The Off-Menu Bottle List

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MICHAEL’s SECRET BEER COOLER

Since the Hopleaf opened the new bar side, what we call the South Bar, there was a cooler that housed rare and special bottles of beer.

Visitors to the Hopleaf had to “know” that this list existed; no bartender or server, or even Michael, would tell you about this list unless you asked. When you did ask you were presented with a crinkled, torn and ripped packet of papers detailing what lay inside that elusive cooler.

During Covid times, as we downsized significantly the number of beer bottles we had on our list, we decided to move our beautiful collection of white wines to “Michael’s Secret Beer Cooler.”

But because we love beer at Hopleaf it was hard for us to pass up rare and special offerings! Since things have started to get back to normal we realized we had yet again amassed a collection of limited quantity specialty beers that only had a home in Michael’s Secret Beer Cooler.

Brasserie de BLAUGIES-Belgium
La Vermontoise 
6% 375ml  . . . . .$15

A small family-owned craft brewery creating unfiltered beers, re-fermented in bottles. Stemming from a partnership with mythical Vermont brewery Hill Farmstead, this one is made with malt, spelt and American hops. It stands out with its substantial bitterness and its dry and subtly lemony finish.

Darbyste
5.8% 375ml  . . . . .$15

A variant of the Belgian “Wit” or “Blanche” style, but a little drier and considerably more flavorful, a saison made with wheat and fermented with fig juice. Cloudy and medium amber in color, it offers fruity aromas with lots of tartness and funkiness. Not surprisingly, the aroma smacks of figs, with notes of raisin, pear and red grapes rounding things out. Some brown sugar on the nose as well. On the palate, things get quite interesting.

Saison d’Epeautre 
6% 375ml  . . . . .$15

Made in a unique traditional style, using spelt (epeautre) and barley malt in the mash. Pale gold, with a huge white head, it’s very dry and light in body, with a hint of wheaty tartness and a hearty texture that expresses the character of spelt, a primitive strain of wheat. It has a wonderfully heady, musty, cellar character that is unmistakably Belgian and a lot like champagne. The taste delivers on the promise of the nose.

Brouwerij BOON-Belgium
Oude Geuze Apogee 
7% 750ml  . . . . .$80

Oude Geuze Apogee is a celebration of Frank Boon’s extraordinary achievements. At the same time, this one-off edition celebrates the handover to Jos and Karel Boon. This transition from one generation to another is reflected in the composition of this geuze—because for Apogee, Frank created a special blend with lambic beers from the oldest (N° 79) and from the newest (N° 83) foeder.

The Oude Geuze Apogee was bottled on 29 April 2019.

Oude Geuze a l’Ancienne
—numbered casks—8% 330ml . . . . $28

• Vat 108, brewed on 2/15/2015 and bottled on 12/20/2016 —The very wine-like accents of this Oude Gueuze combine with a distinctive ‘old beer’ character, which provides full-bodied & robust flavor, with unmistakable hints of volatile acidity that never overwhelm.

LINDEMANS-Belgium

Oude Gueuze Cuvée René (2021)
6% 3L  . . . . . .$200

An exclusive release and one of the jewels of the brewery. With its golden color, its sparkle and its beautiful sherry aromas, this is the queen of gueuzes. This old gueuze is a blend of old and young lambic matured in large foudres.  Slightly carbonated and tart, perfect to share for a special occasion.

Ginger Gueuze (2017)
6% 750mL  . . . . . .$30

Based on a blend of 12-month-old Lambic with two-to three-year old lambic, fermented in oak casks with fresh ginger. Bottled conditioned it has a golden color and combines the sourness of the lambic with the subtle flavors of fresh ginger.

ALVINNE-Belgium

Wild West Grape
6% 500mL  . . . . . .$25

Golden blonde ale brewed with their own hops and fermented with Morpheus house yeast. Aged in wooden Bordeaux barrels for eight months. Then fermented on grapes for five months.

Wild West Plum
6% 500mL  . . . . . .$25

Flemish Sour Ale aged in French Pomero (Small Bordeaux Region) l barrels with French plums. Fermented with in-house wild yeast strain ‘Morpheus’. Barrel aged version of Omega.

Phi Φ
10% 11.2oz  . . . . .$12

A mixed fermentation blond Flemish sour, skillfully balanced between sweet and sour due to the addition of 40% of wheat to the grain bill and dried hop flowers. Matures in stainless steel tanks where the house Morpheus yeast imparts a refreshing sourness and moderate funkiness.

