Imagine throwing yourself a birthday party in your own house, using all 70,000 feet of your available home and inviting 30 of your bestest friends and several thousand others just for fun. That is exactly what Urban Chestnut Brewing Company did on Sunday.
This wasn’t just any birthday party my friends. The annual Wolpertinger beer festival is really UCBC giving a loving hug to its hometown and comrades in the craft brewing community. It was a celebration of life, beer and creativity.
On hand for the event, 30 local and regional craft breweries including special guest Deschutes Brewing company and their director of brewery operations, Karl Ockert, who brought with him rare beers from the Deschutes cellars.
For four hours, thousands of smiling, beer loving fans grabbed their souvenir tasting glasses and moved from booth to booth sampling sometimes as many as four beers from varying brewers all across our area. The brewers, the fans, everyone was there to have a good time, learn about new beers, but to also say thank you to the men and women of UCBC who have played an important leadership role in the surging popularity of craft beer.
What we sampled and want to drink again soon
With 30 brewers and more than 100 beers to choose from, one requires a strategy to navigate Wolpertinger, and with some many local favorites to choose from, I decided to try as many regional brews that I don’t have as easy access too as possible.
Stop #1
Stop #2
Stop #3
Stop #4
Stop #5
Stop #6
Okay, for Stop six, I needed to take a break, but the music was good.
Stop #7
By stop 7, even the samples were starting to take their toll. “Donger need food.” While I searched for some nourishment, I ran into this fellow.
I’ve been to beer festivals before, and I’ve heard of “The Pretzel Necklace” before, I just hadn’t seen one. Aside from a good snack with beer, one fellow festival goer informed me they’re better as a ‘palate cleanser’ as you move between varying tastes.
After downing a few solid carbs, it was back to the booths. Standard Brewing Company, Old Bakery Brewing, Excel brewing and we even met some new friends from Hermann.
By the end, when you can’t sip another beer, it’s time to for some parting gifts. ”
To celebrate our 5th Anniversary; we ‘captured’ Wolpertinger 2015, and ‘held’ him for several months in a stainless steel ‘cage’, before determining that this year’s Bavarian Beast is a triple fermented ale (three unique yeast strains) that is spicy & Belgian-like,” said Joe Taylor, Communications Coordinator at Urban Chestnut.. Early tastes of the beast reveal it has a pronounced bourbon essence, and a bit of Burgundy (oak too) in him as well.
If you didn’t get a chance to attend this year’s party, put it on your calendar right now. It really is becoming a St. Louis event that should not be missed.
