Local, independent craft brewer Schlafly Beer has released a new beer called Side Work, a hazy IPA with proceeds to benefit employees and owners of St. Louis-area bars, restaurants and shops.
The Saint Louis Brewery, owners of Schlafly Beer, will donate proceeds from sales of Side Work, which will be available in four-packs of 16-ounce cans, to the Gateway Resilience Fund. The fund was created by the St. Louis Community Foundation to provide short-term monetary relief to those in the hospitality industry who are affected by closures and other circumstances in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The special brew was originally created for the wedding of Schlafly lead brewer Jared Williamson, who, along with his fiancée, had to make the difficult decision to postpone their big day in April due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“We wanted something positive for the greater community. While it was a bummer to postpone our little celebration, there are much greater issues that we are all currently facing, and we will need to help each other as much as we can,” Williamson said.
It is a Schlafly tradition for long-standing employees to brew a special beer for their wedding. And Williamson said he didn’t want the beer to sit idly by as it was meant to be enjoyed and consumed fresh in early April.
“I brewed this celebration beer in early March for my wedding guests to enjoy, and there is a story behind each aspect of the beer,” he explained. “As a brewer, I’ve continued to gravitate towards more sessionable beers with great hop flavor and aromatics. I also wanted to have this beer be super drinkable and approachable for our wedding guests. With the lower ABV, it could keep us all somewhat grounded as we celebrated into the evening. Once the wedding had to be postponed, we wanted to use the beer for something good. We wanted it to go back to our industry, as both my fiancée and I have spent numerous years either behind a bar serving patrons or in the brewery producing the beers.”
Side Work (with 4% ABV) is a Hazy Session IPA featuring Strata and Enigma hops, with notes of strawberry jam and passion fruit, according to Williamson, who selected the ingredients to reflect two grains (barley and oats) and two hops coming together in a union of one, and brewed the beer as a labor of love for his wedding guests..
Side Work will be available for purchase in early April at the Schlafly Tap Room (2100 Locust St. in downtown St. Louis) and Schlafly Bottleworks (7260 Southwest Ave. in Maplewood). Each four pack is priced at $8.99, and is available for curbside pickup or carry out at either location.
The name, Side Work, is a nod to all of the extra work that people in the restaurant and hospitality industry do behind the scenes.
“There’s so much more that goes into your hospitality experience, outside of serving food and pouring drinks,” said Schlafly CEO Fran Caradonna. “Every experience comes from a team of people that hold each other up to make sure that you are having the best time possible at their establishment.”
To order Side Work, call Schlafly Tap Room at (314) 241-2337 and Schlafly Bottleworks at (314) 241-2337.
To donate to the Gateway Resilience Fund, visit stlgives.org/covid19
