Semi-New Style Release: Vanilla Porter

Remember when you tasted the Vanilla Porter from one of our cask nights and wished that it was available more often? Well, you're in luck.

Or remember when you would get to Six Row to try the Vanilla Porter cask that everyone on Twitter was raving about, but you found it was gone already and you wished we had more of it? You are also in luck.

Or remember when you tasted the Vanilla Porter and you thought it was just OK, but you really preferred to go with a Double IPA or a Whale? Well, then this doesn't matter that much to you, but the good news is that we still have lots of DIPA and Whale for you!

We can't make EVERYONE happy with a single style release, but we think the large batch of our Vanilla Porter will please a lot of you, so that's exactly what we will be doing on Thursday, November 10th at 4pm.

After much success with adding vanilla beans to casks of our original Porter, we've produced a full tank of this wonderful beer. It's the Porter you already know and love, with a healthy dose of whole vanilla beans added to the fermenter. It's as simple and delicious as that, and starts pouring at 4PM.

This is just one of a number of releases we have coming up soon, so stay tuned here (or our Facebook page or on Twitter or on our homepage). Cheers!

Where There's Smoke, There's Good Beer (in this case)

We had a lot of fun this summer during the national and St. Louis versions of Craft Beer Week as we rolled out some small batches where we took some risks with flavors and methods to enhance our growing style portfolio. Some of them, like the Cream Ale and the Black IPA have returned as full batches for even more people to enjoy.

So, will our new Smoke Ale one day join the ranks of our regular rotation? Time will tell, but for now we'll just be releasing a small batch on this Thursday, September 22nd. We'll tap the batch at 4pm.

We brewed it with peat and apple-wood smoked malt, so it has a nice smoky/malty character. The English noble hops take a bit of a backseat for the malt profile, but our head brewer, Evan, likens it to a smoked English Pale Ale/Amber.

Come let us know what you think of it!

Trippel Your Pleasure, Trippel Your Fun

Rebecca Black likes to sing about Friday, Friday, but when she eventually turns 21 in eight years, she might have to change it to Friday, Friday, Friday after trying our Belgian Trippel.  (That was a long way to go for a weak joke, but it's the end of a busy week.)

The important thing to remember is that we'll be releasing a small batch of our Belgian Trippel style this afternoon at 4pm.  So what exactly is a Trippel?

Many people like the malty goodness of our Belgian Dubbel style, but the funny thing about Belgian Trippels is that it isn't just an intensified Dubbel as the name might suggest.  The Trippel will indeed have a higher ABV than the Dubbel, but it will be more yellow to gold colored and have a more spicy character than the darker malted Dubbel.

Sounds tasty doesn't it?

So in that spirit, today's Hashtag of the Day is #TrippelTasty and the winning tweet today gets a free growler to take home some of your favorite Six Row beer!  Happy Friday, Friday, Friday!

Your Guide to Six Row's St. Louis Craft Beer Week Events

If you follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook, chances are you already know about some of the exciting St. Louis Craft Beer Week events that we've been planning. But we wanted to put together a full list of our plans for your convenience.  We try to be helpful.

Saturday, July 30 - Release large batch of our Cream Ale style

You may remember this from such Craft Beer Weeks as American Craft Beer Week, when we released a small batch. Well, folks seemed to really enjoy it so we are going to kick off St. Louis Craft Beer Week in style by bringing it back. Plus, there is more of it. If you didn't have a chance to taste it before, come on down and give the Cream Ale a try:

Brewed in the same manner as an American Lager or a Kölsch, this ale style is light, dry, and perfect for hot summer weather. Our namesake “six row barley” is the primary influence in this brew, giving it the characteristic “grainy” aromas and light straw color. A long, cool, fermentation, followed by cold aging helps to create the clean, dry finish. A small amount of hops at the end of the boil lends slight herbal and grassy notes to finish off this perfect “lawnmower” beer.

(ABV: 4.70%, Bitterness Units: 17 IBUs, Color: 3.3 SRM, Original Gravity: 10.43 degrees Plato)

Monday, August 1 - Release small batch of Sour Mild style

Our head brewer, Evan, likes to describe the Sour Mild as a bit of a wild card. Imagine a traditional Mild Ale (which is kind of like a Brown Ale) that is a malty and mild "session" beer, but with some added sour and tart notes. We brewed it in the traditional manner with Fuggle hops, but with a sour twist.  We're not entirely sure how sour it will be yet, but we are sure it will be different and interesting.  We only did a small batch, so get it while it lasts.

Tuesday, August 2 - Black IPA Flight

The Black IPA is actually based off the beer we made for the Schlafly Fresh Hops Festival last year. We will be releasing a large batch in the Autumn, but Evan has been debating which hops work best. So we are going to let our customers help us decide.

