Kris Wangelin and Adam Patterson, co-owners of Twisted Roots Brewing Co, expect Midtown to be transformed in the next five years, with hundreds of millions of dollars being invested in such developments as City Foundry and the expansion of Cortex. Whatever these changes bring, Wangelin and Patterson just want Twisted Roots to be the neighborhood pub.

Owners Kris Wangelin and Adam Patterson

“The whole point is to be the local bar,” Wangelin says. “We’re a bar that makes its own beer. We don’t like to think of ourselves just as a brewery. We want to have a price point and a menu and a beer list that makes it very approachable, where people can come in three times a week and they’re not breaking the bank.”

Twisted Roots has been open for about two months, since taking over the Forest Park Avenue space vacated by Pappo’s Pizzeria. When Patterson heard that the Pappo’s space was available, he and Wangelin jumped at the chance to set up their own place.

As Wangelin tells it, making the bar approachable required some work. “When we first took over this place, all the walls were black; it was very dark and confined with the booths they had,” he says.

The Twisted Roots team retooled the space so that when customers enter, they immediately know what to expect. The look is smart and simple, with wooden tables replacing those booths and the walls painted a crisp white. Many of the tables are long enough to accommodate larger parties (and indeed, you might need to share a table with fellow drinkers if the bar is crowded). The music is familiar—mostly leaning toward classic rock and funk—and the volume conversation-friendly.

Fortunate for Patterson and Wangelin, their lease included the brewing equipment left behind by Pappo’s. After some tweaks to the facilities (“We took that whole thing apart and made a lot of modifications,” says Wangelin), they were ready to start brewing.

Before Twisted Roots, the pair ran brewing operations at Belleville’s 4204 Main Street Brewing, overseeing a significant expansion of production capacity. With Twisted Roots, however, the goal was to get back to the art of brewing and enjoying the craft, rather than scaling up for distribution. They’re now brewing an average of two or three times per month, rather than three or four times per day like they were doing in Belleville—and that suits them just fine. They expect that around 500 to 600 barrels per year will be enough to satisfy demand in their current space.

Whether looking for food or drink, customers place their orders at the bar and take a seat. There are currently 12 beers on tap, available in 10- and 20-ounce pours. Everything is brewed onsite, and Wangelin and Patterson take pride in turning out a well-balanced set of styles. There’s something for everyone; expect to find session lagers and fruity wits alongside hearty Irish stouts and punchy double IPAs.

In Living Keller, Twisted Roots’ kellerbier

On the beer list, you’ll notice either a (T) or an (R) beside each brew's name. “T” is for Twisted, representing the more unique, experimental creations. (For example, the Dim Wit is a brightly flavored lemon blueberry wit, while the Kali is a mango saturated pale ale.) “R” represents—you guessed it—Roots—straight-down-the-line beers brewed to standard guidelines. “Anything with an ‘R’ next to it, you could take that beer to any contest in the world, and it would be within that beer’s style parameters,” says Wangelin.

For non-beer drinkers, the bartender can pour a glass of wine or whip up a cocktail. During happy hour, Monday through Friday from 2–6 p.m., drafts are $4, well drinks are $4, and glasses of wine are $5. (In honor of the firefighters stationed a few blocks away, Fireball shots are also discounted to $3 for a 10-minute period whenever an emergency vehicle passes with siren blaring.)

The Twisted Roots team’s approach to food is similar to their brewing philosophy: a love of the classics combined with a willingness to have fun and experiment. They prepare everything from scratch as much as a possible. “We figure if you’re going to be making craft beer, your food should be in the style of home cooking,” says Patterson.

The menu is divided into three common-sense categories: shared plates, salads, and sandwiches, with all items running $8 to $11. A great way to start is with the Reuben Twisted Rolls, pockets of corned beef, cabbage, and Swiss cheese encased in an egg roll wrapper that's deep-fried and sliced in half. Biting into the golden skins yields a pleasing crunch, and there’s plenty to chew on as you reach the salty, savory filling. The spicy Russian dip is creamy and cool, but dunk cautiously at first—it’s hotter than you might expect. If the twisted rolls don’t sound like your thing, there are other shared plates, including spicy breaded calamari, jalapeño popper dip, and breaded chicken thighs.

Salads include the grilled green bean chicken caesar, BLT, and Greek chicken salad—but if you’re like me, you’ll want to order a burger with your beer. The Twisted Roots burger gets the patty just right, with juicy beef and a slightly charred finish. If Wangelin and Patterson categorized their food using the same system as the beer list, the burger would be firmly in the “Roots” category. It’s classic burger bar fare, with a slice of cheese, fresh pickles, and onion, topped with a house sauce. Or if you prefer poultry with your pint, try the spicy thigh sandwich, a breaded slab of chicken thigh, sweetened and spiced with the locally produced Mike’s Hot Honey.

Every sandwich is served with Twisted Roots’ broad, slender-cut pub fries. “It’s a cross between a steak fry and a chip,” says Patterson. “That way, nobody can complain. Whether you expected chips or fries, you got it!”

With students returning to nearby Saint Louis University, Patterson and Wangelin are anticipating a busy few months. They intend to open the second floor to increase seating capacity, and they plan to add an outdoor deck on each floor.

Twisted Roots and four other Midtown brewers—Center Ice, Wellspent, Urban Chestnut, and Brick River Cider Co.—have also just launched the Tap Train, a shuttle that stops at the five venues from 1–6 p.m. every Sunday. The bus stops at each spot twice per hour, and drinkers can hop on and off as they please (Tap Train details on the Center Ice website).

And to ensure Tap Train passengers can set off with full bellies for a day of drinking, Twisted Roots plans to launch a brunch menu in the next month or so.