My two favorite beers for watching baseball or just kickin’ back on a lazy, warm, summer day both hail from the great state of Missouri (or Missourah to you rural hayseeds). Those two beers happen to be none other than Schlafly’s Summer Lager and Boulevard’s excellent Pilsner.

For those of you living in a cave (or at least one that doesn’t stock good beer), Schlafly is a local microbrew from right here in St. Louis, and Boulevard is located across the state in Kansas City. And both of these beers are better than anything Anheuser-Busch has ever brewed (although I’m willing to give their new Shock Top Wheat IPA a shot), even though I have been known to buy an 18-pack of Budweiser on occasion. I can down PBRs, too. It’s decent enough for cheap swill, just like Coors or Miller High Life, but I’m too much of a serious beer drinker to waste too much money on that stuff, especially when there are some really great, delicious beers out there for just a few dollars more. So if you’re looking for a good beer to drink while firing up the grill and tuning in AM 1120 for the ballgame on a moist summer evening in St. Louie, I’d highly recommend these two beers.

So, with Schlafly’s Summer Lager and Boulevard’s Pilsner out of the way, what would be a couple more good choices? Well, I’m glad I asked! I’m also proud to say that my two other favorites are also St. Louis originals! I happen to think that new Kräftig Lager is better than your average beer, and it’s great to see the Busch family back in the brewing business and not part of InBev (Kräftig‘s owner, William K. Busch, is the great-grandson of Adolphus Busch, who co-founded Anheuser-Busch). Since this is a relatively new beer that I only just started sampling, I haven’t had a chance yet to give it the full summertime/ballgame/grilling in the backyard test, but I believe it should fair pretty well. Oh, and Kräftig is the only one of the beers in this article that has a Light option, so for those of you watching your figure, take note. I haven’t actually tried Kräftig Light myself yet.

Another is an old favorite of mine, Griesedieck Brothers‘ Premium Golden Pilsner, which never disappoints, although it’s even better if you can find some fresh bottles as it isn’t actually brewed in St. Louis. The Griesedieck family’s history of brewing in St. Louis is even older than that of our beloved baseball team, so I’m sure this beer is no stranger to being accompanied by the sounds of taking in the action at the old ballpark.

So there you have it. Four excellent choices for quenching your thirst while watching/listening to Cards baseball this summer, and each of them a much better local alternative to the usual AB or Miller brands. Happy drinking!