THE BREWSPAPER / BREWS ALONG THE GREAT RIVER ROAD, PART 4: MISSOURI

Takes a bold brewer to ply his/her beermaking trade in the shadow of the monster (Anhauser-Busch) but there's no shortage of independent craft beer makers in St. Louis such as Urban Chestnut Brewing Company, who love a challenge.

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.

If you only visit one place in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, our vote is for the stylish Ebb and Flo Fermentations establishment

If history appeals to you, cross the river and the east-side Great River Road passes by Cahokia, a National Historic Landmark and UNESCO World Heritage Site. It reveals the history of the Mississippian people who built earthen pyramids here long before Europeans arrived. Continue south on Illinois 3 and about 130 miles south Illinois 146/Missouri 74 is an optional crossing back to Missouri for Cape Girardeau where you find a twofer: Minglewood Brewery and Ebb and Flow Fermentations.

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.

In Perryville, Missouri the action begins at Jackson Street Brew Co.

SOURCE:

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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

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