Tap List | J. Rieger Rolls Out 2022 Straight Rye Whiskey Release Party Friday Night

This week we’re taking a brief break from beer news to give you some exciting spirits news. On Thursday, J. Rieger & Co. is releasing the 2022 version of their Bond Straight Rye Whiskey to retailers in Kansas and Missouri. 

This year’s edition is 96% rye and 4% malted barley. After distilling, the rye was aged for six years before being bottled. The resulting spirit comes in at 100 proof.

The rye starts with lots of orange and spice notes. Rieger says the rye has notes of “caramelized orange, freshly baked bread, flowery notes of orange blossom and cut grass with flavors of toasted cedar, five spice, salty sunflower seeds, and cinnamon.”

From there you’ll get a delicious array of flavors ranging from chocolate-covered cherries to fruit jam akin to cherry cola. The rye then finishes with notes of sage, mint and toasted coconut. The entire tasting experience from start to finish is well balanced and highly delicious.

To mark the occasion, J. Rieger & Co. will be holding a party at the distillery. You’ll be able to try samples of cocktails made with the new spirit, listen to live music and enjoy food specials. The event will take place Friday from 3-7 p.m. You’ll be able to purchase bottles of the 2022 Straight Rye Whiskey in their gift shop.

Beer Releases

Lost Evenings Brewing Co. — 8625 Hauser Court, Lenexa, Kansas — has released Field of Sunflowers, a 10% ABV Belgian golden strong ale. The recipe is a scaled-up version from Andy Myers, who won the Johnson County Brewing Society Scale Up competition. The golden ale comes in with a soft malt flavor which leads the way to the classic fruity/peppery Belgian yeast notes. 

Servaes Brewing Co. — 10921 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, Kansas — teamed up with the Lawrence Brewers Guild for a new cookie-inspired beer. The base of the 5% ABV Chocolate Cherry Kool Cookie is a cream ale. From there the brewers got a bit inventive. They added cherry flavored drink mix and cherry chocolate cookies. The beer pours a deep red and perfectly balances sweet and rich flavors.

Rockcreek Brewing Co. — 5880 Beverly Ave., Mission, Kansas — released their take on a contemporary American pilsner. Creekside comes in at 5.2% ABV and has a clean and floral aroma. The slight grain flavors lead the way to balanced floral citrus bitterness from the use of Triumph hops. It finishes clean and dry.

3Halves Brewing Co. — 110 E. Kansas St., Liberty, Missouri — just put out their latest beer, Wheelhouse. This brew is a heavily hopped 7.9% ABV West Coast IPA. It uses Mosaic, Centennial, Apollo and Strata hops to give this beer big tropical yet dank bitterness. The malt backbone helps provide balanced flavors upfront while achieving lingering bitterness on the backend.

Alma Mader Brewery — 2635 Southwest Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri — has a New England style IPA available using their first lot of 2022 New Zealand hops. Overseas Experience uses both Citra and Rakau, but the Rakau hops are the star of the show. They help give the beer a range of flavors from peach to plums. The Citra then adds a bit of pineapple and tropical fruit to really round out the flavor profile. The beer comes in at 6.8% ABV.

Rochester Brewing Co. — 2129 Washington St., Kansas City, Missouri — brewed a new beer in honor of its third anniversary. Trinity is a big 10.1% ABV triple IPA. The beer has a rich and boozy backbone to help balance out the citrus, pine and candied fruit flavors provided by the hops. The malt and hops in this beer are balanced enough to make you forget it’s slightly over 10%.

Red Sash Brewing Co. — 406 E. 18th St., Kansas City, Missouri — collaborated with local KC beer group, Beer Tasting KC. The pair created Undisputed Champion, cheekily named after the Independence Avenue bridge that constantly takes the top off of big rigs. This big Nutella stout comes in at 12% ABV. Nutella helps provide big chocolate and hazelnut flavors in the beer. Much like the namesake bridge, this will knock you for a loop!

Strange Days Brewing — 316 Oak St., Kansas City, Missouri — themed their latest beer release after a mimosa. Cosa Mimosa is an 8.6% ABV hazy double IPA with orange. The beer uses orange puree and Citra hops to impart the tropical orange flavors associated with a mimosa.

Beer Events

Friday, Sept. 9

Crane Brewing Co. — 6515 Railroad St., Raytown, Missouri — is celebrating the first Red Friday of the regular football season with a party. They’re hosting a Chiefs Kingdom Tailgate Party. The event will be centered around the release of their new Chefs Kingdom beer along with the reveal of their new patio. Crane will also be featuring food from Harp BBQ, some new merch and yard games. The party starts at 5 p.m., so come dressed in your best Chiefs gear!

Servaes Brewing Co. — 10921 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, Kansas — is getting in on the Red Friday action just like Crane. They’ll be throwing a Red Friday Beer Release & Pop-Up Shop event. You can expect to drink the new Chiefs Mahomes (a cocktail-inspired sour) while purchasing some sweet local products. There will be pop-up shops from Cookie Hustle, Modern Motifs and Mom’s Empanadas. Servaes will also be selling some of their Chiefs-themed merch.

Saturday, Sept. 10

Apex Aleworks — 4356 S. Noland Road, Independence, Missouri — is hosting its monthly Homebrew Class. You’ll learn all about the ins and outs of brewing your own beer from Apex’s head brewer Ben Tatman. This includes learning bottling techniques for when your beer is ready to drink. Admission is limited to just eight people to keep the class both personalized and to allow for maximum learning. 

Once you’re done learning how to brew, you’ll want to stick around for the other event Apex is hosting. They’re throwing a party for the release of their new collaboration beer with Kansas City’s Vine Street Brewing. The duo made Off The Vine, a tropical stout. You’ll be able to enjoy this new brew along with a chance to win specially branded Off The Vine pint glasses with both the Vine Street and Apex logos.

Free State Brewing Co. — 636 Massachusetts St., Lawrence, Kansas — teamed up with their friends at KC Wine Co. to throw an Oktoberfest at the KC Pumpkin Patch (located in Olathe) event. While you are welcomed and encouraged to have fun like a kid, the beauty of this event is that it is for adults only. There will be tons of yard games, spots for photo ops and more. The price of admission includes a beer stein with one free beer included. You can purchase tickets here.

Lemonade Park — 1628 Wyoming St., Kansas City, Missouri — is hosting a two-day event dubbed Lemonade Social. While the fun kicks off Friday night with live music from three different artists, Saturday is the day to attend for beer lovers. They’ll be doing a beer tasting event starting at 3 p.m. featuring beers from City Barrel, Stockyards, Crane, Casual Animal, Strange Days, Athletic Brewing Co. and more. The VIP pass includes access to the beer tasting plus a commemorative tasting tumbler. In case that’s not enough, you’ll be able to enjoy the music portion as well headlined by pop punk/emo darlings The Get Up Kids.

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.