Don’t Leave St. Louis Without Visiting the No. 2 Brewer in the World

Driven by a degree in chemistry, a background in fine dining and a love of wine, Cory King thought that he was going to be a vintner. But when a friend introduced him to homebrewing, his dream shifted.

“To make great wine, you need great grapes,” Cory says. “When it comes to beer, we all start with the same four ingredients, so it feels more competitive to me; it means more when you make a better beer.”

Cory leaned into that, becoming the first head brewer at Perennial Artisan Ales, where he was working when he and his wife, Karen, started Side Project Brewing on the side – get it?

“We take a uniquely creative approach to brewing,” he explains, “with wine greatly influencing our beers. In the beginning, we only made oak-aged beers, and that really put us on the map. Over the last five years or so, we’ve introduced more lagers and IPAs to appeal to other palates. As I get older, I want to drink more of those beers, too. I don’t always need a monster stout – sometimes I just want something light and refreshing.”

You’ll still find oak-aged beers on the ever-changing menu, though – think a Missouri wheat saison aged in oak, a Missouri wild ale aged in oak with blueberries and a farmhouse ale aged in Missouri oak foeders with Brettanomyces (a wild yeast strain).

“Oak is another ingredient, which can’t be replicated,” Cory says. “I’ve always loved oak-aged white wines; we’re trying to mimic those flavor profiles, and hopefully, our beers taste better to you because of it.

“We also ferment stouts and barleywines in bourbon barrels,” he continues. “As you can imagine, bourbon is intense, it’s robust, and it really impacts the flavor of the beer. So, we write recipes that are enhanced by the bourbon barrel. Ideally, the result is a harmonious beer that’s big and bold but drinkable and elegant.”

When Side Project Brewing launched, Cory used Missouri-grown ingredients as much as possible. Batch sizes have gotten too big for some local ingredients – particularly fruits such as the peaches featured in Momotaro, a blend of saison and blonde ale – but its bacteria and yeast still come from the state.

“Our native microflora is from Missouri,” Cory explains, “so when you drink one of our sours – one of our funky beers – it won’t taste like anything else in the world. This is something that we’ve been harnessing for a decade. Think about a SCOBY [a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast used in the production of kombucha] – we’ve used the same mother culture for 13 years. We’ve kept it alive, and it’s defined our beers. As long as we have it, we’ll always taste like Side Project.”

Side Project Brewing sold its first beer in 2013. More than a decade later, the operation has grown, but its brews remain exclusive – you can only get a taste at one of the brewery’s three locations in the Maplewood neighborhood of St. Louis.

Located in a rustic former hardware store, Side Project Brewery houses the production facility, and guests can watch the brewing process while enjoying elevated bar bites from executive chef Adam Altnether. Share fried cheese curds dusted with Nashville hot seasoning, drizzled with ranch and topped with chives at your table and then dig into something more substantial such as the double cheeseburger, slow-roasted pork shoulder sandwich or chile-garlic cauliflower sandwich.

“Adam and I became friends over golf, and when he was looking for a new job, I jumped at the opportunity to start serving food at one of our locations,” Cory says. “We bought a food truck, parked it in the back, and now, he’s making food that’s way better than what should be coming out of that tiny kitchen.

“Adam also makes a Nashville-style hot chicken sandwich,” Cory continues. “People talk about that sandwich more than anything else on the menu – it’s incredible! My spice tolerance is like a zero to a one, and people who can handle heat say that it’s like a six. So, when I eat it, my mouth practically lights on fire, but it’s still so good. For my palate, I like to pair it with a tart saison.”

Across the street, The Patio only has outdoor seating, but you can bring slices from nearby Pizza Champ to savor with Side Project suds.

Side Project Cellar – the Kings’ Belgian-inspired beer, wine and spirits bar – is the original location. “The Cellar is the place that I want to go before or after dinner, for happy hour or date night,” Cory explains. “We have whiskey, but we don’t have mixers – so you can imagine the kind of crowd that we attract.

“The Cellar is our baby,” he continues. “It’s the original vibe that we wanted for Side Project Brewing, and after 11 years, it still feels right.”

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Side Project Cellar, and Cory and Karen plan to celebrate with a week of beer festivities. Every day from Nov. 5 to 10, there will be a themed schedule, during which fans, new and old, can find their favorite styles among barleywines, barrel-aged imperial stouts, collaboration beers and several “last kegs.” On Sat., Nov. 9, the party will pour out onto Marietta Avenue, where you can enjoy beer and food in the beautiful fall weather.

No matter where you belly up to the bar, you’ll receive a brew unlike any other. “If we’re going to make it difficult to get our beers, we better make them really good,” Cory says with a laugh. “We’re constantly experimenting with new fruits, new hops, new barrels, but we only release the best results. This year, for instance, we made [a Brett pale ale aged in oak with calamansi, Tanzania and Madagascar vanilla and toasted coconut] – it sounds strange on paper, but it drinks great! It’s vibrant and fresh and fun, landing somewhere between a funky beer and an island cocktail.

“We also have a series of wine-beer hybrids that age on the skins of Vidal Blanc grapes from Noboleis Vineyards [located in Augusta, Missouri, the first American Viticultural Area (AVA) in the U.S.],” he continues. “It’s a similar process to the production of orange wine, and it gives the beers an extra level of funk and tannins.”

The team’s fervent dedication to quality and creativity has earned a long list of accolades. In 2020 and 2023, RateBeer named Side Project Brewing the No. 2 brewer in the world; in 2015, Side Project Cellar earned a James Beard Award nomination for Outstanding Bar Program; and in 2014, Forbes put Altnether on its list of 30 under 30.

There’s no question that the brewery pushes the boundaries of the region’s beverage scene, and it wants to continue to evolve and move forward without losing its roots.