St. Louis - Home of American Brewing

St. Louis Brew Pubs

A new crop of local breweries came to light near the end of the 20th century, as the increasing demand for craft beers and microbrews took flight. Just as it was in the 1800s, a number of enterprising beer-lovers began brewing and selling a variety of beers, and a new age of brewing was born. Beer aficionados can sip and sample their way through St. Louis' new age of microbrews and specialty beers at a number of area locales.

The St. Louis Brewery & Tap Room (2100 Locust Street, 314-241-2337, www.schlafly.com) began operations in 1991 at the corner of 21st and Locust streets on the western edge of downtown. The first new brewery in more than 50 years started making and selling a line of Schlafly beers named after its founder, Tom Schlafly. What began as a simple brewpub with limited distribution to a few local restaurants has continued to grow and evolve into a popular local beer-maker that now features a second brewery, Schlafly Bottleworks (7260 Southwest Avenue, 314-241-2337, www.schlafly.com) in nearby Maplewood, and a distribution network that includes more than 1,200 restaurants, bars, grocery and convenience stores across the region.

The award-winning specialty beers at Morgan Street Brewery (721 North Second Street, 314-231-9970, www.morganstreetbrewery.com) are handcrafted on-site to produce their own distinctive colors and flavors. The brewing equipment (specially designed for the building) produces many styles, such as the Honey Wheat and Steam Lager that are available year around. Some beers will be on tap from time to time to compliment the changing St. Louis seasons. MSB features a number of specialty brews, including Honey Wheat, Morgan Street Vienna, Golden Pilsner, Dark Wheat, Red Lager, Oatmeal Stout, Irish Stout, Cobblestone Steam Lager, and seasonal beers including Maibock, Altbier, Doppelbock, Oktoberfest, Winter Lager, and Krystäl. New Morgan Street Signature Beers pop up throughout the year, and there's a "Brewski Sampler" available that features four different styles.

Additional brewpubs in the area include Lafayette Square's Square One Brewery (1727 Park Avenue, 314-231-ALES, www.squareonebrewery), which serves up Light Squared, Pilsner, Bavarian Weizen, Grand Cru, Front Range, Saison, Park Ave. Pale Ale, I.P.A., Anniversary Ale, Single Malt Scotch Ale, Imperial Stout, Barley Wine, Cask Park Ave. Pale Ale, and Belgian Wit on tap. The Wm. D. Alandale Brewing Company (105 East Jefferson, Kirkwood, MO; 314-966-BREW; www.alandalebrewing.com) offers a menu of Global/Fusion cuisine, a diverse lineup of craft-brewed beers and an ever-changing variety of seasonal and experimental brews. Located in Kirkwood, the "Queen of the Suburbs," Alandales serves up a Vienna Lager, Platinum Blonde Lager, American IPA, Amber Ale, American Wheat Ale, Pilsner, Oatmeal Stout, and a Dopplebock Lager.

Trailhead Brewing Company (921 South Riverside Drive, St. Charles, MO; 636-946-2739, www.trailheadbrewing.com) offers a variety of pilsners, stouts and ales, all of which are made on-site. Located in the middle of Missouri Wine Country, the Augusta Brewing Company & Beer Garden (5521 Water Street, 636-482-BEER; www.augustabrewing.com) is an attractive stop along the KATY Trail bike path in Augusta, Missouri. The brewery offers a number of specialty beers, including the Augusta Blonde Ale, Tannhauser, Hyde Park Stout, Augusta Hefewizen, Scotch Ale, and Barley Wine – considered the Port Wine of the brewing world. With Augusta's strong German heritage, there always been a love of great beers. Our hope is to revive this tradition by serving our own Beer in this unique setting.

