The Side Project Cellar

Wanted to try out this place because it’s near our home– boyfriend and I went in one evening randomly. It wasn’t very busy, their beer was great, but what really turned us off of ever coming back here was the service. Now, there’s barely any service to speak of as you simply go up to the bar and order what you want and that’s that. The bartender took over 5 minutes to even acknowledge that we were there sitting at two bar stools. She kept looking over at us but then would pour beers for other people and even went to a table empty handed just to chat for a few minutes. Now I understand if you have orders to fill, but not acknowledging us at all, not even a «be right with you» is unacceptable in my book.

This place is pretty great. Outstanding selection of Side Project beers on bottle and on tap, augmented by an outstanding selection of guest beers in bottle and on tap. Indeed, this place is not a brewery taproom, but rather something of a beer mecca where Side Project just happens to be the emphasis. The place itself is neatly laid out and very clean in appearance — almost too clean and clinical, but perhaps the place just needs a bit more wearing in. The staff was friendly and quick. I should say that the prices here are fairly high, although you are getting some world class beer. Bottles of Fuzzy and Balaton clocked in at $ 25 per for on-​site consumption, while some of the 750ml bottles were $ 40. I suppose a possible upside of these prices is that the beers will stay available for longer; there are only so many people who would repeat drink beverages at those prices. Overall, this place is outstanding, and if you are in St. Louis you should make every effort to come by.

Katie was amazing and patient. She talked me through all the tips of beers I was looking at and she tried to find a beer I would really appreciate based on what I told her based on my limited knowledge and vocabulary of all things beer. This place is upscale, but pretentious by any means. It was a good time and even better beer!

So many beers that you wouldn’t be able to find most places, and always unique varieties to offer. Inviting, rustic look. Staff is friendly and helpful, so let them know if you’re not sure what to order. If you like sour and wild ales but aren’t sure exactly which ones you like then this is a must visit.
Not for the Bud Light/​Budweiser crowd. Don’t expect any drink specials.

What a hidden little gem! We stopped here for drinks after dinner. I would have never known it was there but luckily we were with friends who had been previously.
It was pretty crowded but it was a Friday night so that was to be expected. Despite the crowd the bartenders were quick to serve.
Great selections for beer and whiskey. Wine list was small but the Cab was delicious!
Only downside was that it closes at 11:00, even on Friday.

While they have great products, aesthetically enjoyable, and good location; their service here is snobby and rude. Sad it has to get in the way of delivering what could be an amazing experience.

Does Unilocal offer a 6^th star???
Man, Side Project Cellar may have supplanted Hill Farmstead as my favorite brewery. I was lucky enough to plan my visit to StL during their 1yr anniversary parties. Timing definitely was perfect, as they had a number of special offerings throughout the week.
Note that the tasting room is small. Maybe not Other Half small, but small nonetheless. I ended up getting a seat probably at 430p each afternoon to ensure that I had a spot for the 6p tappings. This gave me more than enough time to work through their draft list and bottle list. As far as I know, this is really the only place to get SP. The prices are a bit high, but the beer is PHENOMENAL.
I also love the fact that the Cellar is operated by the extended family and they all know their beers. Such a friendly and inviting staff, and very capable of managing the huge crowds, probably on a daily basis.
Also, from what I recall, they do not offer food, and also do not allow food on premises. Be sure to carb up beforehand.

I finally made it. My husband had been hyping this place up so I knew that I had to go here when in St. Louis. It did not disappoint. The atmosphere is so great. It’s cozy! I feel like I could have a fancy beer or a glass of whiskey and be perfectly at home. The service was great also! The beer selection was vast but I do wish there were more Side Project beers available. Husband says that was the least he had ever seen on the menu, so I’ll take his word for it.
I sure wish this place was much closer to Indy.

Side Project Cellar is a Tasting Room (of sorts) for Side Project Beers. They have many of the Side Project’s famous beers on tap, and a great collection of bottles. They also have beers from other breweries both on tap and in bottle. If you are new to the highly coveted beers of Side Project, you need to know that their beers are a bit pricey. They also are known for their «sour» beers – which come in several styles like Saisons/​Farmhouses. I really like their beer, but I know that it is for a particular beer drinking palate.
As far as the bar atmosphere goes, I give it two thumbs up. They have made a very cool rustic modern look in there. They have a lot of great bar seating and some other tables around for groups.
They sell some side project branded merchandise and sometimes have beers to sell for take home (usually with a limit x/​customer). Have fun!

