I am planning on visiting St Louis December 26-27 and was wondering if people had any brewery recommendations. Here is my list: Perennial Artisan Ales Side Project Brewing 4 Hands Brewing Alpha Brewing Earthbound Brewing Schafly If I have time: Old Bakery Exit 6 Also any retail store recommendations for craft beer selection?
You could also consider adding Civil Life, Heavy Riff, Modern, UCBC and Square 1 to your list as well. I would definitely avoid Earthbound if I were you. Old Bakery and Exit 6 are a bit of a trek to get to but legit places Also, to maximize travel time/distance between stops there are certain places very close to one another. For Instance, 4 Hands, Alpha, Square 1, and Schlafly Tap Room are all pretty close together. Another option is starting on one end of Manchester Road and hitting each brewery as they come along. East to west I'd go UCBC (Grove location), Modern, Heavy Riff, Schlafly (Bottleworks location), and finish at Side Project Cellar. Schlafly Bottleworks, Heavy Riff and SP Cellar aren't technically on Manchester but close enough. Keep in mind most of these aren't exactly walking distance close but still convenient. Also not all are open on Sunday
I think your list is pretty spot on. Just a heads up, you may want to check the holiday hours for some of these places. For example, Side Project is open limited hours the 26th from 12pm-7pm and they are not open on Sunday (which they never are). You can find Side Project's holiday hours on their twitter. As for retail stores I'd recommend the Craft Beer Cellar in Clayton as well as The Wine and Cheese Place. Both with great selections, also might want to check on their hours as well.
If you do make it to the Old Bakery in Alton, then stop by Elijah P's. Awesome up and coming restaurant with 50+ taps and always great beer/food. It's worth a look.
I haven't been to Earthbound yet. Just curious as to your recommendation to avoid it. I wanted to get over there when they had Rauchbier but didn't make it.
I'll be stopping by Side Project and Schlafly on the 26th! But yeah def check out Perennial's taproom, it's nice.
My "must visit" list for out-of-town visitors. Perennial Artisan Ales Side Project Cellar 4 Hands Brewing Schlafly + Civil Life - Go for the Brown or ESB. Cool tap room. Beers are not flashy but are well-made session beers true to European heritage styles. Remove: Earthbound - Beer is very hit or miss, very tiny space, but Cherokee is a cool, up-and-coming neighborhood, so if you have time hit it up. Alpha - Sorry to their fans, but their beer is a very poor representation of what is coming out of St. Louis. If I have time: Old Bakery - I love this brewery. Beers are ok, but it's a very cool space Exit 6 - Don't break your neck to make it here. Lots of other good options (Heavy Riff, etal)
Perennial Artisan Ales - Fantastic Tour Side Project Brewing - No Tour, they brew at perennial. Their Tap Room is a must. 4 Hands Brewing - never done the tour, great tap room Alpha Brewing - dont waste your time, money, palate. Guy who runs it is a prick, the tour sucks, and the beer is mediocre at very best. Earthbound Brewing Schafly - kinda meh for me overall. Honestly do the brewmaster tour at budweiser. One of the best most interesting tours I have ever done. Also Bud fresh from the tank is delicious.
If you're looking for a place to drink at there is also 3 bars known as International Taphouse (or Itap) in various parts of St. Louis (Chesterfield, Soulard, and Central West End). Each location has at least 40 beers on tap and over 500 different bottles so it is well worth a stop if you want to try a lot of different beers. Current tap lists are at www.internationaltaphouse.com
