Nana Baba Brewskies

Nana Baba came all the way to Kirkland to visit.

On my recent trip to St. Louis whilst collecting pumpkin beers I didn't have time to go to 4Hands Brewing. Nana Baba were kind enough to stop by and pick up a few cans for me on their way to the airport. This is going to be the best October evarrr!

"4 Hands Brewing Co. is a seasonal limited-release imperial pumpkin stout brewed in St. Louis, Missouri, featuring an ABV of 8.5%. It is brewed with pumpkin, vanilla, and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, often created in collaboration with Schnucks Markets."

Back to St. Louis for Christmas

We were all packed and ready to fly back to St. Louis for some Christmas festivities.

I decided that I couldn't part with my ham leg so soon after our first kiss. I put some tape on the box and just like that it was luggage. Magic.

Covid is still wreaking havoc on the NHL's schedule, with lots of cancellations.

I was reminded that Missouri is full of dingdongs when I arrived at Lambert Airport and saw how many people weren't wearing their masks.

Speaking of unthinking slabs of meat, hammy the leg made the journey across the continent safely. Gods be good!

We stopped for an awesome and unhealthy dinner at Chuck-A-Burger.

They had all the food groups.

We rented an Airbnb above Southwest Diner that looked fun. They have really cool decor in there, and it was big enough to host our Thanksgiving gathering.

This bedroom looked badass with that lightup star map thing on the wall.

I made an appearance at one of my favorite breweries in town: 4 Hands.

Back to Strange Loop

These days it seems that other than holidays, the Strange Loop tech conference I go to every year seems to be the only occasion with the gravity to pull me back to St. Louis. It's mostly an excuse to go back and see my friends and family though so I think it's all good in the end.

Being an eternal cheapskate, I volunteer at the conference every year in exchange for free entry. The opening party event type thing is held at St. Louis' quirky City Museum every year. I think the weird randomness of the conference and the museum match up pretty nicely.

This loose Latin translation of "always wear underwear" was actually an extra credit question on a test in theology class one time in highschool. Oh, Catholic school. Where would I be without you?

When Seago and I finished handing out people's conference credentials we hit the museum's bar. In the early days beer used to be provided but it seems they've cheaped out and now it's a cash bar. Sad!

4 Hands' City Museum Pilsner is the correct beer to order when on the premises.

I can't get enough of Union Station's Grand Hall Light Show.

I'm not going to lie, putting a cool sounding or recognizable company name on my conference badge in the hope I'll see someone I used to know is a non-zero percent of the reason I like attending.

STL Beer Garden Hopping

We were now both vaccinated but only the one shot and so were still cautious about venturing outside. In the end though, I'm a selfless man of the people and so I felt compelled to venture forth and patronize local businesses in my community. 

It was a super nice sunny day so we hit the patio at 4 Hands Brewing Co.

Urban Chestnut's Midtown Brewery & Biergarten is situated in an old 1920's garage.

I'm sort of like a 1980's cathedral.

Earthbound is my favorite brewery in St. Louis. They are scrappy and are always experimenting with weird stuff.

I had them pack me a lunch box.

Recess Duty

There's a new bar in town that is nestled in a scenic... warehouse in a part of town that I've never been to before. This is either going to be awesome or an ambush.

The deal with Recess is you pay maybe $10 to get in then you have unlimited time to play their games.

Mmmm Nut Butt. There was some 4 Hands Absence of Light action to be had.

Got some bocce done.

I'd never played airbowling before.

It's pretty much bowling with a football.

These two started a new Instagram so they needed a bunch of cheeseball pictures of themselves.

Fun times. I would come back.