As I watch Game 7 of the 2011 World Series, I’m reminded of my recent trip to St. Louis. I visited the Gateway to the West in August when I attended the 2011 ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition.

Can you fully experience the beer scene in St. Louis without a visit to the Anheuser-Busch Brewery? Yes! After sampling more than 40 local beers in five brew pubs, an amazing beer bar, and a St. Louis beer garden — without drinking one A-B product — I’m proof that the beer scene in St. Louis doesn’t revolve around Anheuser-Busch.

Part 1 of my trip report from St. Louis is about my visit to Square One Brewery & Distillery.

As soon as I arrived in St. Louis on August 5, I dropped my bags at the Drury Inn and Suites and then took a cab to Square One, about two miles from my hotel. I did some research before the trip and I picked Square One as my first stop because of what I learned: Square One Brewery & Distillery became the first microdistillery restaurant in the state of Missouri and one of the first in the country in August 2008. Cool, but I didn’t care about the house-made spirits. I was there for the 11 house brews on tap, offered in beer flights of four 6-ounce glasses.

I sat at the bar and enjoyed two flights of beer with my lunch, including:

• Spicy Blonde, a twist on a Belgian White, brewed with lemongrass and ginger instead of coriander and orange peel (5.0%)
• Double Red, 3rd in Square One’s new world Strong Ale series, this is a full-bodied ale featuring malt sweetness (7.5%)
• Dunkel Hopfen Weizenbock, 4th in the Strong Ale series, this hoppy, dark German wheat “finishes with juicy fruit character and a touch of warmth” (8.5%)
• IPA, an excellent IPA is a dark golden ale with a clean, bitter finish (6.25%)
• Maple Stout, an Irish Stout infused with Vermont maple syrup (5.0%)
• Single Malt Scotch Ale, tastes of caramel and toffee with a mild hop finish (5.7%)
• Classic Cascade IPA, from the single hop series of IPAs (6.4%)
• Irish Stout, a classic dry Stout (5.75%)

Square One’s line-up of beers was solid and I liked the unique twists on the classic styles. The atmosphere was relaxed, the pub fare was better-than-average, and the service was Midwest friendly. Sounds like the perfect brew pub!

Square One provided a positive first impression of the St. Louis beer scene.

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