KC Breweries, Old, New, Hopeful

I've been meaning to get to this post for a while, but I've really been slacking. A quick note, you should really try the Sam Adams Imperial Series. Just don't drink 6 or 7 at once like I did. There's been a lot of change in breweries with the economy sinking. Late last year Power Plant Brewery in Parkville shut down "indefinitely", according to the sign on their door. Economy, service, and a political mess ended that brewery but I am hopeful that it will open again. With Parkville's exciting Microbrewfest (coming May 2nd) you'd think they'd get a lot of business.

River Market Brewery was another casualty. To me it's not a huge surprise. With the new Power & Light district dominating the downtown cash flow, RMB became an okay lunch spot, if that. The beer was decent, the service not so great. Still it's sad to see another original bite the dust.

So did Flying Monkey close down? I heard rumors that Flying Monkey Brewery in Olathe shut down, but haven't confirmed that. I saw that up in Ontario recently a brewery just changed its name to Flying Monkeys Brewery. Hmm...

On a brighter side of the topic we've got two hopeful breweries in DCB and DBC both in KC area.

Doodle Brewing Company in Liberty is underway with a building site. Nick Vaughn from KC's 75th st brewery has a good resume of brewery experience and knowledge. Nick is taking a leap with his kids college money to construct his dream. KC should really help Matt once he gets his operation in full force.


Dead Canary Brewery has kept us awaiting some good news for a while, but has plans in the West Bottoms to create a fun nano-brewery that contains a dodgeball league. Also they did a better job on the new logo.

KC New School VS. Old School (NBA Style)

Bull, over on kcbeerblog has inspired me to come up with this ridiculous post. He posted a Roylas line up roster and associated beers. I came up with two NBA teams, one with Boulevard beer and one with old school beer. You can vote who would win if all of the players and beers were in their prime.

Boulevard (non-limited edition) Current Players

Single Wide - Chris Paul (New, Small, Sell out fast)
Wheat - Steve Nash (Well known, light color)
Pale Ale - Dirk Nowitzki (Rich, Pale)
Bob's 47 - Bobby Jackson (He's 36 not 47, but old for NBA)
Zon - Bruce Bowen (Zone defense)
Irish Ale - Brian Scalabrine (Red Head, Part Time)
Dry Stout - Shaq Diesel (Need I say more)
Bully Porter - Omeka Okafor (Bull in a China Closet)
Lunar - Jamario Moon (duh)
Nut Cracker Ale - Ron Artest (He will crack you nuts)
Double Wide - Glen "Baby" Davis (He's a big boy)
Long Strange Tripel - Chris "Birdman" Anderson (Trippy, Tall)
Sixth Glass - Manu Ginobili (Sixth man in '08)
Saison - Tony Parker (French, Smooth)

Old School Players, Old School Beers

Sam Adams - Larry Bird (Boston Classic)
High Life - Charles Barkley (The Champagne of Players)
Schlitz - Dennis Rodman ('Cause nothing says class more)
Budweiser - Michael Jordan (the King)
Old Style - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Fundamentals)
Miller Lite - John Stockton (Small, Light, Fast)
Black Label - Robert Parish (The beer has perished)
Stag - Tim Hardaway (A Man's Beer, look him up)
PBR (tallboy) - Dominique Wilkins (Tall, Consistent)
Falstaf- Bill Walton (Drink if you've got buck teeth)
Old Milwaukee - Moses Malone (Milwaukee Great)
Hamm's - Rick Barry (Rockin' the 70's)
Coors - Alex English (Rocky Mountain Delight)

The Wheat Beer

My brother and I just got done brewing a wheat beer even though I promised an IPA next. I'm going to call this one a success. Okay semi-success. It tastes like a craft brew. It tastes like a wheat beer. There is no saltiness this time. It is a bit too malty in flavor and color. It is a dark wheat beer but I'm definitely going to down all of this batch. Let me know if you'd like to try some. I'll be getting new ingredients soon for the next batch which should get even better. You learn something every time.
Mmmm... look at that tasty wort.

New Belgium La Folie - Sour Slap

New Belgium La Folie. Do you remember Gobstoppers? Or better yet, have you ever been slapped in the face? Yeah, La Folie has both. It is a very strong, tart, complex beer. Maybe I'm not the best beer advocate yet, but I don't get it. I was so excited to get a limited edition find at Red X the other day (they actually write the number on the bottle). I did get down quite a bit more than the Sam Adams Triple Bock, but the La Folie is definitely a sipping beer.

No Love for Natty

After about a month of running the favorite beer poll and 44 votes I figured we had a clear winner. Not that Kansas City voters were biased or anything but Boulevard Wheat won by a long shot. 54% of you liked the Wheat. Sam Adams is still one of my favorites and Fat Tire was the start of my craft brew journey, but I figured I'd throw in one of everyone else's favorites. Of course I figured one jack ass would vote for Natural Light, but I guess everyone was sober when voting.

I will put up some more voting soon. Either that or a top 5 beer list. Either way I'll make it a little more advanced than what I had.

Beer and Snow

So I had a week off of work in between jobs to do whatever I wanted. Unfortunately I got sick most of the time, but the first thing I did was get the new snowboard out to Snow Creek before heading out to Colorado a couple times this year. I went hard for a few hours and finally went in for a break. Upstairs they had a cozy bar where plenty of people were "working from home" on their wi-fi. I went up to the bar and selection was pretty weak. Suprising for such a nice bar, but they did have the Blue Moon knock off that AB came out with "Shock Top". It's an alright wheat beer. Got a couple of those in me and was good to ski the rest of the day.

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.