Sauce Magazine // Guide to Beer 2018

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rebecca schranz, brewer-co-owner at earthbound beer, p. 23

ST. ST. LOUIS’ LOUIS’ INDEPENDENT INDEPENDENT CULINARY CULINARYAUTHORITY AUTHORITY

Guide to Beer 2018

SAUCEMAGAZINE.COM

FREE, GUIDE TO BEER 2018

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PHOTO BY CARMEN TROESSER

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Yes, We Can

PHOTO BY CARMEN TROESSER

Craft has been going into cans for years, but the trend is still picking up speed. Breweries like Civil Life Brewing, which was draftonly forever, finally started canning.

Local favorites like Schlafly are offering more and more of their portfolios with tabs (White Lager, anyone?), and even breweries known for large-format bottles (we see you, Perennial Artisan Ales) are moving to aluminum. – Heather Hughes

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PHOTO BY IZAIAH JOHNSON

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Sweet Spot B Y K AT I E H E R R E R A

PHOTO BY ASHLEY GIESEKING

Currently baking up in the trend-driven beer world are pastry stouts – deliciously rich and cloyingly sweet beers meant to resemble desserts and breakfast foods. The base beer is usually a massively boozy, fullbodied stout that can withstand the numerous ingredients added to build a dessert-y flavor profile. Sometimes dessert is more than inspiration – as with the Evil Twin Imperial Doughnut Break, which is actually brewed with doughnuts. Beer nerds debate whether the sweet style is “ruining beer,” but a lot of winter seasonals have sold out at local retailers until next year. Some people just prefer to drink their dessert … or breakfast.

No judgment.

OMNIPOLLO NOA PECAN MUD CAKE This luxurious beer is the amalgamation of a rich, fudgy brownie, toasted pecans and s’mores. Thick and chewy in texture, a massive chocolate overtone is enhanced by underlying notes of graham cracker, lightly toasted marshmallow and nuts.

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EVIL TWIN IMPERIAL BISCOTTI BREAK Loads of almond and coffee on the nose introduce the essence of sweet cookie and notes of heavily roasted malt across the palate.

One sip of this beer, and you’ll think you’re dipping a piece of biscotti in a hot cup of joe mixed with vanillaflavored creamer. Four-pack: $13.

The Wine and Cheese Place, 7435 Forsyth Blvd., Clayton, 314.727.8788, wineandcheeseplace.com

SOUTHERN TIER CRÈME BRÛLÉE IMPERIAL MILK STOUT One of the first massively rich, dessert-like beers to make an appearance, Crème Brûlée remains a fan favorite. Just as the name suggests, this silky and rich sugar bomb is all vanilla and caramel up front, followed by notes of lightly toasted sugar and custard.

SAUGATUCK NEAPOLITAN MILK STOUT Don’t miss this beer if you’re a fan of the ice cream. Lighter bodied than most, a touch of toasted malt and a lot of strawberry on the nose are followed by the flagship vanilla, strawberry and milk chocolate flavors on the palate. $2.50. BeerSauce Shop, 318D Mid Rivers Mall Drive, St. Peters, 636.328.7972, beersauceshop.com Guide to Beer 2018

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It actually tastes like beer. Even the light-bodied wheat has more going on than your typical metallic, NA water-lager.

counting, you don’t have to go out of your way to find WellBeing.

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Cutting-edge cred – the low-ABV trend is still alive and well, but there’s only one other NA-specific brewery in the US.

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If you want an NA option, it may as well be from a St. Louis small business.

What hangover?

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German athletes swear by NA beer over Gatorade for their sports drinking; it was downed liberally at the Winter Olympics.

Regardless, with calorie counts around 75, the beers are worth a try for the fitness set.

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The craft brewery is busy developing a range of different styles, starting with a citrus wheat and coffee stout. Soon, it may have an alcohol-free option for all tastes.

Spring is sprung again with highly anticipated new releases and well-known favorites in new packaging. Look for this beautiful bouquet of brews starting now. – Katie Herrera

Firestone Walker Lager A difficult style to perfect, this Helles-style lager is impeccable in true Firestone Walker form. The new release is crushable, crisp, smooth and will be your best friend regardless of the season.

