Just a Year Old, More Props for Urban Chestnut.

Yesterday was the first birthday of Urban Chestnut in St. Louis. I drank a half-dozen or so of their beers last summer, a couple of them repeatedly. What I now tell people who say they're visiting St. Louis: Go to Urban Chestnut and drink the Zwickel.

Coincidentally, we must assume, yesterday was also the day that Ratebeer announced its annual Best awards, based on individual scores by, effectively, thousands of active raters around the world. Say what you will about their biases, but these are folks who have tasted a lot of beers from a lot of places. We can criticize the herd and its findings -- and they make a nice big target, don't they? -- but these awards are nothing if not democratic and educational.

No. 5 on the list of top new breweries in the world: Urban Chestnut. And easily making the Top 50 Best Brewpubs in the world: Urban Chestnut.

This says good things about the brewery, obviously, but also about Ratebeer. Urban Chestnut is succeeding there without the beers that stereotypically succeed there: no barrel-aged imperial stouts, yet, made from coffee passed through the intestines of Indonesian weasels (although who knows what the future holds?). Its top-rated beer is Hopfen, a heavy-on-the-Hallertauer "Bavarian IPA" that weighs in around 6% strength. The Winged Nut chestnut ale (pictured) gets high marks, but so does the hoppy Half Crown session ale (4%).

More stuff from the area: I wrote the bit in the latest Draft magazine about how St. Louis is one of the spots "Where to Drink Next." It'll likely show up on the website one of these days soon, but really shouldn't you go and subscribe? Also mentioned, besides Urban Chestnut (and I would've liked to include more): Iron Barley, Civil Life, Schlafly, the Bridge and 4 Hands. I had nothing to do with this, but across from the article is a full-page Urban Chestnut ad that says, "We're proud to be part of the St. Louis craft brewing community."

For more on that community, see my post on The Spirit of St. Louis and my article in the New York Times. Not bad for a couple of weeks "work" last summer.

Finally, a pleasant surprise: Beer Advocate has an article in its latest issue about Augusta Brewing, about 40 minutes drive southwest of St. Louis. I might have mentioned before, I pay taxes and vote in Franklin County, where Augusta is setting up its new brewhouse in the old Droege's grocery store. The store was there in Washington, Mo., since 1896, having moved from a nearby spot in 1867. I shopped there a few times, with my wife and her family. Looking forward to drinking there too.

As Seen on TV.

One of my favorite shows on TV is Diners, Drive-Ins and Drives. When we're in the States and not hunting beer joints, Missus Pilgrim and I have been known to mine the DDD archives for local eateries. So it was a rare joy to find a DDD spot that also happens to have a serious beer list.

Iron Barley is in South St. Louis, less than 10 minutes drive from downtown when traffic is light. Rather than give you the whole spiel, I'll send you to the DDD segment, and then the Man vs. Food segment... both of which fail to mention the beer.

I copied Adam Richman and went for the Monte Christo double dog. Chased it with a Centennial Rye from the local Six Row Brewing. Basically: a grainy, peppery rye pale with lemony-citrus notes from Centennial hops. A summery beer that is also a foodie beer. Comfort food and comfort drink, together as they were meant to be.

Lots more tips and tales in an upcoming article. Stay tuned, true believers.

Tomorrow: Off to the 25th Great Taste of the Midwest in Madison. My goal: to find out what, if anything, sets the region's beers apart from the rest of the country and the rest of the world. I've asked several people already and have yet to hear the same answer twice. Do you have any thoughts?