ST. LOuis Is a Gritty Midwestern City with unique neighborhoods and a plethora of breweries!
STL Tips:
The area is spread out into very different neighborhoods, so be sure to plan ahead as the main attractions can be quite spaced out.
St. Louis is SUCH a Lager town. Their breweries have not bought into the “hype beers” as a lot of the country is—don’t expect Juicy IPAs, Pastry Stouts, and Fruited Sours at each spot, expect more of your classic styles.
Overall St. Louis is full of Midwestern vibes—it is gritty and full of old factories. I personally love that type of place as I am from Michigan which is much of the same, but don’t expect a Southern Belle city.
Adventures & Ales Top St. Louis Recommendations:
Check out my blog with The Best Breweries in St. Louis!
Narrow Gauge Brewing Company: Phenomenal beers of all styles—IPAs, Stouts, Foeder-Aged, the list goes on. They’ve also got some of the nicest staff around! This is an absolute must visit.
They are located a bit off the beaten path in Florissant, Missouri. It’s only 12 minutes from the airport so if you are flying in/out definitely hit them up while you are on your way to/from the airport. If you are not flying it is still worth the drive out to visit them!
They have an interesting set up with Cugino’s, an Italian restaurant, where they essentially share the space. I would not recommend the pizza, but the other food seems to be popular!
Side Project Brewing: One of the top breweries in the entire country! When I visited they were unfortunately still doing to-go only because of COVID, but even my short experience picking up my to-go bottles was great! Their staff is super nice and the beers are absolutely incredible.
Their tasting room is just down the street from the brewery, The Side Project Cellar. They are also working on an expansion across the street from their original brewery that is rumored to bring more seats, pizza, and more parking.
Perennial Artisan Ales: Another must visit that is highly regarded in the craft beer scene! Perennial is located in an old warehouse and is honestly a bit smaller than I expected for how much they distribute. Their beers are delicious, specifically their Sours and Stouts—Abraxas is my top recommendation!
Bluewood Brewing: Really good beers, a unique patio space, and chill atmosphere. Mac’s Local Eats is located inside Bluewood and has some of the top burgers in the city so definitely grab a burger with your beers!
Urban Chestnut Midtown
Wellspent Brewing Company: A small but fantastic brewery in the Midtown area of STL. Their taproom has classy style and they’ve got a cute little outdoor space as well. Great beers, although the tap list was a little short. Highly recommend the Stouts in particular!
Urban Chestnut’s Midtown Biergarten: The Midtown location of UCBC is a cute little biergarten with a classic German style. The Pilsner was my top beer and the pretzels were also quite tasty! Urban Chestnut has two other locations in St. Louis and one in Germany—
Urban Chestnut’s Grove Bierhall: The vibes here are definitely classic German bierhall with a small outdoor space. It is a large indoor space and quite popular, so be aware that you may have to wait for a table. They have a slightly different tap list and food menu from their Midtown location.
The U.R.B.: The Urban Research Brewery was closed when I visited due to COVID but the idea is this this is where they try out their small batch beers and pizzas. It is located directly across the street from their Grove Bierhall.
Gezellig Beer Bar: A great beer bar with a variety of local, regional, national, and international beers on tap and to-go. They share a space with Pie Guy Pizza that has delicious pizza available by the pie or slice! I highly recommend getting some ‘za with your beers!
Rockwell Beer Co.: A super popular brewery with a fantastic patio to hang out on. They’ve got a small food menu and quite a few beers to choose from.
Heavy Riff Brewing: Delicious beers, a full food menu with mostly BBQ, a large converted patio space, and chill vibes! They are located in the Dogtown neighborhood of STL.
2nd Shift Brewing: A large tap list with really good beers! They’ve got a little garden area up front and a spacious taproom to enjoy your beers in. 2nd Shift is located in a pretty industrial area so I would not necessarily recommend walking here like I did.
Schlafly Brewing is the OG of St. Louis beer so you’ve got to check them out while you’re in town! They’ve got two locations in STL:
Schlafly Bottleworks is their large production facility. They are a brewpub with a full food menu. They’ve got a nice outdoor patio as well and are located in Maplewood, right up the road from Side Project.
Schlafly Tap Room is their original taproom from when they opened in 1991! They still do some brewing here as well and now have two bars and a full food menu. This location is between downtown and Midtown, right down the road from Wellspent.
Hartford Coffee Company
St. Louis Tourist Spots Actually Worth Visiting:
Gateway Arch National Park: You of course have to visit the arch on your St. Louis visit! It is housed in a large National Park right on the Mississippi River. You can also go to the top via a tram for a fee.
The Old Courthouse is another sight to see in the park and is where the Dred Scott case was held. The Old Cathedral is also located here which is as it sounds, an old church.
Missouri History Museum: This is a free museum located in Forest Park that has informative and interesting exhibits!
Tower Grove Park: A nice park with a variety of gazebos to relax under.
Hartford Coffee Company: A neighborhood coffee shop near the park with fantastic breakfast options.
Tower Grove Creamery: A nice ice cream shop right at the entrance to the park so you can take your scoops and enjoy them in nature.
Meander through The Grove neighborhood: This is a super cute area mostly along Manchester Avenue that is full of bars, restaurants, and shops.
UCBC’s Bierhall, The U.R.B., Pie Guy Pizza, Gezellig Beer Bar, and Rockwell Brewing are all located in this area from my top recommendations list above!
Soulard Farmer’s Market: A solid farmer’s market with quite a few stalls of goodies to shop from.
The Soulard neighborhood in general is a fun spot to hop around. It is an old and gritty area with a plethora of bars and restaurants. I enjoyed Soulard Coffee Garden, a cute little coffeeshop and restaurant with a relaxing garden space.
Forest Park: A massive park with trails, a boat house, a golf course, a couple of museums, and overall relaxing environment.
Citygarden: A nice little area in downtown to relax with statues and nature.
Explore the greenways! STL has a large greenway network that is nicely maintained.
Schlafly Bottleworks
Other St. Louis Things To Do:
4 Hands Brewing Co.: 4 Hands was continually recommended to me as “the best beer in St. Louis” and a “must visit",” but unfortunately I was very underwhelmed by their beers. I found the selection to be relatively large, but the flavors were not there for me. They have an upstairs in the taproom with games and they have a nice outdoor space across the street from the taproom. They have frequent food pop-ups as well.
Alpha Brewing: A brewery in southern St. Louis with average beers and a small rotating food menu. They have frequent live music and a plethora of picnic tables to enjoy your patio brews on.
Earthbound Brewing: Earthbound has a nice patio space, average beers, and is located right up the road from Bluewood Brewing on the bustling Cherokee Street.
21st St. Brewers Bar: A basement beer bar with a wide selection of craft beer that is mostly local. They have a nice patio upstairs and are located right next to Charleville Brewing Company!
Charleville Brewing Company: Another brewery with average beers and a solid patio space. They also have games to play while you sip your brews! On Sundays they host Smash Burger Sundays and Tuesday-Saturday they partner with Hamilton’s next door for food.
Park Avenue Coffee: A solid coffeeshop in downtown STL with innovative flavors and gooey butter cake!
City Museum: One of the weirdest places I have ever been. This is essentially a giant playground, so if you have kids it would be a great way to entertain them for hours. It is indoors and outdoors, involves climbing, slides, and exploring. If you don’t have kids some people were enjoying themselves but it just not my type of thing to do. Tickets are $16 for entry.
Center Ice Brewery: A hockey themed brewery that is a huge St. Louis Blues bar. They have a very small tap list and average beers.
Rooster: A popular brunch restaurant with a downtown location and a Tower Grove location. Overall I was not too impressed with my food or my Bloody Mary, but others seemed to love it. They did have a few ways to make meals vegetarian or vegan if you have anyone in your group with a specific diet.
Square One Brewery & Distillery: A restaurant-style brewery with a cute patio, large food menu, and average beers. I found the staff here to be incredibly rude as a heads up.
