Big Rip – Page 4 – Kansas City Beer

October 23, 2014

Beer Me!

Beerfests, special tappings, networking, swap meets. Here’s where you can say, “Beer me!” this week.

Thursday, October 23

Martin City Brewing Company is having a Fundraising Event for Parker Adams tonight from 6pm until 8pm. Parker Adams was recently diagnosed with a rare form of cancer (stage four Neuroblastoma) so help support the Parker family and raise awareness for childhood cancer. Join them at the brewery for pizza and beer. They will be collecting donations at the door for dinner and drink tickets.

Friday, October 24

Royals play at 7:07pm. Several bars, breweries, and restaurants will have specials to celebrate the Royals.

Saturday, October 25

Grain to Glass is holding a Homebrewing for Beginners class. Beginning at 3pm attendees will learn the critical part of boiling, adding hops, chilling, sanitizing, and pitching yeast. You will also learn how to bottle a 5 gallon batch of beer. Each participant takes home beers for bottle conditioning at home. $50 for 3 hour class, supplies, and a $10 discount on equipment purchase at the end of class.
Rock & Run has their inaugural Rot and Ruin Dark Ale and Spirits Festival from 3pm until 10pm. Some great breweries, meaderies, and distilleries will be serving their products until 8pm. Screenland Armour will be bringing out their inflatable screen to show the Royals World Series Game 4. $55 for VIP tickets, $40 for regular tickets, and $5 food vouchers.
Big Rip Brewing Company hosts their second annual Ripper Halloween Party. Tickets have been sold out for a few weeks and for good reason – it’s the best Halloween Party in Kansas City! What better place to celebrate Halloween than in a place that celebrates it all year? There will be an open bar including liquor, wine, and their brews. They will be releasing their first ever Amber Ale that night. Cafe Italia will be catering with a Macaroni and Cheese bar with bacon, pulled chicken, sauteed onions, and other goodies. It’s a laid back atmosphere with games like Flip Cup, Beer Pong, and a Foosball table. They will also have the Royals Game 4 playing on the TVs in their taproom.

Saturday seems to be the party day. Luckily, each party will be showing Game 4 of the Royals.

Beer Me! is a weekly event post where we let you know what’s going on beerwise in the Kansas City area. If there’s something we missed, please comment below or email us and we’ll add it to the list. Get home safe and get a taxi or have a designated driver!

October 18, 2014

Girls’ Pint Out at Big Rip

The local chapter of Girls’ Pint Out had their October event at Big Rip Brewing Company this past Thursday. Despite the name, people from all genders were welcome and there was a pretty good turnout.

It started with some mingling, light snacks, and beer of course. For first timers, it may have been a bit awkward as there was no clear area set up for the group and it didn’t help that the Northland Young Professionals were having a meeting at the same time. Once found, the GPO group was welcoming and excited to talk. Big Rip’s beer patio was as perfect as the weather – enough picnic tables to handle both events and some regulars.

At 7pm, we took a tour of Big Rip where we learned about their fermenting process and their upcoming plans. They’ve recently received approval from the State to start bottling their beers to sell at the brewery. They will also start selling very limited kegs of their beers. Only one or two kegs will be available at a time and will be posted on their website. Big Rip also plans to have barrel-aged beers on tap in about 6 months. Using barrels from Sonoma, California, Big Rip will create an Imperial Coffee Porter with Pinot Noir and use their flagship Sweet Brown recipe in the second barrel with cherries added.

After the tour, the Girls’ Pint Out group got another beer and mingled for a little while longer. Screenland Armour showed up to start an 8pm showing of Dawn of the Dead, so some of the group stayed for that. Next month, Girls’ Pint Out is planning an event to celebrate their one year anniversary. We’ll keep you updated with more details.

October 16, 2014

Shatto Releases Chai Latte Milk

Why would a beer blog post about milk you ask? The chai concentrate used for Shatto’s latest release was slow-brewed in micro-lots by Kansas City’s Hugo Tea Co. at Big Rip Brewing Company in North Kansas City.

Only 4,000 half liter bottles of the milk marked “HARMONY” have been released and once they’re gone, pint size bottles will be available through early November. The chai concentrate used was brewed over 8 hours last month using Big Rip’s brewing system. Cloves, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, and cardamom make this a refreshing drink that’s a little less sweet and a little more cinnamon heavy.

Make sure you pick up a bottle or two so you can experience so many wonderful Kansas City area companies all in one bottle. I bought two bottles at Hy-Vee for $3.19 each not including the $2 deposit per bottle.

October 6, 2014

Take the Crown!

“Let’s Go Royals!” seems to be the chant you hear whenever you’re in a large crowd anywhere in Kansas City and rightfully so. The Royals have swept the Angels to move on to the American League Championship Series against Baltimore. Here some ideas on what local beers go great with all aspects of the game.

Tailgating – Stick with something light with a low ABV like a session beer. Boulevard’s Pop-Up Session I.P.A has an ABV of 4.3% and has low bitterness with a big, fruity hop aroma. Another session beer, Cinder Block‘s Northtown Native was brewed and fermented as if it were a lager, but it’s actually an ale. It has a light and crisp upfront taste with a hops finish.

During the Game – Here’s where you can really get into it. Start the celebration a little early and open up a Saison-Brett from Boulevard’s Smokestack Series. The Brett part is named for the Brettanomyces which is a a wild yeast strain that gives a distinctive earthy quality to the beer, but we can say it’s named after George Brett to fit the theme. If you can’t get your hands on this beer, pick up a growler of Martin City Brewing‘s Bière de Garde. It’s a little sweet with just the right amount of spice to keep you going throughout the innings.

Extra Innings – Most of the postseason games have gone into extra innings so you need to be prepared with something that can hold you over until the Royals win. Try The Big Rip Brewing Company’s flagship beer, Hathor’s Sweet Brown. The smoothness of the beer will keep you calm until it’s time for some bubbly in celebration. Can’t get up to Northtown to get your growler filled? Try KC Bier Co‘s Dunkel. Yes, it’s a German beer, but it’s made right here in Kansas City. It’s a medium-bodied beer with a slightly sweet, malt flavor and smooth finish that has just enough noble hop bitterness to balance the malt. It goes great with all the BBQ and sausages you’ve been eating.

The Celebration – The obvious choice is Boulevard’s Championship Ale. While this was made in honor of Sporting KC’s 2013 MLS Cup victory, why not break it out when our baseball team is winning? Until Boulevard comes out with a World Series Championship beer, this will have to suffice. If you didn’t get a bottle of the Championship Ale, try one of Cinder Block’s Ciders; the refreshing, not to sweet taste is perfect complement to that victory feeling.