Tag: High Plains Brewhoff

February 7, 2016

Beer Festivals 2016

We will officially kick off the 2016 Beer Festival Season with The Big Chill strong beer and chili tasting at 75th Street Brewery on Saturday, February 13!  Over 30 festivals dedicated to the love of beer will take place between now and November.  Several different locations, atmospheres, styles, locally organized, nationally organized, homebrew only, some with food, some with live music – whatever your fancy, you’re bound to find at least one to attend.

Click here to see the full list.

We already have plans to attend a few:  Big Rip Snake Saturday Party, Crafts & Drafts Presented by The Pitch, Kegs ‘N’ Eggs at the Renaissance Festival, KC Nanobrew Fest, Boulevardia, and the High Plains Brewhoff.

Beer

If you don’t want to end up arrested or just plain don’t want to be an asshole this year, here’s our blog post from last year on Beer Festival etiquette.

 

 

 

If you’d like us to come to your event to take pictures and write a review, email beer@kansascitybeer.com.

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September 22, 2015

High Plains BrewHoff 2015 Recap

One of the many great events from this past Saturday was the High Plains BrewHoff in Brew Lab‘s Old Downtown Overland Park parking lot.  I had planned on attending more events during the day, but I had a small injury in the morning and could only get to the BrewHoff.  Below you’ll find a quick recap and some pictures from the event.

It was a good time overall with a lot of great, unique beers.  It had the same bad/good things as last year.  Bad:  kids, event space too small/too many people.  Good:  the beers, free snacks, water stations, good bands, it was free.  See my review for last year here.

They did try to expedite the entry by having a VIP line and letting people in 30 minutes early  Although a line didn’t start to form until about 12:45pm, by 2pm there was still quite a line.  They did also try to discourage children (and Broncos apparel) by posting on their Facebook, but there were still quite a few kids (and one Broncos hat).

I love the spirit Fuzzy Helmetsof the homebrewers.  There’s so much creativity and passion that goes into each beer and it’s
refreshing to be at the type of event where the server knows what they’re talking about.  Many tents had entertaining setups, from a Craftsmen toolbox keezer to a group of Fuzzy Helmets.

There weren’t as many homebrewers that were in the process of going legit as last year.  Crane, Red Crow, Torn Label, and Double Shift all had a tent last year and are either already open or within a month of opening.  BVH Brewery (Twitter, Facebook, Untappd) will be spending 2016 promoting their beers at several events while working on getting a permanent location.  Mount Anderson Brewery (Untappd) is in talks with Missouri Hy-Vees to start selling 22oz bottles of their beer.  They’ll be brewing and bottling just outside of Peculiar, MO.

Speaking of Mount Anderson, their beers and brewery did really well as far as voting went at the event.  They took first for Best Beer with their Vanilla Milkshake Porter (well deserved).  Click here to see all the winners on High Plains BrewHoff’s Facebook.

High Plains BrewHoff will hold their third BrewHoff next year on Saturday, September 17.

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July 30, 2015

Updated Beer Festival List

Summer is almost over and school is about to be back in session, so it’s time for some fall beer festivals.  Grab your jackets and hats and read through to pick the ones you’ll be attending.  This list is also available on the 2015 Festivals page.

Saturday, August 01

  • 11am-6pm – City Market Free Beer Festival, City Market, Kansas City.   The Pitch hosts the first City Market Beer Fest with 100 beers available for purchase.  $10 for 4 beers or $20 for 10 beers.

Saturday, August 15

  • 1pm-5pm – Zona Rosa Microbrew Fest, Zona Rosa, Kansas City.   Lots of great beers and Missouri Mashers will be doing a competition as a part of the festival.
  • 2pm-6pm – 75th Street Summer Beer Fest, 520 W 75th Street, Kansas City, MO, $35.   A lot of local breweries are listed to be at the Summer Fest in 75th Street’s Alley.

Friday, August 21

Saturday, August 22

Saturday, August 29

  • 1pm-4:30pm – Midwest Microfest, 800 The Midway, Salina, KS, $35 GA, $60 VIP.  If you’ll be in the middle of Kansas on August 29, then this will be a good fest to attend.  Over 20 breweries are set to pour their beer at the event, including Red Crow, Radius Brewing, Goose Island, and River North.  There will also be live music.

Saturday, September 5

  • Festival of the Lost Township, Raytown, MO, $35 ($40 at the door) GA, $100 VIP.  Hosted by Crane Brewing Company, this beer festival also includes meet and greets with local beer celebrities.

Saturday, September 12

  • 2pm-6pm – Tour of Brews, 3365 SW Fascination Drive, Lee’s Summit.  Formerly TKC Real Ale Fest, this beer fest will have one of a kind firkins, live music, and beer demonstrations.  This event is in the middle of a fun-filled weekend in Lee’s Summit that includes a Tour of Towns on Friday, Small Biz Showcase on Saturday, and a community day with an adult scavenger hunt on Sunday.
  • 1pm-6pm – Brewtopia, 4380 S Noland Road, Independence, MO, $30.  Apex Brew and BBQ Supplies hosts their first festival.  Taste a wide variety of beers from over 40 homebrewers and local breweries.  Live music, food, and more.

Saturday, September 19

  • 1pm-5pm –  High Plains Brewhoff, Overland Park, free by invitation.  This fun event that puts you in the judge’s seat asks you to prepare your liver.  Celebrity brewers and homebrewers will be judged by you!  Tickets are now available at Brew Lab.
  • 1:30pm-6pm – KC Beer Fest, Power & Light District, Kansas City, MO, $35 GA, $60 VIP.  This fest has been around for a while, so they’ve got it pretty well organized.  Over 200 craft beers from around the world, rare keg tappings, live music, and food trucks will be spread across two blocks in downtown Kansas City.
  • 5pm-10pm – Village West Wine Fest & Beer, 9400 State Avenue, Kansas City, KS, $75 GA, $150 VIP.  That’s a hefty price tag, but this fest at Schlitterbahn will showcase over 200 wines and 100 beers from around the world, food from over 30 of KC’s finest restaurants, fireworks at 9pm, and dancing from 9pm until midnight.  Limited to 2,000 attendees.

Saturday, October 17

  • 12pm-7pm – KC Brew Fest Fall Edition, Union Station, 30 W Pershing Rd, Kansas City, MO, $40.  Split between two sessions (12pm-3pm & 4pm-7pm), this fest will include tastings from over 50 breweries.
  • 6pm-9pm – Brew at the Zoo, Kansas City Zoo, 6800 Zoo Drive, Kansas City, MO, $35-$45.  Appetizers, music, beer, and wine samples as well as two drink tickets included in your ticket at this event.  Breweries include KC Bier Co, Big Rip, Boston Beer, Crane Brewing, and more.  In the Valley Below will be performing.

Saturday, October 24

  • 1:30pm-5pm – Beerfest at the Ballpark, 1800 Village West Parkway, Kansas City, KS, $36.  I’ll be honest, you should skip this one.  The venue is great, but the beers and crowd were less than stellar, especially for the price.  If you really want to go, they do have over 200 domestic, microbrewed, and international craft beers while a DJ will be playing.

 

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