There’s something about a cold beer and a pinball machine that just fits. No screens, no apps — just flippers, flashing lights, and a pint within reach. Across the St. Louis region, at least nine brewery taprooms have leaned into that pairing, giving drinkers a reason to linger a little longer and put the phone down for a round or two.
The trend starts with a childhood memory. Bryan Schubert, who owns and brews at Millpond Brewing in Millstadt, Illinois, grew up playing the two pinball machines in his parents’ basement. When he opened his own taproom, he wanted that same feeling inside it. A partnership with Mikerphone Brewing eventually led him to Stern Pinball and a local vendor, and today Millpond’s taproom hosts four machines: Foo Fighters, Guardians of the Galaxy, Iron Maiden, and Star Wars.
For Schubert, the appeal is simple. Craft beer and hands-on retro games belong together, he says — they get people off their phones, away from the table, and actually interacting with each other.
Pinball’s comeback is bigger than one taproom. PinballMap.com, a crowdsourced worldwide directory of public machines, tracks around 12,700 locations, and roughly half of them are bars or breweries. The site’s co-creator, Ryan Gratzer, says 70 to 90 new locations show up every week, even as 30 to 40 drop off. Competitive leagues, tournaments, and easier ways to find machines are all fueling the revival.
“Pinball can be really social,” Gratzer says. When friends settle in for a while next to the games, they tend to pick a spot with good food and drinks.
At Millpond, that social side has grown into a two-person team league open to seasoned players and total beginners alike. Schubert says the league is built for casual players who just want to flip a few balls on a weeknight — though the die-hards are welcome too. Teams swap strategies, cheer on high scores, and make friends along the way. Another league session is in the works.
Two Plumbers Brewery + Arcade in St. Charles has made pinball central to its identity since it opened in 2017, with a rotating lineup of roughly 15 to 18 machines spanning decades of the game’s history, plus league play. Nearby in St. Charles, Mead Hall — home to Swarm Brewing Company — runs 11 machines and its own Sunday afternoon league for newcomers and veterans.
New to modern pinball? Gratzer’s advice is to start small rather than trying to learn every feature at once. Figuring out just one thing, like how to trigger multiball, can make a game far more fun. And as Schubert puts it, the only real requirements are liking good beer and knowing how to press the flipper buttons.
Where to play
Machine lineups can change, and games sometimes go out of service. These listings reflect PinballMap.com data from 2026 plus local reporting.
4 Hands Brewing Company — St. Louis
1220 S. 8th St.
1 machine: Foo Fighters (Premium).
4 Hands at The District — Chesterfield
17081 N. Outer 40 Road
1 machine: Jurassic Park (Premium).
Central Tap / Main & Mill Brewing — Festus
10 E. Main St.
3 machines: Guns N’ Roses (Limited Edition), Star Wars (Pro), and Stranger Things (Pro).
Mead Hall / Swarm Brewing Company — St. Charles
2236 1st Capitol Drive
11 machines, including Ninja Eclipse, James Bond 007, The Mandalorian, The Party Zone, and Austin Powers. Hosts pinball leagues.
Millpond Brewing — Millstadt, Illinois
308 E. Washington St.
4 machines: Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast, Star Wars, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Foo Fighters. Another two-person league session is being planned.
Narrow Gauge Brewing Company — Florissant
1545 N. Highway 67
2 machines: The Mandalorian and Star Wars.
Perennial Artisan Ales — St. Louis
8125 Michigan Ave.
1 machine: The Munsters.
Shortleaf Brewing — Winghaven, O’Fallon
7434 Village Center Drive
2 machines: Jurassic Park (1993, Data East) and The Mandalorian (Pro, Stern).
Two Plumbers Brewery + Arcade — St. Charles
745 Friedens Road
Approximately 15–18 machines in rotation, including Batman ’66, Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, Pulp Fiction, Rick and Morty, Stranger Things, Firepower, and Mata Hari. Hosts pinball leagues.
