ST. LOUIS — Food and beer go hand in hand, and St. Louis breweries know that better than anyone.
"Food keeps people around longer purchasing more beer," said Dan Stauder, owner and founder of Missouri Beer Company in O'Fallon, Missouri. Many other owners and brewers offered a similar refrain: Food is a no-brainer. Of the 25 companies on our list, nearly 90% also operate taprooms that offer some type of food to customers, from burgers to brunch to Bavarian pretzels.
But the approach to food service at breweries is not one-size-fits-all. While some have a full-service kitchen operating in-house, others partner with food groups or restaurants — Rockwell Beer Co. in Francis Park partners with Girard Craft's Niche Food Group; 4 Hands Brewing Co. downtown partners with Peacemaker and Sydney Street Cafe and Third Wheel Brewing in St. Peters partners with Window Kitchen.
Other breweries invite food trucks or restaurants to host pop-ups for their customers. Still others like Side Project Brewing in Maplewood don't have food options, but encourage customers to bring their own, even providing menus from nearby restaurants.
We spoke with Derrik Langeneckert, the head brewer at Alpha Brewing Co. in Tower Grove South, about Alpha's decision to use an in-house kitchen and staff for food service.
Describe Alpha's approach to food. Our menu is designed to accompany a multitude of different brews, and our staff is well trained on our food and beer menu and often help with recommendations for food and beer pairing. We have an in-house food team led by Chef Eric Perez. We focus on quality, locally-sourced and handmade menu items. It makes it easy when Tower Grove Farmers Market is just down the street. (All of our food) is made in-house except for the buns, which are locally sourced from Fazio's, and the french fries. We create barrel-aged BBQ sauces and house-fermented pickles, and we use the best cuts of meat in our burgers — ground tenderloin.
Click here for the full story.
