Category: Openings

February 23, 2017

HopCat Grand Opening

HopCat has chosen Kansas City to open their twelfth location and they’re opening this Saturday with a Grand Opening all-day party.

HopCat derives its name from the hepcats of the jazz scene in the 1940s. You can see the love of music throughout the first floor with commissioned works of art that focus on some of the greatest musicians. Each floor has a different, unique style, just like each of their current 12 locations are different to accommodate and adapt to each city. So while they may be a chain, if you visit another location it won’t be quite the same as the KC one.

The beer selection is phenomenal. Tyler Goebel, HopCat’s Beer Program Manager, has hand selected each of the 100 taps on the first floor and 30 local taps on the second floor patio area. They’ve built a reputation with breweries, small and large, that they have great beer knowledge and will serve it properly. Two exclusives to Kansas City will be on tap this Saturday: COOP Ale Works Hot Chocolate DNR, available in the Oklahoma City area only except this keg and Brickway Brewery‘s Barrel-Aged Epic Blackout Stout, a 17% stout with only 3 kegs in existence and HopCat will have one. Other breweries that will have beers tapped include Crooked Stave, Founders, Moonlight Meadery, Crane Brewing, Torn Label, and Lagunitas. They plan on having collaborations with local breweries and doing small and large tap takeovers for several breweries.

Their food menu includes elevated pub food that’s made fresh and incorporates beer in a lot of the dishes. Their “Crack Fries” are battered in light beer before sprinkled with black pepper seasoning and have been named in Food Network’s America’s 10 Best French Fries.

With all that food, there’s bound to be waste, but HopCat is pretty big into sustainability. About 90% of what would normally go in a landfill is either composted or recycled. It’s a key point in all their locations, but they had some extra help in Kansas City from Bridging the Gap training employees how to be more sustainable.

Their Grand Opening will be this Saturday, February 25, starting at 11am. They are located at 401 Westport Rd, in Old Westport, Kansas City, Missouri 64111. Free crack fries all day for everyone but the first 200 guests get a card good for a free order of the fries every week for a year, rare beers on tap, giveaways, and a happening time!

We have a ticket for two to their VIP Grand Opening on Friday, February 24, a HopCat can-shaped glass, and a free Crack Fries for a year card to giveaway so visit our Facebook page for details. Follow HopCat on their social media for updates and other cool stuff: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Thanks to Chris Knape, Joe Prate, and Tyler Goebel for taking the time to take us on a tour and share the information with us.

Here are some photos of HopCat. They were still adding the final touches, so we’ll be going back to get more once they open.

Hop Cat

« ‹ of 11 › »

September 11, 2015

Don’t Have Plans for the Next Month? You Will!

September and October weekends will be stacked with great beer events, takeovers, parties, and brewery openings. With the cooler weather, you’ll be able to enjoy your beers without sweating your butt off and it’s easier for event planners to get bit more crazy with their events.

This Saturday the 12th, there are 11 different events. 11! This is the busiest weekend for beer. Starting as early as 8am and going into all hours of the day and night, locations from Parkville to Blue Springs to Independence to North Kansas City to Lee’s Summit to Kansas City – you get the idea, you will find something for you! Activities include helping clean a river, finding out winners of a competition, going on a pub crawl, or attending one of the festivals.

September 13-18 is Sour Beer Week at The Flying Saucer. Sour beers have become popular over the past few year due to the uniqueness of the style. It’s a risky form of beer brewing, so only a few local breweries have tried their hand at it. Big Rip expects to release their Tart Cherry Sweet Brown aged in a Pinot Noir barrel in the next month or so and Boulevard has had a few. Crane Brewing, opening next month, has a variety of sours they’ll be sharing.

Several Oktoberfests starting the weekend of September 18th. I can’t speak of the quality of most because I’ve only been to KC Bier Co‘s last year, but it’s all typically a good time. Big glasses of beer, German attire, and bratwursts are all common for Oktoberfests. KC Bier Co promises an even better time than last year with more carnival games, a wooden keg tapping with celebrity tapper Karli Ritter, and a few competitions.

Saturday, September 19, has fewer events than the previous Saturday, but they’re just as good. North Kansas City is holding a citywide Pint Path. If you want to ride your bike a bit more south, check out Pub N Pedal. A scavenger hunt around Kansas City beer locations where you can win prizes. The Kansas City Beer Fest is also on this day at the Power and Light District. It’s been around before the recent surge of craft beer lovers, so it should be pretty packed. The best event of the day is the High Plains Brewhoff. Mostly one-off beers made by homebrewers and celebrity brewers, this event is perfect for the person who has tried everything. Best part, the tickets are free.

A lot more Oktoberfests during the weekend of September 25th, with a few, smaller events mixed between.

Things slow down a bit in October as the weather gets cooler. A few highlights – Crane Brewing and Red Crow Brewing are rumored to be opening, CRAFT Shop, Sip, Feast at Crown Center on the 4th, there will be a beer garden at the Great Midwest Balloon Fest this year on the 23rd & 24th, Sam Adams KMF Grand Cru comes back to Kansas City the week of the 25th, and Big Rip’s Halloween Party will be on Friday the 30th.

Check our calendar for all beer events in Kansas City and be sure to follow us on social media to see pictures from events!

May 19, 2015

Double Shift is Opening and Hiring

Double Shift Brewing Company has announced they will be opening on Saturday, July 11th. You can’t open a brewery without a little help, though, and that’s why Aaron Ogilvie, founder and head brewer, needs some people who are interested in the beer industry. Double Shift is now hiring for an Assistant Brewer, a Taproom Manager, and Servers to help with their brewery in the Crossroads. Send your resume to aaron@doubleshiftbrewing.com.

When Double Shift opens in July, they’ll open with a pretty solid selection of beers perfect for the hot, summer day. Hayloft Saison is their traditional take on the classic farmhouse style, Heavy Weight Double IPA will be knocking you out with 127 IBUs and a 10.7% ABV, and a midwest twist on American Pale Ale – 18th Street Pale Ale is brewed with a heavy dose of Kansas Wheat. They’ll have space in their facility to add barrels to barrel-age and sour beers, but that will be further down the road.

For more information on Double Shift Brewing Company, visit their website or follow them on social media: Twitter or Facebook.

Ogilvie spoke at the Brewbound Brew Talks event on Monday at Boulevard Brewing Company. Other speakers include Michael Crane and Steven Hood with Crane Brewing, Jon Poteet with Central States Beverage, and Simon Thorpe with Duval Moortgat USA. The event was intended for people in the beer industry, but was open to anyone. It was a great way to socialize, learn, and make new connections. Pictures are below and visit our YouTube page to see videos of the whole thing.

« ‹ of 3 › »