Beer – Kansas City Beer

April 19, 2018

City Barrel

While out on a midweek, beer fun day with my dad at Casual Animal Brewing Company, we ran into James Stutsman, Grant Waner, and Joe Giammanco of City Barrel Brewing Company. City Barrel is an upcoming brewery that will be open at 1728 Holmes, in the Crossroads, later this year. If they were there checking out the competition or just planning for their brewery, I don’t know, but they were kind enough to give me three of their beers to try. (It’s a friendly beer community here in Kansas City, so I’m sure they were just enjoying some Kansas City beers.)

The first is an unnamed sour that was bottled and unlabeled. It is, as the style indicates, sour on the front. Vanilla and peach take over on the back end making it like a peaches and cream style sour. Personally, I’m a sour fan and a fan of the unusual so I really enjoyed this one. (I did not get a poured picture of this one.)

The second is an IPA called Trouble. When you think IPA you usually think hoppy, but this one (and the NE IPA listed next) is a mellow, juicy IPA. An orange zest flavor is prominent and there’s a smooth, creamy mouthfeel.

The third is a New England IPA called Rad AF. More bubbly than Trouble, but still the same orange zest flavor. It’s hazy and that combined with the orange and bubbliness, is reminiscent of a mimosa. Who doesn’t love brunch?

I didn’t have specifics of each beer, just their style, so I’m not able to provide exact IBUs and ABVs. The brewery isn’t open yet and doesn’t have a system running, so I assume these were brewed at home and are just samples of what they will be brewing.

The first two were shared with mostly non-beer nerd friends and family at a game night and they were all impressed, so it seems like this may be a good gateway brewery for non-beer nerds. I look forward to what else they’ll have to offer, especially sours and other creative beers.

Thank you to my friends and family on game night for letting me take pictures, trying new beers, and letting me annoy you with my beer talk! Thank you to City Barrel for the beers; I can’t wait to try some more!

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November 13, 2014

KC Bier Co to Release Winter Bock

Want a big bier to warm you up? Kansas City Bier Company will be releasing their biggest bier yet on Monday, November 24th.

A Winter Bock is a strong, dark bier that has a history of being used by Bavarian monks to help sustain themselves during winter fasts. KC Bier’s version is a strong 8% ABV, but comes off smooth and a little lighter in the taste of alcohol. I tasted flavors of chocolate and dried dark fruits in this full bodied bier. The type of drink you get just one glass at the bar and get a growler to take home. Full details below.

Along with the brewery location, KC Bier plans to distribute this Bock to several area bars and restaurants on the day of the release, including a special Tap Takeover at Rock & Run in Liberty.

On a side note, KC Bier Company has already started planning for their first anniversary in February 2015. A glassware night, special one-off biers, and other fun events will be taking place in a week long celebration.

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October 8, 2014

Rock & Run’s Vanilla Peanut Butter Stout

It’s close to Halloween so if you want a liquid form of the orange and black wrapped peanut butter candies you get trick-or-treating (do those have a name?), then drink Rock & Run’s Vanilla Peanut Butter Stout.

I attended Screenland Armour‘s Retro BREWvies on Monday, mainly to try the stout by Rock & Run Brewery. The event was great especially since there was a max attendance of 60 and only 5 people attended; made the theatre a little more cozy. The feature film was Back to the Future II which was fun to watch considering the future they go to is October 21, 2015. We have a little over a year to get some hoverboards and sleeveless books produced. Cell phones will be nonexistent and that might be a good thing.

So, about the beer. Are you a fan of the candies I stated above? I actually enjoy those Halloween treats, so the beer started off a delight for me. The aroma and original mouth feel was that of those candies. The backend had a sour taste that I’m not sure was intentional. If they can figure out how to get rid of the sour taste, this would be an excellent beer. It paired well with the dessert served by Screenland, sweet plantains and roasted butternut squash.

For now, I’d give the beer a 6 out of 10. It should still be on tap at Screenland Armour and at Rock & Run Brewery’s brewpub in Liberty.