February 11, 2018
Kansas City Beer Checks out St. Louis Beer
A last-minute trip to St. Louis was just what I needed to get back into the beer scene back here in Kansas City. I took a break to deal with some personal issues, but beer is my first love so I couldn’t stay away for too long.
I only had one day to explore the St. Louis beer scene with three friends, but was able to get three breweries in. Our first stop was Urban Chestnut at their midtown location. I’m not personally a big fan of German beers, but I can appreciate it. I actually did end up enjoying the ones I got in my flight, especially the Wolpertinger, a boozy, bourbon barrel-aged weizenbock. The location reminded me of Cinder Block Brewery with wood decor and plenty of fun card and board games to play.
Not too far away, our next stop was The Schlafly Taproom housed in a castle-like building. The turn-of-the-century building had a lot of character especially the brick exterior. I got a flight because I like to try a lot, and my favorite was the Blueberry Coffee Stout. The blueberry wasn’t overpowering and added a nice flavor to the coffee. The styles of beer and rich-in-history building was similar to Stockyards Brewing, although Schlafly was much bigger and had a full restaurant.
Our final stop was 4 Hands Brewing. Typically, it’s a good idea to save the best for last and although I think we did, when it comes to beer drinking, the last can become the blurriest. We had drunk too much in our previous breweries so we were only able to enjoy one quick beer at 4 Hands. We didn’t even make it up to the mysterious upstairs, so we’ll have to plan another trip and make this the first stop. The bar itself was tucked away on a dead end street making it a good spot to have a work break or meet up with friends for a chill night. The wallpaper was a silvery version of their logo and they had plenty of cool souvenirs. If you like Big Rip Brewing‘s atmosphere, you’d like it here. Thanks to Heath and Rich for the hospitality!
This trip wasn’t a beercation and I was the only major beer nerd in the group, so I wasn’t able to get all the stops I wanted to in (Perennial Artisan Ales, Side Project, etc.), but that just leaves it open for another trip, this time focused on beer. Who wants to join?
