UMSL©s B eer BRewing COurses Narrow GauGe BrewiNG Co.’s Zavtrak Provenance: Florissant, Missouri Style: Russian imperial stout (10.1% ABV) PairingS: Tiramisu • Cinnamon French toast with maple syrup
STL
▲ The University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) has figured out a new way to get students excited about chemistry with its CHEM 1021 Beer Brewing: Chemical and Biochemical Principles course. Offered through UMSL’s chemistry and biochemistry departments, the brewing course was introduced in 2014 at the suggestion of Ron Yasbin, dean of arts and sciences, and Joe Meisel, a Ph.D graduate. Originally designed as a science elective for non-science majors, the course is now so popular that it’s wait-listed. At the beginning of the semester, students pair off into
teams of two and select a style of beer to brew. Near the end of the term, each team submits two to three liters of beer to the class, and everyone votes for their favorite. The class then brews that beer together to produce just two bottles for the winning team. The course’s spike in popularity has also resulted in the addition of a quarter-barrel brewing system this fall that resembles what you’d find at a small microbrewery. Students are limited to brewing ales, as many types of lagers require more time to ferment and stricter temperature control. The class also takes field trips
to tour local breweries and learn about the science and brewing systems at each (and those of age can sample beers). A second course, CHEM 1022 Principles of Fermentation Science, has also been added to the curriculum for students who have taken the initial course. The advanced class focuses on the fermentation process and how it impacts styles of beer, wine, spirit, kombucha and even yogurt. –Ettie Berneking 314.516.5311, bulletin.umsl.edu/ coursesofinstruction/chem
More than 200 customers lined up outside Narrow Gauge Brewing Co. last February for its Zavtrak release, each hoping to take home a crowler of the Russian imperial stout flavored with cacao nibs, vanilla beans, coffee, maple syrup and cinnamon. Head brewer Jeff Hardesty says Zavtrak was served at a festival before Narrow Gauge opened its tasting room inside Cugino’s Restaurant in Florissant, Missouri, and customers kept calling to find out when the beer would be released again. This big stout features intensely sweet flavors of brown sugar and lightly toasted marshmallow balanced by a bracing bitterness from coffee from Florissant neighbors Alaska Klondike Coffee Co. Zavtrak is an annual release available on draft and to-go in 32-ounce crowlers while supplies last. –Justin Phelps 314.831.3222, narrowgaugestl.com
PHOTO BY AUGUST JENNEWEIN
Free state BrewiNG Co.’s post roCk pils ils
Lost Signal Brewing Co.
Brewery Emperial
Brewer Tyler Hoke opened Lost Signal Brewing Co. in downtown Springfield, Missouri, in February, inside a space that previously housed a radio station. The brewery has quickly made a riot of noise: In just eight months, Lost Signal has tapped 25 beers. There’s been a boysenberry sour, a blueberry-basil hefeweizen, a Sriracha sour, a cherry-chocolate stout, a habanero-mango Kölsch and the extremely popular smoked pecan porter. Beers change with the season, with 10 to 12 on tap at any time. The brewery, which also serves excellent barbecue, is inching toward producing 300 barrels by the end of the year. Hoke is also gearing up to begin distributing Lost Signal beer on draft to bars and restaurants in the Springfield area. –E.B.
Master brewer Keith Thompson and his wife, Julie, in partnership with restaurateurs Ted and Jackie Habiger and Rich and Shannon Kasyjanski, opened Brewery Emperial in Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District last December. Thompson and head brewer Sterling Holman craft creative interpretations of classics, including Biscuit, part English ESB (extra-special bitter) and part American pale ale. The beer features bread and toast notes, and Thompson says it’s become a fan favorite. Pair a pint with the roasted half-chicken or rainbow trout prepared on a wood-fired grill and enjoy your meal in the tasting room or beer garden. –Pete Dulin
417.869.4755, lostsignalbrewing.com
816.945.9625, breweryemperial.com
PHOTO BY ETTIE BERNEKING
PHOTO BY ANNA PETROW
Provenance: Lawrence, Kansas Style: Czech-style Pilsner (5.8% ABV) PairingS: Buffalo chicken wings • Bratwurst or knockwurst • Barbecue Free State Brewing Co.’s Post Rock Pils unites classic German Pilsner malt, spicy German Saphir hops and the citrusy spice of American Crystal hops to produce a lively lager. (The name refers to the cut limestone rocks used as fence posts by homesteading pioneers.) Chiefly developed by head brewer Geoff Deman, Free State has nailed the Czech-style Pilsner with Post Rock. This crisp, refreshing beer is distinguished by its brilliant gold color, light body, bread and biscuit aromas from the malt and a faint peppery finish. Post Rock Pils is available in six-pack bottles and on draft from June through the middle of August. –P.D. 785.843.4555, freestatebrewing.com
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