75th St Homebrew Competition

Wow, a good night at 75th st Brewery. I've been bad-mouthing this place here and there even though I keep hoping for a good change there. Last night was a good excuse to get out and try again. 75th st is celebrating their 16th anniversary all week and doing something different each night. Last night was the home brew competition that Dan from GoneMild won last year. I just read his blog and found out that he pretty much submitted most of the beer choices. I would've been in the compeition if I knew about it in time. It was only $5 to jump in, try the beers and give your vote. Pretty good deal considering how much they were pouring.There were 9 beers (Dark American Lager, ESB, Hefe, Schwarzbier, Porter, Rye, Milk Stout, APA). You were to drink all and write your top 5 in order. As you can see from my list (that I can't spell) that the Schwarz won hands down. This Black German Lager tasted very much like a chocolate porter, but with a solid amount of bittering hops. The ESB was a solid 2nd place and the rest kind of fell below. I think I offended a guy (probably the brewer) when I said the APA was terrible.

Afterwards, we had an assortment of new beers that 75th was offering that were quite delicious. My top 3 in order for those were: Whiskey Stout, Coconut Porter and Irish Red; not that it really matters. The whiskey stout was a little rough around the edges but reminded me of a thinner, stronger Old Rasputin. The appearance and smell was quite good and rated very highly with me. I hope that they keep this one going for the reputation's sake.

Boulevard Imperial Stout

I was heading to 75th St Brewery yesterday and had some time to kill so I stopped off at Berbiglia nearby and discovered that the Imperial Stout had been distributed. I picked up a bottle and drank it late last night. It was good but not great. I've been really impressed with the Smokestack Series, but maybe it's because of my taste for sweet bitter hops but Imperial Stout just doesn't float my boat. I am definitely proud to add it to my collection. You'll have to give me your thoughts on it...

Speaking of 75th St Brewery, what do others think about the establishment? I have mixed feelings about it. Service is pretty good, but the beer overall is a bit flat to the taste and they don't seem to carry much if at all of anything else besides their own beer. I can tell by the beer collection around the brewery that there is a good beer appreciation, but I think they should substitute beer styles that they do not make with ones from around KC. Their food is okay. Overall, I do love going there, but I think there are things that bother me about the place. If you have not been there, you've got to try it out.