(St. Louis, MO) – The Saint Louis Brewery has received label approval for the first in a four-part series.

[11/4 Update: From Brewmaster, Stephen Hale:

“We do indeed plan to have limited distribution for these four beers, primarily because of our batch size (~14 bbls., we’ll brew one for 750 ml. bottles, and one for draft). The distribution details are still being discussed, but I can give you the current estimated release dates for all four beers:

Beer #1 (Imperial Pilsner, as you know) 26 December 2010, but likely only at our two pubs, with further distribution beginning the next day.
Beer #2 sometime in March 2011
Beer #3 21 July 2011
Beer #4 26 December 2011
**all dates, of course, are subject to change

Since things can change so quickly, we can’t quite promise what the distribution of these beers is going to be, both with regard to the territory as well the volume of both bottle and draft available.”]

Founded in 1991 by Tom Schlafly and Dan Kopman, the Saint Louis Brewery plans to celebrate its 20th in style with some new releases. I’m working on seeing if I can extra details around the project but all I’ve been told from the brewery is that the distribution will be “very limited” on all four of the Anniversary beers released next year. Here is what we know about Schlafly 20th Anniversary Vol. 1: Imperial Pilsner…

From the brewery’s Facebook page (posted Oct. 15th): “Dave Miller, original Schlafly Brewmaster and creator of our Pale Ale recipe (and others) returned today to brew with the other two original Schlafly brewers; Dan Kopman (co-founder) and Stephen Hale (Tap Room Brewmaster). The beer (a whopping 9% abv Imperial Pilsner) was created as the first of four unique releases by Schlafly celebrating our 20th Anniversary and will be released in 750ml bottles and on draft in conjunction with our Anniversary Party this December 26th.”

Label copy: “To celebrate 20 years of Schlafly Beer, our brewers past and present offer you this anniversary series of four beers.

Schlafly 20, Volume 1: Imperial Pilsner is designed and brewed by co-founder Dan Kopman and our first brewing team, Dave Miller and Stephen Hale. This Pilsner is a tribute to both original Head Brewer, Dave Miller, author of Continental Pilsner, and to Schlafly Beer’s commitment to brewing classic beer styles.

A wallop of malt and hops in the classic style of the world’s most famous beer, our Imperial Pilsner is meant for savoring, sharing and enjoying anytime.”