6 STL coffee beers to drink this weekend

It’s that time of year again: Good Beer Hunting’s annual Uppers & Downers festival, a celebration of all things coffee beers. As I head back to Chicago to partake in this festival of my two favorite things, you should take an adventure down Manchester Avenue from Maplewood to The Mississippi and try the plethora of coffee beers available from some outstanding breweries.

Start your coffee beer exploit at Side Project Brewing. Nestled amongst the cozy walls of barreled funk, you’ll find Cory King and Co.’s newest project, Shared Brewing. Try a pour of Shared Coffee Shop Vibes: a rich, silky Russian Imperial stout that was finished on Colombian coffee beans from local roaster, Sump. It boasts loads of chocolate and coffee notes with a soft, underlying raisin character.

Next, walk east a few blocks to Schlafly Bottleworks for a quick Schlafly Coffee Stout (my favorite seasonal release coming out of St. Louis, but faithful readers knew that already) or the deliciously deceptive Double Bean Blonde Ale. Despite its yellow straw hue, it boasts aromas and flavors reminiscent of chocolate-covered coffee beans.

Continue down Manchester and into the The Hill neighborhood for a pit stop at 2nd Shift Brewing. This weekend, these cool cats debut Coffee Cat Spit Stout: a chewy oatmeal milk stout with the brightness and sweetness of Blueprint’s Peruvian Cajamarca cold toddy.

Finally, end your coffee beer journey at 4 Hands Brewing Co. with a Bonafide Imperial stout brewed with Edwardsville-based Goshen Bonafide coffee and vanilla beans or a Devil’s Invention, a coffee stout that’s crushable despite the 7.2-percent ABV. Get your buzz on this weekend.

Katie Herrera is the tasting room manager at The Side Project Cellar and co-founder of Femme Ferment.