Shorty’s by Schlafly Adding Lager & Lemon Wheat Ale 3%-AbV

Today, I have some interesting and really sessionable beers coming in 2026 from The Saint Louis Brewery / Schlafly in St. Louis, Missouri. Shorty’s By Schlafly Lager will be a lager that is “short on alcohol and long on flavor, and Shorty’s By Schlafly Lemon Wheat Ale will be a wheat beer with lemon that is also short on alcohol and long on flavor. Both beers will hit 3%-AbV, and both will be packaged in 12-oz cans. Stay tuned for 2026 release details and additional beers in the series.

About Schlafly:

Schlafly Beer (The Saint Louis Brewery) is Missouri’s largest independent brewery, founded by Tom Schlafly in St. Louis in 1991, pioneering the local craft beer scene with its focus on traditional styles and seasonal variety, offering popular beers like Pale Ale, Hefeweizen, and their famous Pumpkin Ale, all while maintaining a strong community presence through brewpubs like the historic Tap Room. They brew many unique styles, distribute regionally, and are known for fostering local brewing talent. 

Key Aspects:

History: Opened in 1991, receiving Missouri’s first microbrewery license, and played a key role in shaping St. Louis’s craft beer movement.

Locations: Operates brewpubs, including the original Tap Room in downtown St. Louis and the Bottleworks in Maplewood, both offering unique atmospheres.

Beer Selection: Brews over 50 unique styles annually, including year-round favorites like Pale Ale, Hefeweizen, Kölsch, and Oatmeal Stout, plus popular seasonals like Pumpkin Ale.

Philosophy: Aims to provide a fun place for community gathering, with a focus on quality beer and maintaining a connection to the city’s brewing heritage.

Impact: Helped launch many other St. Louis breweries, with roughly half of the local brewers having connections to Schlafly. 

Popular Beers:
Pumpkin Ale: A highly anticipated seasonal release with baking spices.
Pale Ale: An English-inspired, balanced, copper-colored classic.
Hefeweizen: A hazy wheat beer, sometimes made with raspberries (Raspberry Hefeweizen).
Kölsch: A clean, crisp German-style golden ale. 
Schlafly remains a significant St. Louis institution, known for its quality, variety, and community focus, serving as a cornerstone of the region’s craft beer landscape. 

The First Brewpub

While studying law at Oxford in the summer of 1983 Tom Schlafly, an attorney in his non-beer life, became passionate about the idea of bringing “real ales” to St. Louis, like those he had drunk in England.

Charles Kopman, a former law partner, introduced him to his son Dan Kopman, a sales manager for Young’s Brewery in London. It was Dan who made Tom aware of microbreweries in other cities and suggested that one could also thrive in St. Louis.

In the shadow of the eagle (Anheuser-Busch), the partners bought a burned-out old building on Locust Street in midtown St. Louis that had sat vacant for over 22 years. The Saint Louis Brewery was born.

Their journey came with challenges. Brewpubs had been illegal in Missouri. In 1991, following a change in state law, Schlafly Beer received the first microbrewery license in Missouri and the Schlafly Tap Room officially opened December 26, 1991.

It was the first brewery opened in St. Louis since prohibition.

Wider Distribution

This wouldn’t be their only legal battle. Tom Schlafly has played a significant role in changing numerous alcohol laws in Missouri, helping mold what the St. Louis beer scene is today.

In 1993, he successfully changed laws on how beer could be sold and distributed, opening up wholesaler and retailer opportunities.

It wasn’t long until demand for Schlafly Beer grew. In 2003, operations expanded to increase beer production including packaged products and open a second brewpub in Maplewood, Missouri.

After renovating an abandoned Shop ‘n Save grocery store that had sat vacant for eight years, Schlafly Bottleworks opened April 7, 2003 – the 70th anniversary of the repeal of prohibition.

Schlafly has held true to the idea of “real ales” in the land of light lagers and pilsners. We continue to brew a diverse collection of beer styles, both lagers and ales, and remain committed to quality, consistency, and authenticity.

Our Original Logo

This is the original logo for Schlafly Beer and the Saint Louis Brewery. Its ibex goat and mountain tops incorporate the official village crest of Steinhof, Switzerland where Tom and David’s great grandfather August was born. Barley stalks and hop vines were added to signify their foray into the beer business.

The logo has changed over the years. Schlafly Beer now uses a more simplified (and less detailed) button logo with our name.

It works better on signs, hats, shirts, coasters, bottles, cans, and across the web. However, our fondness for the ibex still remains.

Customers see the ibex when they visit our St. Louis brewpubs and it appears from time to time on special beer releases.

Kölsch Marriage Gift

In 1995, Tom Schlafly married Ulrike Kärst, (a native of Cologne, Germany) in St. Louis, Missouri. To accommodate their European family and friends, a vow renewal was held in the Cologne Cathedral in 1996.
Among the Cologne connections was Heinrich Becker, the managing partner of Privatbrauerei Gaffel, one of the many Kölsch breweries in Cologne.

Due to their friendship with Heinrich, a container of traditional and authentic Kölsch yeast was shipped to St. Louis. This yeast strain is used to this day and is only used to make our Schlafly Kölsch.
With a connection to a city that originated the style, our Kölsch is the real deal, and truly unique among all American craft breweries.

Not only is our Kölsch authentic, but it is also among the best in the world. Schlafly Kölsch is the proud winner of the gold medal for best German-style Kölsch at the World Beer Cup.

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