Girls Pint Out has chapters throughout the United States. Each chapter is as diverse as the ladies that run it. To celebrate our exceptional chapters and their diversity, Girls Pint Out is starting a series of blog posts that highlight each state’s unique craft beer culture. Missouri is the second in this series.
St. Louis Beer Guide
By: AJ Meyer, St. Louis Girls Pint Out
Greetings from beautiful Saint Louis, Missouri! We’re going to skip the history lesson (hopefully, if you get a chance to visit, you’ll learn plenty on brewery tours!) and go straight to the good stuff: where to go for good, local beer while you’re here. To create an all-encompassing guide would be more like a novel, not a blog post, so here we’re going to focus on which breweries and bars we recommend visiting that are within a ten-mile radius of downtown.
Depending on where you’re staying, public transportation via Metro may be an option; otherwise, we recommend drinking responsibly and/or cabbing it if you’ll be making multiple stops.
Anheuser-Busch: 12th at Lynch (Soulard, 63118)
Whether you’re a fan of “big beer” or not, the tour at the original A-B brewery in Saint Louis is a one-of-a-kind experience and is a great history lesson of brewing in Saint Louis. If nothing else, the scale at which they produce the beer is something that can definitely be appreciated. Visit the new biergarten after your free tour and try a Faust, a malty, caramel 5.5% ABV lager, currently only available at the brewery.
Schlafly Tap Room: 2100 Locust Street (Midtown, 63103)
The Tap Room was the first post-prohibition brewpub to open its doors in Missouri, a mere 23 years ago in 1991. This is their original location, which still houses the brewing for their more experimental batches, which you can also find rotating on draft at the bar. The Tap Room also houses a restaurant with great pub food and features free live music in the bar area some weekend nights. For a current seasonal flavor, try their Pumpkin Ale, boasting a delicious, spicy 8% ABV, or a Lewis Osterweis & Sons Hard Ginger Beer at a more sessionable 4.4% ABV.
Schlafly Bottleworks: 7260 Southwest Avenue (Maplewood, 63143)
Bottleworks is Schlafly’s second location which houses their primary production and bottling facility, a restaurant, a fantastic patio, and free tours on weekends. For a chance to sample their everyday offerings and standard seasonals, stop by for a taste. We recommend trying their classic Pale Ale (4.4% ABV), as fresh as it can get at the source.
Urban Chestnut Brewing Company (UCBC): 3229 Washington Avenue (Midtown, 63103) and 4465 Manchester Avenue (The Grove, 63110)
Urban Chestnut Midtown is one of four breweries that opened in the Saint Louis craft explosion of 2011. This location is the original and features a traditional-as-can-be biergarten, which suits their tendency toward German-style brews. UCBC also opened a second location this year, which features expanded brewing and packaging capacity, as well as an impressive indoor bierhall. Visit either location for their current seasonal offerings, Ku’Damm, a tart, 4.5% ABV Berliner weisse, and Half Crown, a 4% ABV session IPA. If you get the chance, stop by their Midtown location on September 20th or 21st; UCBC partners with Schlafly to host a crafty Oktoberfest (traditionally held in September, not October!) in their biergarten.
4 Hands Brewing Company: 1220 S. 8th Street (Soulard, 63104)
Another of the four breweries that opened in 2011 is 4 Hands, which features four standard year-round offerings, as well as seasonals and an occasional barrel-aged release. In addition to their usuals, check out Contact High, a 5% ABV hoppy wheat, and Resurrection IPA, 6.5% ABV, both now available in cans. Watch for their barrel-aged Bona Fide imperial coffee stout (9% ABV), and Morning Glory (5.5% ABV), which is a fall seasonal brewed with sweet potatoes and vanilla.
Perennial Artisan Ales: 5125 Michigan Avenue (Carondelet, 63111 – entrance is at rear of building)
Perennial is your destination if you seek small-batch, Belgian-style beers. Also opened in 2011, Perennial has quickly established itself as a national contender in quality Belgian. (They just brewed in collaboration with New Belgium in Colorado! Look for the upcoming Salted Belgian Caramel Stout in the Lips of Faith bomber series.) As far as everyday offerings, check out Saison De Lis, a 5% ABV saison brewed with chamomile, Hommelbier, a 5.9% dry-hopped pale ale with a great citrus flavor, or Aria, a 7.3% ABV Belgian ale brewed with brettanomyces. Perennial is also the current home of Side Project Brewing, the barrel-aged brainchild of Perennial’s head brewer, Cory King. If you’re lucky enough to arrive on a release day, be prepared to wait in line for bottles – we promise, they’re well worth it!
