All Aboard

Tonight I visited Kirkwood Station Brewing, whose website appears to be broken at the moment, so I have to write this entirely from memory and a few chicken-scratched notes.  At least my notes aren't on a used napkin.

While I was tasting beers I listened to the Theology on Tap presentation, sponsored by the Archdiocese of St. Louis' Office of Young Adult Ministry, which is cool if you're into that sort of thing.  There might have been close to one hundred people there, and half of the place was dedicated to this event.  I think it is great that K-Station offers their space to this group every month.  They also have live music and other events, which I would tell you more about if I could access the website.

As is usual for my first time at a brewery, I ordered a flight in order to taste a variety of what K-Station has to offer. 

 Aren't they so pretty all lined up like that?

Blackberry Wheat: From my experience, fruit beers are always hit-or-miss.  I'm not sure this one was either, but I'm leaning towards "miss."  It wasn't awful... just boring.  I was surprised at how light and clear it looked in the glass, though I saw other people with full pints where it looked cloudy and a little darker.  (This is why a flight isn't the best way to rate beer, but since I am looking at the brewery as a whole and not judging the beers individually, I think sampling a variety of beers at once is the way to go.)  My first impression of the beer was that it really didn't taste like much, though as I moved on and went back to it I could get more of the blackberry flavor.  

Brown Ale: Seemed pretty typical for a brown ale.  Distinctive malt flavor with a mild smoky finish.  No surprises, and nothing particularly unique.

English Pale Ale: I prefer an EPA or ESB to an IPA, so I thought this wasn't bad.  It was a very balanced beer, with a caramel malt sweetness typical of the style, though I did not think hop flavor was as strong as it should be for an EPA. 

Scottish Ale: I didn't write much in my notes for this beer, except that it felt over-carbonated.  It was nowhere near as delicious as Square One's Single Malt Scotch Ale.  Overall, I wasn't impressed. 

Belgian Tripel:  I thought this was the most flavorful of all of the beers I tried.  That being said, it had virtually no bitterness, and tripels should have medium to high hop bitterness and a bitter aftertaste.  It was good, but definitely no Trappist beer.

Every one of the beers I had tasted better the second time around, and I'm guessing this is because they are served too cold and over-carbonated, so the flavor comes out much more after they've sat a while.  

I should say something about the food as well.  K-Station has a pretty good menu of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, burgers, and pizzas.  I had the turkey club-- the turkey was essentially flavorless, but the bacon was literally the most perfect bacon slice I have ever had.  I wish I could have had a bacon sandwich with a slice of turkey instead of the other way around. 

I would recommend K-Station beers to people who are used to macro-brewed American lagers, but want to transition into drinking more craft beers.  The most sophisticated of beer snobs will probably not find anything special here.  At the end of the day, though, for me it's really just about drinking local.  I love Kirkwood and the neighborhood around K-Station, and Kirkwood has a lot of neat small local businesses, so make a day out of visiting the area and shop, eat, and drink local. 

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