Beautiful, warm atmosphere with a very nice selection of mostly sour/​wild/​farmhouse ales and whiskey plus a small wine list. I tried Pulling Nails, which is a blend of a few different aged beers, and another non-​Side Project wild ale. Both were fantastic.
I deduct one star because many Side Project ales are prohibitively expensive. I understand that they only do small batches of labor and time intensive beers involving unpredictable yeast strains but their prices are a bit high in my opinion (~$ 6-​$ 10 per draft, ~$ 15-​$ 40 per bottle). Many of their bottles are priced the same or higher as top European (e.g., Cantillon, Drie Fonteinen) and American (e.g., Hill Farmstead, Russian River) breweries making similar styles. I wish they decreased their prices for the local market since their beer doesn’t have to travel as far. Despite this criticism, Cory King/​Side Project makes the best beer in Saint Louis.
P. S. please make an Oud Bruin sometime soon!

My 5 stars for Side Project Cellar goes to their awesome booze selection, and most impressively, their warm and intimate atmosphere.
First off, it’s in Maplewood so that’s a major win. Second, the atmosphere is everything you could hope for in the Fall and Winter season. You feel like you’re in a Colorado Cellar. It’s dimly lit and is very woodsy with a beautiful corner bar. You know how some bars feel weird to be at in the day? This is like the opposite of that and I want to be here all the time.
They have a finely tuned and well crafted selection of beer and wine. The atmosphere and selection makes it the perfect spot for drinks on any social occasion. Also, they have great sour beer. If you haven’t been here then you need to check it out.

For beer aficionados, this is a must-​do in St. Louis. They focus on blending and aging small batches of vintage and rare beers. How could you go wrong? My husband enjoyed four small pours, all of which I sampled.
They also have a robust bourbon and whisky list, of course, complementing the barrel aging process that they exemplify.
This isn’t the kind of place you stop in for an after-​work beer. This is the kind of place you come to play and try new things.
Ambience is beautiful — polished wood floors, gray walls. It’s clean, welcoming, and comfortable.
Why don’t we live closer?!

This place is great and may have some of the best beer available in the STL region. They don’t overdo it with available selections like ITAP but they have some of the highest quality beer around. I know the owners of SPC and SP brewing are the brewers from Perennial, and the same level of care come from their own beers comes across in their draft and bottle choices. (They also have good spirits and wines available)
This place is a small, very trendy bar. Don’t expect TVs or tapas. Do expect good drinks and conversation. Seating is sorta limited, though it’s not too difficult to get a place for groups of 2 – 5 except during the busiest weekend times.
Importantly, every time I’ve gone the bartenders are extremely friendly and helpful. Places like SPC can be a little intimidating for people not «in the know» on the beer scene (I’m including myself in this). However, the menus offer decent descriptions and the employees are more than happy to help with a selection — judgment free (which is rare for many cool beer places) — when you explain what you’re looking for.
So, overall, great for beer/​spirit/​wine lovers of all stripes and knowledge-​levels.

After reading about the Side Project on SLM, I had to try it out. The recent trend of offering lots of local craft beers on tap has been one of my favorite developments in St. Louis (even down at the Lake of the Ozarks where Pappo’s pizza has a great selection of beers). ITAP was the trendsetter, as far as I know, but 21^st Street Brewery bar also doing a great job. Side Project takes it one step further, though, by brewing some of their own beer while also offering both competing local beers and some rarely seen international beers.
I met a couple of friends — one a distiller and the other a craft brewer. We were assisted in our beer-​drinking adventures by the «tasting room manager» whose name I can’t recall (sorry). She was a lot of fun, though. We had a great time making our way up and down the list, tasking all kinds of beers. I stuck to half-​pours so I could try more. I’m not much on sour or hoppy beers and that seems to be the favorite of the folks running this place. Still, there were several beers that were great for my narrow tastes.
Minor complaints: Prices are kind of high, I would have liked flights, no happy hour (throw me a bone), no food. All in all it was fun, though, and that’s the point, isn’t it?