He's brewed three versions: one with Gelena hops, one with Summit hops, and one with Nugget hops.  We'll serve all three in a flight and you can tell us which one you like best to help us decide which version will be available in the Fall. So come on in and make your choice known!

Wednesday, August 3 - Release small batch of Vienna Lager style

Akin to a German Oktoberfest/Marzen style, the Vienna Lager is a somewhat "unknown" Austrian amber lager style. It will have lots of nice toasted and biscuit-y notes to complement the clean and refreshing lager.  It should also have a hint of noble hop character from the Hallertauer Mittelfrüher hops that we used.

Thursday, August 4 - Cask tapping of Peppercorn DIPA

Our August cask tapping will feature our famous Double IPA infused with peppercorns for a unique take on our classic style.

Friday, August 5 - Release small batch of Belgian Trippel

Many people like the malty goodness of our Belgian Dubbel style, but the funny thing about Belgian Trippels is that it isn't just an intensified Dubbel as the name might suggest.  The Trippel will indeed have a higher ABV than the Dubbel, but it will be more yellow to gold colored and have a more spicy character than the darker malted Dubbel.

Saturday, August 6 - Cask tapping of Bacon Porter

We had such a great response to the Bacon infused Porter back in June that we got some more bacon from the good people at Baumann's and did it again to cap off St. Louis Craft Beer Week in style.

New Styles Available for the Winter

The month of December traditionallly brings colder temperatures and a crazy holiday shopping season.  This year, however, it also brings two new styles to Six Row to help warm us up and relax after circling a packed parking lot for hours.

We are bringing back an old favorite on Friday as our Honey Weizen will be available again.  If you didn't get a chance to try this style the first time around, our brewmaster, Evan, provides this description:

The Honey Weizen is an easy drinking wheat beer made with a generous portion of honey from Missouri Honey in Florissant, Missouri! With a combination of white wheat malt, honey malt, and locally produced honey, the unfiltered Honey Weizen is a great example of a traditional wheat beer with a twist. The sweetness of the honey is balanced by Saaz hops, sure to please the discerning wheat beer lover and craft beer novice alike.


(ABV: 5.2%, Bitterness Units: 17.5 IBUs, Color: 8.0, Original Gravity: 12.30 degrees Plato)

We also have our winter style, the Belgian Dubbel, on tap after debuting at our birthday celebration last weekend.

Inspired by the Trappist beers of Belgium, the Six Row Dubbel is a rich, malty interpretation of the style. Historically, the Dubbel is brewed to have a higher alcohol content (6-8%ABV) compared to other Belgian beers and can be compared to, but is still stronger, than a Brown Ale. Loads of dark fruit, caramel, and malt flavours dominate this early winter warmer. Just enough noble hop bitterness is added to balance out the sweetness and provide a bit of aroma. Serving the Dubbel in a snifter further enhances the aroma.

Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! (Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!)

Winter is Coming - and Bringing a New Style to Six Row

We love the winter holiday season, but this year there is one more reason to look forward to the temperatures dropping as winter sets in: a new style of beer from Six Row.  We are working on our new winter style, a Belgian Dubbel, that should be coming out around the first week of December.

The Belgian Dubbel style has technically been around since the Middle Ages, but as Kegworks Blog points out, the current style began growing in popularity more in the mid-19th century:

Although Belgian Dubbel originated at monasteries in the Middle Ages, we have the Trappist Abbey of Westmalle to thank for providing it to the masses. 1856 was the year it was in its infant stage, when the abbey had been brewing a sweeter, lower alcohol Witbier that served the purpose as a table beer for the monks since 1836. Dubbel was designed as a stronger version of a brown ale, with the first official sale of the beer taking place in 1861, and in 1926 it was "reformulated" again to be even more potent.

The Dubbel gets its name because the style is brewed with double the amount of malt than a typical beer style.  Of course, with the extra malt comes a higher alcohol content, so it is a nice rich, dark amber beer that can be enjoyed while relaxing in front of a fire, or hanging with friends at our Old Plant No. 1 Pub location.

We'll keep you posted when we have a more definite date for its debut.  Cheers!

New Black IPA Style to Debut Tonight!

We are very excited about our newest style that will be debuting tonight at Six Row:

Fresh Hop Black IPA

Otherwise known as a Cascadian Dark Ale, our version is made from 35 pounds of fresh Amarillo Hops flown in from Yakima Valley, Washington.  This is a black version of the IPA made famous by Pacific Northwest brewers with an ABV of 8.0% and is 70 IBU's. 

This beer was specially brewed for the Schlafly Fresh Hop Ale Festival, which takes place Saturday, October 16th from 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm at the Schlafly Bottle Works.

We will offer a sneak peek (and taste) when we tap a cask tonight at 6:00 PM at Six Row on the corner of Forest Park and Spring Avenues.

Cheers!