Schlafly Bottleworks - St. Louis, MO

Date of dining experience: June 21, 2015

Place: Schlafly Bottleworks

Location: 7260 Southwest Ave. in Maplewood, MO (at Manchester)

Appetizer: Smoked Trout Spread ($10.50) - cream cheese, smoked trout, and pita chips. This dish was not quite what I was expecting, but it was still okay. It had a very strong flavor, but the pita chips helped to offset the spread.

Entree: Grilled Rainbow Trout ($17) - Troutdale Farms rainbow trout, griddled red potatoes, hericot vert, and grilled lemon butter. This dish was also not quite what I was expecting, but in the opposite way. It was very bland, almost with no flavor. However, the griddled red potatoes were good.

Beer: Sampler tray (6 brews)
1. Pale Ale (ABV: 4.4% - IBU: 25) --- Pale Ale is a smooth, balanced, copper-colored session beer with mildly spiced flavor and aroma from the East Kent Goldings hops. The bready, light caramel malt compliments the hint of fruitiness contributed by the London Ale yeast.
2. Hefeweizen (ABV: 4.1% - IBU: 16) --- Hefeweizen is a light, unfiltered wheat beer, often served with a wedge of lemon. Made with thirty percent American winter wheat, it is balanced with sweet golden malted barley and Tettnang hops from Oregon that evoke a hint of spice.
3. Kolsch (ABV:4.8% - IBU: 25) --- Kolsch is a classic golden ale that uses a centuries old yeast strain sourced from a famous Kolsch brewer in Koln, Germany. Fermented at 62 degrees, then cold conditioned, it has the delicate fruity aroma of an ale with the crisp, clean finish of a lager.
4. Dry Hopped APA (ABV: 5.9% - IBU: 50) --- Dry Hopped American Pale Ale (APA) is charged with American hops to create a bold, aromatic ale. Assertive hop flavor joins the pine/citrus aroma characteristic of American hops to balance the full body provided by North American malts.
5. Oatmeal Stout (ABV: 5.7% - IBU:40) --- Oatmeal Stout is a super-dark ale. This classic British-style beer features roasted barley and oatmeal, lending aromatic coffee and raisin notes. This medium-bodied stout is built on a base of North American malted barley and oats for smoothness and sweetness.
6. Raspberry Hefeweizen (seasonal) rotating option. --- This is the same as the regular Hefeweizen with pureed raspberries added during the primary fermentation process.

The service was okay and the atmosphere was great, but the overall experience was just okay at best. It was a slight disappointment because I had three other people with me that I had been telling how awesome this place was. I have eaten here once before and it was extremely good that time. This time it was not. I will go back here again to see which one of my experiences was more the norm.

My fear is that Schlafly is becoming so popular that they are creating more of their products more quickly and the quality of everything is suffering because of it.

Try this place out for yourself and let me know what your experience is like. Enjoy!