Tap List | City Barrel Buys Bier Station Hub of Craft Beer Scene

In a deal sending reverberations through the local craft beer scene, City Barrel is buying the popular Waldo beer bar Bier Station.

Bier Station will officially close on Dec. 31, almost exactly 10 years after its grand opening, according to owner John Couture. When it opened, Bier Station was at the cutting edge of a trend that combined retail beer shops with a bar and restaurant.

City Barrel had been quietly looking for a second taproom location when this opportunity popped up. A Waldo resident himself, City Barrel co-owner Joe Giammanco has been a regular at Bier Station, and floated the possibility with Couture.

The City Barrel team consisting of Joe Giammanco, James Stutsman, Grant Warner, and chef Benjamin Wood plan to keep a similar vibe as Bier Station. The new City Barrel taproom will be offering beers, wine, hand-crafted cocktails and food via a New York-style pizza kitchen. The team also plans on expanding the covered outdoor seating area and heating it with a fire feature.

In the meantime, Bier Station will be hosting events leading up to its last day, including a meet-and-greet featuring the City Barrel co-founders to help welcome them to the neighborhood. Bier Station will also be doing alumni nights for staff members from the past 10 years.

What’s next for Couture? While he’s not exactly sure, he does know he wants to continue to work in political activism. Bier Station had earned a reputation for hosting events such as The Josh Hawley Fun Run, which raised money for six different organizations back in August.

City Barrel has not yet announced an official grand re-opening event, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for updates.

Beer Releases

Tall Trellis Brew Co. — 25600 W. Valley Pkwy., Olathe, Kansas — continues to pump out new beers ever since completing its brewhouse. The latest is Sky Trails IPA. The beer is hopped with copious amounts of Mosaic, Citra and El Dorado along with locally grown Columbus hops from Kansas Hop Co. The new hazy IPA from Tall Trellis comes in at 6.7% ABV.

East Forty Brewing — 1201 W. Main St., Blue Springs, Missouri — released the latest beer in the Fistful series. This series of sour ales features a different fruit with each new version. Fistful of Tangerines was brewed with tangerines giving this beer tons of citrus flavors. It’s only 5.3% ABV making it even easier to knock back a few.

KC Bier Co. — 310 W. 79th St., Kansas City, Missouri — took its popular Dunkel and really upped the ante. The result is their brand new 10% ABV Dunkelbock. The official beer style is a doppelbock. It’s rich and decadent and available both in bottles and on tap. 

Torn Label Brewing Co. — 1708 Campbell St., Kansas City, Missouri — collaborated with Screenland Armour on a new beer to celebrate the release of the “Avatar” sequel. Pandora is a 5% ABV pale ale loaded with tropical notes. You’ll be able to get the beer on draft at both locations. Screenland Armour even made special color-changing cups that’ll be available starting Dec. 15.

City Barrel — 1740 Holmes St., Kansas City, Missouri — just released a brand new 8.2% ABV double hazy IPA called Oat Soda. As the name suggests, this IPA’s malt bill features a heavy dose of oats. It also uses a unique hopping technique known as dip hopping. This method helps bring out huge aromas of berry, lemon peel and orange.

Alma Mader Brewery — 2635 Southwest Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri — released a very limited barrel-aged barleywine called Copper Shrine. The big 14.5% ABV beer is a blend of Alma Mader’s barrel-aged barleywines aged in Weller barrels for nearly two years. You’ll get flavors of candied fig, praline and vanilla. There is a limit of two bottles per person given how rare this beer is.

Beer Events

Saturday, Dec. 10

Big Rip Brewing Co. — 216 E. 9th Ave., North Kansas City, Missouri — is mixing the freaky with the merry for their Merry & Fright Pop-Up Market. The event will feature several different local vendors to help you get some Christmas shopping done. Vendors include Tiny Fangs, Gamer Girl Jewelry, Abandoned KC, Odds & Unfortunate Ends and more.

East Forty Brewing — 1201 W. Main St., Blue Springs, Missouri — will be throwing its second annual Holiday Maker’s Mart in the Mill Room. Whether you need to pick up some gifts for friends, family or even pets the Holiday Maker’s Mart has something for you. Vendors include Green Dirt Farms, Great Scot Soapery, Grainient Dog Barkery and more.

Lost Evenings Brewing Co. — 8625 Hauser Court, Lenexa, Kansas — has yet another holiday shopping pop-up event for you featuring a line-up of all local vendors. Get some unique holiday decor from Sawdust in my Wineglass or some dog treats from PawsAbilities.

ExBEERiment — 925 E. Lincoln Lane, Gardner, Kansas — is joining in on the fun of hosting a holiday pop-up shop. The brewery will be partnering with Baldwin City’s The Nook for their market. If you’re unfamiliar with The Nook, they are a bookstore, coffee shop and bar. They’ll be selling books at ExBEERiment during the pop-up so come out, enjoy a beer, and cross off getting a gift for the avid reader in your life.

Sunday, Dec. 11

3 Trails Brewing Co. — 111 N. Main St., Independence, Missouri — is getting a visit from the big man himself! Yes, Santa will be in the house at 3 Trails Brewing during its Sipping with Santa event. This is a family-friendly event so bring the kids to get their photos taken with Santa while you enjoy a few beers.

Limitless Brewing — 9500 Dice Lane, Lenexa, Kansas — will be throwing its grand opening party for the new brewery. They are offering earlier sneak peeks at the new space if you sponsor a tree, shrub or plant through their website. If not, the new brewery will be open to all starting Dec. 11. Point & Flat BBQ will be serving up their full BBQ menu.

Alex Andujar is a former beer sales rep turned personal trainer. When he’s not training clients you can find him trying new beers at many of Kansas City’s great local breweries.