Homebrewing has been legal in the United States since 1978, and in 1988, May 7 was announced before Congress as National Homebrew Day. The American Homebrewers Association (AHA) created AHA Big Brew Day as an annual event to celebrate around the world. AHA Big Brew Day is held each year on the first Saturday in May. It’s held on Saturday for one, because it’s easier to get a group of people together on the weekend and two, the first National Homebrew Day in 1988, was on a Saturday.
A few homebrew groups and retail stores are holding events in our area. Here’s the list:
Greater Topeka Hall of Foamers, 3422 SW 47th Ct. Topeka, KS 66610, are at 9am at. They’ll be brewing a Barleywine and a Pale Ale from the 2nd Runnings. Brats and Chips for Lunch. Samples of Homebrew will be available.
KC Nanobrews, 635 E 61st St, Kansas City, MO 64110,will begin at 10am.
Bacchus & Barleycorn, 6633 Nieman Road, Shawnee, KS 66203,will begin at 10am at their store location. They invite you to bring your kettle and propane burner and brew with us or just come and celebrate homebrewing with them.
Grain to Glass, 1611 Swift Avenue, North Kansas City, MO 64116, starts at 10am. Join local homebrewers, including Missouri Mashers, brewing in the Grain to Glass parking lot (making a really big brew). They’ll be serving bratwursts.
Each one will be toasting to homebrewers at noon.
If you’ve never homebrewed before, it’s a fun experience especially with a group of like-minded people. This Saturday is a good opportunity to participate or just hang out and ask questions.
What a blast! The 2015 Parkville Microbrew Fest took place this past Saturday and it was a muddy good time. At 1pm, the tape was cut and thousands of beer lovers entered the festival.
A few highlights of the events in terms of beer: Radius Reflux Sour, Martin City Brewing Company From Belgium with Rum, Boulevard Foeder Projekt #1, and everything from Missouri Mashers especially the MILF Project. Of course, I didn’t try everything, so there may be a few gems I missed.
The best table was Root Sellers. Old medicine bottle tap handles, an old-timey bike, and they took this year’s odd color beer with their Carrot & Apple Ale.
The longest line was for Perennial Artisan Ales who was serving Saison de Lis, 17, Regalia, and Sump Coffee Stout. I got into the line late, so the only one left on tap was the Regalia. I stayed around their table for a little while talking with some friends (the table was on an end so there was a break) and was rewarded with some Abraxas from the bottle.
If the weather stopped anyone from coming to the event, it couldn’t have been too many. The rain and muddy ground only added to the fun. Most people were prepared with rain boots and ponchos and those who weren’t prepared just went with it and eventually kicked of their shoes.
I would say beer festival season kicked off on February 7th, with 75th Street Brewery’s Big Chill Beer & Chili Fest and a few fests between now and then, but the season really revs up this weekend with two big beer festivals and a visit from Woody.
The 12th Annual Parkville Microbrew Festis this Saturday. From 1pm until 5pm, enjoy beers from breweries and even home brewers. This festival is extremely popular with the locals, home brewers, and beer lovers of all sorts. Last year drew 3,300 people. With 75 beer vendors, it’s really not as busy as the attendance would indicate. I went last year and most of the lines were pretty short, but there were a few tables you had to wait a good 10 minutes for a sample.
The festival is in a great location – English Landing Park in Parkville. It’s a pretty laid back event where you’re encouraged to bring chairs, water, and even pets. They’ll be partnering with Harvesters to collect non-perishable foods, so be sure to being some to donate.
A few special events and releases are as follows.
Crane Brewing will be there, but not to serve beer. They will have a scale model of their brewery to show off to the attendees.
Blind Tiger Brewery will be walking around the event with Backpack Beer. While waiting in line, get your glass filled!
75th Street Brewery will have their Homebrew Competition Winner from last year, a French Saison named Battle of the Frontiers.
Sierra Nevada will be serving the first keg of Hoptimum, a whole-cone imperial IPA, in Missouri.
Charleville Vineyard Winery & Microbrewery will be tapping their Box of Chocolate, a Chocolate Belgian Quad, and when that runs out, they will tap their 2014 Barleywine.
Torn Label has three special releases. Leap of Faith, an American IPA, will be tapped at 2pm; Cafe Dubbel, a Belgian dubbel infused with single origin Ethiopian coffee from Thou Mayest, will be tapped at 3pm; and Long Time Comin’, a Russian Imperial Stout, will be tapped at 4pm.
Grain to Glass will be hosting a bottling demonstration at 2:30pm
Martin City Brewing Company will be tapping their From Belgium with Rum, a Belgian Imperial Stout aged in Rum barrels, at 3pm.
If you like unique beers like Boulevard Foeder Projekt #1, Perennial Saison de Lis, and a few fun skeeter pees from the Missouri Mashers, you won’t want to miss this event. Tickets are still available for $30, but go up to $35 on the day of the event. I would suggest getting there early to get good parking, listen to the preshow band, and get a good spot in line. School of Rock will be performing before the event and Amendment 21, Steamboat Bandits, and Three Drink Minimum performing during the event.
Kansas City On Tap Craft Beer Festival is put on by a national company that holds beer festivals in several cities around the country. It is also this Saturday and it runs from 2:30pm until 6pm. It’s very ambitious of them to be competing with a local beer festival that has been around for 12 years. However, tickets are sold out, so I guess there are enough beer lovers in Kansas City for everyone. They have an impressive list of beer vendors, so if you are attending this event rather than Parkville, you won’t be disappointed.
It, too, is in a great location – Richard L Berkeley Riverfront Park. Having not attended the event I can’t attest to the atmosphere, but I assume it will be similar to Parkville in which you can bring chairs and pets. There will be live music from Landrush and food available for purchase.
I do think that Parkville will have a more knowledgeable crowd of people who really know beer, so if you want to learn more or already know a lot, Parkville would be the event for you. If you can’t make it to either event, Deschutes will be visiting Kansas with their Woody T. Barrel on Saturday. From 12pm until 4pm visit them at Barley’s Shawnee and from 6pm until 9pm visit them at Grinders in Lenexa.
Yesterday, I stopped by The Lone Elm Taproom in the new Whole Foods store in Olathe. It was their Grand Opening and you could tell from the crowd. The store itself was extremely busy, but the taproom was slightly less busy. It’s a great concept – a taproom inside a grocery store with local beers and wines. The taproom’s opening on Earth Day is no coincidence. It’s an Earth-friendly store that used recycled materials such as reclaimed gym floor from Dekalb High School in DeKalb, Missouri, wood paneling from reclaimed beetle-kill ash trees from around Kansas City, and spring bar stools made from an oil rig in Kansas to create the environment.
There were several people on staff and they were quick to serve and clean up. You could also order food featuring local ingredients. It’s always a good idea to eat before you go grocery shopping!
I didn’t stay for KC Bier Company‘s tapping of a Bavarian barrel, but I’m sure it was a good time. If KC Bier knows anything (other than bier) it’s how to have a good time!
The taproom will have beer events every Saturday starting May 2nd with a Beer & Cheese pairing. May 9th Torn Label will have a tap takeover and May 23rd will be Meet the Maker with KC Bier.
Overall, it’s a great little spot if you live nearby. I appreciate the work that went into it to make it as green and local as possible. It’s even a great spot for out-of-towners to try most of Kansas City’s offerings for beer all in one place.
Greater Topeka Hall of Foamers, 3422 SW 47th Ct. Topeka, KS 66610, are at 9am at. They’ll be brewing a Barleywine and a Pale Ale from the 2nd Runnings. Brats and Chips for Lunch. Samples of Homebrew will be available.
