The Civil Life

St. Louis has a fantastic beer culture, including tons of small breweries and tap rooms. One of those is The Civil Life.

It's small, about the size I usually expect from a microbrewery although STL has some with big facilities that have spoiled me (Urban Chestnut, I'm looking at you). Basically a small building with a bar and a couple of tables along with maybe two dozen bench tables on a patio outside. Nothing fancy, just a relaxed environment to drink some good beer. They also have a small kitchen with a rotating menu of typical brewery items: pretzels, sandwiches, a charcuterie plate, etc. The food I had (a charcuterie) was fantastic, including fresh meats and killer house picked veg.

But the reason to visit is the beer. And the beer is good. Particularly I like their English IPA, the Scottish "Wee Heavy", and the Angel and the Sword. All of the beers I've sampled were great examples of their styles. Like most breweries I've visited in the area a tasting flight was not offered, which is disappointing, but they do offer a taste of whatever you want and pours come in pints and half pints.

The only drawback to The Civil Life is that it's cash only. I really don't see any legitimate reason these days to not take a credit card. Of course, there's an ATM in the building but that means the dreaded processing fees that will quickly pile up when all you want is another $10 for a pint or two. It's a small annoyance, not enough to stop me from visiting again.