Tap List | Kansas Breweries To Gather in Lawrence Popular Beer Fest Set To Return

Like many big public gatherings over the past couple of years, beer festivals were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many popular events were either canceled or postponed indefinitely.

One of those was the Kansas Craft Brewers Exposition, which was canceled last year after 12 straight years of early March events.

Happily, the Kansas Craft Brewers Exposition will return this year on Saturday, March 12, at Abe & Jake’s Landing in downtown Lawrence. The festival will feature 39 breweries from around the state. This includes nearly all of the breweries from the Kansas side of the metro KC area such as Brew Lab, Transport Brewery, Lost Evenings Brewing Co. and more.

This year’s expo will be a little different than in years past. In an effort to keep everyone safe, the festival will require proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID test within 48 hours of the event. There are two sessions you can buy tickets for — one that runs from noon-3 p.m. and a second that goes from 4:30-7:30 p.m.

In addition to the breweries, there will be various food vendors on hand. Tickets for the event are $40 and can be purchased here.

Welcome back, Kansas Craft Brewers Expo! 

Beer Releases

Limitless Brewing — 9765 Widmer Road, Lenexa, Kansas — is helping you escape to the tropics with their latest release. The new Limitless Barleywine has been aging in Jamaican rum barrels since before the pandemic started. As you can imagine, this 13.5% ABV beer is a sipper that’ll make you feel like you’re hanging out at Appleton Estates in the warm Jamaican sun.

Pathlight Brewing — 11200 W. 75th St., Shawnee, Kansas — had a big week with the release of three new beers. The first, Cenotaph Red West Coast IPA, is a collaboration brew with Double Shift. Coming in at a devilish 6.66% ABV, this beer has all the quintessential West Coast qualities — bitter and dank with a bit of citrus. MorningStar is a new 8% ABV old brown. It was aged in white wine barrels for a year then transferred to a different barrel where Dutch cherries were added to give it a bit of tartness. Last but not least is Peanut Butter Kodiak, a variation of their Kodiak stout. Like the original it’s 6.5% ABV but this version adds some richness and nuttiness from the peanut butter.

Transport Brewery — 11113 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, Kansas — celebrated National Margarita Day by releasing a new margarita themed beer. Peachy Camino is a 5% ABV peach margarita wheat ale. You’ll get a little bit of sweetness from the peach to go alongside classic margarita flavors. It’s the perfect beer to pair with some tacos.

Rockcreek Brewing Co. — 5880 Beverly Ave., Mission, Kansas — wants to take you on a trip to the mountains. Well, sort of. Breck (7.2% ABV, 58 IBU) is an American IPA brewed with Mosaic, Evergreen, Columbus and Super Cascade hops. The aroma of fresh pine needles will make you feel like you’re skiing down the mountains of Breckenridge.

Fields & Ivy Brewery — 706 E. 23rd St., Lawrence, Kansas — released the latest version of their Skeleton Theory series. The ninth iteration of this hazy DIPA features Vic Secret and Southern Star hops. This leads to tropical flavors of pineapple, passion fruit, and berry. This version comes in at 7.8% ABV and 45 IBU.

3 Trails Brewing Co. — 111 N. Main St., Independence, Missouri — is down on one knee ready to pop the question. The Proposal is their latest release and much like popping the question, it’s a big deal. The beer is a double barrel-aged imperial stout that comes in at a whopping 15.8% ABV. It was first aged in Willet bourbon barrels for 14 months and then spent some time in BLiS maple syrup bourbon barrels before being released.

Strange Days Brewing Co. — 316 Oak St., Kansas City, Missouri — has a super limited release available that was just tapped. Little Lad is a 3.8% ABV grapefruit radler. Super crushable for the upcoming warm weather, this beer is a mix of a rice lager and grapefruit juice. You’ll have to head over to Strange Days for this one as it’s only available on tap.

Beer Events

Friday, March 4

Border Brewing Co. — 512 E. 18th St., Kansas City, Missouri — wants you to break out the eyeliner and skinny jeans as they’re bringing you back to the early 2000s with their You’re The DJ: Emo Night event. The fun thing about this event is you can submit the songs you want to hear via the Rockbot app. As always this event is free to the public with outside food welcome.

Outfield Beer Co. — 10953 Kaw Drive, Edwardsville, Kansas — is hosting a trivia night for the cult TV show “Schitt’s Creek.” The crew from Brothers Trivia will be on site from 7:30-9:30 p.m. asking all sorts of questions about the show. Be sure to brush up on the series ahead of time.

Saturday, March 5

Pathlight Brewing — 11200 W. 75th St., Shawnee, Kansas — is hosting a pop-up featuring Charcuterie by Carrie. Each board is handcrafted by Carrie herself featuring the highest quality meats, cheeses and other delicacies. It’s the perfect snack to pair with your beers on a Saturday afternoon.

Crane Brewing Co. — 6515 Railroad St., Raytown, Missouri — is throwing a Wild Geese Browne Ale and Whiskey Tasting party. Crane partnered with the iconic Irish establishment Browne’s Irish Market to create the 5% ABV Wild Geese Browne Ale. They’ve also carefully curated a whiskey flight to pair with it if you’re feeling adventurous.

Red Crow Brewing Co. — 1062 W. Santa Fe St., Olathe, Kansas — is hosting their third pop-up with Fountain City Con. This time around the duo will be releasing a collaboration beer, Riddle Me This, a sour IPA brewed for the upcoming Batman movie. Of course Fountain City Con will be on hand with all sorts of fun pop culture memorabilia.

Sunday, March 6

Diametric Brewing Co. — 949 N.E. Columbus, Lee’s Summit, Missouri — is partnering with Show Me Pottery for a Pottery Pub event. You’ll be able to choose from an assortment of pottery and glaze colors to create a piece unique to you. Each ticket gets you a pre-made pottery piece, glaze and glazing instructions, one beer or bottomless coffee, and a sample of Viceroy coffee.

The Goat Brewing Co. — 817 N.E. Rice Road, Lee’s Summit, Missouri — is throwing a first anniversary party. The party will go on all day with the brewery tapping both new releases and fan favorites, some of which will be available in limited quantities. They plan to have a food truck for breakfast and another for lunch and dinner.

Cinder Block Brewery — 110 E. 18th Ave., North Kansas City, Missouri — wants to bring out your inner artist with their Paint Your Pet event. All you have to do is submit a photo of your pet and Apple Pie Paintings will turn it into a paint-by-numbers canvas. The ticket price includes the canvas of your pet, three paint brushes, paints, color key and $5 beer credit.

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.