Schlafly Pumpkin Ale Launch at Cafe Lou Lou, Highlands - 9/7

Hey all. Just wanted to let everyone know that we will be holding the "Official" launch of this year's Schlafly Pumpkin Ale at Cafe Lou Lou in the Highlands tomorrow, Tuesday September 7th. We'll kick things off at 5 o'clock, and the first 36 people to order the beer will get a special Schlafly snifter to keep.
Schlafly Pumpkin Ale is brewed with Pumpkin and Butternut Squash, then spiced with Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Clove. At 8% ABV, this is one big, intense Pumpkin Ale. Its released seasonally every year, and usually doesn't last until Halloween. So, be sure to swing by and make sure you get to try this year's version.
Hope to see lots of you there! Cheers.

Scott Shreffler
Schlafly Beer

I should start my response with two caveats:

1. I'll probably be at this event.
2. I like much of what Schlafly's does. The Helles this summer was a gorgeous offering.

Now my complaint. It's going to be 95 degrees tomorrow. Now, I know Scott and Schlafly's can't control the weather, but I do think they can control when the beer is released. The writer Gregg Easterbrook has a general term for this phenomenon. He calls it "Christmas Creep." Personally, I'd very much wait for a pumpkin so that I can have it in late September through early November, or even October all the way through November.

But I guess there's marketing. And having to be the first. And our general inability to wait patiently for the time to be right. Nope, we'd rather have Christmas stuff in the store in September and be tired of it BEFORE Thanksgiving.

To be fair, I'll probably stop by tomorrow and have one. I'll introduce myself to you Scott so you can 1)remind me I'm a prick and/or 2) punch me in the face. It's just that I'd really like to have one of these in early November, not early September. [Liberal moment: Just admit global warming and push the release back three weeks.]

We need a new category for beers: Almost Seasonals.

Cheers!

I'm going to be hunting this stuff down this week as I recall reading lots of good reviews last year...about the time it was sold out. While it may be 95 tomorrow, I was so happy to see Sept 1 because I could change the candles in the house and the scent tags in the cars to Autumn Wreath and other smells of apples, cinnamon and fall goodness! Though I'd have to agree that "christmas creep" can hold off for a few more months too!

Oktoberfests in July, Pumpkins in September. I don't get it, either, but it seems to be the way the biz does things these days.

Matthew, I can certainly understand your issues with seasonal beers coming out so early. I have to admit that when I saw Halloween stores advertising a few weeks ago, it made me cringe. Usually, Schlafly Pumpkin Ale is released mid-September, giving us a month and a half to sell it, as we tie it in with Halloween (although I think it works very well with Thanksgiving dinner). We don't intend for it be around past Halloween, as we release our Christmas Ale in Mid-November.

However, the demand for this beer has increased drastically over the past couple of years. This means that we are brewing more of it every year. This year, for example, we'll brew almost twice what we brewed last year. So, in order to sell out in the same time period, we need to release it sooner.

Anyway, Matthew. Please do come say Hi tonight if you are able to make it up there. I'll gladly buy you a beer. I'm not really the "punch you in the face" type. Cheers.

Scott Shreffler
Schlafly Beer

I'll be there... unfortunately not until Thursday since I have to work today and tomorrow

Wow! Sounds great. What are these glasses like? Can you post a pic? Sounds yummy. Will try to be there...

Benjamin, I'd be happy to post a picture, but I'm somewhat stupid when it comes to this sort of technology. I have the picture on my iPhone, so if anyone can tell me how to post a pic from there, I certainly will. Cheers...

[Robin Garr]

I have the picture on my iPhone, so if anyone can tell me how to post a pic from there, I certainly will. Cheers...

You can't do it because the iPhone doesn't store photos in a folder system that's compatible with the forum's photo upload, Scott. This makes me crazy, because I'd love to post live photos here from the places I'm eating.

I can help you work around it, though, if you like. Tap the PHOTOS icon (sunflower image) on your iPhone and then tap CAMERA ROLL or wherever you keep your photos. Tap the glass picture, and when it opens, tap the little rectangle with an arrow coming out of it at the lower left, which will open an EMail with the picture in it. Send it to me at ... um, not Hotbytes, but robingarr@gmail.com , and when I get it, I'll load it to the forum for you.

Benjamin, I'd be happy to post a picture, but I'm somewhat stupid when it comes to this sort of technology. I have the picture on my iPhone, so if anyone can tell me how to post a pic from there, I certainly will. Cheers...

You could text the picture to me and I'll post. Because Droid's are cool like that.

Thanks for the help, Robin and David. Robin, I'll send you the pic in just a second. Thanks for posting it. Cheers.

[Robin Garr]

Thanks for the help, Robin and David. Robin, I'll send you the pic in just a second. Thanks for posting it. Cheers.

Here ya go! iPhone to iPhone does the trick.

schlaflyglass.jpg

Thanks for the help, Robin and David. Robin, I'll send you the pic in just a second. Thanks for posting it. Cheers.

Here ya go! iPhone to iPhone does the trick.

schlaflyglass.jpg

Droid would have done it with one click And according to Steve Jobs, the Droid is the phone to buy if you want to watch porn.

[Robin Garr]

Droid would have done it with one click And according to Steve Jobs, the Droid is the phone to buy if you want to watch porn.

I actually thought long and hard about going to Droid before I committed to the iPhone 4, but I ended up being sold by (1) 250,000 applets and (2) having a battery that stays charged all day.

Droid vs iPhone
CNN vs Fox
Left vs Right


I see where this is going. I kid, I kid