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With three debates down and one to go, we’ve clearly jumped the shark on debate-watching drinking games. So for next Wednesday’s final go-round, maybe you can convince your favorite watering hole to “vote for change” by changing out its normal Schlafly taps for some Baracktoberfest or Palin Ale? Here’s the backstory. When the Schlafly Tap Room hosted a veep-debate gathering the other week, in-house graphic designer Troika Brodsky decided on a whim to “whip up some taps and posters” to coincide with the night’s theme. Thus, for one night only, Schlafly’s Hefeweizen was rechristened Hefe Biden. Pale Ale became Palin Ale. The seasonal Oktoberfest became Baracktoberfest (“with a distinctly hopeful aftertaste,” according to the poster.) And as for McCain? “I was completely stumped on McCain,” Brodsky admits. He finally settled on McCain’s Maverick American Pale Ale. Brodsky said he made sure to use “flattering photos of all four candidates,” and that the point was to do something “fun and funny, not anything offensive and nothing like an endorsement.” But the crowd voted with its liver, quaffing blue beers over red ones three to one. (Hefe Biden won the night, followed by Baracktoberfest, Palin Ale, and McCain APA.) The taps came down afterwards, but one clever Schlafly sales rep decided to take the Obama-Biden taps over to The Royale, renowned as a lefty-leaning tavern. (Full disclosure: I bartend at The Royale, where I first saw the taps myself. And also, I’ve attended lots of parties with former members of the Weather Underground. And also, I never had sexual relations with that woman.) So far, The Royale’s the only spot in St. Louis to carry the taps, but Brodsky says, “If we had another account that was interested, I could whip them up.” Meanwhile, some of the Schlafly folks are looking into doing a small run of t-shirts based on the tap designs, according to Brodsky. If nothing else, a pint sure is a good cure for a constant election-coverage hangover, right? —Rose Martelli
