Brewery Week – Day 4

Saint Louis Brewery is better known as Schlafly, a craft brewery in St. Louis founded in 1989, the first craft brewery in the city since prohibition. Since its inception, Schlafly has grown to have a wide distribution footprint with dozens of beers in its lineup. The brewery has two locations–the Schlafly Tap Room in downtown St. Louis and the Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood.

The Schlafly Tap Room houses the brewery’s original facility and is located in a beautiful old brick building that was once a printing facility. While you can see some of the brewing equipment inside, you’ll also find a warm and welcoming restaurant with lots of rich wood–the tap room has the ambience of an Old World European pub. The food here matches the ambience, with a focus on pub food, both American and European, such as burgers, sandwiches, mussels, fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, and schnitzel. It’s difficult to go wrong with a choice, but we highly recommend the beer cheese soup. The Tap Room also has a plethora of beer selections, ranging from Schlafly’s regular offerings to specialty beers, such as barrel-aged and trial beers. Schlafly also always has a cask ale available.

The Schlafly Bottleworks is, in some ways, the opposite of the Tap Room. While it was once a supermarket, it is now a sleek, state-of-the-art, environmentally-friendly brewing facility. The Bottleworks functions as Schlafly’s main brewing site, but it also houses its own restaurant. This restaurant is clean, with light colors, lots of windows, and light wood. The different environment is reflected in the menu–there are some similarities between the Tap Room and the Bottleworks, such as sandwiches and salads, but you’ll also find pizzas, and even a noodle bowl. Although you won’t find a cask ale here, the Bottleworks also features a number of beers on tap.

Schlafly’s beers are routinely very good–it’s difficult to go wrong in selecting a beer. They are always drinkable, whether you’re sipping a hefeweizen on a warm summer day or drinking a coffee stout by a roaring fire.

 

Both Schlafly Tap Room and Schlafly Bottleworks are great places to go to eat, either for a casual meal out or for something more special, like a celebration or a date. Our food has always been tasty at both locations, and the beer is excellent. We recommend trying one of the restaurants, or, better yet, try both!