Civil Life Brewing Company: 3714 Holt Avenue (Tower Grove South, 63116)
Civil Life is the fourth of the 2011 breweries and focuses on sessionable, English-style brews. Their brewery atmosphere is cozy and friendly; check out their picnic table patio outside! (Note that they are cash only, but there is an ATM inside.) As they do not currently package, the best place to try their goods is at the brewery. Check out the English Pale Ale (previously known as British Bitter, 4.2% ABV) and the outstanding American Brown (4.8% ABV).
Also worthy of mention, especially if time does not allow for multiple brewery stops, are the four locations of International Tap House – 1711 South 9th Street (Soulard, 63104), 16 South Euclid Avenue (Central West End, 63108), and further west, 161 Long Road (Chesterfield, 63005), and 308 9th Street (Columbia, 65201). iTap is a great local chain known for having hundreds of beers at each location. (Note that they do not offer food, but do allow patrons to order in from local restaurants.)
Bottle shop recommendations include The Wine and Cheese Place and Craft Beer Cellar for one- or two-stop shopping, as well as most Schnucks locations (a local chain market which is also generally known for having a great craft beer selection). Look for beers from the aforementioned Schlafly, UCBC, 4 Hands, and Perennial, as well as 2nd Shift Brewing (New Haven, MO) and O’Fallon Brewery (O’Fallon, MO), local breweries that are a little bit further from the city.
If time allows for more stops in STL check out:
Six Row Brewing Co., Saint Louis, MO (brewpub, and look for package and draft in STL)
Morgan Street Brewery, Saint Louis, MO (brewpub, and look for package and draft in STL)
Heavy Riff Brewing Company, Saint Louis, MO (brewpub only)
Square One Brewery, Saint Louis, MO (brewpub only)
Kansas City Beer Guide
By: Sarah Legg, Kansas City Girls Pint Out
Despite being in the one of the biggest beer states (Anheiser-Busch, anyone?) Kansas City, Missouri (yes, Missouri, not Kansas) has a fairly young beer scene. The downtown through Waldo circuit offers diverse beer options including a major brewery, nano-brewery, brewpub, bottle shop and more. For the sake of this post, we will call it all KCMO, although there are many other parts to the city, including a Kansas side with, let’s just say, ‘interesting’ alcohol laws. The 51 KCATA bus line is the perfect option for hitting each of these spots. The order of this list starts just North of the Missouri River in North Kansas City, and is listed in order all the way south to Waldo in South Kansas City.
Cinder Block Brewing Company: 110 East 18th Ave., North Kansas City, MO 64116
As part of the recent popularity of the Northland for breweries, Cinder Block opened in 2013. The tasting room has a selection of core beers, plus seasonal offerings that switch out pretty often. They also have a popcorn machine, bar snacks, and encourage guests to bring food or enjoy food from food trucks that park out front during the weekends.
Big Rip Brewing Company: 216 East 9th St., North Kansas City, MO 64116
Just down the street from Cinder block is Big Rip Brewing. This horror-themed microbrewery has a tap room and beer garden. Typically, the brewery has between five and 12 beers on tap, with sample sizes available. They also encourage visitors to bring food in, and you can order food from El Burrito Loco next door.
Boulevard Brewing Company: 2501 Southwest Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64108
Boulevard Brewing Company has grown to be the largest specialty brewer in the Midwest, with full or partial distribution currently in 25 states. Since 1989 the brewery has remained dedicated to the craft of producing fresh, flavorful beers using traditional ingredients, and the best of both old and new brewing techniques. The brewery offers multiple free and paid tours at 40 and 90-minutes long. Boulevard also has a gift shop open 7 days a week from 10 to 5 p.m., and the tasting room is open for flights from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Don’t forget to wear close-toed shoes if you do a tour! For more information, visit Boulevard.com.