SPC is THE place to get sour beer in this town. If wild yeast is your thing, then you will love the place! I have been here no fewer than a dozen times and I must say their «Unlabeled # 2» is one of the best sours I ever tried (unfortunately they only sell by the bottle). Their own brews are actually superior than the selections from other breweries also offered there (beat any of the Jolly Pumpkin in my opinion). They have non-​sour stuff also. But I think you pretty much missed the point if you go there to just drink the «other» stuff.
The place can be «pretentious» depending on the crowd of the night. On a typical night it is a 30+ crowd. Weekends are busy here — can be hard to find table/​chairs.
They do close early (11 PM weekend nights) so it’s not a place you get smashed in. You wouldn’t want to either. These beers are not cheap. But the prices make sense considering the higher risk and longer fermentation period in the sour production process.

The Side Project Cellar is on a tiny street, Marietta Ave, and has a very laid-​back and friendly vibe. There’s a sign when you walk in that says to seat yourself and all service is at the bar, which is helpful.
I am not a beer drinker at all (only had Sam Adams and Coronas in college!) but I love fruit beer. The hubby found the only fruity beer which was a cherry lambic. I learned from the hubby that lambics are generally brewed in Belgium (and not a brand of beer as I originally thought). The lambic was tart and tasted like real cherries (not sweet like cherry coke!) which I enjoyed because it’s something different.
I sipped the other beers that everyone got and they all seemed to enjoy it. Overall, great atmosphere and quite popular for a Friday night.

We had completed the Maplewood Coffee Crawl and my friends were craving a coffee beer. This is the first time I stood in line to have a beer. They had opened early for the Crawl. By the time we got in the place which was 25 minutes after they opened they were out of one of the coffee beers. The coffee LSD beer had a nice taste but I could only drink one because I caught a quick buzz and I was the driver. Nice place I will go back when it’s not so crowded.

I had been meaning to try this place on quite a few visits to STL to see family but had not gotten around to going here until this past weekend.
It appeared there was no wait staff and that all service was at the bar. There is a large selection of beers both domestic and international. The beers are not cheap at all by STL standards. It was $ 30 for 3 beers inclusive of a generous tip.
I will next like to try some of their labels beers as they say they specialize in Belgiam beers.

Lovely space tucked away just off the main stretch in maplewood. Very «woody». Benches, tables, the bar itself, the kask room. Intinately lit. Staffed with helpful, knowledgable, and enthusiastic people.
The menu is top notch. You’ll find many beers from Europe as well as North America on it. It features a lot of sour beers. The common theme amongst the sours is how suttle and balanced their flavors are. I’ve had quite a lot of different styles of beer, however this is the only place I’ve had beers like these. Truly a great selection. I really like how the draft list is separated by the temperature at which the beers are served. It speaks to the taste of the owners.
This place is definitely one of, if not THE best beer bar in this city at the moment. ⁵⁄₅ will return often.

Great addition to Maplewood and a great place to enjoy a beer or two or three. They not only have a large selection of beers, but they have whiskey and wine as well. The atmosphere is minimalist, very stark and simple. As Kelly B., pointed out it is cute and cozy. Their serving hours are limited, Tue-​Thu they are open 3PM-​10PM and on Fri & Sat they open at 12PM and stay open an extra hour, closing at 11PM.
SPC has a very friendly staff and the ones we spoke with are very knowledgeable about the brews they are serving. I’d recommend SPC as a great place to start your evening out or as a relaxing place to enjoy a beer after dinner on the main Manchester drag in Maplewood.
Warning: Be aware of a step marked only by a strip of lights on the floor, leading you into the bar area. Several patrons arriving misstepped and stumbled while we were sitting at the main bar. No one got hurt, they just shook it off and laughed. Kind of embarrassing when you do misstep and you are sober.
Hope they add some type of munchie soon, so you can stay longer and enjoy the LARGE variety of beers.