Sublunar Photography

The Falstaff Brewery has been a forgotten fixture of Saint Louis for a long, long time now. I love it dearly. Unfortunately each time I return it's clear that it has continued to slip further and further into the point of no return. As one of the most historic/oldest breweries in the area, it's a damn shame. Falstaff deserves to be resurrected to its former status as a world famous brewery pumping out Saint Louis' finest ales.

For the video, click here.

Having explored the extent of the above ground sections over the years I realized a few years ago that I never truly satisfied the requirements I put on myself. I never ventured into the deepest darkest parts. The scary flooded shit in the basement at the bottom of a very rickety set of rotten wooden stairs. In my opinion: truly exploring something involves checking every nook and cranny, getting dirty and spending a lot of time mapping things out and most importantly: leaving no unsolved mysteries behind.

The extent of the flooded cellars at Falstaff, however, remained an unsolved mystery-at least for myself and those with whom I associate. And this to me is unacceptable. To be clear: I don't claim to be the first to wade or raft it or cross the quickly deteriorating stairs. But we didn't know anyone who had been to the underneath and returned to tell the tale. This created a burning anxious sensation in my gut as the realization set in that I'd have to go down there and see for myself once and for all before it's too late.

Here's the thing. There isn't much that freaks me out. I've gotten over the anxiety of heights through repeated exposure and just forcing myself through it. But partially submerged spooky ass cellars with who knows what dangers lurking in the darkness? That shit still freaks me out a little bit and I'm not entirely sure why (aside from the actual dangers involved such as drowning/etc). Apparently this anxiety has a name. It's called "Submechanophobia". But I also suffer from "Unsolvedmysteryphobia" as well as a severe case of "Adventuritis".

So in the interest of leaving no stone unturned and fully solving the mystery of the flooded cellars and, to a lesser extent, confronting my own fear/phobia/whatever it is, we prepared to head down into the darkness.

The last time I was here the staircase still stood albeit even sketchier than ever. But this time the old wooden staircase (which was situated directly above one of the flooded chambers) had rotted away completely. Only one extremely rotten side support rail remained and was ready to snap at the slightest pressure. So to get down here we had to perform a "staircase reconstruction project" which consisted of a couple of separate trips wherein I worked on "rebuilding the staircase". The new "staircase" now consists primarily of an old wooden ladder (missing a step), rotten remnants of the previously failed stair components and assorted junk we found and relocated from elsewhere onsite. The floor of the chamber beneath the new "staircase" has also partially rotted away revealing a deeper section beneath the cellars as we know them. If the staitcase fails, this is what you'll fall into. This section is inaccessible by raft (and extremely dangerous in waders) so we didn't go into it on this trip/video. Its entrance is just to the right of the rusty "ladder" that got us down into the water. The only way to truly explore this last small flooded room and whatever lies below the rotten floor is to bring scuba gear and I ain't got none (yet). If/when I do get some then as long as Falstaff is still standing I'll come back and scuba that shit.

The last and most important chamber features a naturally formed sediment floor and in the far corner is where you'll find the source of most of the water: a small natural spring. This spring is the reason this site was chosen for a brewery after all. In reality this little spring is the whole reason Falstaff even exists.

I acquired a sea worthy vessel, some good comrades and went down below to confront one of the things that freak me out the most. This experience was equally fun and adventerous as much as it was terrifying and exhausting. I now present the Underground Float Trip From Hell.