to have a chaser beer. It's kinda like drinking hot wings...you ain't gonna cool the burn down with more hot wings. It's definitely one of the most unique beers I've ever had.

If you ever find yourself in Weston, be sure to stop in and pay them a visit. You can buy many of their brews in package form at the hotel in town, and it's cheap when compared to other small breweries, just a buck per beer. It's also distributed at several outlets in the Sedalia/Warrensburg area.

The Stats:
ABV: N/A
IBU: N/A

www.westonirish.com

Stevens Point Burly Brown

Greetings. Our beer today is Stevens Point Burly Brown. Stevens Point Brewing has been around since 1857, making it the 5th oldest continuously operated brewery in the U.S. They feature 9 year round brews, 6 limited release brews, and 4 seasonals.

I'd read somewhere before I started this blog, to not be hateful, or to "slam" a beer, as it is the result of someones hard work and effort. This beer was the first to really test me on that. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate this beer, as there are very few I hate (Heiniken, Grolsch, Miller Lite) it simply didn't live up to expectations that I had from the name alone.

It pours a nice light brown, as it should. Has a slight hoppy aroma, not overpowering at all. Taste is pretty watered down, no nutty or chocolate notes like other brown ales. As a regular Newcastle drinker, the carbonation was a little much for what I'm used to in a brown ale. Overall, basically unremarkable and bland. It's the Bud Light of brown ales.

The Stats
ABV: 5.4
IBU: 32
www.pointbeer.com