Devi's birthday

Tornado Ally

Friday night (4-15-2011) was my friend Devi's birthday. To celebrate, we went out to one of my favorite bars in Saint Louis; The Scottish Arms. Now, what I believe sets this bar apart from the others is the wide selection of not only local and hard to find beers, but also their extensive collection of Irish Whiskeys and really tasty food (everything from traditional Irish pub fare, to fine dining).

Upon arrival, I noticed a beer I had never seen before. This beer, called Tornado Ally, from Charlefille Vineyard Winery and Brewery in Ste. Genevieve Missouri, was totally new to me. The Tornado Ally is an amber ale with a deep malty color and just enough hop bitterness to let you know the hops are there. To find this beer was a pleasant surprise. Upon further prying into their website, I discovered they not only make this one fine beer... they make 14! Some of which are available for purchase at local beer shops including The Wine and Cheese Shop in Clayton, Friar Tuck locations and even some discriminating Dierbergs and Schnucks. I look forward to drinking more of these beers in the coming months!

Whale #1

My next beer was 6 Row's "Whale". 6 Row Brewing Company is a relatively new brewery on the scene here in Saint Louis whose beers are generally flavorful and whimsical but often forgettable. "Whale", to the contrary, sticks to your palate and lingers around like a house guest. Fortunately, the lingering in this case is a good thing making "Whale" a must try beer to all my peeps in the Saint Louis area. "Whale" is a self described "mistake" of a beer. The brewers basically had a bunch of left over grains, yeast and hops and decided to just throw it all in the brew kettle and see what happens! This beer boasts 10 different grain types! There is a strong wheaty precence to the beer and it finishes with the bitterness of an IPA or other pale ale... hence the name "Whale"; Wheat/Pale. This beer was such a revalation that I had to have 2 more before leaving.

Whale #2

I would like to remind my readers, that today was Devi's Birthday, and as such, we decided that after dinner plans would be up by her... it was HER day after all. She decided that the only thing that could possibly make her happy, would be to have all her friends back to her place to watch "The Human Centipede" on Netflix.

I will pause for you to regain your composure... as well, I will regain mine.

We stopped off for a couple of six packs of beer and partook in possibly the worst movie ever made (all while oddly enough eating Easter candy by the handful). I guzzled down a Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA as the movie played and found it to be a little too grassy for me. I was always a big fan of SN's Pale Ale, but this Extra IPA thing was just so dry and not balanced.

All in all it was a pretty good night and it made me feel good to be back in Saint Louis, drinking good Saint Louis beer with good friends!

If you have an opinion on any of the beers sampled in today's post, I would love to hear about it. Please post them below. If you would like to follow me on this Drinking Adventure, please click on the link on the right where you can subscribe to my feeds. you can also follow me on twitter at @williepawn or @drinkadventure or friend me on Facebook. You can also email me here. I am also keeping a compiled list of beers tasted HERE that you can look at.