MISSOURI
BREWERIES
(with a few
jumping frog stops in Illinois)
GUEST BLOG / By Kevin Revolinski, Writer,
CraftBeer.com--Hannibal
is the birthplace of Samuel Clemens, the Mississippi River’s biggest writer,
and has a brewery honoring him, within sight of the … well, not the water, but
the earthen dike that keeps it out of town. Mark Twain Brewing offers Twain-themed brews (Jumping Frog IPA,
Huck Finn’s Habanero Apricot Wheat) and sits across the street from his
childhood home, which is now a museum.
Heading south on the west side of the river following Missouri 79, the Great River Road takes you two hours to another brewery mecca: St. Louis.
Stop in and see (or go up in) the 630-foot Gateway Arch on
the banks of the Mississippi. The water runs south, but American music moved
north. Blues came up out of the Mississippi Delta, putting down roots here and
in Memphis. Beyond the Arch National Park, head west to visit the National
Blues Museum. Or, jump aboard the riverboat Tom Sawyer where you can tourist to
your hearts content and plan your evening in St. Louis. We hear they have a pretty good hockey team,
too.
In St. Louis everyone’s a beer aficionado that’s why pillartopost.org
online magazine asked local financial advisor Kevin Poe for his Gateway city
craft beer stops. His report starts at
the end of this blog.
OK, back to the script: Notable for their wild and sour beers, Perennial Artisan Ales maintains separate brewery spaces for the funky and non-funky brewing. The adjacent Taproom is in a converted industrial space. It has an ever-changing short menu and is both family-friendly and open to dogs. Along with the 12 beers on tap, there are typically as many or more in bottles, most of which are for carryout.
Head toward downtown St. L and you will cross the Historic
Route 66 (another great craft beer road trip, by the way) and find 4 Hands Brewery with 14 on tap, with a
good mix of standards and seasonals and a bit of barrel-aging and a sour
program.
Urban Chestnut Brewing has a location with a beer garden in the heart of downtown, but its
first location farther west has a separate area for trying test batches. The
brewery is best known for its excellent treatment of German-style beers.
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If you only visit one place in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, our vote is for the stylish Ebb and Flo Fermentations establishment |
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Ever been to Festus, Missouri? If you haven't you'll have missed Main & Mill Brewing Co. And, that friends is a crying shame. |
If you’ve stayed on U.S. 61 heading south from St. Louis,
your next stop is 30 miles to Festus, home of Main & Mill Brewing. The ground floor is a family restaurant
but there’s also a taproom upstairs with a covered deck. From there another
45-minute ride takes you to Perryville for Jackson Street Brew Co, a three-barrel operation making some impressive beers that
go well with its brick-oven pizzas. New small and experimental batches pop up
every two weeks. From here the route connects down to Cape Girardeau, mentioned
above, where you cross into Illinois. Heading south to Cairo, Illinois, you
cross the Ohio River into Kentucky and head south where that river gives up its
water to the Mississippi.
CraftBeer.com is fully
dedicated to small and independent U.S. breweries. We are published by the
Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade group dedicated to promoting and
protecting America’s small and independent craft brewers. Stories and opinions
shared on CraftBeer.com do not imply endorsement by or positions taken by the
Brewers Association or its members.
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The true crossroads of America's craft beer world is where Route 66 crosses with the Great River Road and that epicenter will put you inside 4 Hands Brewery in Downtown St. Louis |
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This St. Louis man knows the best view of the Gateway Arch is from his boat the U.S.S. Tom Sawyer. He also knows where you can find a craft beer in Redbird City once you step ashore. |
NEXT WEEK WE’RE LOST SOMEWHERE SOUTH OF CAIRO
WITH THE CRAFT BEER BLUES, AGAIN
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