September 2026

Top Fermentation by Tom Schlafly

Alert readers (ARs) with good short-term memories will recall that last month's column dealt with my retirement from the Board of Directors of The St. Louis Public Library  after 42 years.  Shortly after that column was published  I was pleased to be honored at a celebration that included a moving tribute by Waller McGuire, the CEO of the Library; and a proclamation from Mayor Cara Spencer that  August 5, 2026  was "Thomas F. Schlafly Day in the City of St. Louis." 

I made a few remarks about how rewarding  my  time on Library Board had been and  concluded by quoting St. Louis native Yogi Berra:  "I want to thank all of you for making this night necessary." 

Thomas F. Schlafly Day in the City of St. Louis

This was not the first time I had accepted a mayoral proclamation from the City of St. Louis.  Some ARs with good long-term memories  may recall that September 17, 1998 was proclaimed "The Saint Louis Brewery,  Inc. Day" in the City.  Because Mayor Clarence Harmon was unavailable, the proclamation was delivered by President of the Board of Aldermen Francis Slay.  The occasion was the official opening of the north bar at The Schlafly Tap Room.

Local TV anchor Julius Hunter began his newscast that evening with the words, “ So, a rabbi, a Catholic priest and an Episcopal priest walked into a bar.  That’s not the first line of a joke.  It’s the lead to our next story.”   Hunter was referring to the blessing of our bar by Rabbi Joe Rosenbloom from Temple Emmanuel, Father Christopher Hanson from The St. Louis Abbey, and Canon Cricket Cooper from Christ Church Cathedral.

This event was such a success that the following year we decided to transform it into our annual Hop In The City Beer Festival.  Two years later, in 2001,  we faced one of the most difficult decisions ever in the history of Schlafly Beer.

All ARs who are millennials or older will recall the trauma of the 9/11 terrorist attacks  25 years ago.  Hop In The City was scheduled to take place four days later, on Saturday, September 15th.  We agonized over whether we should  cancel out of respect for the thousands of victims and their families.  Or was it better not to give in to the forces of evil?

We decided to proceed with our festival in a way that was respectful to the memories of the victims and their families.   After an hour or so I  went to the microphone on the stage to explain our decision to the 2,000 festival goers.  I said that our best response to the terrorists was to be especially  grateful for each other's company and to celebrate the freedoms  that the terrorists would deny us.  I then asked for a moment of silence.

What happened next was truly awesome. Not awesome in the sense of perfunctory praise, as the word is commonly used.  But awesome in that it inspired in me a profound sense of awe unlike anything I’d experienced before or have experienced since. There wasn't a sound from the crowd, not even a whisper.  Pedestrians on nearby sidewalks stood silent. Drivers stopped their cars on Locust Street and waited.   I realized this powerful silence would continue until I did something to end it.  I savored the moment, wanting to preserve the mood as long as I could. 

After a few minutes I gestured to a bagpipe band we had hired for the occasion, which began playing "Amazing Grace."  It was only after the final note of this glorious hymn that people resumed drinking beer and talking to one another.

A quarter century later our September  celebration has moved to Schlafly Bottleworks and has been transformed into Art Outside.

The fair will be held on the weekend of September 11-13 and will feature over 60 local artists with works in a wide array of media such as: acrylic, ceramics, glass, jewelry, metalwork, oil, pastel, pencil, charcoal, pen/ink, photography, stonework, tempera, textile/fiber, watercolor, and woodworking.

The first day of the fair coincides with the 48th birthday of Cara Spencer, the 48th mayor of St. Louis.  Perhaps she'll want to stop by to  listen to some music, sip a beer and give herself a birthday present of some fine local art.

Tom Schlafly 

Chairman