I’m recounting my visit to St. Louis for the 2011 ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition — I conclude my trip report with my visit to The Shlafly Tap Room.

After a day of meetings, I hopped in a cab with my colleagues Todd and Dave for a short ride over to The Shlafly Tap Room for dinner. This was the most anticipated brewpub on my St. Louis beer to-do list. Shlafly is a legendary Midwest brewery — Anheuser-Busch has nothing on these guys.

According to their web site, “The Schlafly Tap Room first opened its doors in 1991 and proudly holds the distinction of being the first new brewpub in Missouri since Prohibition.” Once a regional brewery, I can now find Schlaflay brews right here around DC. I’ve loved the many Shlafly beers I’d sampled — you can taste the high-quality — so I was really looking forward to visiting a place where Shlafly beers are made.

I found the description of the Tap Room on the web site to be spot on: “Housed in a beautifully-restored wood and brick building on the National Historic Register, The Schlafly Tap Room enjoys a reputation as a casual, earthy place…” I’m not sure what they mean by earthy, but it is definitely casual and comfortable.

We were seated for dinner right away and over a leisurely meal, I worked my way through a six-beer sampler and three pints:

• Hefeweizen (4.5%)
• Pilsner (4.8%)
• Belgian Singel (sic) (5.1%)
• Dry-Hopped APA (6.6%)
• Pale Ale (4.4%)
• Oatmeal Stout (6.0%)
• Citrus Witbier (6.5%)
• Raspberry Coffee Stout (7.0%)
• American IPA (7.2%)

I had the last three beers as pints and these special brews were the perfect ending to my Schlafly beer tasting. I especially liked the IPA.

The Tap Room offered a classic brewpub menu to go along with the excellent beer.  Ever since my trip to Toronto, I’ve had cravings for Poutine, and this dish of “Tap Room Fries, Grain Mustard Gravy, Cheese Curds” was the perfect starter. I had the Cuban sandwich as my main dish and we all enjoyed the much-better-than-average pub fare.

It will be an easy decision to return to the Tap Room on my next visit to St. Louis!

This brings my 2011 St. Louis Trip Report to an end. I never made it to the Anheuser-Busch brewery, but I did sample more than 40 local beers in five brew pubs, an amazing beer bar, and a St. Louis beer garden. Traveling to St. Louis? Here’s your St. Louis beer guide:

• Guide to Finding Good Beer in St. Louis
• Square One Brewery & Distillery (2011 Trip to St. Louis, Part 1)
• Morgan Street Brewery (2011 Trip to St. Louis, Part 2)
• Bridge (2011 Trip to St. Louis, Part 3)
• Six Row Brewing Company (2011 Trip to St. Louis, Part 4)
• Urban Chestnut Brewing Company (2011 Trip to St. Louis, Part 5)
• The Schlafly Tap Room (2011 Trip to St. Louis, Part 6)

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