By Sometimes life calls for a drink. In the case of celebration, sorrow or simply social, Columbia’s locally crafted liquors are a well-loved town treasure. Whatever your pleasure — wine, beer or spirits — Columbia can craft beverages with serious drinkability. The May issue of Inside Columbia magazine showcases some of Columbia’s best places to sit and sip.
Beer
When craft brewing’s popularity made it to the Midwest, Columbia was quick to grab hold. Since then, the town has been home to numerous successful breweries that each has a charm and a taste of its own. It’s not a bad idea to sample them all.
The list of local craft brewers continues to grow: Broadway Brewery, Bur Oak Brewery, Flat Branch, Logboat and Rock Bridge. And if Columbia’s craft beer scene has made you fall in love with the idea of crafting some of your own brew, the new homebrewing shop Worts & All can get you from start to finish.
Wine
The love of Missouri wine is on the rise. What was once known as a solely sweet-wine producing state, Missouri is making a name for itself by embracing native and hybrid varietals, such as Norton and Vignoles, to create complex vintages that are anything but plain Jane. Rocheport’s Les Bourgeois Winery and Vineyards, a Columbia favorite, has been working to provide a quality product from grape to glass for more than 30 years.
Spirits
The craft-brewing craze has seemingly mellowed, and now craft distilling is on the rise. Columbia has been nurturing this enthusiasm and officially has two distilleries, DogMaster Distillery and Rocheport Distilling Company. With the same collaborative and supportive spirit that gave life and growth to the local breweries, it’s more than likely this list will continue to grow.
Drinks to Start the Day
And let’s not forget about those morning people! When a pick-me-up is what you need, caffeine is key. The abundance of CoMo coffee shops — Kaldi’s, Fretboard, Lakota, Osama’s, The Grind — just to name a few, furnish a wide variety of atmospheres and make it easy to find a place with a warm or cold brew for you.
And if fresh-squeezed juice or smoothies are your preferred way to start the day, Main Squeeze has you covered no matter what time your alarm goes off, serving fresh fruit and veggie smoothies all day long.