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Widely available in bottles and kegs at 30-plus area spots and

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Logboat Flybye A classic style by a classic Columbia, Missouri brewery, this farmhouse ale is being released for spring instead of summer. It’s grainy and slightly fruity, finishes dry and is just funky enough to give you all those barnyard feels.

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Shared Shaeson Following J Dub Fan Club, this beauty is the second in the Side Project employee collaboration series.

Funky and delicate, the saison/gose hybrid will showcase lavender, sea salt and lemon.

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Third Wheel Parenthetical (Port)er This port barrel-aged beer is being released in honor of St. Charles Craft Beer Week. Third Wheel fancied up its Robust Porter in an Augusta Winery barrel to enhance the richness of its characteristic chocolate malt.

Ballast Point Discovery Mix Pack All hail the trending mix pack, because who doesn’t like a little variety? Grab this Ballast Point 12-pack mix of flagship canned beers, which includes Fathom IPA, Bonito Blonde and one of three seasonal offerings. First up, Tart Peach Kölsch.

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Guide to Beer 2018

WELLBEING PHOTOS BY LOU BOPP

Perennial Saison de Lis This core Perennial beer screams spring with a light body and assertive yeast presence, both highlighted by the tea-like character that steeped chamomile flowers provide. Rejoice, as this little gem sees the canning line for the first time ever.

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WELLBEING BEER

DD duty just got a little less painful.

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10 REASONS TO TRY

If you’re pregnant, don’t drink or are even just a lightweight, explaining why you’re not drinking all the time gets old.

Guilt- (and nap-) free day drinking

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WellBeing Brewing Co. debuted last year with its Heavenly Body NA Golden Wheat, followed quickly by the Hellraiser NA Dark Amber. The nonalcoholic brews caught the imagination of craft imbibers after a sober good time. Here are 10 reasons not to roll your eyes at WellBeing’s buzz-free beer. – Matt Sorrell

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The Sour Spectrum

kinda sour

1. Jester King Brewery Le Petit Prince This stainless-steel fermented table beer is made with house cultures that create an incredibly soft and funky palate with subtle tartness.

By Katie Herrera Sour beer can be polarizing, but as the trend continues to infiltrate the beer world, tart brews have become more mainstream and approachable than ever. Similar to how yogurt gets its tangy flavor, beer is soured through the fermentation of good bacteria, Lactobacillus and Pediococcus, which produce lactic acid and that puckering flavor profile. It is also common for brewers to skip a step and add lactic acid directly. Some classic styles, like Flemish reds and brown ales, are soured by acetic acid instead, which produces a more vinegary profile. With such different brew methods, styles and profiles, there are countless, diverse sour beers to try. From refreshingly piquant to ferociously acerbic, don’t write off the style until you’ve tasted the spectrum.

Most beers not sold exclusively at their breweries are available at The Wine and Cheese Place, 7435 Forsyth Blvd., Clayton, 314.727.8788, wineandcheeseplace.com.

Your BFF Brett

2. Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project Vieille Also made with brewery-specific bugs, this saison carries notes of citrus and an herbaceous funk held together by crisp tartness.

3. Professor Fritz Briem 1809 Berliner Style Weisse Fluffy, light-bodied and effervescent, 1809 is a clean, soured wheat bright with citrus and bready aromatics.

getting sourer

6. Crane Brewing Orange Gose High carbonation enhances the assertive acidity, salt and orange zest that dance across the palate, ending with a bright and clean finish.

5. Bruery Terreux Hottenroth Berliner Weisse This Berliner-style wheat is soft and clean with notes of yogurt, lemon and grain.

4. Ritterguts Gose A classic gose, Ritterguts is a light-bodied, crisp and salty, tongue-prickling tart wheat beer highlighted by herbaceous coriander.

sour city

7. White Rooster Farmhouse Brewery Push Pull This oaky, red wine barrel-fermented table farmhouse ale is a touch tannic, soured with house bugs that drive notes of funk, citrus and stone fruit.

8. Perennial Artisan Ales Funky Wit A foeder-aged, Belgian-inspired wheat, Funky Wit showcases a house culture funk that produces SweeTart-y fruitiness and delicate undertones of black peppercorn, coriander and dried orange peel.

