Let me let you in on a little secret, St. Louis. There are more than a few people across the United States that are pretty jealous of us right now. No, it has nothing to do with the St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series and everything to do with the fact that we’ve had four different breweries open up in our town in the past 12 months.

I’m pleased to announce that 4 Hands Brewing Company is almost finished and they’re ready to serve you some beer. 4 Hands owner Kevin Lemp has put out the word that they’ll be opening at 4PM on 11/11/11.

One of the coolest parts about this beer renaissance in STL is that every brewery that’s been open has been unique. They’ve seen what happens to the breweries that came before brewing up the same old Pale Ale, Wheat Beer, and Pilsner (besides there are already some breweries in town that do a great job making these beers.) To stay open now you have to stand out and do something different, which brings us to the list of beers being poured on Friday the 11th:

Reprise Centennial Red

Copia Fresh-Hop Saison

Cast Iron Oatmeal Brown Ale

Bona Fide Imperial Espresso Stout (featuring espresso from locally-owned Goshen Coffee Company)

Excess Rye Wine

All of these initial beers are from their pilot batches, so when the soft opening comes around on Friday the 11th, the doors don’t close until all of the beer is gone. Once the beer is gone, 4 Hands will close their doors and they’ll re-open soon after and stay open for good.

Until the doors open, here are a few photos to get you ready: