Rockwell Beer Co. head brewer Jonathan Moxey shares 12 of his favorite St. Louis spots

From his time brewing at Perennial Artisan Ales to his current role as head brewer at Rockwell Beer Co., Jonathan Moxey is known for creating well-balanced beers that make you want to order a second round. Whether he’s brewing modern classics like Rockwell’s Passing Clouds, a peppery Belgian witbier that never disappoints, or creative beers like How Sweet of Me (a collaboration with Chicago brewery Cruz Blanca), a recent Belgian-style tripel that’s brewed with piloncillo sugar and Indian green coriander, Moxey’s beers consistently pique your curiosity. Whatever you’re drinking (or eating) at Rockwell, it tends to be a good time – and that’s the kind of mood Moxey seeks when he goes out. When he does go out, he drinks … you guessed it, beer. “I’ve been in love with beer for a long time, but for me it’s just as much about the individuals, and whenever I go out for beer, I get it at a brewery because it’s best at the source,” he said. Here’s a roundup of his favorite spots to grab a cold one.

 

 

Side Project Brewing
“I love Side Project, [both] The Brewery and The Cellar. They take great care with their own beer, but at The Cellar they have European imports that you cannot find anywhere else, and they spend a lot of time and energy seeking them out and making sure they serve it properly. On Thursday nights, [co-owner] Cory [King] is usually hanging out there and they’re pulling out stuff from their personal cellar and sharing it with folks. That’s really cool because I’m not going to a bottle share like I did in my mid-20s – so it’s good to find a small group of like-minded people to geek out with on beer. Going to The Brewery, I love drinking their lagers and saisons. I think Drew Durish is making incredible lagers there.”

Side Project Brewing (The Brewery), 7458 Manchester Road, Maplewood
Side Project Brewing (The Cellar), 7373 Marietta Ave., Maplewood, sideprojectbrewing.com

 

 

Perennial on Lockwood
“I feel the same way about Perennial on Lockwood, Chris Kinast there has a dialed-in approach on easy-drinking beer. He’s a big soccer fan and he’s making sessionables and pairing it with the food there. He’s taking his own spin on the traditional English and American pale ales, and I wouldn’t say he’s strict about style guidelines, he’s putting his own spin on it: ‘What if we have a low-ABV English pale ale, but put some American hops in there to give it a citrusy twist?’ He makes excellent single yeast strain saisons – bone-dry, thirst-quenching beers that are hop forward but have some peppery phenolics.”

“I love what Perennial has done in South City with Sanguchitos and the outdoor space. My kids used to run around out there and now there’s a game room and patio games, and it’s really cool to have that wide open space. It’s a good time. The brewers are doing barrel-aged saisons where it’s mixed fermentation, so different yeasts and acid-producing bacteria are spending time in oak, and some are fruited or spiced. It’s a very old brewing tradition.” 

“They also do mixed fermentation spontaneous beers where you do a complicated mash regimen and then you take it down to fermentation temperature by putting it in a coolship and you allow it to cool overnight. While it’s doing that, it will pick up native yeast and bacteria from the air, and then that ages for multiple years in oak barrels that they reuse and blend multiple years together and bottle them. Their spontaneous beers are called Weird Era and they are special release, larger format bottles.”

Perennial on Lockwood, 216 W. Lockwood Ave. Unit B, Webster Groves, 314.682.3823, perennial.oohosp.com
Perennial Artisan Ales, 8125 Michigan Ave., St. Louis, perennialbeer.com

 

 

2nd Shift Brewing
“2nd Shift is another place where you really get a brewery’s character and what they’re about the moment you get in the door. These lovable weirdos are over there on the Hill and it’s like walking into somebody’s garage or living room – and I mean that as the highest possible compliment. It’s comfortable, fun and funky, and the sandwiches [from Central State Sandwiches] they’re doing there now are fantastic.” 

“I always have a heart for Technical Ecstasy and Art of Neurosis, and last time I was there they had a California common-style beer called Common Law. It’s a steam beer, which is a hybrid between an ale and a lager. You’re fermenting lager yeast at a warmer ale temperature, it was done like that originally because modern refrigeration wasn’t a thing and you’d see the steam rising off the shallow coolships before fermentation. It’s a caramel-amber beer, it’s not too hoppy or overly malty. It’s got a little chew to it in the middle but finishes dry.”

