Brew in the Lou is turning 14, and for the first time in its history, the South St. Louis beer festival has landed an official title sponsor. The event returns to Francis Park on October 10, 2026, from 1 to 5 p.m., with roughly 80 vendors and 16 craft brewers set up around the park's Lily Pond.
Southern Bank is stepping in as the festival's first-ever title sponsor in its 14-year history, according to Metro East Star. It is a notable milestone for an event that has grown from a modest neighborhood tasting into one of the region's bigger fall fundraisers, and it signals the kind of corporate backing that regional non-profit festivals rarely secure this far into their run.
As FOX 2 reports, early ticket sales run through October 9, with general admission priced at $55 and VIP packages at $125. General admission jumps by $10 at the door, and the station notes that no VIP tickets will be available for purchase on-site, so anyone wanting the upgraded package needs to buy in advance. The festival also sells a $25 designated driver ticket, which grants entry to non-sampling attendees, per the same report. Full ticketing details are posted at brewinthelou.com.
Every Dollar Goes to Lutheran Schools
All proceeds from Brew in the Lou support the Lutheran Elementary School Association, which provides tuition assistance and educational services to nearly 9,800 students across 38 member schools in the St. Louis metropolitan area, according to Metro East Star's reporting. That makes LESA the second-largest private school system in the Bi-State region, and it is the reason the festival exists in the first place — the tasting event is LESA's primary annual fall fundraiser, with money raised going toward helping families afford tuition and supporting Christian education across the network of schools.
The festival's roots go back to 2013, when Brew in the Lou held its inaugural event. It paused for one year in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic before coming back for its 9th annual edition in October 2021, according to a 2021 post from Good Shepherd Lutheran School. That timeline explains why this October's festival lands on year 14 rather than a later or earlier number.
A Custom Lager Named by Volunteers
For this 14th annual festival, organizers teamed up with St. Louis craft brewery 2nd Shift Brewing to create a custom dry-hopped American Lager called Lily Pond Lager, named through a public contest that local volunteers Andrew Roberts and Becky Sudholt won, according to details posted on Brew in the Lou's website. It is the latest in an annual tradition of custom beer collaborations: the 2025 festival partnered with Square One Brewery & Distillery on a Black IPA called South City Eclipse, and the 2024 edition worked with Good News Brewing, according to LESA.
Homebrewers get their own spotlight at the festival too. The Homebrew Horseshoe, hosted by the St. Louis Homebrewers Guild, runs a People's Choice competition where festivalgoers vote on their favorite small-batch creations among more than 25 homebrewers, with 1st through 3rd place winners decided by public ballot.
Live Music, Louie and a New Book on St. Louis Beer
Beyond the tasting stations, this year's entertainment lineup includes live southern rock from Kraig Holt and the Prairie Highway Band and an appearance by St. Louis Blues mascot Louie. Local author Joel Bittle will also debut his new book at the festival, Gateway Beer: St. Louis Craft Brewing in the Shadow of Anheuser-Busch, published by 3 Fields Books, which chronicles the growth and resilience of St. Louis microbreweries since the 1990s through interviews with local craft beer pioneers.
The festival unfolds around Francis Park's Lily Pond, within the 60-acre South St. Louis park that former St. Louis Mayor and Missouri Governor David R. Francis donated to the city in 1916, according to the City of St. Louis Parks department. The park's namesake pond is maintained by a dedicated neighborhood association committee, giving the festival a backdrop rooted in St. Louis Hills' own history even as the event itself keeps expanding its vendor count and sponsorship roster year after year.
