Kathy's Visit

My sister Kathy visited from Denver over the weekend. Our first stop was Pappy's Smokehouse for some St. Louis barbecue.

Troy and John (and their dog Sirius) came over for dinner on Kathy's first night.

On Saturday morning we visited the Gateway Arch. It was cold and overcast so we didn't go to the top, but even on a grey day the Arch is still a pretty sight to see. (Spoiler alert: this is one of the last beer-free photos in the post. You've been warned.)

Then we met John and Troy for lunch at Bridge, a local craft beer (and wine) bar that's always on the list of Top 100 best craft beer bars in the country. (Troy worked here when they first moved to St. Louis.)

And look what we found on the menu ..... Witty Femme, the beer that Troy and John brewed with 2nd Shift Brewery! (It's the second beer on the menu.) It was super exciting to get to order a beer that they made!

As you might guess, beer took center stage on this visit - after Bridge we took a tour of 4 Hands Brewery, which is a small and solid local brewery that's between where John and Troy live and Busch Stadium. It was a quick tour but we got the basics. (And we also got to wear some fun safety goggles.)

After dinner ..... guess what we did? That's right, more beer! We went to Side Project Cellar, a brand new tasting room in town that's owned by the city's favorite brewer. It was our first time there and our take on it: the ambience is fantastic, as is the beer. If you like beer and you're in St. Louis, this place is an absolute must.

While we were enjoying our evening out, John and Troy were at a banquet with their home brew club. The banquet was the culmination of the club's brewing competition. After a week of judging entries from all over the country, the results were announced at the banquet. The German Pilsner that John and Troy entered ..... took first place in the Pilsner category! And even better, their Pilsner was judged the second best beer overall in the competition - that's out of 541 entries!! Do I have to say how excited they were? Or how excited we all were when we got their texts?

We were so excited that the next morning we all shared a toast and a drink of the Pilsner with John and Troy at brunch. And I know we're all a little biased, but we thought that their beer was delicious! (Apparently we're not alone in that opinion!)

And as you can see, the glow of their win only added to our post-brunch happiness! (P.S. I forgot to tell you where we went to brunch ..... Schafly Bottleworks, yet another brewery. But by now I'm pretty sure that fact doesn't surprise you at all.)

Brad, Kathy, and I rounded out the day with a holiday house tour in our town. (And shocker, it did not involve any beer whatsoever!) We got to see six different houses, all around 100 years old, and all decked out for Christmas. And then it was home for a quiet dinner and the following morning an early trip to the airport. A great visit by a great sister!