9. Side Project Brewing Saison du Fermier The citrus, barnyard funk, creamy acidity and tangy finish of this classic saison are characteristic of Side Project’s bugs and barrels.

we need water

12. New Belgium Brewing Company La Folie This oak-aged, medium-bodied brown ale provides a punch of sour up front while finishing with flavors of succulent fruit and

11. Brouwerij Verhaeghe Duchesse de Bourgogne This blended, barrel-aged beer showcases the characteristic juicy, sweet malt bill and bright acidity of a Flanders red. Driving acetic flavors are reminiscent of grapes and fine balsamic vinegar.

10. Gueuzerie Tilquin Oude Gueuze à l’Ancienne Aromatics of funky cheese and stale hops drive the flavor profile of this traditional blended lambic. It finishes with balanced acidity and notes of green apple, citrus zest and wet hay.

really, really sour!

Sour character predominantly comes from lactic or acetic acid, but brewers can further a beer’s depth and complexity by pairing these souring agents with funkifying yeast strains known as Brettanomyces, or Brett for short. The aromas and flavors produced by Brett – rather than the various traditional, clean brewers yeast strains collectively called Saccharomyces – can be described as funky, 14 I SAUCE MAGAZINE I saucemagazine.com

barnyard-y, ripe tropical fruit-like or reminiscent of wet sock and horse blanket. (In a good way, we swear.)

With so much to regulate, mixed-culture brewing (using Brett and souring bacteria jointly) isn’t easy.

But some brewers are taking the difficult beers to a whole new level by developing house bugs. Like terroir in wine, these carefully propagated collections of unique yeast and bacteria produce character in beer that parallels its environment for totally distinctive products that combine the funkiness of Brett and the

sourness of bacteria. Some hometown favorites – like 2nd Shift Brewing, Perennial Artisan Ales, Side Project Brewing and White Rooster Farmhouse Brewery – have gone to great lengths to develop and understand the microorganisms that make up their house cultures, earning a place at the sour frontier. They join the ranks of national and international breweries such as Crooked Stave, Jester King, New Belgium, Gueuzerie Tilquin and Brouwerij Verhaeghe in pushing the boundaries of tart and funk in beer.

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NOT JUST HERE FOR THE BEER

REUBEN AT HEAVY RIFF BREWING CO.

PHOTOS BY IZAIAH JOHNSON

We know they make great beer, but area breweries have stepped up their gastronomic game, too. Some, like Schlafly and Civil Life Brewing Co., hire in-house talent; others partner with established concepts, as 2nd Shift Brewing did with Guerrilla Street Food. Still other breweries and chefs aim for something exciting and new (we’re looking you, Rockwell Beer Co. and Niche Food Group). Whether you’re hunting for tasty vegetarian ’cue or classic German fare to accompany that Pilsner, these six area breweries offer so much more than great beer.

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Guide to Beer 2018

HEAV Y RIFF BREWING CO. HEAVY RIFF BREWING CO.

Some of St. Louis’ best vegetarian barbecue is found at a rock-n-roll Dogtown brewery. Heavy Riff’s seitan actually spends significant time in the smoker and doesn’t require a deluge of sauce to make it enjoyable. Before you roll your eyes and jump to the next brewery on this list, pause and pay respect to Heavy Riff’s monster Reuben.

This mountain of house-cured and smoked brisket, gooey cheese, kraut and smoked Thousand Island dressing is a force to be reckoned with. And everyone can agree to break Heavy Riff’s spent-grain beer bread; slather each dense slice with green onion cream cheese or orange-tinged butter.

6413 Clayton Ave., St. Louis, heavyriffbrewing.com

PERENNIAL ARTISAN ALES Chef Kaleigh Brundick works wonders with a hot plate and panini press. Perennial’s menu changes weekly, but the humble grilled cheese with thick slabs of fontina, Prairie Breeze and a rotating jam (right now, it’s onion-thyme) is a constant that satisfies our inner child and our indulgent adult. (Pro tip: Accompany each bite with a Kicker Billy Goat chip for the perfect spicy/ gooey/salty combo.) There’s always a locally sourced seasonal salad or tartine, each thoughtfully composed with pickled/shaved/raw/roasted elements that elevate this brewery fare to so much more than utilitarian snacks for continued drinking.

