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by Jill Barrett
St. Louis is a beer town. Although most of us think first of Anheuser Busch Brewery, the city has a tradition of a wide variety of breweries.
“Before Prohibition, St. Louis had countless breweries, from Falstaff to St. Louis brand to Griesedick Brothers and of course, A-B” said Shawn Herrin, a brewer at Trailhead Brewery in St. Charles, Missouri. “After Prohibition, only the strongest could have survived through it, and those that did were weakened enough that only a few could really be successful. Microbrewing had a tradition because that was the way it was. It wasn’t a tradition -—it was life, just like it is in a lot of Europe, lots of little breweries for everyone, not just a few mega-breweries,” he explained.
“The traditional beer of St. Louis was an amber lager that is exemplified in the fest lagers brewed by local breweries for the St. Louis Heritage Fest,” Herrin continued. “It originally had a rich caramel malt body, light nutty tones and generous Continental hopping. A commercial example of this beer is the Boston lager, brewed by Sam Adams. Jim Koch, founder of Boston Brewing (Sam Adams), founded the original lager and named it St. Louis lager.”
Dan Chivetta, also a brewer at Trailhead, explained the difference between craft brewing and microbrewing. “In craft brewing, there is a love, a passion for brewing. It’s an art form, where quality, taste and presentation matter more than the bottom line and quantity. Quality ingredients and perfection of process and technique make craft beer superior to its bigger counterparts.
”I started as a cook in various restaurants in St. Louis. I was a big foodie. Not liking wine, I would pair beer with food, and that’s how it started my love of craft beer in general,” Chivetta said.
Craft brewing came into its own in the 1980s and gained momentum in the 1990s, and 1991 saw the birth of Schlafly brewing in St. Louis. According to Schlafly’s website, it is “dedicated to the notion that a local brewer can once again thrive in America’s brewing capital.” The rediscovery of microbrewing is often attributed to the consolidation of larger breweries and, consequently, a narrower range of tastes. Homebrewing began to increase to allow drinkers a wider variety of beers.
Homebrewing actually led Herrin to become a microbrewer. “I had the seed of passion for beer — started with homebrewing with my dad,” said Herrin. “I took my dad’s hobby and turned it into a career. I also had a love of beer grown from being dissatisfied with the usual college swill. My brother and I started on the great adventure of discovering craft beer,” said Herrin. “It was all I could see myself doing.”
Being brewers, Herrin and Chivetta have firm ideas about pairing beer with food. Both brewers shared the same philosophy. “Anything beer-wise will generally pair with anything. You have to think of it as wine — the lighter the food flavor, the lighter the beer; the heavier the food, the darker the beer. The acidity of a beer can also play into this as it can in wine,” said Chivetta.
Perhaps the most important thing to know about craft beer is to remember to be daring. Try flavors you wouldn’t necessarily think of. And most of all, enjoy.
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