December 2014 – Kansas City Beer

December 19, 2014

2014 Holiday Gift Guide for Kansas City Beer Lovers

If you haven’t started your holiday gift shopping yet, this weather should jump start it. With the winter wonderland outside and Christmas one week away, ’tis the season to be shopping. Here’s your 2014 Holiday Gift Guide for Kansas City Beer Lovers.

Big Rip Brewing Company

T-shirts, magnets, pint glasses, growlers, hoodies, calendars and more make up Big Rip’s selection of gifts. The gifts range from $2 for the magnet to $50 for the hoodie, so it’s a perfect gift shopping stop for the beer lover in your life.

They’ll be tapping their Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Ale just in time for Christmas and be selling 22 oz bottles of their beers soon after Christmas.

Their hours are:

Friday, December 19: noon – 8pm
Saturday, December 20: noon – 10pm
Sunday, December 21: noon – 4pm
Wednesday, December 24: 9am – noon (get your last minute shopping done, fill a growler, and have a pint while you wait)
Closed on Christmas

Boulevard Brewing Company

Boulevard has pretty much anything you could want in a gift from a brewery. Items for men, women, kids, even pets are available on their website, at the brewery, or at their Dry Goods Store at the Plaza. Highlights in the selection include a snowglobe with a small scale brewery, a dog hoodie with the moniker “Beer Retriever” and sweaters for your bottles – Freakers.

Boulevard recently released their lineup for 2015, that include 12 new brews.

Their hours are 10am – 5pm everyday, but they’ll be closed Christmas Day.

Cinder Block Brewery

Cinder Block’s best gift is the gift of their beer in one of the coolest growlers. Their stainless steel, vacuum insulated, double wall barrel style growler can hold 64 oz of any of their great beers and it keeps cold for up to three days outside of the fridge.

They are also running specials when you buy items from their taproom. Buy a growler and a t-shirt get a free glass; buy a gift card and a growler get a free glass and one free beer; buy a growler, t-shirt, and gift card get two free glasses and two free beers. These specials are good through December 23.

Cinder Block will be open normal hours through December 23, but will be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

KC Bier Company

KC Bier has several gifts for your German-style bier loving friend. Masskrugens, lederhosen t-shirts, and other German wares are available at their brewery. They even make it easy for you with a Bier Gift Box that includes four glasses, a 44 oz growler, and a gift certificate for a growler fill for only $39. Perfect for the friend who wants to get started in the world of craft brews!

They will be introducing their newest brew, a cider, on December 19.

KC Bier will be open normal hours, but will be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Martin City Brewing Company

Their newest addition to their line of glassware, the pictured chalice, is perfect for their superb beer. Embellished with their logo on one side and a fun train on the other, this will be a great addition to anyone’s glassware collection.

Martin City Brewing will be hosting a New Year’s Eve Party with access to all three location. It’s $25 per person that includes a dinner buffet, two bands, drink specials, and a champagne toast.

Happy Holidays from KansasCityBeer.com. We think 2015 will be an amazing year!

December 12, 2014

KC Ale Trail Release

There’s no doubt Kansas City is quickly becoming one of the best cities for craft breweries. Now you can learn more about the industry, the beers and over 20 current and upcoming breweries in Pete Dulin’s new book, KC Ale Trail. The book is available for purchase at several local locations (Boulevard Dry Goods Store, Brew Lab, Grain to Glass, and more) as well as online at www.kcaletrail.com. It makes a great gift at $20 for the beer lover in your life.

Dulin will be making several appearances in the next week to sign books and answer questions:

Friday, December 12 – KC Ale Trail Release Party & Meet the Author at Bier Station, 120 E. Gregory Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64114. From 6pm until 9pm, have author Pete Dulin sign your copy and enter to win a copy of the book, local brewery swag, and other cool items.

Saturday, December 13 – Dulin will head into Northtown from 10am until noon and sign books at Grain to Glass, 1611 Swift Avenue, North Kansas City, MO 64116.

