The Best Breweries in St. Louis

The St. Louis area has a plethora of breweries (60+) and I’ve narrowed those down to the top 8 breweries in STL. These spots are cranking out the best beer in the city and are absolute must-trys!

Check out my full guide to St. Louis here!

In ranking order, here are the top breweries in St. Louis:

#1: Side Project Brewing

Repeatedly ranked one of the top breweries in the country, Side Project is the absolute G.O.A.T. of STL beer. Their beers are all barrel aged and a majority of them are barrel-fermented. Think Imperial Stouts, Barleywines, Wild Ales, and Saisons—but don’t overlook their IPAs that the staff produces through Shared Brewing.

Peanut Butter & Stout at Narrow Gauge Brewing

#2: Narrow Gauge Brewing

Narrow Gauge is located just Northwest of STL in Florissant, Missouri and produces the best New England IPAs in the area. Juicy, hazy, and delicious is the name of the game at Narrow Gauge. Their Imperial Stouts are also fantastic!

#3: Perennial Artisan Ales

Perennial has been in the craft beer game since 2011 and they make a huge variety of beers. Abraxas is their most popular beer which is an Imperial Stout with ancho chili peppers, cacao nibs, vanilla beans, and cinnamon sticks, but if Stouts aren’t your style Perennial will still have something you can fall in love with.

#4: 2nd Shift Brewing

2nd Shift also makes an impressive variety of beers—essentially any style of beer you are looking for you can find at their taproom. Lean into the crazier sounding brews and you won’t be disappointed.

Daisy Glaze New England IPA at Heavy Riff Brewing

#5: Heavy Riff Brewing

Heavy Riff is in the heart of the Dogtown neighborhood of St. Louis and has a whopping 25 taps to choose from. Their Wild Ales are particularly fantastic and they are quite possibly the only brewery I’ve seen to have a Brown Ale with an untappd rating of a 4.2.

#6: Bluewood Brewing

Bluewood opened their doors in 2019 within the old Lemp Brewery Stables, giving their space a particularly unique atmosphere. They make a wide variety of beers as well as their own Mead.

German Chocolate Cake at Wellspent Brewing

#7: Wellspent Brewing

Wellspent makes some incredibly delicious beers! They are particularly known for their barrel aging and Imperial Stouts. Their taproom has great vibes.

#8: Urban Chestnut Brewing Company’s Midtown Biergarten

This German-style brewery has a very traditional tap list and classic biergarten vibes. I recommend getting a stein of something clean like a Pilsner or Lager and the pretzel sticks.

Have you been to St. Louis? What are your favorite breweries?! Let me know in the comments! —Cheers, Alexis

May 2021

May brought my first real beer trip out of state since pre-covid! I visited St. Louis for the first time and had some fantastic beers, check out my guide to St. Louis here! May also brought some stellar beer trades from out of state! In no particular order, here were my top beers in May 2021:

German Chocolate Stout from Wellspent Brewing in St. Louis, MO

This is an Imperial Stout aged on coconut, cocoa nibs, and vanilla beans. It tastes exactly like German Chocolate Cake and was absolutely phenomenal! Thick, chocolatey, and just the perfect hint of coconut and vanilla. I definitely recommend checking out Wellspent if you’re in the St. Louis area!

Twice The Daily Serving: Tropical Punch from Trillium Brewing in Boston, MA

I always love the Twice The Daily Serving series from Trillium and this one was no exception! It is a Berliner Weisse with guava, passionfruit, mango, pineapple, and lime. It is thick, juicy, and packed with flavor. Most Berliner Weisses and Fruited Sours have a pretty low ABV but this one packs a punch at 7%! I cannot wait to visit Trillium in July for the first time, it is going to be epic.

Abraxas from Perennial Artisan Ales in St. Louis, MO

Abraxas is an Imperial Stout brewed with ancho chili peppers, cacao nibs, vanilla beans, and cinnamon sticks. This is a classic Imperial Stout released every year and has been one of my favorites for a while. This was my first time getting to try it on draft though and it was even better! I love the combination of spiciness and sweetness.

Even More Hydra collaboration brew from Mortalis Brewing in Avon, NY and Evil Twin Brewing in New York, NY

This is a Fruited Sour with blackberry, raspberry, blueberry, marshmallow, and cacao nibs. I’ve been lucky enough to have a couple of the Hydra series from Mortalis and they have been delicious. This one is a special collab brew making it even more fun and it’s a hearty 7% ABV.

Bourbon Barrel Aged Ego Death from Resident Culture Brewing Company in Charlotte, NC

This Bourbon Barrel Aged version of Ego Death is an Imperial Stout conditioned on toasted hazelnuts and cacao nibs and aged in Willett bourbon barrels for 14 months. This is straight fire! The non-barrel aged version of Ego Death is also very good, just obviously without the bourbon kick and a thinner Stout overall. BBA Ego Death was a knock-out. I was blown away by how well the flavors worked together. I cannot wait to try the vanilla variant of it that we got as well!

Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A from Narrow Gauge Brewing in Florissant, MO

This is an Imperial IPA triple dry hopped with Citra, Mosaic, Galaxy, and Nelson Sauvin hops. This is named after the Konami Code for all you gamers out there. Narrow Gauge makes absolutely fantastic beers and I was thrilled to get to visit their taproom outside of St. Louis. I snagged a 4-pack of this juice bomb of an IPA to bring back to CLT with me because it was so good!

CHECK BACK NEXT MONTH TO SEE WHAT MY TOP BEERS OF JUNE 2021 WILL BE!

CHEERS -ALEXIS