Tap List | Lotawana Brewing Co. Officially Opens Doors Hmmm, Beer

There’s another new brewery in the Kansas City area. On Saturday, Sept. 9, Lotawana Brewing Co. opened to the public at 9430 S. Shrout Road in Grain Valley.

The brewery opened with a lineup of five flagship beers, including an American pale ale, golden ale, red ale, stout and shandy.

The brewery is also accommodating to non-beer drinkers. The brewery carries hard seltzers, canned cocktails from Tom’s Town, wine and a few non-alcoholic options. While the brewery doesn’t have a full food menu, they do offer a homemade Bavarian pretzel with beer cheese to snack on.

One of the interesting aspects of the new brewery is a service that few, if any, craft breweries offer. Lotawana Brewing Co. will be offering an in-home keg service. The service is meant specifically for homebrewers who want their kegging systems dialed in for them by the pros. This means no more foamy beer while you try to get the correct temperatures and/or levels of CO2. 

At the moment, the brewery is open Friday from 4-10 p.m., Saturday from 12-10 p.m., and Sunday from 12-6 p.m. Eventually, the plan is to expand those hours to include Wednesday and Thursday from 4-10 p.m.

Congratulations on your opening, Lotawana Brewing Co.

Beer Releases

Strange Days Brewing — 316 Oak St., Kansas City, Missouri — has a host of new German-style beers to celebrate Oktoberfest. This week’s release is Black Bear, a 6.5% German porter. Just about every aspect of the beer screams Germany. It uses German pilsner malt and was fermented using a Kolsch yeast strain. The result is a smooth, chocolatey beer that transports you to Germany’s Black Forest.

Alma Mader Brewery — 2635 Southwest Blvd., Kansas City, Missouri — put out a new Japanese-style rice lager called Seiso. The incredibly pale lager uses a hefty dose of rice along with some pilsner malts. The use of Saaz hops helps evoke aromas of bread dough, tea and honeysuckle. The 5% lager is very dry yet effervescent and pairs perfectly with just about any dish out there.

Pathlight Brewing — 11200 W. 75th St., Shawnee, Kansas — released a brand new German Helles on draft and in cans. Prairie Fire, which comes in at 5%, was brewed using Beechwood smoked malts that lend it a nice touch of smokiness. Like most lagers, it’s crisp and easy to drink while sitting around a fire pit on a cool fall night.

Red Sash Brewing Co. — 406 E. 18th St., Kansas City, Missouri — has a new small batch beer available on draft in their taproom. They just released Send It, which is 5.5% red ale. You’ll get lots of notes of biscuit and caramel throughout the body. The red ale will finish dry and toasty.

Apex Aleworks — 4356 S. Noland Road, Independence, Missouri — released their latest version of Hop Solo, the IPA series that features a single hop. The new one showcases the Idaho 7 hop. Idaho 7 originated in Idaho and is known for its juicy tropical and citrus flavors. The new brew from Apex has an ABV of 6%. 

Beer Events

Friday, Sept. 22

Servaes Brewing Co. — 10921 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, Kansas — is once again partnering with Quarantine Cookie for a night of delicious treats. They are doing a Cookie + Beer Pairing & Pop-Up Shop event. Servaes will be releasing two cookie-themed beers. Quarantine Cookie will be in the house from 5-8 p.m. selling corresponding cookies that you can pair with each of your beers.

Transport Brewery — 11113 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, Kansas — has their popular yearly Oktoberfest weekend on tap. While the festivities kick off on Thursday, the main days are Friday and Saturday. Those days will feature live music, multiple food trucks, a stein holding competition, a vendors village and more. They’ll use this event to officially release their Festbier as they have in years past. The event is free to attend and open to all ages. Dogs are also allowed so long as they are friendly and leashed.

Saturday, Sept. 23

Big Rip Brewing Co. — 216 E. 9th Ave., North Kansas City, Missouri — is taking arts and crafts to a spooky level for the Halloween season. You may have heard about building ships in a bottle. How about ghosts in a bottle? Black Rose Co. will be walking you through how to make a pet ghost in a jar. Tickets include paint and materials. But you can bring your own supplies/decorations for an even more unique project. Tickets are limited so be sure to snag them fast.

BKS Artisan Ales — 633 E. 63rd St., Kansas City, Missouri — will be hosting Pivo Fest 2023. The event is meant to showcase many of the delicious beers they’re creating as part of their Pivo Project, which solely focuses on lagers. They’ll be putting multiple Pivo beers on tap throughout the day while also unveiling new Pivo Project mugs. If you get hungry, there will be food available for purchase from Heirloom Bakery. 

Sunday, Sept. 24

Crane Brewing Co. — 6515 Railroad St., Raytown, Missouri — welcomes back Teri Cartwright for the monthly Sunday Sip ‘N Stretch yoga event. The class lasts an hour and is perfect for yogis of all experience levels. As always, the $15 ticket includes your first beer once the class wraps up. Please bring your own mat and be ready for a morning of relaxation.

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.

One thought on “Tap List | Lotawana Brewing Co. Officially Opens Doors”

1. That Prairie Fire at Pathlight is soooooooo good. I had a couple on Saturday. Gotta get more in cans.

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