Brewery Tour: Schlafly Bottleworks

The last time I was in St. Louis, I was sure to swing by Anheuser-Busch for a tour and tasting. Huge breweries like this have many interesting aspects, but I typically like smaller microbreweries because I think their beer is better. This last weekend, I took a side step and checked out one of the area's micro-breweries: Schlafly Bottleworks.

To begin my visit, I had lunch in Schlafly's dining area with my hosts!

At lunch I tried their APA, which was awesome... This got me very excited for the tour which was soon to come!

My beer was not poured from a keg. Oh no, no, no! Instead, it comes directly from one of these big guys! Schlafly is all about freshness! ROCK!

Schlafly is the first St. Louis bottling brewery to open since prohibition. It is fairly small and only distributes to a few neighboring states. Unfortunately, Wisconsin is not one of them... However, I do not blame them for wanting to maintain their integrity and commitment to good products by staying small!

Schlafly's claim to fame is their Pale Ale. I sampled this one at the end of the tour. It was a simple, amber-colored ale. It didn't have as much flavor as I had hoped for, but it was still a nice beer. It is quite light, so you can hit this one over and over again in one night. Plus, as you can read below, it pairs nicely with just about any sort of food.

My favorites were:

The No 15 This is a dunkel weisen, but doesn't look very dark. It is unfiltered and is a rich amber color.

The Dry-Hopped APA Popping with hops, this is a fun APA with a slightly spicy finish. It is a little bitter, but not too much. It is sure to please any IPA/APA lover.

The Winter ESB This was my surprise! I wasn't sure what to expect. I hadn't ever tasted an "Extra Special Bitter." It was extra and special! It wasn't bitter in the bitter sense, but more bitter in the Old English bitters sense - kind of malty and hoppy, too. Our guide failed to tell us, but apparently this is made with a small amount of Rye as well! In any case, this was an excellent beer!

The Pumpkin Ale Often times I am not a big fan of pumpkin spice beers. Not sure why, but perhaps they are a bit too sweet. Schlafly's Pumpkin Ale was very balanced. It uses real pumpkin and butternut squash for its sugar in the fermentation process, but since pumpkin itself it not sugary sweet, this beer keeps its edge. It also contains the typical pumpkin spices which make it taste like you are really eating a smooth, creamy piece of Granny's pumpkin pie!

The tour itself was nothing spectacular. I have been on many a tour, so perhaps it is tough to impress me anymore. You'll be happy to know, at least, that Schlafly holds the safety of their employees and guests as a top priority.

Our guide knew a decent amount about the brewing process, but very little about the Schlafly Bottleworks Company itself. The good news about the tour: it was free! Not to mention that at the end, each participant got three beer samples (again for free!) Since I was with two other of age people, we were able to sample each of the 8 brews available on draught that day.

As a tourist, I decided to hit up the gift shop afterward. I got myself a nifty t-shirt that says, auf Deutsch "Beer is not just for breakfast anymore." I love it!

If you are in town and looking for a way to spend a lovely hour or two, definitely swing by Schlafly Bottleworks or the Schlafly Tap Room.