Last night at the VIP dinner for the upcoming St. Louis Brewers Heritage Festival (the area’s granddaddy of beer festivals), both St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan got heavy applause for being beer aficionados. Both reiterated their belief that the local beer industry is vital to our area.

(Some folks already know, but I have recently picked up a side gig as the Post-Dispatch’s beer columnist. I’m something of a geek about the suds and as such will be writing regularly about it for the newspaper’s Let’s Eat section, hence why I was at such a shindig.)

At the dinner, which featured five courses plus appetizers paired with local brews. Slay said the smoked white almond “gazpacho” served with Anheuser-Busch’s Budweiser was his pick for best pairing. Carnahan chose the herb-stuffed leg of lamb with Schlafly’s Bière De Garde.

(I’ll vouch for them, both courses with their respective beers were fantastic.)

Slay later told me that he isn’t a huge beer drinker, but he does like the local (local, local, local) hops and barley now and then. I asked him about his favorite non-Missouri beers but he wouldn’t bite: He said he still tries to buy A-B or other St. Louis brands when out of town.

Carnahan, however, admitted to being a little bit of a beer geek. She said while living in the Czech Republic for a spell, she became a fan of the Budějovický Budvar brewery, known most for its Budweiser Budvar, a spicy Czech Pilsner. She also likes the Pilsner Urquell which is more common on this side of the Atlantic.

And of course she likes the a lot of the local brands.