The St. Louis Centennial Beer Festival is underway in Lafayette Square, celebrating its tenth anniversary.
“When we started this festival, there were maybe four local breweries, 80 beers," festival founder Jason Arnold told SLM in 2016. "Since that time, the beer scene has blown up."
Now, he tells us the festival features about 100 breweries. New additions this year include Mother's Brewing Co., Center Ice Brewery, Point Labaddie Brewery, Heavy Riff Brewing Co., and Dogfish Head Brewery from Delaware.
St. Louis Brewer’s Guild kicked off the festivities this week. The organization gathered for its annual summit on Monday, February 19. The festival kicks off Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. with Yoga Buzz in the Centennial Ballroom at Moulin Events (2017 Chouteau). Unwind with an hour of yoga, followed by beer samplings from local breweries.
On Thursday, the festival hosts Cathedral Square Brewery for the Brewmaster Five-Course Dinner, where Cathedral's Brian Neville teams up with Moulin Events executive chef Ryan Luke.
The fourth annual home brewers' competition is held this weekend weekend with a chance to taste samples from a variety of home brewers and vote for your favorite to be featured at 21st Street Brewers Bar.
Also on Friday and Saturday are festival tastings, where festival goers can have a taste of local brews and enjoy musical entertainment from local acts. New this year are the cellared beer releases, with 21st Street offering tastings of rare, limited releases and vintage selections every hour.
Then on Saturday, enjoy the VIP experience in the Malt House Cellar, and make sure to snag tickets to the brewers brunch before the afternoon session on Saturday. New to the festival this year, the brunch will feature three courses paired with beer selections from 4 Hands Brewing Co., Modern Brewery, and Urban Chestnut Brewing Co., as well as a dessert buffet with beers from Charleville Brewing Co. & Tavern, Schlafly Beer, and others.
Visit the Centennial Beer Festival's website for a full schedule and to purchase tickets.
Editor's note: This article has been updated from an earlier version.
