Many area children will spend Easter loading up on all the sugary goodness that furry little bunny delivers. But don’t let the kids have all the fun. Grab a bag of my favorite Easter candy, Brach’s Classic Jelly Bird Eggs, and pair each flavor with locally available brews. Consider it the adult version of an Easter egg hunt – a Beer-ster Egg Hunt, if you will.
1. Lemon: Pair these citrusy yellow jelly beans with a Radler at The Civil Life. This half German wheat ale and half sparking fruit soda concoction is just what this lemony bean needs. On draft at The Civil Life Brewing Co.
2. Lime: Do you like tiki drinks? Then pair this little green bean with a Schlafly Coconut Cream Ale. You’ll taste an island paradise with the mix of lime, coconut and pineapple flavors. On draft at Schlafly Bottleworks
3. Grape: Eat a grape jelly bean and then drink some 4 Hands Absence of Light to relive those days of childhood peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. On draft at 4 Hands Brewing Co.
4. Cherry: Enhance the cherry flavors in North Peak Archangel with those little red juice bombs of a jelly bean. This pale wheat beer is light and dry with just a hint of cherry. Available at Friar Tuck in Crestwood
5. Raspberry: Goose Island Lolita 2017 just hit shelves and is available in 12-ounce bottles for the first time. These sweet little pink jelly beans are a great counterpoint to all the sour raspberry funkiness going on in this beer. Available at Lukas Wine & Spirits
6. Orange: These citrusy, sweet orange jelly beans meet their match with the brightness and light tartness of Six Mile Bridge Beer’s seasonal Blood Orange Wit. On draft at Six Mile Bridge Beer
7. Vanilla-Pineapple: Pair these opaque white jelly beans with a funky, Brett-fermented farmhouse like Green Bench’s Les Grisettes. Brett often creates intense notes of tropical fruit, and the vanilla adds a nice soft note that rounds out an often herbaceous, grassy character. Available at Saint Louis Hop Shop
8. Licorice: Does anyone actually eat these anise-flavored black jelly beans? Toss these spicy guys in the trash and end your Beer-ster Egg Hunt with a shot of Jägermeister or Fernet instead. You’ll be happier for it.
Katie Herrera is tasting room manager at Side Project Cellar and co-founder of Femme Ferment.
This article appears in April 2017.