Green Room Burgers and Beer: 4010 Pennsylvania, Ste. D Kansas City, MO 64111
Tucked away behind the Westport Coffee House is Green Room Burgers and Beer. A simple food menu with delicious burgers, plus a complex beer list with lots of beer on tap, rounds out this cozy setting. To top it off, Green Room brews its own batches of Papa Louie’s beer. The style of beer varies, so visit often to try them all out.
McCoy’s Public House and The Foundry: 4057 Pennsylvania Ave, Kansas City, MO 64111
Anyone who likes good food and good beer knows McCoy’s is a staple in midtown’s Westport district. Some notable beers are the Newcom’s IPA, HogPound Brown, and summer favorite – Ginger Shandy. Known for its delicious pretzels and mac & cheese, McCoy’s will fill you up and quench your thirst. Don’t forget to visit The Foundry, connected to McCoy’s on the East side. The Foundry boasts a huge rotating tap and bottle list that will please anyone’s taste. The restaurant also has great food and lots of events throughout the year.
Beer Kitchen: 435 Westport Road Kansas City, MO 64111
Another great option from the owners of McCoy’s and The Foundry – Beer Kitchen has a strong bottle menu with dozens of options, a handful of rotating taps, and great food to boot. The restaurant hosts beer dinners often with pairings of food and brews from various breweries throughout the world.
Gomer’s Midtown: 3838 Broadway, Kansas City, MO 64111
While you can’t technically have a drink at Gomer’s (unless there’s a tasting), Gomer’s has a great selection of craft beer. The store typically has tastings on Fridays – what better way to start the weekend than with a tasting and a couple of sixers?
Bridger’s Bottle Shop: 510 Westport Road, Kansas City, MO 64111
One of Westport’s newest brew additions, Bridger’s Bottle Shop combines the bottle shop-plus-pub concept. The shop boasts its selection of more than 600 beers from which visitors can choose. With two walls of refrigerators, plus on-tap selections, Bridger’s just might have the largest selection of craft beer in Westport. The shop plans on hosting beer dinners soon, but in the meantime, enjoy food selections from Preservation Market, located within the pub.
Bier Station: 120 East Gregory Blvd. Kansas City, MO 64114
The founder of Bier Station arguably started a trend in bottle shop/bars in Kansas City. After months of planning and research, he inspired change in legislation and attitudes toward the beer scene for KCMO. It’s not uncommon to see this place packed every night of the weekwith people both enjoying beers to stay and beers to go. Bier Station also has a small food menu with pretzels, sandwiches and rotating items like gazpacho and hummus.
KC Bier Company: 310 W 79th St Kansas City, MO 64114
The city’s newest brewery features German-style lagers and ales. This family-friendly brewery has a large tasting room and biergarten with places for kids and dogs to play. The brewery typically has about five to eight brews on tap and offers flights and German food options to pair. You can often find soccer matches on the TVs and local families that live in the neighborhood.
Other Missouri Breweries Worth Checking Out:
Ferguson Brewing Company, Ferguson, MO (brewpub, and look for draft in STL)
Exit 6 Brewery, Cottleville, MO (brewpub only)
Charleville Brewery, Ste. Genevieve, MO (brewpub, and look for package and draft in STL)
Crown Valley Brewery, Ste. Genevieve, MO (brewpub, and look for package beer in STL)
Flat Branch Pub & Brewing, Columbia, MO (brewpub only)
Broadway Brewery, Columbia, MO (brewpub only)
Rock Bridge Brewing, Columbia, MO (package not available in STL)
Prison Brews, Jefferson City, MO (brewpub only)
The Public House Brewery, Rolla, MO (brewpub only)
Piney River Brewing, Bucyrus, MO (package not available in STL)
Mother’s Brewing, Springfield, MO (package not available in STL)
Girls Pint Out has Missouri chapters in both Kansas City and St. Louis. To reach Kansas City Girls Pint Out, find them on Facebook at Kansas City Girls Pint Out or reach by them by email at kansas_city@girlspintout.org. To reach St. Louis Girls Pint Out, find them on Facebook at St. Louis Girls Pint Out or reach them by email at stlouis@girlspintout.org.
