The collective strength of the St. Louis brewing community will be on full display this weekend at Forest Park. On Friday through Saturday, June 14 and 15, the seventh annual St. Louis Brewers Heritage Festival showcases some of the finest brews the region has to offer. The celebration brings together more than twenty local breweries, from the more familiar Anheuser-Busch and Schlafly, to less well known but very delicious 2nd Shift and Charleville.
Organizers boast that this year's fest will offer 80 styles of craft-beer goodness. And to soak up the suds, Vin de Set, LoRusso's, Eleven Eleven Mississippi and Harvest, will be on hand selling pub-fare dishes to match the occasion.
Slideshow: Inside the 2010 St. Louis Brewers Heritage Festival
Proceeds will go to the St. Louis Brewers Guild, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting St. Louis' beer culture and encouraging further growth such as tourism, marketing and more beer-inspired events (which Gut Check fully endorses).
Continue on for a complete list of breweries participating in the festival and additional details. - 2nd Shift Brewing; New Haven - 4 Hands Brewing Co.; St. Louis - Alpha Brewing Company; St. Louis - Augusta Brewing Company & Beer Garden; Augusta - Buffalo Brewing Company; St. Louis - Cathedral Square; St. Louis - Charleville Vineyard & Microbrewery; Ste. Genevieve County - Civil Life Brewing Company; St. Louis - Crown Valley; Ste. Genevieve County - Excel Brewery; Breese, Illinois - Exit 6 Brewery; Cottleville - Ferguson Brewing Company; Ferguson - Kirkwood Station Brewing Company, Kirkwood - Morgan Street Brewery, St. Louis - O'Fallon Brewery; O'Fallon - Perennial Artisan Ales; St. Louis - Schlafly; St. Louis - Six Row Brewing Company; St. Louis - Square One Brewery and Distillery; St. Louis - Trailhead Brewing Company; St. Charles - Urban Chestnut Brewing Company; St. Louis
The quaffing begins Friday evening from 6 to 10 p.m., with two more sessions running on Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 11 p.m. Street parking around Forest Park's central fields is available, as is additional parking on the Muny's upper and lower parking lots. Or take MetroLink, and a shuttle will transfer you right to the event. Tickets can only be purchased for those 21 and over (no children or pets) at the festival's website for $40, or at the gate on the day of the event for $40. This year 500 VIP tickets are available per session for additional $10; these allow one hour of early access to the beer.
Ticket prices include a tasting glass, live music (bands to be announced) and unlimited samples -- that's right, unlimited.
So come out and support St. Louis' brewing community...they need us to drink their beer. Don't let them down.
