Overview Brew in the Lou is an afternoon tasting festival around the Lily Pond in St. Louis's Francis Park, where more than 80 stations pour craft beer, wine and spirits beside a homebrew competition whose 2026 winner earned a batch at Anheuser-Busch's Research Pilot Brewery. All proceeds go to the Lutheran Elementary School Association (LESA), a consortium of Lutheran schools that counted 9,700 students across greater St. Louis in 2026. Big Blue Spark produces it, and the 2026 edition was billed as the 14th. LESA dates to 2004 and has awarded more than $6.1 million in need-based tuition scholarships to students of all faiths. On site The festival runs four hours, 1 to 5 in the afternoon. Guests get a wristband and a commemorative glass at the gate and work through local, regional and national breweries, distilleries and wineries, with food vendors whose tastings are included and some selling full plates. Home brewers run their own stations for the People's Choice title, each bringing at least five gallons to pour. The bottle competition took beer and, for the first time in 2026, mead and cider, and its winners are named at the festival on Facebook Live. A VIP tent has its own tastings and private restrooms, and the grounds carry the Rockin' Stage and an Oktoberfest area. For 2026, 2nd Shift Brewing brewed a festival beer, Lily Pond Lager. Track record The money goes to LESA's programs: need-based scholarships, where 48% of recipients are students of minority ethnicity and 15% live at or below the poverty line, $432,000 for student mental health services, $322,000 in teacher and principal development and more than 5,000 hours of STEM and LEGO education. Brand presence Southern Bank was the 2026 title sponsor. Below it, four levels carry the festival's own names: Oktoberfest, Rockin' Stage, Lederhosen and Hops Hero. Every level includes VIP access, exhibit space on the grounds and recognition from the stage; the Oktoberfest partner adds event signage and a place in the media promotion, the Rockin' Stage partner the stage signage, and the Lederhosen level an exclusivity benefit.