We have visited Schlafly's Bottleworks in Maplewood on several occasions just for lunch, but we thought we would also go on the tour this week since we had guests in from out of town. We showed up around 11:30 so we also received our tickets for the 1:00 pm tour to give us plenty of time to have a leisurely meal before the brewery tour. Schlafly's is always a nice place to take out of town guests since it is a unique place that has a definite St. Louis feel with the "brewery smell" to it, and the fun of dining in a former Shop 'N Save.
As usual I tried to find something different to eat for lunch, so I chose something I had ordered in the past, but not for several months, the black bean burger. My wife and daughter split a bison burger and a salad (with the vanilla viniagrette dressing), my son had the breakfast sandwich (eggs, bacon, cheese on toast), my mother-in-law had the salad, my brother-in-law had the meatloaf, my niece had the macaroni and cheese and my sister-in-law had the grilled portabello sandwich. We were all quite pleased with our selections, especially the potato gratin that came with the meatloaf. I was lucky to be sitting next to my daughter who had Billy Goat chips with her burger, so I could help her finish them after I finished off all the tortilla that came with my black bean burger. The service was good as always there, where the servers always seem to be very attentive and polite. We had plenty of time to just sit and relax before our tour.
The tour began promptly at 1:00pm and our guide was very well spoken and knowledgeable about the history of brewing in St. Louis and the overall brewing process. During his first 10 minute talk at the beginning, he reminded us of the 4 major ingredients of beer which he must have reminded us well since I still remember them today: water, barley, hops, and yeast. He passed around two different types of barley which we could actually taste and also a container of hops so we could see and smell what they were like. He then led us inside the actually brewery, which, sure enough, looks like a gutted grocery store crammed pack with equipment. It is nothing in size and complexity as compared to the Annheuser Busch brewery, and he reminded us how the AB (now InBev) brewery could produce what Schlafly's produces in a year in just a few hours. He liked to state how they focus on quality, not quantity. He was very thorough in his tour, leading us from the "research lab" in the middle, to the brewery tanks near the front, the area where the ingredients come in, the storage tanks in the back and the bottling and packaging area in the back. Unfortunately, since we were there on a Saturday there was not much activity going on in the brewery but we could still get a good feel of the operations. At the end of the tour we were led into a sampling room, but since none of us were really beer drinkers, and my daughter had to leave to meet someone we simply left. Overall, we thought it was a very well done tour, and we were glad we went on it. Schlafly's continues to be a nice place to visit, and we are glad they are doing so well and making a nice presence for themselves there in Maplewood.
Comments
Post a Comment