Ryan F.
Yelp
Visited Urban Chestnut Brewing Company on Thursday night. It was getting late so only got to order one Flight.
Quality
Urban Chestnut Brewing Company has an interesting style, but not one that I was a fan of. They basically split their beers into two categories, beers based entirely off of European tradition and beers that look to modernize and grow on those traditions. I tried four of the selections they had on tap Winged Nut, STLIPA, and Prickly Pear Ku'Damm from the new style and Innovator from the old. My highlight was the Prickly Pear Ku'Damm, a sour beer based on a traditional Berliner weisse. It was red in color and had the perfect amount of tartness. Unfortunately that is where the good ends. I did not really enjoy any of the other beers I tried. Innovator, a Belgian dark strong ale, came across as almost syrupy to me, I did not enjoy the grapefruit that overwhelmed STLIPA, and Winged Nut, a chestnut ale was heavy in nuttiness, just not in an enjoyable way.
Quantity
While they have Flights, they do not come with any fancy gimmicks like other breweries. It is just four surprisingly large pours of different beers served in a holder.
Value
The Flight I ordered was only $8, a great deal considering the extra large pours. Drafts were $6 or $7 depending on the selection.
Ambiance
Urban Chestnut Brewing Company has two locations in the St. Louis area. I visited the one in the midtown. Apparently the big different is this location has an outdoor biergarten and the other location has a massive bierhall. I also believe this location has a smaller food menu and less beers on tap. Even though my visit was later in the evening it was still very hot out, so I could not enjoy the outdoor area, but I did take a peek at the beautiful space. It is definitely a place I could imagine hanging out when the weather was nice. And while the indoor area may not have the wow factor of the other location, I found it very comfortable. A small bar on the back wall with a television, some scattered tables, and video games in the corner gave it neighborhood bar vibes. I also loved the brick walls and the all around retro feel. The coolest aspect was that they were playing classic records. It meant more work for the bartenders, but there is just something special about hearing music the way it was meant to be played. I'm not sure if that is an every night affair, but it should be.
Crowd
When I arrived there were only two small groups still hanging out. One inside near the video game system and another in the outdoor beer garden. Because of the cool outdoor area, I assume that this location is a hot spot for day drinking when the weather is nice. And when it is less pleasant I feel like folks probably head over to their other location that has the massive bierhall.
Service
Two guys were hanging out behind the bar. They were both very friendly, but I could sense they were anxious to go home. Nevertheless they were happy to help me select some beers for a Flight and offered suggestions of other places to check-out in St. Louis during my short visit.
Parking
The brewery has a small private parking lot directly in front of the building. For busier times there appeared to be a good deal of metered street parking in the area.
Extra
There is no doubt that Urban Chestnut Brewing Company's midtown shop has an awesome space. The outdoor area and the use of vinyl are huge draws in my book. In the end though you come for the beer, and I just was not into what I tried. It may be that their adherence to traditional was out of my wheelhouse so I could not appreciate what it was. But in my book they fell in the lower tier of breweries I visited while in St. Louis.