8125 Michigan Ave., St. Louis, 314.631.7300, perennialbeer.com Guide to Beer 2018

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URBAN CHESTNUT BREWERY AND BIERHALL POMMES FRITES AT URBAN CHESTNUT BREWERY AND BIERHALL

On any given night, the long wood tables at Urban Chestnut Brewing Co.’s massive Bierhall are laden with pints and trays of schnitzel, sausages and paper bags of pomme frites. We’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: Eat. These. Fries. Order a large – for yourself – with garlic mayo and fry sauce, and live your best life. UCBC chef Andy Fair has a knack for making heavy German dishes seem lighter than they are, like the ethereal salt cod brandade beignets with house tartar sauce and puffy cinnamon-sugar churros (a decidedly not German dessert) with warm chocolate sauce.

4465 Manchester Ave., St. Louis, 314.222.0143, urbanchestnut.com

The quirky Earthbound crew has always championed Cherokee Street, so naturally they partnered with neighbor Vista Ramen to helm the brewery’s food program. Mothership is the meal you’d eat if Vista chefs Chris Bork and Josh Adams invited you to a backyard barbecue in North Carolina. Ascend to the floating mezzanine with a mushroom-y veggie burger (doctored with house Carolina mustard sauce and extra pickles, per Adams’ advice), all the sides and cornbread so good, you’d swear they stole the recipe from someone’s unsuspecting southern granny, if not for the gochugang-honey butter on the side.

2724 Cherokee St., St. Louis, 314.769.9576, mothershipsaintlouis.com

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Guide to Beer 2018

PHOTO BY IZAIAH JOHNSON

EARTHBOUND BEER

MEATBALLS AT CUGINO’S

NARROW GAUGE BREWING CO. Yes, dear reader, we know this ItalianAmerican eatery was around long before Narrow Gauge co-owner Jeff Hardesty brewed in the basement, but Cugino’s has become the de facto tasting room for Hardesty’s stellar Northeast IPAs. Cugino’s unpretentious meaty, cheesy menu hits the spot after a drink or two. Exhibit A: Softball-sized meatballs, stuffed with a glob of Provel, then breaded and deep fried like a carnivore’s arancini.

Crack them open and watch the cheese lava ooze. Exhibit B: The Luigi burger, the simplest on the menu, still weighs in at a whopping half-pound and is smothered with bacon and four cheeses. It’s not healthy, it’s not dietfriendly – and we’re so happy.

1595 U.S. Highway 67, Florissant, 314.831.3222, dinecuginos.com

PHOTOS BY DAVID KOVALUK

4 HANDS BREWING CO. James Beard Award-winner Kevin Nashan and sous chef John Messbarger bring a taste of Peacemaker Lobster and Crab Co. to 4 Hands, right down to the brisket po’boy and seasoned potato chips.

The chopped salad lulls you into a false sense of health; surely the mountain of romaine and tomatoes (covered in ranch, bacon, egg and avocado) means you deserve another beer. We opt to split platters of meaty peel-and-eat Gulf shrimp with house cocktail sauce. Just wash your hands before you faceoff on “Tapper” – no one likes a shellfish-scented joystick.

CHOPPED SALAD A ND P E E L-A ND - E AT SHRIMP AT 4 HANDS BREWING CO.

1220 S. Eighth St., St. Louis, 314.436.1559, 4handsbrewery.com Guide to Beer 2018

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the beer education of rebecca

schranz

HOW THIS EARTHBOUND CO-OWNER LEARNED TO BREW (AND LIKE) BEER

by KEVIN KORINEK \\ photos by VIRGINIA HAROLD

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our years a go, Rebecca Schranz didn’t really like beer. She was a wine drinker, an introverted former anthropology/psychology major thinking about going to grad school. Now, she’s co-owner and brewer at Earthbound Beer.

Learning how to brew (and like) beer made Schranz a stronger person – literally. “I put on 20 pounds of muscle and can actually lift things above my head now,” she laughed. And it’s stretched more than her fitness level, since she’s now one of the faces of her trendy brand.

Earthbound is riding a popularity wave after recently opening an expanded space on Cherokee Street. In a town used to catering to craft beer enthusiasts, it’s a different experience altogether. For one thing, aside from the floating mezzanine suspended by chains from the ceiling, the small-batch beer list changes weekly – new beers are added all the time; some beers are never made again. Some classic styles are served alongside eccentric and surprising brews. The beer is so good it won Earthbound RateBeer’s 2016 award for best new brewery in Missouri when the tasting room was still the size of a large closet.

