Kansas City trip...looking for brewpubs

[inspector13]

I am making a trip to the Kansas City Mo area this weekend and am looking for good brewpubs to visit and brewerys to tour. I will be staying in Liberty, Mo. I have 4 days to check out KC and get my drink on.

Thanks For The Help & Cheers!

 

[KUbrew]

Boulevard is a must, don't miss that one.

 

[mightynintendo]

Boulevard is definitely a great brewery to tour.

75th Street Brewery is a good brewpub. The food is pretty good and the beer isn't bad either. Don't go for their wheat. Let me know if/when you go here and I'll join you for a beer (it's just down the road from me).

 

[jmwc95]

There is a pretty good brewery in Weston. I think it's called O'Malley's. Weston is about 10 mi NW of the airport.

 

[remilard]

Free State in Lawrence is great. The pubs in KC are good but not great. We have some pretty nice beer bars though.

 

[mightynintendo]

Free State in Lawrence is great. The pubs in KC are good but not great. We have some pretty nice beer bars though.

Agreed. Too bad you're not in Columbia, MO though. Flat Branch Brewery is the definitely the brewpub champion in the greater MO/Kansas area.

 

[Myke_J]

Flat Branch Brewery is the definitely the brewpub champion in the greater MO/Kansas area.

I'll have to check them out next time we go back to Lawrence to see my wife's side of the family.

 

[mightynintendo]

Ew Lawrence? If you're lucky you'll find a way to get stuck in Columbia.

 

[KCBrew]

Free State has recently expanded their repertoire and is turning out great beers right now. They had two different IPAs, a cali common, an imperial stout, a Belgian, in addition to their standard 5 on tap last time I went. Everything is noticeably fresh.

In KC, Boulevard is great, but their tours are booked through for months in advance. As for pubs, The Foundry in Westport has a great selection of brews, and they are attached to a brewery (McCoy's) that is decent at best (IMO). By Downtown, Harry's Country Club has a very nice selection as well.

As for Colombia, never been and don't need to go.

@remilard- what places do you know of in KC with nice selections?

 

[remilard]

@remilard- what places do you know of in KC with nice selections?

Well for selection I would say Flying Saucer and it's not even close but I don't like the food and atmosphere there as much.

Waldo Pizza has a small but thoughtful selection, Foundry is pretty good after they added the new taps, Swagger is a personal favorite. Barley's isn't bad, most of their 99 taps or whatever I could live without but they tend to have La Folie, a few Ommegang, a few Bear Republic and Yeti on tap which differentiates them from the other places in town (generally) bottle selection is decent too.

I tend to go to The Foundry, Swagger and Waldo Pizza regularly add in some Flying Saucer when they have something I want that nobody else will get and then throw in some Barley's for variety.

Also worth noting that we have a Gordan Biersch. I know that appeals more to certain people and less to others. I like being able to get a reasonably authentic and very fresh German lager from time to time. I'll usually have a pint there if I am in Power and Light for Flying Saucer. Gordan Biersch has an AHA discount that is something like $3 off an order of $10 or more, which is pretty generous if your order is close to $10.

 

[mightynintendo]

Grinders pizza also has a remarkable selection of beer on tap (and bottles). Their tap beer will blow you away though.

http://grinderspizza.com/index.php?/grinders/beerlist/

 

[remilard]

Grinders doesn't appear to have their tap list online but when I have been there it's never been better than any of the places I've mentioned. They have more Unibroue on tap than other places but I don't consider that a good thing and their turnover on it is very low.

You also need to be prepared to be served beer in a plastic cup if you go to Grinders.

 

[roverlandpark]

While the Boulevard tours are booked way in advance, it never hurts to call and be put on the waiting list. They'll call you if you have a cancellation. It's a long shot, but they are the best brewery in town.

Free State in Lawrence is a favorite. Their beer is really good and reasonably priced. Their food is pretty decent as well.

If you're not going out of KC proper, 75th Street is good too. A good selection of beers and the food is good too.

Gordon Biersch is okay as is Granite City. But they're both chains that you can get elsewhere.

Two places that are gone but not forgotten are the PowerPlant brewery in Parkville and the River Market Brewery. I really enjoyed PowerPlant, but detested River Market. If you see these listed on a guide somewhere, just remember they are closed.

 

[mightynintendo]

I was never able to enjoy PowerPlant or River Market Brewery

Yeah Grinders you do get plastic cups if they're hosting an outdoor show. You sure about that turnaround being low? Every time I've been that place is PACKED. Last time I was there they had Old Rasputin on tap which made me smile.

 

[remilard]

The Boulevard tours are first come first served on weekdays I think. Check their website.

It isn't a great tour. A video or two, lots of time looking at the bottling line, ZERO time in the brew house* and a pitch for their room that they rent out for parties and corporate events. You'll probably get a shot at one or two experimental beers though.

* The new brew house anyway. Last time I was there for a luncheon (so not a normal tour) we did walk through the old brew house and the barrel room (literally walked through on the way to the observation area above the bottling line which is where you will spend most of your time). The only normal tour I went on we spent zero time in either brew house or the cellar room or any production area, that was around a year ago though.

 

[remilard]

I was never able to enjoy PowerPlant or River Market Brewery

Yeah Grinders you do get plastic cups if they're hosting an outdoor show. You sure about that turnaround being low? Every time I've been that place is PACKED. Last time I was there they had Old Rasputin on tap which made me smile.

I've had a lot of stale beer there. Just because a lot of beer is ordered (and a lot of it is Natural Light) doesn't mean that keg of Ephemere is turning over as often as would be ideal. The Unibroue beers in particular have always tasted stale there to me. I think they would be well served to not keep three of them or whatever on at all times.

Old Rasputin is good beer to see on tap, but both Barley's locations have it 365 days a year so I give more weight to some of the beers that, say, Flying Saucer gets that nobody else in town will have.

 

[mightynintendo]

Yeah I can see your point. They're all relatively good places to get good beer though. Flying Saucer is (of course) the best place for beer variety. Barley's is just so dang far away and every time I'm there I find myself wishing I was at ToTT right next door (in spite of the beer selection).

 

[Rockchalk]

I went to high school with the guy that started the 75th street brewery. He made a smart decision right out of the shoot.