[jeffy]

My wife and I will be taking a break and flying to St. Louis this weekend to see what's there.  Hopefully we'll see a little Spring.  We miss that, living in Florida. 
Are there any good beer bars, breweries or restaurants we shouldn't miss?

[a10t2]

I haven't spent much time there recently, but here goes.

Schlafly is the big name in town (well, other than AB). They have a couple locations - IMHO the food is better at the Bottleworks, the atmosphere's a little cooler downtown, especially if the weather's conducive to sitting outside. Their flagships and seasonals are available in any decent liquor store, but both locations have a lot of other stuff on tap too.

The AB tour is actually worth doing if you're into that, or at least it used to be. I haven't done it since before the InBev takeover, but they used to have pilot batches and one-offs available in the taproom after the tour.

Urban Chestnut was the standout of the small breweries last time I was in town. Huge selection of beers. That was a year ago, so there are probably half a dozen new ones open. Laclede's Landing downtown is a good walkable area for restaurants and nightlife, plus there's the Arch and courthouse and all that fun stuff.

[slarkin712]

If you want to sample many of the local beers and a bunch of others the St. Louis Microfest is this weekend.  Has 4 hour sessions Friday night, Saturday afternoon, and Saturday evening. 
Don't waste your time in Laclede's Landing.  It's a semi tourist trap and full of crime, and not very happening.  There are plenty of good microbreweries to check out.  If you like Belgian beers go to Perennial Artisan Ales.  Eniglish beers got to Civil Life Brewing.  German beers go to to Urban Chestnut's new place on Manchester in The Grove.  Schlafly's place in Maplewood is much better than the place downtown. 
There are a few bars with extensive taps and bottle selection.  International Tap House has multiple locations.  33 wine bar and shop has some good beer and a great wine selection. 
There are plenty of places to go, it just depends what part of town you are in.

[jeffy]

Thanks.  Good info.  I need to learn about the neighborhoods.  We'll be staying  in Clayton, but will have a car.

[dmtaylor]

Schlafly's is very good.  It's been a few years, but I liked Square One a lot as well, and they're also a distillery, so there's that.

If you ever bring kids, the City Museum is an absolute MUST-SEE.  It's the museum that's really not a museum at all... look it up.  Fun for all ages, but kids especially.  I don't fit into some of the tighter spaces anymore....

[AmandaK]

Perennial Artisan Ales - fancy Belgians and experimental beers
4 Hands - hoppy ales
Civil Life - EXCELLENT session beers
Urban Chestnut - they have two 'series', the traditional ones and the experimental ones. The traditional ones are mighty fine German lagers.
Schlafly - two locations, one on Locust (Tap Room) and the other in Maplewood (Bottleworks). The Tap Room has one off beers, really good food (get the special, whatever it is), a small patio, no tour, and is in a historic building. I love that place. The Bottleworks is the production facility with tours, a huge patio, great food, and a place to purchase any swag you want. I also enjoy that place.

I would stay out of Square One. I was there a year ago and had the most painful experience of trying to drink totally flawed beer in front of the owner who was going on and on about his fantastic brewmaster. Ugh. I have never had more acetaldehyde laden beer in my life! Or astringent beer... or tart Scottish beers... it brings me nightmares.

Buying beers: Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton

[jeffy]

Schlafly's is very good.  It's been a few years, but I liked Square One a lot as well, and they're also a distillery, so there's that.

If you ever bring kids, the City Museum is an absolute MUST-SEE.  It's the museum that's really not a museum at all... look it up.  Fun for all ages, but kids especially.  I don't fit into some of the tighter spaces anymore....

I was just looking at that last night.  Interesting museum with completely different subjects on each floor.  But no kids, just two old people.

[jeffy]

Thanks to all for the travel advice.  We had a very nice time in St. Louis.  Had beer and food at Schlafly's downtown and the Bottleworks as well as Urban Chestnut's brew pub.  I also had beers from Four Hands and Civil Life as well as Boulevard - Tank Seven seems ubiquitous. 
We were impressed with the Art Museum's collection and the grounds (1904 World's Fair).
I had a blast climbing around at the City Museum, probably the oldest kid there.  I was definitely the oldest if not the tallest on some of the taller slides.
We spent a few hours on the grounds of the Botanical Gardens looking at flowers we don't ordinarily see in Florida.  It was a beautiful weekend.
I can recommend Cafe Osage for breakfast, not just for the food, which was excellent, but because it's in the middle of a nursery.
We stayed at a "boutique" hotel in Clayton called Seven Gables which had a very nice little Irish Pub attached and several good, if pricey restaurants around the corner.
So, St. Louis was fun.  I carried around all your notes and referenced them quite a bit.  Thanks.