Sidle up to the bar and sample a rosemary-juniper pale ale or a Chinese five-spice porter – flavors you won’t experience anywhere else in the city. That kind of variation is good currency in a market where peak craft beer is

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eminent, and Schranz and her coworkers excel at brewing it.

To get to Earthbound’s tanks, you have to sneak through its cramped kitchen just behind the bar. A framed LP of Midnight Marauders hangs on white subway tiles where chef Josh Adams and chef-owner Chris Bork cook up Earthbound’s out-of-this-world food program, Mothership. Go through the back door into the brewhouse and hang a left to descend a short set of stairs to the unrailed landing that serves as an office. Descend another staircase, and you’re below street level, in the unfinished basement where the rest of the brewing equipment is situated.

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efore they could bring in their two (1½-barrel and 7-barrel) brewing systems, Schranz and Earthbound’s other co-owners, Stuart Keating, Jeff Siddons and Robin Johnson, had to renovate the whole 168-year-old building that once housed Cherokee Brewery. “We all got really good with power tools,” Schranz said.

They installed a walk-in cooler and built the bar and tables upstairs, while clearing out a space for the massive tanks downstairs.

The team also dug out Cherokee Brewery’s century-old barrel vault.

Pass the tanks and look right as you go downstairs to see a doorshaped hole in the thick stone wall. Step through it and even farther underground to feel like you’ve gone back in time. The

cave of ancient-seeming arches over a dirt floor, dimly lit by hanging string lights, may leave you gaping like a fool, but for Schranz it’s just the place where she works – a little fortress of solitude from the outside world.

Brewing can be a lonely act, and she relishes the seclusion. I told her about my day job as a librarian and she perked up. “You actually have a job that I wish I had in another life,” she said. Schranz was considering library science programs when she entered the male-dominated, extroverted world of craft beer.

“I’m very much a solitary creature. I like drinking wine and reading books and hanging out by myself, probably more than anything,” she laughed. Her love of anthropological theory and cognitive psychology is a good personality indicator. Schranz is always asking questions and trying to understand how something works, which requires a lot of silence and time for reading and introspection – a challenge now that her dark brown bangs hang behind a bar as often as a book.

Running a brewery requires hobnobbing with the beer-loving masses, but it’s her attention to detail that has made Schranz one of the best and more adventurous brewers in the city. Consider her and Keating’s Thai basil IPA, their refreshing and spicy cucumber-chili pequin Kölsch, or the recurring

Guide to Beer 2018

U n l i k e a l o t o f b u r l y, b e a r d e d p e o p l e i n t h e i n d u s t r y, b e e r i s n ’ t S c h r a n z ’ s l i f e l o n g p a s s i o n ; but it has become her calling card and allo wed h e r t o p u rs u e h e r t r u e p a s s i o n : l e a r n i n g. cardamom-pepper tea blonde, which is like spring in a glass.

“I think the beer recipes that Stuart and I write are definitely more on the anthropology side, because we do use a lot of herbs and spices in our beers,” Schranz said. “We’re always reading what past cultures used. We use yarrow a lot, which is traditionally used for medicinal purposes. But then we find stuff we want to use and we realize it’s poisonous, so you have to read about these things.”

Trying her beer and watching her tend bar for an afternoon brewery crowd, it’s crazy to think that this keenly observant woman with a dry sense of humor and bandshirt style never really wanted to be a brewer. She is clearly made for this type of work. “I’m really the weirdest anomaly in terms of brewing,” she admitted.

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chranz is still a wine person.

“Some people really love beer, but I never walked into this business loving beer,” she said. “I

found an appreciation for beer; I understand what certain styles are supposed to taste like. But when I go home at the end of the day, I just want to open a wine – I think that’s reflective of letting go of Earthbound when I’m at home.”

Being different has its advantages.

Schranz credits her outside, analytical perspective for her unique voice in the brewing world. Her appreciation for the job is a force she can quantify by how much she has learned as a brewer.

