Hey all! I searched some threads but need a little more help. Flying into St. Louis from Pittsburgh as a pit stop to grab some good beer on my way to Seattle. I literally only have the day I fly in and half of the next day. Plan on SP, Perennial, and 4 hands. My questions are, does St Louis get TG distro? I would love to actually drive up to Decorah but time will not allow that. And would the breweries I plan to hit in St Louis require a rental car or is there a public trans I could use to get to them? Also I will need to pack and ship my haul back home before I leave for Seattle. This is all kinda last second so I'm scrambling to make a plan. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.
STL does not get TG unfortunately. Depending on where you're going to stay you may or may not need a rental car. 4 Hands is located in Downtown by Busch Stadium. Head south a little and you'll hit Perennial to in South City. SP is to the West of Perennial in Maplewod. I think all 3 should be 15-20 drive from each other. If you're planning on visiting and drinking at all 3 breweries, maybe take a cab/Uber? FYI: If you're planning on shipping your haul back in a 12 bottle shipper, it might be difficult to find one in STL. What day will you be in STL?
I don't neccesarily plan on drinking at all the breweries, it's a business trip so I have to keep a clean face, I'm kinda hoping it will be more of bottle run to porch bomb myself. I normally do not use bottle shippers when I ship to my friends so that's not a big deal. A box, bubble wrap and newspaper should work fine. I will prob stay overnight close to the airport and rent a car so I'm not restricted to schedules of public trans. Plus it's only 40 bucks to rent a car for the night. I will be flying in at 11am on the 23rd, and my flight leaves at 630 pm the next day. BUMMER on no TG distro!!!
I would get in the rental car, drive down I-170 and drive to Clayton. There you can hit up the Craft Beer Cellar and The Wine and Cheese Place. From Clayton drive down Big Bend and go to Side Project in Maplwood. From there you can go downtown to 4 Hands or South City to Perennial. Both will be about the same distance. Then you can loop back around to the other brewery.
Depending on where you are staying. If you are staying near the airport you can hop down 170 and go to Craft Beer Cellar. You can drink and buy beers there at a very reasonable price and they do have some pretty rare beers that could be hard to find anywhere else. For a large place to buy beers check out Randalls off of Jefferson in the city. To drink a wide variety of beers try iTap (International Tap House) in the Soulard area. In terms of going to a brewery I find one of the best atmospheres is Urban Chestnut in the Grove. Their beers are very true to Belgian style craft beers but all great beers but a great atmosphere. 4hands has a small tap room and you can find all their beers they have on tap at a store. Side Project and Perennial are our two best breweries. Out of all the suggestions I provided I would rand Craft Beer Cellar as #1 Its a very fun place to go and everyone that works there and goes there are very very knowledgeable in beers. I hate to say this too but I would look at taking the Budweiser tour. It is a good tour and pretty impressive for a free tour. You do get free beer which does include Goose Island. Hope this helps
The Wine & Cheese Place has shippers, I believe 3,6, and 12. If you call them ahead of time they can transfer to the store nearest you. There is one right by CBC so if you go there you can hit the 2 best bottle shops in the STL area. Don't miss the Side Project Cellar, no matter what.
Just had a brief stop in St. Louis, and I agree with the Craft Beer Cellar recommendation. Their selection isn't huge, but it's well chosen, and they have good beer on tap. When I was there, they were holding a cicerone class, and it was fun to talk beer with the staff. Knowledgable and friendly!
