What a Great Weekend.

My weekend was awesome! I traveled to nearby St. Louis to visit a group of my friends. Namely Matt and Tasha, who have been living in Costa Rica for the last three months. Check our their site, it's pretty cool.


We all met up at The Tap Room, which boasts Schlafly beer, and was the very first brew pub in Missouri; opening in 1991. There was a group of around 20 of us. We waited for quite a while to get seated. The manager came up to us and said that there was no way he could seat all of us at one table. It was Saturday night and they were packed. They wanted to split us up between three different tables; located in three different spots. We were not happy. We asked our waiter if we could pull some tables together. He said that the other servers would not be happy, because we would be pulling the tables out of their territory and into his and it could result in a fist fight. I asked him if felt pretty good tonight, if he was up for a fight. He laughed and respond, "I was born ready for a fight". I liked this guy already! We got a couple of tables together and the majority of us got to set together. About 5 of us did have to set at another table.

I got to enjoy the Sampler pack of beer, which is 6 5oz servings of Schafly beer. Five of their regular beers and one seasonal. I really enjoyed the Pilsner, which is golden with a medium-body and is brewed with German and Czech hops. I has a very smooth bitterness and lots of aroma. I also enjoyed the Oatmeal Stout, but it was pretty heavy for a warmer summer night. The Summer Kölsch was my favorite. It is very light-colored and very well-balanced. It is just a great refreshing ale!

I had the Fish & Fries, which was a battered Icelandic cod filet fried in a Hefeweizen batter. It was served with fries and tartar sauce. The fish was awesome, fat and juicy, full of flavor.

Sunday afternoon we ventured to the Blumenhof winery, located in Dutzow Missouri. Dutzow is the oldest German settlement in Missouri, established in 1832. Blumenhof first started in 1979 and served the first vintage in 1986. They produce everything from dry whites to sweet reds, and I got to try them all.

Probably their best know wine, the Devil's Den Red, made from Cynthiana grapes fermented and aged in stainless steel, was one of my favorites. It's tastes like port! Very deep and complex. Sweet but not too sweet. Velvety and smoky smooth. It is wonderful, but just a tad to heavy for drinking on a hot July day. I also loved the Femme Osage, made from the Traminette grape. Very floral. I could taste pineapple, citrus, and pear. It was very balanced, very crisp, and very refreshing! Matt and I split a bottle and enjoyed the acoustic guitar performance. We sang along to an AC/DC melody we begged for. It was a good time. Both of these wines were under $13.00. I did not particularly enjoy the Chardonel, which I usually love anywhere I go. That buttery flavor, that makes Chardonel, was just not there.

Overall I really enjoyed Blumenhof Winery. They make very good award wining wines that are very reasonable. Their most expensive bottle is the Vignole, coming in at $14.47.

So I had a great weekend. I got to hang out with many of my old friends, I got to enjoy great beer and good food, and some excellent wines. I cannot think of a much better way to enjoy a weekend.