Brouwerij GIRARDIN-Belgium
Gueuze Limited Edition (2021)
5% 3L  . . . . .$250

Limited edition release to commemorate Paul Girardin’s 60th birthday, only 670 bottles made. A blend of 100% 3 year lambics. Very special beer, to be shared for a special time.

3 FONTEINEN-Belgium

Pruim Belle De Louvain (season 21|22) Blend No. 17
7.7% 750mL . . . . . $55

For this Pruim, they used the old plum variety Belle De Louvain, hand-picked in Limburg, Belgium.

Maceration took almost four months and the lambics for both maceration and blending originate from six different barrels and thirteen different brews, of which the oldest brewed end of October 2018. The weighted average age of this fruit blend is almost 22 months.

The final proportion of fruit used is 385 grams of plums per liter of Pruim. Almost half of the cereals used originate from the Pajottenland.

Frambozenlambik Oogst (season 19|20) Blend No. 33
6.8% 375mL . . . . . .$40

For this Frambozenlambik, they macerated raspberries from Ferme Framboos for four months on jonge lambik at a fruit intensity of 382 grams of raspberries per liter of lambik. Lighter in color due to the applied maceration technique, the raspberry characteristics in aroma and taste of this Frambozenlambik present themselves while opening up. They let this Frambozenlambik rest for almost 18 months before releasing it.

Oude Kriek Intens Rood (season 19|20) Blend No. 79 PX
7.1% 750mL . . . . .$50

While looking for old sherry barrels, they don’t get lucky all the time. While they will be sourcing barrels directly from bodegas to assure provenance and quality, they had a batch of Pedro Ximenez (PX) barrels that was on the peated side (albeit subdued). As a result, they decided not to use them for Zenne y Frontera, but to blend them with other (fruit) lambikken into geuze and fruit blends.

This is the first and only of such blends to be released. Sour cherries were macerated partly on young peated lambik and partly on two-year old straight lambik in a stainless steel tank. Blended with young and three-year old lambik. 55% of the blend is old lambik and the final fruit intensity is 567 grams of sour cherries per liter.

Oude Kriek Intens Rood (season 19|20) Blend No. 77
6.8% 375mL . . . . .$25

This specific Oude Kriek Intens Rood (Intense Red) has macerated for almost 10 months on five different lambics from two barrels. Another four different lambics from another two barrels were used in the blending process. The final fruit intensity was about 442 grams of sour cherries per liter.

Hommage (season 19/20) Blend No. 72
6.3% 375mL . . . . . $40

A slow and all-natural maceration of hand-picked whole raspberries and sour cherries on traditional lambik. They blended a kriekenlambik and a frambozenlambik in a forty-sixty proportion. The average maceration time was five months, with jonge (young lambik) and two-year old lambik from seven barrels and eleven brews. This bottle aged for a year before its release. Unfiltered. Unpasteurised.

Nocturne (season 21/22) Blend No. 47
8% 750 mL . . . . . $40

A spontaneously fermented full malt beer. Not your typical lambik beer, but their take on a Vlaams Oud Bruin. The beer was brewed with five different barley malts, from pilsner malt to dark roasted malts, and no wheat whatsoever.

This batch was brewed in April 2019 with more lighter malt, and put on oak barrels for three years before they blended it with a small portion of freshly brewed Nocturne. The average age of this beer upon bottling is 33 months.

Nocturne (season 21|22) Blend No. 48
7% 750mL . . . . . $40

A spontaneously fermented full malt beer. Not your typical lambik beer, but their take on a Vlaams Oud Bruin. The beer was brewed with five different barley malts, from pilsner malt, dark roasted malts, and no wheat whatsoever.

This batch was brewed in March 2018 with more dark chocolate malt, and put on barrels for four years before they blended it with a small portion of freshly brewed Nocturne. The average age of this beer upon bottling is 45 months.

Oude Geuze (season 18/19) No. 50
7.2% 1500mL . . . . . $150

A blend of one-, two-, and three-year old lambikken. No two bottles are alike, as there are multiple variables in the blending process. A high variety of barrels, differences in aged lambik proportions. When cellared properly these beers can be aged for decades.

Gueuzerie TILQUIN-Belgium
Stout Rullquin (2018/2019)
7% 750mL . . . . .$42

Obtained from a blending of 7/8 of Rulles Brune (Stout de Gaume) and 1/8 of a blend of 1 year old lambics, which has matured for 8 months on oak barrels. Unfiltered and unpasteurized, this beer is refermented for 6 months in the bottle.

