Tap List | Missouri Named No. 2 Beer State Raise a Toast
Published May 23rd, 2023 at 11:30 AM
Above image credit: Beer has the power to bring people together. (Image | Adobe)Ever since the inception of Anheuser Busch in St. Louis, Missouri has been on the beer map. Across the state, Boulevard Brewing Co., which has been around since 1989, has helped propel the craft beer scene in the Kansas City metro area.
Clever, a real estate data company, recently released a new study regarding the best craft beer cities and states. The study shows Missouri ranks second as a craft beer state.
The study used multiple methodologies to arrive at its conclusions. These included breweries per capita, average price of beer, affordability of domestic and imported beers, average Yelp rating of breweries, average Yelp rating of bars, bars per capita, and “beer passion” score which was provided by Google Trends data. The study included the 50 largest U.S. cities.
Interestingly, only two states ranked in the top 10 also had two cities ranked in the top 20 – Ohio and Missouri. Ohio took the top spot in the state rankings with Cincinnati ranked second and Columbus 20th in the city rankings. As you can imagine, Missouri’s sencond ranking as a state is fueled by the beer scenes in Kansas City and St. Louis, which came in at 17th and 18th, respectively, in the top cities list.
The study showed the average beer price in Kansas City is $4.46. The city has 1.24 breweries per 100,000 residents and 15.1 bars using the same metric. Kansas City breweries received a very nice average score of 4.35 stars according to Yelp reviews. Local bars were slightly behind, receiving an average rating of 4.17 stars. The Google Trends data regarding beer passion in Kansas City came in at 66.3 (out of 100).
While it’s no surprise to us that Kansas City (and Missouri) received such high rankings, it’s still nice to be noticed. We are certainly more than just a flyover state when it comes to craft beer. For more information, you can check out Clever’s full article here.
Beer Releases
BKS Artisan Ales — 633 E. 63rd St., Kansas City, Missouri — has another new beer from their “Mosaic &” IPA series that showcases Mosaic hops plus one other. This new release features the addition of Nelson Sauvin hops from New Zealand. The hops help give this beer notes of passion fruit, white wine, stone fruit, berry and tropical peachy vibes. It comes in at 7% ABV.
River Bluff Brewing — 201 Main St., Kansas City, Missouri — knows people like to sit out in the sun and drink for hours during the warmer months. They made a very refreshing beer that’s perfect for patio weather called Conch Street Shandy. This 4.8% ABV shandy was made with pineapple, giving it lots of sweet citrus notes throughout.
Strange Days Brewing — 316 Oak St., Kansas City, Missouri — released a brand new porter that sounds quite decadent. It was brewed with peanut butter, Oreo cookies, vanilla and lactose. Curse of Consciousness starts with the aromas of peanut butter before hints of Oreo and vanilla coat your tongue. Aside from its rich flavors, one of the additional beauties of this beer is it’s only 5.8% ABV.
Rochester Brewing Co. — 2129 Washington St., Kansas City, Missouri — took a popular Hawaiian juice and turned it into a beer. POG Tropical Sour is a 6.8% ABV kettle sour that was brewed with passion fruit, orange and guava. The beer was fermented with 132 pounds of fruit and uses Lactobacillus to give it that quintessential tartness found in kettle sours. Of course it’s got plenty of tropical qualities to help round out the tartness.
City Barrel — 1740 Holmes St., Kansas City, Missouri — has been brewing its mainstay staple Rad AF since the brewery opened in February 2019. To celebrate the 500th batch the brewery released Rad Batch 500, a super juicy hazy IPA. This batch features all of City Barrel’s favorite hops. This beer used Citra and Mosaic Incognito in the boil and was dry-hopped with Citra, Mosaic, HBC 586 and Idaho.
Double Shift Brewing — 412 E. 18th St., Kansas City, Missouri — just came out with a big new beer. Stone Fruit Stunner is a 10.2% ABV barleywine that’s sure to give you a smackdown. Brewed with dates, figs and Rakau hops, you’ll get lots of intense stone fruit characteristics from this beer. You may want to consider just drinking one so it doesn’t knock you out the way Stone Cold Steve Austin would!
3Halves Brewing Co. — 110 E. Kansas St., Liberty, Missouri — put out a new saison to help you beat the heat. Lente comes in at 8% ABV and really lets the yeast shine. It’s got classic saison flavors of black pepper, clove, banana and bubblegum. It finishes slightly sweet yet bitter, refreshing the palette and leaving you wanting another sip.
Crane Brewing Co. — 6515 Railroad St., Raytown, Missouri — tapped a new saison to help celebrate American Craft Beer Week. Passively Relevant is a classic saison that uses local honey from Messner Bee Farm as well as grapefruit peel. The 6.2% ABV ale is bright and effervescent that finishes clean and refreshing.
Beer Events
Sunday, May 28
Limitless Brewing — 9500 Dice Lane, Lenexa, Kansas — is throwing a plant party to thank those who sponsored plants, shrubs or trees at their new location. Each sponsorship gets you two tickets to the party that includes a beer and dinner on Limitless. The event will feature karaoke and dancing to liven things up. If you want to go to the party there’s still time to sponsor a plant. Head over to this link and you can pick either a plant, shrub or tree to sponsor.
Fields & Ivy Brewery — 706 E. 23rd St., Lawrence, Kansas — is opening its doors a little earlier than usual for a great wellness event. They’ll be hosting Yoga on Tap out on the patio. Tickets cost $15 but include your first beer after the class. All you have to do is show up with your yoga mat and anything else you’d like to bring and you’ll be good to go.
East Forty Brewing — 1201 W. Main St., Blue Springs, Missouri — welcomes back Neda for another monthly installment of Yoga & Brew class. The yoga class runs for an hour and is focused on flows that help build strength, flexibility, balance and increase your energy. You’ll receive one free drink of choice (alcoholic or otherwise) after the class.
Grains & Taps — 10 S.W. 3rd St., Lee’s Summit, Missouri — is throwing a Sunday beer pong tournament. The event is one of many Grains & Taps plans to throw throughout May and June to help celebrate the brewery’s 10th anniversary. The tournament is free for those who wish to enter. Prizes will be awarded to the winners. Registration opens at noon and closes at 12:30 p.m. when the first round of the tournament begins.
Monday, May 29
Rochester Brewing Co. — 2129 Washington St., Kansas City, Missouri — just announced it will be kicking off brewery yoga in the taproom. This new series will run every other Monday night starting on May 29. The hour-long class will be led by Erin Conyers. The $15 ticket includes the class and one beer after yoga wraps up. Tickets can be purchased in advance on Rochester’s website.
Martin City Brewing Co. — 500 E. 135th St., Kansas City, Missouri — is taking over the block with a big Memorial Day Block Party. The event will be taking place at both the Coast to Coast Pub and the Pizza & Taproom. The block party is going to have two different stages featuring four bands throughout the day. There will be all you can eat crawfish, specials on pizza and plenty of Martin City beer. Early bird ticket pricing is currently available on the website if you want to save yourself a couple of bucks.
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.