Other popular local brews come from the O'Fallon Brewery (26 West Industrial Drive, O'Fallon, MO; 636-474-BEER, www.ofallonbrewery.com), a small manufacturing-only brewery located in St. Charles County, just northwest of St. Louis. Founded in January 2000, the facility brews approximately 1,850 barrels of beer annually, or about 25,000 cases. The newest kid on the beer block has already established itself as a player in the national beer market, as O'Fallon Unfiltered Wheat took the Bronze Medal in 2005, and O'Fallon Smoked Porter won a Gold Medal in 2004 at the Great American Beer Festival. In addition to brewing three "everyday" beers - O'Fallon Gold, O'Fallon Wheat, and O'Fallon Smoked Porter, the brewer offers O'Fallon 5-Day IPA, available on draught only, and a seasonal beer for each of the four major seasons: O'Fallon Cherry Chocolate for winter, O'Fallon Blackberry Scottish for Spring, O'Fallon Wheach (peach-wheat) for summer, and O'Fallon Pumpkin Beer for the fall. O'Fallon's brews are sold locally through 20 retailers in Missouri and to distributors in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Pub Crawl

Downtown

The Dubliner (1025 Washington Avenue) is an authentic European gastropub that serves up equally authentic Irish whiskies, fine wines and an assortment of brews. In addition to the obligatory Guinness, Harp and Smithwick's, draft beers include Dubliner's Amber Ale, Delirium, Stella Artois, Magners Cider, and Blue Moon. The "Taste of Dublin" menu features concoctions such as the Snakebite (Harp and Cider), Black and a Dash (Guinness and Black Currant), Black Velvet (Guinness and Champagne), and the Poor Man's Black Velvet (Guinness and Cider).

The Tin Can Tavern (1909 Locust Street), along with the maiden location in South City (3157 Morganford Road) has something for beer drinkers of every stripe – and price range. From beers that cost less than $2 (Stroh's, Stag, Steel 211, Olympia, Colt 45, etc.) to imports such as Newcastle, Boddingtons, Bitburger, Sapporo, Beamish Stout, Bavaria and Young's Chocolate Stout, there's a brew or two to quaff one's thirst. Both locales also have a collection of local and regional microbrews available on draught, including Schlafly, Boulevard, O'Fallon 5 Day IPA, and Tin Can Lager.

Soulard

John D. McGurks (1200 Russell)
This authentic Irish bar offers beer lovers a variety of options, including McEwan's Scotch Ale
Lindeman's Framboise, Duvel Belhaven Wee Heavy, Youngs Dirty Dick's, Lemp Lager, Pilsner Urquell, Paulaner Munich Lager, Woodchuck Cider, and Wexford Irish Cream Ale.

Llywelyn's Pub
A Celtic pub offering a selection of brews ranging from domestic draught to premium imports and international favorites such as Smithwicks, Tennants, Fullers ESB, Warsteiner, Chimay, and Felinfoel Double Dragon. There are three locations, including Soulard (1732 Ninth Street), Webster Groves (17 Moody), and the Central West End (4747 McPherson Avenue).

The Loop

Cicero's Restaurant & Entertainment Plex (6691 Delmar Boulevard) offers one of the area's largest – if not the largest – selection of bottled and draught beer, including more than 80 domestics and over 100 imports. Countries represented on Cicero's "beers of the world map" range from the usual suspects – Ireland, Germany, Scotland and England to faraway lands such as Greece, Slovakia, China, and Lithuania. The pub also hosts weekly Beer School classes every Wednesday night.

Blueberry Hill (6504 Delmar Boulevard) is a friendly neighborhood tavern with 60 bottled beers and 18 draught taps, along with a wide selection of microbrews and imports from around the world. Plus, the bar offers special "guest beers" each week.

Brandt's Café (6525 Delmar Boulevard)
Brandt's has 75 international brews, including the "Brandt's Belgian Beer Café," featuring 25 of the "Best Belgian Beers." Other unique brands include Coopers Vintage Australian Ale, Xingu Brazilian Black Beer, and Austria's Samichlaus – the world's strongest lager at 14 percent alcohol by volume.

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