Saint Louis Brewery
 | |
| Industry | Alcoholic beverage |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1991 |
| Headquarters | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Products | Beer |
Production output | 56,000 US barrels in 2013 |
| Owner | Saint Louis Brewery, Inc |
Saint Louis Brewery is a brewery in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. Beers are sold under the Schlafly brand, and are distributed in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, northwestern Mississippi, Arkansas, northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., New York and New Jersey.
History
The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc. was incorporated in 1989. It was founded by Dan Kopman and Tom Schlafly,[1] a lawyer and nephew of political activist Phyllis Schlafly, although she is not involved with the brewery in any way. Their goal was to create quality local microbrew beer.
In 2010, production of some canned beer was shifted to Wisconsin.[2] Late in 2011 Saint Louis Brewery, Inc. owners Tom Schlafly and Dan Kopman signed a purchase agreement to transfer a 60 percent ownership interest to Sage Capital, a St. Louis, Missouri equity company led by Wes Jones and John Lemkemeier.[3] Saint Louis Brewery is Missouri's largest locally owned independent brewery.
Downtown
The brewery was built in the former Swift Printing Company building in downtown St. Louis. The Swift Company moved out in 1969, and the building remained vacant until renovated for the St. Louis Brewery in 1991. According to IMDb, scenes from the 1981 motion picture Escape From New York, starring Kurt Russell, were filmed in this building before its renovation. The brewery produced its first beers in 1991, with the official public opening on December 26, 1991.[4] The first batches of pale ale and wheat beer were available only in draft form for purchase at a pub on the premises.
In 1993, Schlafly expanded to bottled beer, and began selling to local grocery chains, restaurants, and bars. The bottled beer was contract-brewed by the August Schell Brewing Company in New Ulm, Minnesota, as the St. Louis Brewery had limited brewing capacity and no bottling operation of its own.
Expansion to Maplewood
In 2003, the brewery opened "The Schlafly Bottleworks" in a former Shop 'n Save supermarket building in the St. Louis suburb of Maplewood. This facility includes a brewery and bottling plant in addition to a restaurant, beer garden and produce garden. With the addition of this facility, the St. Louis Brewery now brews and bottles all the beer sold under the Schlafly brand. This facility was cited by the Saint Louis Business Journal in its naming the Saint Louis Brewery its 2008 Sustainable Operations Winner.[5]
The Schlafly brand has since expanded to seven styles available year-round, as well as over 25 seasonal brews.
Trademark dispute
In 2014, the brewery filed for an exclusive trademark on the use of the name 'Schlafly' to sell microbrewery beer; however, this was opposed by conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly, on the grounds that "alcohol has a connotation that is the opposite of conservative values." [6]
References
- ↑ Saint Louis Brewery at Beerinfo.com
- ↑ "St. Louis Brewery outsourcing Schlafly to Iowa brewer". August 21, 2011. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
- ↑ "Schlafly's St. Louis Brewery sold to Sage Capital," St. Louis Business Journal, Jan. 4, 2012
- ↑ "Brew, Baby, Brew: The ranks of St. Louis' craft brewers are swelling as we swill," Riverfront Times, June 2, 2009
- ↑ "Sustainable Operations Winner: Saint Louis Brewery," St. Louis Business Journal, October 24, 2008
- ↑ Phyllis Schlafly Family in Beer Trademark Dispute, by Alan Scher Zagier (for the Associated Press); at ABC News; published March 13, 2014; retrieved March 13, 2014