This is Urban Chestnut Brewing in St. Louis. I was there Friday, the brewhouse arrived today, and I expect they’ll have beer long before I get back.
Founders Florian Kuplent and Dave Wolfe have a great story. Probably one of the reasons Draft magazine named UCBC one of a dozen breweries to watch in 2011 although they haven’t brewed a drop of beer.
So I’m looking forward to returning and reporting what I find. I just wanted to show you the place. The Midtown Alley neighborhood certainly is urban. They brewery occupies a building, erected in 1928, that was a garage and now is on the National Register of Historic Places (rest assured they won’t be covering the front with signs).
The massive white building looming in the background is an art deco Spanish mission mansion built in 1921 and designed by famous architect Thomas P. Barnett. It’s for sale. There’s a Baptist church across the street from that, the Salvation Army has an outpost a few blocks to the east, the famous Fox Theater is three blocks to the west, Pappy’s Smokehouse is right around the corner (next to Buffalo Brewing) and . . . well, you get the picture.
You’re gonna want to sit at the communal tables in front of the tap room (in the distance). That’s where the beer garden will be. They are planting chestnut trees.
I’m going to type that again because it makes me smile. They are planting chestnut trees.
I realize this won’t be a problem for some years… but you won’t want to be in the beer garden in autumn when the chestnuts start falling!
Bill — that’s exactly where I’d like to be! 😉
Roaming Biergarten in Munich in Autumn is one of the best times I ever had — despite keeping a wary eye &/or ear out for falling projectiles!
Hope I can make a trip to St. Lou to sample this new brewery.
Is it just me, or is St. Louis starting to punch above its weight in the number of small breweries? Schlafly, O’Fallon, Six Row, Stable/Amalgamated, Buffalo, Square One, Highlands, Morgan Street… Coming soon are Urban Chestnut and Civil Life… Plus a handful of serious tap houses.
Joe – I think the number of places – both tap houses focusing on beer AND ‘regular’ bars and restaurants with at least a few interesting handles – reflects a cultural shift. This extends to stores as well. That’s set the table for the emergence of local breweries. Spend any time at STL Hops and you see this.
American Chestnut trees or Chinese Chestnut trees? Most likely, Chinese.