Oude Mirabelle à l’Ancienne (2020/2021)
7% 750mL . . . . .$50

During this season 20|21, a new fruit beer was blended, made from the fermentation of 240 grams of Mirabelle plums per liter of lambic.

Oude Pinot Gris à l’Ancienne (2020/2021)
8.4% 750mL . . . . .$50

Beer of spontaneous fermentation, made from the fermentation of 280 grams of Pinot Gris grapes per liter of lambic. Unfiltered and unpasteurized, this beer is re-fermented in the bottle.

Oude Sureau à l’Ancienne (2020/2021)
6.5% 750mL  . . . . . $46

Beer of spontaneous fermentation, made from the fermentation of 125 grams of elderberries per liter of lambic. Unfiltered unpasteurized, this beer is re-fermented in the bottle.

RODENBACH-Belgium
Vintage (2018)    7% 750mL . . . . . .$60

A unique, unblended Flanders red-brown ale beer that is matured in oak casks for 2 years. Only the best casks are used, after which the beer is subjected to a strict sampling selection. Rodenbach Vintage has a uniquely balanced acidic taste and a long, fresh and fruity aftertaste. A beautiful beer made specially by brewmaster Rudi Ghequire.

Brasserie CANTILLON-Belgium
Sang Bleu
6% 750ml  . . . . .$80

Lambic blend with blue honeysuckle, or haskap, berries.

For the past two years, we’ve been making a fruited blend with Camerise berries in small quantities. These berries are slightly sweet with a beautiful acidity.

We didn’t have to look very far for an its new name… a blue fruit that makes a blood-red beer: Sang Bleu. Our friend Ammo has outdone himself once again, creating a superb new label to go with its new name. Bottled June 26, 2025.

Fou’Foune
6% 750ml  . . . . .$85

Blend of lambics aged 18 to 20 months and of Bergeron apricots.

Very fragrant gourmet beer which perfectly brings across the flavors of Bergeron apricots. Bottled June 8, 2025.

Classic Gueuze
5.5% 750ml  . . . . .$70

A blend of one, two and three year-old lambics. It is fermented only with wild airborne yeasts from the Senne Valley in Brussels and is aged in centuries-old oak casks. Bottled February 10, 2025.

DE KONINGSHOEVEN-Netherlands
La Trappe Quadrupel
10% 1.5L  . . . . .$80

First Quadrupel ever made, great to share with friends. Warm, amber colored, heart-warming and intense taste is malty with sweet tones of dates and caramel.

La Trappe Tripel
8% 750mL . . . . .$35

A classic Trappist ale with floral, fruity aromas of peach and apricot. It has a candy-sweet and light malty character, the aftertaste is bitter and slightly dry.

SIDE PROJECT BREWING St. Louis, MO
With Tarpey
15% 375mL  . . . . . $50

A special collaboration blend created with their longtime friend Matt Tarpey of The Veil Brewing Co. This beer is a blend of 57.1% Barrel Aged Imperial Stout and 42.9% Barrel Aged Barleywine, featuring threads from barrels of MJK, OWK, Vibes, and Horchata that rested in oak for 15 to 26 months. After blending, the beer was conditioned on 20lbs of Uganda, Comoros, and Madagascar vanilla beans, highlighting their shared love for rich, complex vanilla character.

PERENNIAL ARTISAN ALES St. Louis, MO
Barrel-Aged Abraxas (2025)
12.8% 750mL  . . . . . $65

Barrel-aged imperial stout with ancho chili peppers, cacao nibs, vanilla beans, and cinnamon sticks. Aged 26-31 months in a combination of Willet Bourbon, Willet Wheated Bourbon, Reclamation Rye, Willet Rye and Wild Turkey Rare Breed. *Contains Lactose

TRILLIUM Canton, MA
Barrel-Aged Feed Your Soul
5.5% 500mL. . . . . $40

Collab with Weathered Souls Brewing. Featuring barley smoked on a Primitive Pit smoker over New England maple and oak. Rich baker’s chocolate, caramelized brown sugar, sticky molasses, and freshly-ground coffee with an underlying complementary smoke profile.

BELL’S BREWERY Kalamazoo, MI
Black Note (2023)
11.1% 12oz  . . . . . $14

Blends the complex aromatics of Expedition Stout with the velvety smooth texture of Double Cream Stout, each aged in freshly retired oak bourbon barrels for months.