Schlafle's brewery/Morgan St. Brewery St. Louis Visits

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VermVerm

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I visited Morgan St. Brewery on the landing near the Arch in St. Louis this weekend. The good news was that the food was good. The bad news was the beer...all of it. I had the stout. Overly bitter and astringent. Coffee was the only pleasant taste and was overpowered by poor brewing technique. 1.5 out of 5. The Hefeweizen was lacking in banana and clove. Watery and maybe too young in the aging process to serve...didn't think that possible. 1.5 out of 5. It was at least drinkable, but don't expect much.





Last night we visited Schlafle's. Overall a great experience. I had the sampler and the seasonal. The sample has a hefe, pilsner, pale ale, american pale ale, 15th anniversary beer and the seasonal Raspberry hefe. All were drinkable to very drinkable. The 15th Annv. ale was a belgium brown with a farmhouse yeast and spicy finish. A darning beer that works on many levels. I don't care for spice taste in beer...but this was a good beer. 4 out of 5. Best for last. I like a good hefe...that is what I know the best because that is what I brew most often. The Raspberry Hefe should win awards. Heavy mix of banana with the slight draw of the raspberry. The balance was great without any noticable hops. The palate was filled with pleasant tastes that rarely can be coaxed out of a beer. I looked around the outdoor pavillion and with the noticable pink hue I could tell that no less than 90% of the glasses on the tables were the Schlafle's Raspberry Hefe.

Cheers,

Eric Vermilion
 
I was in St. Louis for training with Wachovia a few weeks back. There are 2 other breweries in the area. Buffalo Brewing is on Olive near SLU. The other is Square One which had a nice Dubbel. They also have happy hour specials from 4-6 every day. It is in Lafayette Park area.
 
Square one is probably my favorite place to go as of right now. Great beer, great food, great atmosphere and in an up and coming area of town. I live in the county so I am far away, but I get there whenever I can.

Schlafly's is also a great place. They have two locations. I have been to the bottleworks a good number of times and love going there. The tap room I have yet to go to, but understand that it is the better of the two locations.
 
I visited Schlafleys tap room and the morgan street brewery. I could not agree more about morgan street. The food was just ok, and the beer was not good. It would seem the head brewer there either isnt sure about what he is doing or has lost his zeal for making outstanding beer (if they ever did).

The tap room was out of this world fantastic. The sheppards pie made with their stout if memory serves me right was awesome and the sampler i had was loaded with beers that were highly drinkable and very good examples of the style they were representing.

If i have a chance to go back to St. Louis the tap room will be a for sure on the list of places to go.
 
Unfortunately we couldn't go to square one because they were closed on the 4th. A local friend is very high them. Did you like Buffalo Brewing. I have not heard of it and will be going back to see my friend in the future.
 
I visited Schlafleys tap room and the morgan street brewery. I could not agree more about morgan street. The food was just ok, and the beer was not good. It would seem the head brewer there either isnt sure about what he is doing or has lost his zeal for making outstanding beer (if they ever did).

You nailed it. Sloppy, unenthusiastic, and blah.

The tap room was out of this world fantastic. The sheppards pie made with their stout if memory serves me right was awesome and the sampler i had was loaded with beers that were highly drinkable and very good examples of the style they were representing.

I saw the Cubs/Cards on Saturday, and was heartbroken by the Cubs loss...but the pulled pork sandwich was out of this world. Schlafly's is a great place to go. They have a sign posted on the wall trying to raise $50Billion so they can buy Anheiser Busch and keep it American. They had a meter for keeping tally and it was at $74 when I was there...it showed on the meter up to $50 Billion. Priceless. And the kind of fun attitude it takes to run a world class microbrew house.

If i have a chance to go back to St. Louis the tap room will be a for sure on the list of places to go.

I can't wait to go back!
 
Boy - My opinion differs from yours. (my bad, you were talking about Morgan St) I was at the Schlafly brewery tour about 2 weeks ago. My favorite beer was the APA. Hopped w/ cascades. My group loved this particular beer.

The tap room food was OK, I would not order the Schnitzel again. It was too dry. Much of the group thoroughly enjoyed the food. I would have to say we were tapped out when we arrived. I drank their Dortmunder and Pilsner. Both were good and went well with my food selection.

I/We started at;

Day - 1
O'Fallon's Brewery - O'Fallon Gold
Trailhead Brewery - Trailhead Red
Schlafly's Bottwerks Brewery - Stout, APA & #15
The Blueberry Hill - O'Fallons 5-day IPA
Cicero's - Local Witt, Double Dog, Arcadia Double IPA, New Belgian Le Fleur Misseur
Schlafly's Taproom - Dortmunder, Pilsner

Day 2
Morgan St - Vienna & Steam Beer
AB - Bud Select & Bareknuckle Stout

Out of the whole trip the Schlafly APA was the best tasting beer I drank. I brought home a 6'r of the APA two 12oz glasses and two sample glasses plus a T-shirt.