“I appreciate the history more than drinking the beer sometimes, knowing the story of how this beer came to exist,” she said. “Beer styles aren’t just a random chemistry experiment gone awry. Every beer style has a history behind it and why it exists, and in many ways that’s just cooler to me.”

Her story doesn’t dovetail with the mold of a traditional brewer, and yet here she is: a welcome and anomalous force in the St. Louis brewing scene, where there are only about five female brewers.

brewer and coowner rebecca schranz working at earthbound beer

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Compared to other cities, that’s actually a pretty good number, but being a female brewer can still bring a lot of uncomfortable attention on its own.

“Sometimes it feels easy to say I feel a certain way because I’m a woman, but maybe I feel this way because I’m an anthropologist or maybe I feel this way because I’m a psychologist. That’s sort of the issue I’m having with this whole ‘What-does-it-feel-like-to-be-a-femalebrewer?’ situation,” she explained.

“I think it’s a really important question to ask because there just aren’t enough of us, but it also feels sort of small to assume my perspective is different from a male’s because I have a vagina. And it feels like that is the summary out there right now, both local and nationally. At the end of the day, making beer is a team effort.”

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he considers expanding that team a part of her mission as a brewer – attracting more women and people of color into the field. “It would be cool if there were more women in production.

Front of house is where people expect to find them,” she said. “But all the women behind the bar at Side Project know more about beer than any customer walking through their doors. And Troy Bedik at Civil Life is brewing one of the best beers in St. Louis – their American Brown is by far a public favorite, and that’s her baby now.” She recommends women interested in learning more join a homebrew club like Femme Ferment or The OG – the group where Abbey Spencer, head brewer at Third Wheel Brewing, got her start.

from left, earthbound beer co-owners jeff siddons, stuart keating, robin johnson and rebecca schranz earthbound beer 2724 cherokee st., st. louis, 314.769.9576, earthboundbeer.com Guide to Beer 2018

Schranz doesn’t fit into a familiar narrative, and that may be indicative of most women who find themselves on the production side of beer. She’s not a female version of the male brewer. Unlike a lot of burly, bearded people in the industry, beer isn’t her lifelong passion; but it has become her calling card and allowed her to pursue her true passion. “I think I like beer because I can learn stuff, but if I weren’t making beer I’d be out learning stuff and probably paying too much for it,” she reasoned.

“I like big tasks, and I like learning throughout all of that. Right now, it just happens to be that beer is my learning, but I’m also learning how to run a business and learning how to manage people,” she said. “It’s tough, but it’s never boring.” saucemagazine.com I SAUCE MAGAZINE I 27

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ILLUSTRATION BY VIDHYA NAGARAJAN

get festive Grab your calendar, prepare your liver and save the dates.

St. Louis is awash in beer festivals this year. – Claire Ma

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Guide to Beer 2018

Buzz’d Beer Festival

Alton is abuzz about this festival that coincides with the third anniversary of The Old Bakery Beer Co. More than 20 breweries feature beer with flowers, honey and fruit that celebrate local pollinators.

Tickets available online and at Old Bakery Beer. March 4 – The Old Bakery Beer Co., Alton, oldbakerybeer.com

Ales for Tails

Support Tenth Life Cat Rescue and Needy Paws Dog Rescue while enjoying beer from places like Burr Oak Brewery and Crown Valley brewery, dozens of homebrews, and a petthemed marketplace. Tickets available online. March 10 – American Czech Educational Center, St. Louis, ales4tails. eventbrite.com

FestivAle

Get your ale fix and support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at this event featuring more than 40 brewers like Boulevard Brewing Co. and WellBeing Brewing. Then, chow down on food provided by vendors like Café Piazza. Tickets available online. March 23 – Union Station, St. Louis, festivalestl.com

Schlafly Stout & Oyster Festival

Few things are better than bivalves and beer. Schlafly flies in 80,000 oysters and more than 20 shuckers for this free

Guide to Beer 2018

event where guests can slurp and sip more than 15 Schlafly stouts. March 23 and 24 – Schlafly Tap Room, St. Louis, schlafly.com

Philly Pretzel Factory. Tickets available online or at Circle 7 Ranch. May 12 – Paul A. Schroeder Park, Manchester, manchestermo.gov/beerfest

Columbia Trails Homebrew Festival

Lupulin Carnival

Sample more than 60 beers from more than 25 homebrewers and vote for your favorite – the winner will have their beer on tap at Stubborn German Brewing Co. Tickets available online or at the event.

