Alpha Brewing Company

Take Me Here Using Metro Transit

Alpha Brewing Company is the south-side anchor of Morganford’s sprawling food and beverage scene. Once an old textile mill, the site has made several sustainable upgrades and showcases one of the best patios on the strip. The interior features repurposed iron gate posts as tap handles, reclaimed wood, a repurposed mailbox which houses the growing network of the Sipster Club, and art pieces by local artist Richard Thayer. With a background in science and a chance opportunity to brew beer at Square One Brewery, owner, Derrick Langeneckert, went on to open his own unique brewery specializing in sour beers, barrel-aged beers, and many other innovative beer styles. Alpha’s love for beer and science has manifested efficient and sustainability driven business practices to help it be a standout success in the St. Louis craft beer scene.

Alpha’s no fuss food menu offers the perfect pairings for their beer and mixed cocktails on tap.  The menu has several fan favorites including the smash burger, wings that can be tossed in house-made beer sauce, a vegetarian black bean burger, and their famous fermented pickle plate. Meats are distributed from Kenrick’s Meats, a local south city butcher, and bread is sourced from Fazio’s on The Hill. The staff works to control food waste and keep it out of the landfill by composting back-of-house food scraps with New Earth Farm, and keeping the menu simple and short. Restaurants with long and numerous menu selections often deal with more food waste. The culinary team pickles meats and veggies, makes barrel-aged sauces in wine and whiskey barrels, and brines chicken wings and chicken breasts to extend the shelf life of its products. Try one of their Alpha sauces made with their own beer! The brewery also has its own beehive out back which it hopes to utilize in its small batch brews.

Alpha focuses on packaging waste reduction practices and is one of three registered PakTech can carrier collection sites in the St. Louis region (Perennial Artisan Ales and Old Bakery Beer Co. being the other two). Stop by with your PakTech can carriers and drop them right in the blue bin at the front entrance. These can carriers can not be recycled in mainstream recycling services. The entire tap selection can be found on the LED TVs mounted over the bar, removing the need for printed beer menus. Whiskey and wine barrels that have been used to age beer are used again to age sauces for food service. Alpha repurposed two shipping containers as storage units for supplies, and the rustic light coverings in the beer hall are made from old metal barrel rings.

Energy conservation is a key component of any brewery operation to reduce costs and make quality beer. At Alpha Brewing, Langeneckert uses a Cool Fit piping system that is so efficient that it acts as the primary wort cooling tool and it also cools the large walk-in cooler.  Alpha also practices CIP (Clean In Place) using a machine that allows them to reuse the chemicals until the life of the product is completely inert. Green cleaning products certified from Green Seal and Safer Choice are used for the food operations of Alpha. Another big component of breweries is waste diversion, primarily of spent grains.  Alpha Brewing Company diverted 89,500 lbs. of spent grains to local farmers instead of the landfill.

If you’re in Tower Grove South make sure to stop by, drop your bike at the bike rack, charge your EV, drop your PakTechs off, join the Sipster Club, grab a pint, order some food, and enjoy the action on the patio. You’ve earned it. Alpha Brewing also has a private room which can be reserved for larger parties, rehearsal dinners, and meetings.