The City of Fountains is known for its barbecue, steak, and jazz music. And just as lively as the hard-swinging, bluesy Bebop it’s known for, are the sounds of popping bottles and clinking glasses in the awesome breweries in Kansas City Missouri.
If you’re looking for the best places in the Paris of the Plains, you’ve come to the right place! Check out this list to get to where you can get a foamy, refreshing drink depending on your preference.
Here are some breweries worth a visit if you find yourself in KCMO.
Boulevard Brewing Co.
Boulevard Brewing Co. is one of the most popular breweries in the city. In fact, it’s one of the few go-to places in Kansas for so long. This beer hub was founded in 1989 by John McDonald and has become a large specialty brewer in all of the Midwest. The company describes its mission as “to produce fresh, flavorful beers using the finest ingredients and the best of both old and new brewing techniques.
The brewery is known for its fine ales and lagers available all year round. Added to that, they also have seasonal releases and limited small-batch releases. They also have a Smokestack Series, which is a collection of bold, complex beers with higher alcohol content.
There’s so much to do in Boulevard Brewing Co. for beer lovers. For one, you can go on a 45-minute walking tour of the brewery for an affordable ticket price of $5. The best part? The tour concludes with samples in the Tasting Room. Visitors who wish to sample beer need to present an ID. They also offer a Smokestack Tour. This is a two-hour in-depth experience featuring a brewery tour and guided food and beer pairings with tickets at $25.
Torn Label
Torn Label is another brewery with growing popularity in the city. Located in Campbell Street, they offer beer on tap, but you can also get canned drinks on the go. One of their famous products is Alpha Pale, a brew made from high-quality Pacific North hops. If you’re fond of sweet beers, on the other hand, try their Monk and Honey ale. This drink owes its sweetness to local honey, made special with a touch of spice from the yeast.
If you like your beer dark and toasty, you may want to try their House Brew, made with coffee and wheat stout. It’s also brewed along with Sumatran toddy sourced from their partner, Thou Mayest Coffee Roasters.
Alma Mader Brewing
Alma Mader Brewing is another brewer-owned and operated brewery in the city that specializes in ales and lagers made with a marriage of tradition and technology. They have a tasting room where you can sample their brews on tap. Though they offer snacks in the tasting room, customers are also free to bring in food to eat with their drinks.
Their top go-to options include Past to Present (Dry-hopped Pilsner), Conjunction (Kolsch-style ale), Innovo (Hazy Pale Ale), and Standing Still (Extra Pale Ale). Their brews can also be sampled in many pubs around the city. Likewise, Alma Mader offers crowlers and bottles so that customers can have beer on-the-go.
Casual Animal Brewing Company
Casual Animal Brewing Company offers refreshing brews any beer lover will surely enjoy. If you want to sample their offerings in its freshest state, head on to their taproom to sample their draft beers. In the same vein, their beers are also available on tap in select bars and restos around the metro.
Their brews have exciting flavors and hip names to boot. For instance, they have a fruity ale named “Koala Berry Wheat.” It’s a wheat ale-based beer made fruity with strawberries. Their Saison, on the other hand, is called “Slacktivist Saison.” It’s a light Belgian ale made with spicy phenols.
They also offer made-to-order 32-oz crowlers that you can take with you if you need a refreshing beer to go. Likewise, they can refill your own 32-oz or 64-oz growlers, as long as you bring them clean.
Double Shift Brewing Company
Not even a decade in the business, Double Shift Brewing Company has been making waves in the Kansas City craft beer scene. The venture, built by five entrepreneurs, strives to brew flavorful beers that combine tradition and inventive ingredient combos.
There’s quite a lot of exciting beers you can try in their taproom. If you’re in the mood for something sweet, check out Nighthawk Postcards, which is a Coconut Stout w/ Chocolate & Vanilla. If you’re in the mood for exotic flavors, on the other hand, try Tangible Spirit, which is a Smoked Stout with Mexican Chilies, Chocolate, and Coriander.