Tuesday, December 16 – Boulevard Tasting and books signing from 4:30pm until 6:30pm at Rimann Liquors, 3917 Prairie Lane, Prairie Village, KS 66208.

For more information on KC Ale Trail visit their website, Facebook, and/or Twitter.

December 4, 2014

It’s Funky in KC!

Samuel Adams Kosmic Mother Funk has officially hit the taps in Kansas City bars. Only 17 locations will be serving up this exclusive beer until the kegs run out.

Last night, I drank my share of KMF at Rusty Horse Tavern in Parkville. A few Samuel Adams employees were present to promote the beer and chat with invited vendors and bar patrons. With only two 1/6 barrel kegs, it’s important to get your fix in early. As of 5pm on Thursday, Rusty Horse still had some on tap. Here are a few pictures of the beer.

As a reminder, here are the locations KMF will be.

B.D.’s Mongolian – 19750 E Valley View Pkwy, Independence, MO

Beer Kitchen – 435 Westport Rd, Kansas City, MO

Bier Station – 120 E Gregory Blvd, Kansas City, MO

Brass Rail – 4940 NE 81st St, Kansas City, MO

Charlie Hooper’s – 12 W 63rd St, Kansas City, MO

Conrad’s Restaurant & Alehouse – 210 North State Route 291, Liberty, MO

The District Pour House + Kitchen – 7122 Wornall Road Kansas City MO

Helen’s – 2002 Armour Rd, North Kansas City, MO

Konrad’s Kitchen and Tap House – 302 SW Main St, Lee’s Summit, MO

The Local Pig – 510 Westport Road, Kansas City, MO

Michael Smith’s Restaurant – 1900 Main St, Kansas City, MO

Rock and Run Brewery – 110 E Kansas St, Liberty, MO

Rusty Horse Tavern – 6325 Lewis St, Parkville, MO

Waldo Pizza – Downtown Waldo – 7433 Broadway St, Kansas City, MO

Waldo Pizza – Lee’s Summit – 1543 NE Douglas St., Lee’s Summit, MO

The Well – 7421 Broadway St, Kansas City, MO

Westport Ale House – 4128 Broadway Blvd, Kansas City, MO

December 4, 2014

St. Nikolaus Day at KC Bier Company

Have you been a good boy or girl this year? Let St. Nikolaus reward you with goodies in your Stiefel! Kansas City Bier Company will be celebrating this mostly European holiday this weekend at their brewery. This will be a family friendly event with bier, a toy drive, and Santa from 1pm-3pm each day. I was born in Milwaukee, so I’ve been raised with the tradition of St. Nick and continue to put my stocking out on December 5th every year (when I’ve been good).

KC Bier Company says,

“On December 6th & 7th, we’re hosting our first annual “St. Nikolaus Bier Boot Day & Toy Drive”! In case you’re not familiar with the German holiday St. Nikolaus Day, here are the details; St. Nikolaus Day is on December 6th each year. Children in Germany put their “Nikolaus Stiefel” (or nicholas boot) outside their front door that night. If the kids were good that year, St. Nikolaus would leave them gifts and sweets in their Nikolaus Boot.

Instead of us rewarding kids with candy in their boots, we’re rewarding adults with Bier in Boots! We’ll be pouring liters of Bier in Boots all weekend long (also known as Das Boots). We will also have a toy drive that weekend to benefits the Shadow Buddies Foundation. For every toy people bring in we’ll take $1 off each bier. So if you bring in 3 toys, you can get $1 off 3 different biers. Details on the toy drive can be found here http://www.shadowbuddies.org/events/2014/10/holiday-hugs-toy-drive/.

Both days we will have Santa in the brewery for pictures from 1-3pm and live Bavarian music from 3-5pm. We encourage people to bring their friends, family, and children to the brewery to enjoy a day of family fun, German fare and German Bier.”

We will be there on Saturday, so say hello if you see us. If you haven’t been a good boy or girl, you only have a few days to make up for it!