As the Grand Pooh-Buds meet to decide the future of that one brewery on the south side, two more are springing up. Tonight (”5 or 5:30,” according to a staffer who answered the phone just before lunch) is the official opening of The Stable (1821 Cherokee Street, 314-771-8500), the new offering from Amalgamated Brewing Co., which also owns The Rotten Apple in Grafton. (We note in passing the importance of actually having your website functional when you open for business. Then again, those who live in virtual glass houses shouldn’t throw stones about website functionality. )

That said, P-D staffers who attended a private party in the building a few weeks ago came back raving about the space, and the beer nuts over at STL Hops are already jumpin’ for joy at the beer list. The Stable will also be offering house-distilled hootch, inlcuding absinthe and moonshine, under the Hytest label. If you get by any time soon, post a comment out here — I won’t be doing a review until they’ve been open for a month. It’s just dinner every night except Monday for now; lunch service is scheduled to start July 8. A belated update to this post — Aaron Whalen, formerly of Bastante and a couple of places in Illinois, is at the stove.

Also now open, but not yet mentioned in this space, is Mattingly Brewing Company (3000 South Jefferson, 314-881-1500), serving “gourmet pizzas and upscale pub fare.” No house-made beers yet, but they’re coming.

Both of these places were megabucks investments and add to a rich south side beer heritage.