A Bit of Brew…and Family Too!

…continuing with our early summer family visit to the St. Louis Missouri area.  Following our exploration of Ste. Genevieve Missouri, we headed out to a local winery for adult libations and a snack…

Crown Valley Winery’s mailing address is Ste. Genevieve although this expansive facility is 25 miles and about 35 minutes from the town.  Crown Valley is not only a winery, but also a brewery and a distillery. 

The winery not only offers wine tastings, but also a fair quantity of miscellaneous merchandise.  In addition to the obligatory t-shirts, mugs and hats, visitors can purchase non-alcoholic beverages, fruit ciders and a wide variety of craft beer…

This is Crown Winery’s vat/distillery room.  It is large, spotless and impressive… Actually, the winery with its various customer snacking and relaxing areas plus a number of event spaces, is very large indeed.

The interior of the winery goes on and on with tables and chairs everywhere and a second bar in the back adjacent to the veranda.  What stunned me was just how empty the place was.  There were just a handful of customers in the late afternoon.

Of course, it is obvious from their website that this is an event center too and that may be their primary business.  Crown Winery is only open Friday and Saturday from 11 AM until 8 PM and on Sunday from 11 AM until 6 PM.

I took these photos of Laurie and Bill and then Bonnie, Bill, and Laurie at the bar.  Wine tastings at Crown Valley are $8.00 per person.  Tastings include 5 wines samples and you get to keep the souvenir wine glass.

Laurie and Bonnie had a beer while Bill ordered a flight of different beers to sample a variety of the available brews… Beer flights include 4 choices from a list of beers and hard ciders…cost $8.00.  Since I just don’t imbibe much anymore and I was driving, I abstained and had a Coke Zero.

While no one sampled the Raspberry Milkshake Ale or the Mango Milkshake IPA, to me they sound ‘gag-worthy’, but if they didn’t sell, no one would brew them.  Maybe a different name… The alcohol content of some craft beers certainly could surprise the amateur beer lover.  A couple of those Gunslinger 2X IPA’s at 9% alcohol could really sneak up on you.

Laurie took this photo of Bill, yours truly and Bonnie sitting out on the covered veranda.  The view was decent…but in my opinion, the view was offset by the lack of food options.  They were very limited and just not enticing.  A charcuterie ‘tray’ was available but it was in a ‘self-serve refrigerator’, it was overpriced for what you got…and it wasn’t very good.

I do have to give a high grade/positive feedback on the Blackberry Hard Cider.  It was very refreshing and we actually bought 2 6-packs to take back to Tennessee with us…

To learn more about Crown Valley Winery and the possibilities/services they offer, go to Home | Crown Valley Winery.

Next on our agenda, we headed for a casual dinner in a restaurant a bit closer to St. Louis in Festus Missouri.  That’s where we met up with Bonnie and Bill’s daughter Kasey, her husband Kevin and their family.

Main and Mill Brewing Company was the perfect environment for our gathering.  Kasey is in the medical field and she had yet another exhausting day.  The little ones were a bit stoked up so a relaxed and informal setting like this was perfect for the group.

Here are a few family photos…

At the left is Charlie Kate and at the right is Elliot Jane…8 and 6 years old respectively.  Charlie Kate is our rabid hockey star and Elliot Jane just loves being a little girl…

We were happy that the two driving age teenage daughters also joined us for dinner.  Both of them are great students, with Avery (first photo) being an avid and skilled catcher on a softball team and Delany excelling in volleyball.

With 4 kids in the house, 2 of which are so young and full of themselves, Kevin and Kasey are always on the run.  The good news is that with both of the teens able to drive, they now drive to their own sporting and social events.

As if Kasey wasn’t already tired… Charlie and Elliot were all over her, giving her more love than she needed at that moment.  Those 2 girls are always in motion…

Back to the restaurant.  For a change, I didn’t take photos of the food, which included Saigon Crab Rangoon, Hot Wings, Catfish Bites, Fish and Chips, Tacos and more.  While Main and Mill Brewery’s food wasn’t exceptional, it was quite competent…but the menu was generally typical of a local brew pub.  I did note that they offer at Buffalo Chicken Ravioli…and a Burger called “The Ghost”, which featured serrano, ghost and caramelized red peppers.

If you are anywhere near Festus, check out Main and Mill Brewery at 240 Main Street.  This family owned brewery and restaurant is closed on Mondays but they are open for lunch and dinner the rest of the week.  Check out the menu and their brews at Main & Mill Brewing Company (mainandmill.com).

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave