Something like 30 to 50 breweries called St. Louis home in the decades before Prohibition, and today, at the rate small operations are opening here, we may well soon reach that number again. And what better place to launch a brew pub than a former brewery?
After extensively rehabbing the old Falstaff Plant No. 1 building at 3690 Forest Park Ave. due south of SLU, Six Row Brewing Co. opened to the public (some of whom were already waiting outside) this past Saturday. Only the original Falstaff stained glass above the door remains from the 99-year-old structure’s prior use; the inside looks brand-new. Six Row’s Old Plant No. 1 Pub is modest in size and appearance; it may have been an afterthought to the brewing facility. Still, it offers a couple of snacks like popcorn and pretzels, Coca-Cola in glass bottles, three flat-screen TVs and – oh, yeah – beer.
The taps currently hold the made-in-house Kölsch, Honey Weizen, ESB, strong porter and extra pale ale, as well as something called Whale: the interesting result of a test batch of brew that crosses a wheat and a pale. The pub also has a few guest taps from Michigan’s New Holland Brewery. It offers pints, a sampler tray (style descriptions included) that allows you to taste all the Six Row brews, and growlers and kegs to take home.
Thank you, 21st Amendment!
– S.C. Truckey
This article appears in Dec 1-31, 2009.