A few weeks ago I wrote about my “adventure” in St. Louis for Crafting a Nation’s site, Lost in St. Louis: Finds Urban Chestnut Brewing Co., where I described my harrowing journey of being alone in an unfamiliar city, in search of good beer.  But I’m going to rewind for a minute and talk about a place I visited as soon as I arrived when I actually had access to a vehicle with GPS.

Square One Brewery and Distillery is an excellent restaurant that both brews its own beers and distills its own spirits.  Though I hadn’t heard of it before, I found the website as I was doing a little research before my trip, and after looking over the full food and beverage menu, I put it on my list.

It was a beautiful day, and Square One had a great outdoor area with plants, trees, and a nice waterfall.  I sat down and started with a Junga IPA.  Described as a “full-bodied dark golden ale, brewed with larger proportions of hops and malts to give it a rich, malty taste and a clean, bitter finish,” I found that to be quite accurate.  It wasn’t the hoppiest IPA by far, but it was nicely balanced with malt and easy to drink.  To go with my beer I chose a side salad with Apple-Whiskey Vinaigrette, made with their very own whiskey, of course.  And a cup of beer-cheese soup which didn’t actually contain beer upon arrival, but it did come with a side of their Park Avenue Pale Ale to add.  Both the salad dressing and soup were very tasty; I am a big fan of beer-cheese soup, and this one definitely did not disappoint.  I could have eaten a huge bowl of it!  But I had to save room for more beer, naturally.  This time I chose the Maple Stout, infused with Vermont Maple Syrup.  When I order a flavored stout I often wonder if I’ll actually be able to taste said flavor.  With this one, the maple characteristics were obvious from first sip.  I was extremely pleased with this beer; it was everything a maple stout should be.  I wish I could get this in Denver!

I was really impressed with Square One.  Great building, awesome patio, delicious food, and fabulous beer.  I highly recommend stopping by if you find yourself in St. Louis.