It’s the most wonderful time of the beer lover’s year: The seventh annual St. Louis Craft Beer Week kicks off Saturday, July 25, a nine-day celebration of the best in the St. Louis-area beer community. This year, more than 130 tastings, festivals, release parties, tappings and pairings are scheduled from Oakville to Alton. It all kicks off Saturday with the sold-out Midwest Belgian Beer Festival, but fear not – there are plenty of other events to jumpstart your week.
The official Midwest Belgian Beer Fest After Party starts at 4 p.m. Saturday at 33 Wine Bar with a draft lineup featuring Perennial’s new Suburban Beverage and standouts like Oskar Blues Deviant Dale’s IPA. You can also raise a glass of Bell’s Brewing’s Sparkleberry, Deb’s Red or 2014 Third Coast Ale on The Loop at Three Kings’ opening night celebration Saturday at 6 p.m.
Drink plenty of water Sunday morning in preparation for Cans, Chicken, Cine, Ice Cream at 4 Hands’ new Container Bar outside the brewery. This all-day extravaganza starts and noon and features brews from 4 Hands and Bell’s, hot chicken brats from the Southern and Byrd & Barrel crews and made-to-order ice cream from Ices Plain & Fancy. As for the cine portion of the evening, grab a seat at 9 p.m. for a screening of Wet Hot American Summer. Looking for something indoors that day? Check out Craft Beer Cellar’s Beer Geek Fest from noon to 6 p.m., where a total of 24 breweries will sample, and new offerings debut every two hours.
For a sit-down affair, get tickets for chef Ben Grupe latest installation of his pop-up dinner series, Soigné. This family-style, multi-course meal features dishes like maple-braised bacon with heirloom tomatoes and semolina dumplings all paired with local offerings from 2nd Shift, 4 Hands and Perennial.
The party rolls through Sunday, Aug. 2. Here, some quick highlights of what’s in store throughout next week:
• Monday, July 27: Art Bar hosts Bits ‘n Chips, a night of Tallgrass beer flights paired with the finest Dorito flavors to munch while you play more than 7,000 video games.
• Wednesday, July 29: iTap Central West End hosts Strange Invasion II, when the Strange Donuts crew pairs their creations with some of St. Louis’ best local brews.
• Thursday, July 30: Get your tickets for a six-course Beer and Burger Pairing at Heavy Riff. Southern California food truck Grill ‘Em All will prepare six sliders to enjoy with six brews from Heavy Riff and Excel Brewing.
Check out the full list of St. Louis Craft Beer Week events here.
Editor’s note: Eric Hildebrant is vice president of St. Louis Craft Beer Week, and Sauce Magazine is a sponsor of this event.
This article appears in Readers’ Choice 2015.