4 Hands Brewing’s proprietors don’t mind waiting—and apparently, neither do customers.
This Sunday, January 27, the brewery will release its Madagascar imperial milk stout, aged between nine and 12 months in bourbon barrels. The release has become something of an event in itself, with beer enthusiasts braving the cold to purchase the beer, which typically sells out the same day.
Find the best food in St. Louis
Subscribe to the St. Louis Dining In and Dining Out newsletters to stay up-to-date on the local restaurant and culinary scene.
For those waiting for the doors to open at 11 a.m., the brewery will have heaters on hand. (The forecast is calling for snow showers and 33 degrees.) It will also serve complimentary coffee from Sump Coffee and offer “Spam” and egg sandwiches from Peacemaker Lobster & Crab.
The brewery is rolling out a few new varieties this year. In addition to the original Madagascar)(featuring whole vanilla beans to create notes of vanilla, marshmallow, chocolate, and coffee), the brewery will sell a variety aged in a barrel with toasted coconut and cacao nibs, another aged with a single-origin Sump coffee from El Salvador, and a variety aged in bourbon barrels used to hold maple syrup. The 22-ounce bottles range from $23–$28.
4 Hands will also offer a double-barrel variant—Madagascar aged for eight months, then transferred to a 10-year-old rye whiskey barrel from Vermont distillery WhistlePig—sold in a $110 gift set featuring a 22-ounce bottle of the sought-after stout and a 750-milliliter bottle of the whiskey.
One more special offer: brandy from Copper & Kings American Brandy, which used last year’s Madagascar barrels with the vanilla still to age its American brandy.
The brewery plans to allow each customer to purchase up to four bottles of the original Madagascar, two bottles of the coconut and cacao, two bottles of the Sump collaboration, and one bottle of the maple. (Those numbers are subject to change.)
4 Hands president Kevin Lemp says the Madagascar is the brewery’s most sought-after beer. “I think it’s the time and patience and dedication to the ingredients that makes this a premier beer in our portfolio,” he says.