If I could get this locally I'd have this as a back-up when I'm out of HB.
 
Buffalo had a decent, but small menu. Their beers were average. I was able to get a Jalopeno beer and a wheat. The Jalapeno had a nice zing to it. I specifically went for that. The wheat was tasty. You can get a logo glass and beer for pretty cheap. The BBQ place behind them is supposed to be good though. You could try a beer or 4 at Buffalo and then have bbq at the place in back of them.

If I had to rate the pubs. Square-One, Schlafly's, Buffalo, Morgan. I had a decent burger at Morgan and an average beer. Square one had a great plate with hummus on it and the nachos were different, but good.

Also not, you can go to Schnucks and get more of the beers from out west. I bought several beers from New Belgium. 1554 was my favorite. I picked up some fat tire for a buddy also.
 
Also, go on the tour if you can at AB. THe tour is awsome and the glasses that they use are nucleated. It is great for beer. You can buy the glasses there also. I wish I had purchased 4 of them.
 
I interned in st louis last summer, this was before I started brewing. I went to Trail Head twice, I remember thinking the beer was ok. Me and my girlfriend went into Morgan Street one night after a cardinals game, and left in 15 mins... I wonder why? The second day I was in STL one of my new co-workers took me on a tour of the city that ended at Schlafleys tap room. I enjoyed the beer I had the oatmeal stout and one of there wheat beers. I miss STL and Schlafleys, especial now that I have gottne in to brewing. I'm supposed to be getting two growlers sent to me sometime inthe near furture from Schlafleys. Moral of this story. Dont waste your time at morgan street, trail head was ok, and Schlafleys is the best in STL
 
There are quite a few breweries open and doing well here in St. Louis, aside fromt he few that have been mentioned here there are:

6 Row Brewing on Forest Park Parkway
Mattingly Brewing on Jefferson
Cathedral Square Brewing on Lindell

Also Highlands Brewing in Krkwood is pretty good too....
 
There are quite a few breweries open and doing well here in St. Louis, aside fromt he few that have been mentioned here there are:

6 Row Brewing on Forest Park Parkway
Mattingly Brewing on Jefferson
Cathedral Square Brewing on Lindell

Also Highlands Brewing in Krkwood is pretty good too....

You forgot one:

Aberdeen Tap Cellar.

...conveniently located in my basement with an unlimited supply of Triscuits and pretzels. :D
 
Living in St. Louis I've gotten to try a few. Of those listed this is what I think.

O'Fallon Gold, didn't like it at all.
Trailhead, ok, but not great.
Schlafly however is still the best beer I've ever had. It is the beer that turned me onto real beer and remains a close favorite of mine. I empty their bottles to put my beer in and plan to stay away from kegging for a while just so I can empty more schlafly bottles.

The AB tour however is the best brewery tour you can find IMHO. Schlafly was kinda like "heres a mash tun, a lauter tun, and a kettle. Beer goes back there to ferment. Whos ready to taste some beer. Nothing wrong with that but besides the tasting it just doesn't compare to the whole tour of AB, including the Clydesdales.
 
Have to say it is awesome to hear the reviews I'd St. Louis Brewpubs.

My college roommate bought a house around the corner from Schlafly's bottleworks, so we have literally watched them grow in St. Louis. Their APA and Hefe have been longtime favorites of ours. I drive him, my exroommate, nuts because I drop by to visit, coinciding with fermenting. If you take a mason jar with you they are happy to fill it yeast and I have happily harvested their APA for 4+ years now. We never really paid attention to their food, so can't speak for it. The botleworks is a popular place and always fun to hang out at.

O'Fallon Brewery is a GREAT facility across the river, Missouri River not Mississippi. Well the guys that run it are great not sure what they actually have out there. They are just happy to be supportingthemselves making beer and it shows. Last time I was out there i think I said I gotta go 12 times before I actually left. :)

There is also a place called Growler's in Central West End and I think South County. Skip runs the place and they have 130+ beers from around the world, you will find what you are looking for there. And if you drink them all he will engrave a Growler for you to drink out of.
 
Schlafly makes some damn good beer.

A couple years ago I was at Pin Up Bowl which had the Espresso Stout on tap. I'd never been a fan of coffee stouts but this one was great.

Stopped in at Square One over the Holidays. Didn't try the food but the Scotch Ale from the hand pump was tasty!
 

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