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Look for this tap handle at select Shakespeare Festival events throughout the season.
We promise: No bad puns like It's Shakesbeer! The beer created for Shakespeare Festival St. Louis in honor of the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death - that's April 23, 2016 - is named Schlafly 1616. It is, of course, from our own St. Louis Brewery's Schlafly, and will be available only at particular locations.
The unfiltered lager is a surprise to the tongue. It looks like a wheat beer. The first word out of my mouth after tasting it was, "citrus". But they're using a hops variety called Mandarina Bavaria, which changes things up. The Mandarina is named for the flavor it produces. I claim no beer expertise, certainly; my palate is far more attuned to wine. But this is good stuff.
It's not sweet, and it's not a fruit beer the way the Belgian lambics are. It's light, but with considerable character. And it stands up well to considerable chilling, just the way Americans want their beer, especially on an early summer evening in Forest Park.
Happily, it's also very good with food. We tried it with a spicy-ish fried chicken, a muffaletta sandwich, and some Asian noodles. The beer stood up to them all. In fact, in its ability to do that, it reminds me of the way Indian beer, which seems rather calm and low-key, can hold its own against the curries of the subcontinent. The versatility should hold picknickers in good stead, whether they're bringing carryout from a drive-thru or pâté, salade Nicoise, and cold roast chicken.
Schlafly 1616 will only be available at many, but not all, Festival events through their season. Several of the SHAKE 38 performances (April 19-23), the mainstage production of A Midsummer Night's Dream (June 3-26) and Shakespeare in the Streets, which this year is in Maplewood (Sept. 16-18) will all have it. Growlers will also be available for purchase at many of the sites, including in the park.
In addition, customers will find special packaging (below) inspired by the work of Shakespeare for 12-packs of Schlafly's Pale Ale, beginning in mid-May throughout their retail outlets and grocery stores. This is not, let us note, the Schlafly 1616. You'll have to work a little harder for that.