The brewery doesn’t serve food. So, if you’re craving for a munch with your beer, make sure to pick up something from the line of restos around.
Kansas City Bier Company
Kansas City Bier Company, also known as KC Bier Co., offers German-style beer and food. The company aims to reintroduce Kansas drinkers to German beer first brought by immigrants in the 19th century. In connection to that, they strive to combine authentic flavor with the freshness of local ingredients and craftsmanship.
Their Dunkel, Hefeweizen, Helles, and Pils are available all year round. In addition, they also offer rotating flavors for each season, following the Kansas City climate and historical customs. Their “Spezial Series,” on the other hand, features a local take on German styles.
They have a Bierhalle attached to the brewery where you can enjoy your drink with German beer-match munchies such as sausage, pretzels, and cheese. They also offer a beer tour with beer samples and a souvenir glass for $10 per person.
Stockyards Brewing Co.
Stockyards Brewing Co. is a craft brewery located in the Stockyards District. The company’s mission was simple when they first set up shop in 2016. This was to “make good, unpretentious beer for hardworking people using modern, sustainable techniques. The company also aims to revive a historic spot seeped in the city’s character.
One of their popular brews is County Clare Irish Ale, an Irish Ale made with malted barley sourced from the Malting Company of Ireland. It features sweet crystal malt flavors, tamed by toasted hints from the earthy aromas of Columbus and Centennial hops. Their Smoked Imperial Pilsner, on the other hand, is a lager with a smooth and smoky flavor made from beechwood smoked malt and Saaz and Perle hops.
City Barrel Brewing Company
If you’re looking for breweries in Kansas City, Missouri, with comfortable dining and drinking space, check out City Barrel Brewery. The bar’s backdrop features reclaimed wood from Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, making for a chill, artsy accent.
Their drinks menu features three sections: can beers, 32 oz-crowlers, and 500ml bottles. Check out their Happiness crowler, which is a Belgian farmhouse ale with rustic and fruity aromas. If you’re in the mood for something chocolatey, on the other hand, try The Cosmos. It’s a double-mash stout with Ecuadorian cacao nibs and Madagascar vanilla.
Strange Days Brewing Co.
Strange Days Brewing Co. aims to serve unique brews made with local and global ingredients. Their mission to provide a wide variety of flavors gears them to become a beer lover’s go-to library of brews.
Their beer offerings are divided into four sections: malt, hoppy, light/crisp, and dark. If you want to sample a malt beer, try Rice and Shine, which is a rice lager with 5.6% ABV. If dark brews are more your thing, check out S-Bahn, a Dunkelweizen with a caramel hint.
Brewery Emperial
Brewery Emperial stays true to its mission of offering “the highest quality locally sourced products, served in a casual environment.” In line with that, they pay close attention to guest experience and pleasure.
They offer a variety of beers on tap and beer lovers with different tastes will surely find an instant favorite. One of their most famous brews is called Biscuit, which is a cross between an English Extra Special Bitter (ESB) and an old-school American pale ale. The result is a refreshing drink with toast and bread notes.
Big Rip Brewing Company
The Big Rip Brewing Company went far after first opening its doors in May 2013. The venture was by two friends who were into wine and beer making. Rightly so, the company aims to appeal to beer nerds as well as craft beer newbies.
What makes their beers special is that the makers brew them in small batches. Aside from that, they use a 4 bbl system with a custom control system to help ensure the best results for every batch.
The brewery has a taproom where you can chill and appreciate your beer. There you can sample their unique variants, such as Zelda’s Vanilla (Cream Ale), Hefe the Killer (Hefeweizen), and 237 Milk Stout (Milk Stout). You can also order food from their Hawg Jaw BBQ Kiosk.
There you have it! Check out these breweries in Kansas City Missouri, and you surely won’t be sorry. Go brewery hopping and raise your glass to the growing KC beer-making scene.
