4 Hands Brewery Tour
By Heidi Osmundsen
There are times in life when you wish you had multiple hands in order to sample more than one delicious beer at a time. A few beer lovers from St. Louis agreed, and thus the aptly named 4 Hands Brewing Co. was formed.
Before the Tour
Tucked into a warehouse building in the LaSalle Park neighborhood, 4 Hands is quietly making its mark on the St. Louis craft brewing scene. A bench outside the brewery is made from beer conveyor belts and lets visitors know they’re in the right place. The brewery is committed to being sustainable and reducing its carbon footprint. Their space is clean with the community tabletop in the center of the tasting room fashioned from old loading dock doors from the original building.
Touring the Facilities / Beer Tasting
My family and I had the opportunity to visit 4 Hands last December while we were all in town for the holidays. At the time they were only serving four of their beers, including Saison Seasonal, Divided Sky Rye IPA, Reprise Centennial Red, and Single Speed Session IPA. Their beers are handcrafted through a creative barrel-aging program with barrels that once contained wine and spirits with fruit, herbs and spices. It’s clear four hands were involved in the brewing process of 4 Hands’ beer because these brews are strong and flavorful!
The head brewer is Will Johnston who has spent time brewing in Colorado, Chicago, Minnesota’s Twin Cities and now, St. Louis. On the cold and wintry night when my family visited, Will was kind enough to show us the brewery operation and tell us a bit more about their growing business. 4 Hands hopes to produce 1,000 barrels of beer in its first year. While the number of craft breweries is growing in the St. Louis area, 4 Hands is confident the beer-loving town will find a way to support all of them.
Final Thoughts
Conveniently located a half-mile south of Busch Stadium, 4 Hands is a great meeting spot before and after Cardinals games. I can’t wait to go back the next time I’m in town for the Redbirds.
Vitals
- Free Beer: No, but they offer generous tasting portions
- Public tours: Yes, call the tasting room to set it up (314) 436-1559
- Serve food: No, but you can order in or the occasional food truck sets up shop outside the building
- Official Website: Visit for tour times and contact info
- Bonus Tip: Live music on Friday and Saturday nights
4 Notes/ Hide
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