April 14 – Borsch Park, Valmeyer, Illinois, Facebook: Columbia Trails Homebrew Festival

St. Louis Microfest

This two-day festival features more than 125 craft and international breweries like Old Bakery Beer Co., Kirkwood Station Brewing Co. and Peel Brewing Co. Stick around for live music, food from Mission Taco Joint, Bogart’s Smokehouse and The Dam. Tickets will be available online. May 4 and 5 – Upper Muny Parking Lot, St. Louis, stlmicrofest.org

Manchester Craft Beer Festival Sample more than 20 local and national craft breweries including Civil Life Brewing Co., Urban Chestnut Brewing Co. and Goose Island, and dig into food provided by vendors like Nothing Bundt Cakes and

More than 70 national and local breweries join 4 Hands Brewing Co.’s annual carnival, including 2nd Shift Brewing, Six Mile Bridge Beer, Against the Grain and Transient Artisan Ales. Don’t miss the aerial acrobatics and Ferris wheel.

Tickets available online. May 19 – Union Station, St. Louis, lupulincarnival.com

Daniel Boone Homebrew Fest

History meets homebrew at this festival featuring local clubs like STL Brewminati and Garage Brewers Society, in addition to breweries like Third Wheel Brewing and Augusta Brewing Co. Tickets available online. May 19 – Historic Daniel Boone Home, Defiance, Facebook: Daniel Boone Home Brew Fest

IndiHop

One festival, two neighborhoods, 50 different beers – 25 storefronts in The Grove and Cherokee Street host local breweries.

Stop, sip, shop and then hop on the trolley to the other neighborhood. Tickets will be available online. June 2 – The Grove and Cherokee Street, indihopstl.com

Criderfest

Around 50 local and regional breweries pour at this Pink Floyd-themed festival at 2nd Shift Brewing. Dig into food

by Guerrilla Street Food and coffee by Blueprint Coffee and Dark Matter Coffee. A cover band provides the tunes.

Tickets will be available online.

June 9 – 2nd Shift Brewing Co, St. Louis, 2ndshiftbrewing.com

Heritage Festival

Heritage Festival returns to Forest Park for a single four-hour event. Enjoy pours from more than 50 St. Louis Brewers Guild members like Square One Brewing Co., Urban Chestnut and Charleville Brewing Co. Tickets will be available online in April. July 14 – Forest Park Grand Basin, St. Louis, stlbeer.org

St. Louis Craft Beer Week

Celebrate our city’s rich beer heritage with nine days of events, from beer dinners to trivia nights to tap takeovers.

Don’t miss one of the week’s highlights, the Midwest Belgian Beer Fest on July 28. Tickets and complete schedule will be available online. July 27 to Aug. 4 – St. Louis, stlbeerweek.com

Hop in the City

Sample all that Schlafly has to offer at its annual outdoor festival with unlimited pours of almost everything, from the

hoppiest brews to the darkest stouts. Food is also available for purchase. Tickets will be available online. Sept. 15 – The Schlafly Tap Room, St. Louis, schlafly.com

Augusta Bottoms Beer Festival

Sip on brews and spirits from more than 40 breweries, homebrew associations and distilleries. Look for Two Plumbers Brewing Co., 4204 Main Street Brewing Co. and host Augusta Brewing Co. Tickets will be available online.

Oct. 6 – Mel L. Fuhr Memorial Ball Field, Augusta, Facebook: Augusta Bottoms Beer Festival

Brewers Guild Halloween Party

Don your most impressive Halloween costume and join the St. Louis Brewers Guild for a scary-good time. Sample beers, enter the costume contest and take a ride on the haunted Hefe Ride. Tickets will be available online. Oct. 27 – Lafayette Park, St. Louis, stlbeer.org

The Great St. Louis Czech Beer Festival

With more than 20 local breweries in attendance, this festival is worth Czeching out. Previous attendees have included Schlafly, Firestone Walker and Leaky Road Meadery. Tickets will be available online. Dec. 8 – American Czech Education Center, St. Louis, eventbrite.com

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Guide to Beer 2018

Guide to Beer 2018

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