Celebrating the 21st Amendment

April 16th, 2008

75 years ago our long national nightmare finally ended. It was now legal again to sip a beer in public. Prohibition in it’s strictest form ended with the passage of the Cullen-Harrison Act and all kinds of Alcohol were legalized on Dec 5, 1933 with the passage of the 21st Amendment. Imagine that - an amendment to the United States Constitution which banned alcohol! We can thank the buzzkills at the Anti-Saloon League and the Women’s Christian Temperance Union for that skidmark on our Nation’s most important document.

To celebrate our nation’s return to sanity I headed over to the Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood for the Repeal of Prohibition Beer Festival 2008 . For $30 you got a tasting glass and all the samples you could handle from five microbreweries - Schlafly, New Albanian Brewing Co., Mad Anthony Brewing Co., Brugge Brasserie/Wabash Valley, and Three Floyds.

Now as a general rule I operate under the assumption that all microbrews taste like a smelly old boot so I came into this event with no expectations. I figured I’d try a few beers and if nothing moved me I’d stick with the old standby - Schlafly Hefeweizen.

Surprisingly this beerfest delivered! For the first time I tried Schlafly’s Coffee Stout which is just as delicious as it sounds. I felt like I should be eating eggs with this beer. It would be perfect with breakfast! The Irish Stout, Oatmeal Stout, Maplewood Ale, and Summer Kolsch were all outstanding. Schlafly really came through on this one. Sadly there was no Pumpkin Ale - my favorite of the Schlafly seasonals. I guess I’ll just have to wait until September. Fall means football and Pumpkin Beer and that always gives me something to look forward to.

The other breweries, however, disappointed as expected. I honestly think NABC’s goal is to give people alcohol poisoning. Their Imperial Pilsner (8%) was just ass. I managed to choke it down but it gave me flashbacks to the night I went round for round with a case of La Fin Du Monde (9%) which I later realized translates to "The End of the World" and from what I remember - which is nothing - the title is well deserved. Not an experience I would want to repeat. Imperial didn’t stand a chance with me. The Thunderfoot (10%) was equally potent and just as gross. I lost feeling in my tongue after trying this one. I think I’ll steer clear of New Albanian the next time I’m in New Albany, IN.

Mad Anthony’s Black Squirrel Stout, Three Floyd’s Rabbid Rabbit, and Brugge’s Tripel de Ripple all disappointed. Maybe next year Schlafly can just showcase it’s own beers - and put some Pumpkin on tap!