2nd Shift Brewing, 1601 Sublette Ave., St. Louis, 314.669.9013, 2ndshiftbrewing.com

 

 

Local restaurants
“[Union] Loafers, with that small draft list … There’s always something interesting on it, it might be something I won’t see anywhere else and it’s cool to see a restaurant that doesn’t have to put that much thought into a carefully and thoughtfully selected beer list actually do that."

“I oftentimes think about meeting a friend somewhere in South City and I think about Riley’s Pub and Tick Tock Tavern – both are great. You can get an inexpensive pint as well as a cheap, well-made cocktail.” 

“I love a dark bar, and The Golden Hoosier is dark yet warm. [Rockwell’s] Passing Clouds is always on draft here, so I can just head down the street to see how it’s tasting in the market. And they have draft Busch and $6 happy hour Old-Fashioneds. The onion dip and smoked tandoori wings are also awesome.”

“Iowa Buffet. Are you familiar with the TV program TrueSouth with John T. Edge and Wright Thompson? It’s on the SEC Network and they go around to towns and tell the stories of those towns through their food. It really focuses on old-school places that are [often] run by people of color, whether it’s barbecue or Vietnamese food. They came to St. Louis and told the story of St. Louis, it opened at Iowa Buffet and they have this sleeper burger that they cook on this old broiler: It’s basically like a flat top inside of a gas broiler. They have someone out back doing barbecue on a Weber grill on the weekend.” 

“This is a South City beer-and-a-shot place. It’s a hell of a lot of fun. I’m usually drinking Busch longnecks and eating a cheeseburger – if they’re cooking, that is. They’re usually cooking. It’s somewhat of a neighborhood regulars’ bar, but you can still go in there if you’re not a regular. It’s excellent.”

Union Loafers Cafe and Bread Bakery, 1629 Tower Grove Ave., St. Louis, 314.833.6111, unionloafers.com
Riley’s Pub, 3458 Arsenal St., St. Louis, 314.664.7474, Facebook: Riley’s Pub
Tick Tock Tavern, 3459 Magnolia Ave., St. Louis, Instagram: @ticktockstl
The Golden Hoosier, 3707 S. Kingshighway Blvd., St. Louis, 314.354.8044, thegoldenhoosier.com
Iowa Buffet, 2727 Winnebago St., St. Louis, 314.776.8000

 

 

Civil Life Brewing Co.
“Going into Civil Life always feels like a warm hug. It’s remarkable the care they’ve put into it, they made a metal building feel like a pub in England with reliably delicious cask ales, bitters and browns and ales. When I go there, if the porter is on cask, I’m going to be ordering one of them. Their ESB (extra-special bitter) is rock solid, the Vienna lager – whenever they’re doing lagers – is absolutely exceptional. But really it’s their English pale ale and porter that I gravitate toward. I might have an American brown, but thankfully that’s all over town, so when I’m there I get what I can only get there.”

Civil Life Brewing Co., 3714 Holt Ave., St. Louis, 314.999.9999, civil-life-online.square.site

 

 

Blue Jay Brewing Co.
“So I’ve gone to Blue Jay three times since they’ve opened. They have Boatright’s BBQ and they’re going to do the food there on Friday and Saturday. I had spectacular chicken wings and each time I’ve gone in they have new beers on tap as they build out their list.” 

“They did a Jamaican-style lager with cassava starch – it’s called Little Birds and it’s just a super dry finishing, light lager. It’s got a little bit of residual sweetness in there – it was a fantastic drinking beer. That and their dunkel, which is called Monarchs: It’s a light brown lager, it’s got breadiness to it, but it’s dry and drinkable and not a big chewy beer. I’ve had great experiences there and it’s nice to see them get traction right off the bat in slow winter months. It’s a great space, they’re making fantastic beer, we played games, I look forward to having weather where I can go sit in their courtyard.” 

Blue Jay Brewing Co., 2710 Locust St., St. Louis, bluejaybrewing.com