A Cold Beer Conversation

Missouri Brews

Sip and savor some thoughts on Missouri beer.

Missouri’s importance in American history is due to more than its position in the middle of the country; St. Louis is at the intersection of the mighty Mississippi and the wide Missouri, which are fed by other dominant rivers like the Illinois, Kansas, Osage, and Ohio. As a young nation dependent on river transportation, the United States needed a city to support that commerce. St. Louis emerged in the Midwest to fill that role.

The list of historical figures who were born or grew up here is instructive: Maya Angelou, Josephine Baker, Yogi Berra, Chuck Berry, Joseph Henry “T Bone” Burnett, William S. Burroughs, William Clark (you know, of Lewis & Clark), Miles Davis, T.S. Eliot, Ulysses S. Grant, Scott Joplin, Vincent Price, Dred Scott, Ike and Tina Turner, and William Tecumseh Sherman (about whom Americans should know more, but that’s for another day). That’s a very partisan list, but those names are crucial to our culture. For our drinking purposes, we will focus on two Missouri beer pioneers: Anheuser-Busch and Boulevard Brewery.

The Anheuser-Busch story is well told, especially for Missourians. When it first began, its brewing blended in with numerous other breweries in the state. In 1875, there were more than a thousand saloons pouring suds to a town of about 325,000 and about three dozen breweries scattered in the city. Yet, co-owners Eberhard Anheuser and his son-in-law, Adolphus Busch, revolutionized the industry by creating a system that pasteurized and delivered the beer in refrigerated railcars. This led to beer being able to travel beyond city limits.

The company became numero uno in the industry and stayed atop the ranks until it was nabbed in a hostile bid in 2008 and became Anheuser-Busch InBev, based in Belgium.

Boulevard Brewery, founded by John McDonald, was the second biggest brewery in Missouri. After becoming successful, it was scooped up by Duvel Moortgat Brewery, also of Belgium.

The ebb of Missouri’s beer biz saw beer’s worldwide consolidation through the 20th century, but the flow was unleashed by Boulevard. Today, there are 160-plus breweries in the state, but the craft wave that many have surfed is crashing, at least for some. More breweries closed last year than opened in the United States. In Kansas City alone, this included Boho, Double Shift, Red Sash, Nimble, and The Big Rip. For some of us ardent fans, the closure of Crane Brewing in Raytown was the cruelest cut of all. St. Louis lost Ferguson Brewing and Earthbound Beer, as well as the Schlafly St. Charles location; Schlafly is as much a pioneer as Boulevard has been.

Yet, there are still so many breweries in big cities throughout the state that have made the state’s beer as celebrated as any in the country.

The headwinds are real: people are drinking less alcohol, going out less, and partying less, it would seem. But the people who have populated Missouri’s 21st-century explosion of beer are in it for the love of the suds. They’ll continue to brew because that’s what gives them joy, and the state is better for it.

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Some Amazing Beers to Try

4 Hands Brewing Co.,
The Devil’s Invention
BKS Pivo Project,
Bavarian-Style Pilsner
Boulevard Brewing Co., Saison Brett
KC Bier Co., Dunkel
Mother’s Brewing Co., Materfamilias
Narrow Gauge Brewing Co.,
King Fallen Flag
Perennial Artisan Ales, Maman
Schlafly, Crisp IPA
Side Project Brewing, Anabasis

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This column was originally printed in the March/April 2026 issue of Missouri Life.