St. Louis breweries are catering to a more inclusive range of tastes than ever

When visiting a brewery, it’s natural to focus on the beer selection, but a growing number of St. Louis breweries are acknowledging that not everyone is coming for the fermented malt and hops. Perhaps your standard order at your local brewpub is still a stout, saison or IPA, but your bartender will just as likely be able to fix you a great cocktail, a fine glass of wine or a refreshing nonalcoholic (NA) beverage – and that doesn’t mean a choice of water or Coca-Cola. 

One important way breweries are becoming more inclusive of different tastes and preferences is by catering to customers who aren’t drinking alcohol. That might mean the designated driver, the wise friend who alternates between alcoholic and NA drinks, or somebody who’s just taking a break. Simply put, fewer people overall are drinking these days. According to one Gallup study, the percentage of American adults under 35 who drink alcohol has declined by 10% over the past two decades, from 72% in 2002 to 62% in 2023.

Fortunately, St. Louis breweries are taking care of that increasing segment of teetotalers by expanding their NA offerings. 2nd Shift Brewing’s Busy Bees line of housemade sodas shows how breweries can get creative with NA options. Their selection includes a root beer made with cane sugar, vanilla beans and root beer flavoring, as well as a lemon and lime soda and a hop water made with Zythos and Citra hops.

If you want the flavor of beer, but not the alcohol, you’re in luck. The explosion in interest in NA beers has been one of the biggest stories in the brewing industry over the past few years and has led to a proliferation of beers ranging from 0% to 0.5% ABV (alcohol by volume). St. Louis’ own WellBeing Brewing Co. is dedicated exclusively to NA brewing and has become a pioneer in the category, with its beers like Victory Wheat and Hellraiser Dark Amber a common find on local brewery lists. 

NA-only brands like Athletic Brewing Co., Gruvi (which also makes NA wines) and Big Drop Brewing Co. are also making inroads in the local market, both in breweries and in retail spaces like Saint Louis Hop Shop. “The beer is getting better and better, and it’s craft NA beer – you’re getting those IPAs, those mocha stouts, lagers and witbiers,” said Saint Louis Hop Shop owner Justin Harris. “I think over the next couple of years we’ll start to see a little bit more competitiveness between the NA beers, the NA brands in St. Louis, and I think it’s going to be way more common for you to see in bars and not just in a grocery or retail setting.”

Now we’re seeing local heavyweights releasing NA versions of their own best-selling craft beers. First, Schlafly Beer unveiled an NA version of its pale ale, and 4 Hands Brewing Co. recently released NA versions of three of its core beers: City Wide pale ale, Incarnation IPA and Full Life lager. “We see that as a really important part of the craft landscape as we move forward,” said 4 Hands president and CEO Kevin Lemp. “This isn’t a Dry January play anymore, or Sober October. We feel this is a year-round opportunity for us to provide for the customer that does drink but is wanting to take a break, or somebody that has decided not to drink but still loves the taste of beer.” 

Lemp is also one of several brewery bosses who have spread their wings into distilling. Customers at 4 Hands’ new tasting room at The District in Chesterfield and the brewery’s original LaSalle Park taproom can drink whiskeys from sister brand Withered Oak Spirits and also gin and tonic flights featuring 1220 Artisan Spirits’ range of gins. Similarly, customers at Perennial Artisan Ales can change things up from their usual order of beer to sip on a pour of Common Ritual whiskey. The brand was launched in late 2023 by a team including Perennial co-owner Phil Wymore, with the first release distilled in collaboration with Nobletons Distilling House, based out of Union, Missouri. Alpha Brewing Co.’s forthcoming Delmar Maker District location will include a distillery and tasting room, where the brewer’s beers will be complemented by Alpha’s bourbons, rye whiskeys and vodkas.

According to Lemp, having a distilling arm offers a brewery’s customers a more diverse variety of locally created products, as well as inspires creativity and innovation among the brewing team. “I think, even more importantly, it ignites new inspiration to the maker,” Lemp said. “To be so passionate about small-batch beer and then take a little bit of that mental energy and dive in and become super educated on distillation and be able to take our vision of small-batch beer and use that in the distillation world, that’s what gets us really excited.” 

Breweries don’t need to produce their own spirits to offer thoughtfully curated wine and cocktail lists. Rockwell Beer Co. head brewer Jonathan Moxey said Civil Life Brewing Co. and Side Project Brewing are two breweries whose wine selections impress – perhaps unsurprising, given that Civil Life owner Jake Hafner and Side Project co-owner Cory King both have a background in the wine business. It also pays to have a solid cocktail program: At the recently opened Mississippi Culture in Staunton, Illinois, cocktails account for almost 40% of sales. “It’s a huge thing for us,” said co-owner and head brewer Tracy Hutton. “We have regulars that come in that have never drank a beer.” Other customers might switch between beers, cocktails and wine from one visit to the next. And with a vast range of canned cocktails, wines and hard seltzers available in the local market, brewers have even more opportunity to diversify those drink lists.

Of course, beer drinkers’ tastes are constantly evolving and changing, and brewers are constantly refining their selections to keep things interesting for customers old and new. We’re seeing more breweries offering easy-drinking but flavorful beers that fall between 2% to 4% ABV, and classic styles like radlers, witbiers, Pilsners and ESBs (extra-special bitters) are coming back into play. These styles test a brewer’s skill and allow breweries to show their range, but Moxey believes they also satisfy a craving for well-made takes on old-school beer styles. “I think that increasingly there are people that want a beer and are looking to craft breweries for that because they are recognizing quality, where previously they might have just picked up Busch or something like that,” he said. 

Moxey said recent beers like Perennial’s Gold Tooth lager (brewed in collaboration with Little Lager) exemplify this. “I love Busch just as much, if not more than, the next guy, but I think there’s a difference in terms of flavor between what craft beer is doing versus what some of the bigger macrobreweries are doing. People are attuned to quality and they’re willing to pay for it,” he said. 

A single brewery can’t be expected to do it all, but in a world of short attention spans and intense competition for each customer, it makes sense to cater to broad tastes.