Tap List | Missouri Gets Surly

A new entrant to Kansas City’s beer market might have local beer drinkers feeling Surly.

Surly Brewing Company announced that it will launch distribution to Missouri in the first week of August. [Note: Surly reached out this morning with an update that the launch has been pushed back to September.] Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the brewery will unleash five beer brands in cans and on draft in the Show-Me State: Furious IPA, Hell German-style Munich Helles Lager, Todd the Axe Man West Coast-style IPA, Xtra-Citra Pale Ale, and a fifth style to be named later.

Missouri has long been a target for the brewery’s distribution territory.

“Whenever we’d announce a new location, we’d get flooded with comments on our social channels about coming to Missouri next,” said Surly owner Omar Ansari. “We knew they were just down the river, and we knew we had a built-in fan base.”

Since Surly began brewing in 2006, the size of the craft beer market and breweries has grown considerably, creating an abundance of choice for consumers. Despite the increased competition, Surly’s owner contends that its beers stand out on their own merits versus adherence to a category.

“At Surly, we don’t brew to style. If you had to define our flagship beer, Furious, it would be a hybrid IPA/English special bitter,” said Ansari. “Honestly, you can call it whatever the hell you want. We don’t get hung up on trying to define things. This might not be normal, but it’s what we’ve always done.”

Updates on Surly’s distribution in Missouri will be posted to its website and social media channels in coming weeks.

July Beer Releases

This month’s releases run the gamut from lager to weiss, porter to farmhouse ale.

Look for Cinder Block Brewery’s Hop Maven 8 (details in calendar listing) and KC Weiss (5-percent ABV, beginning of July, taproom and limited market release), a Berliner Weiss-style with a refreshing tart wheat flavor created by Lactobacillus and Brettanomyces. Cucumber, blood orange, or mango guava ginger flavored syrups may be added to the weiss beer. Cranberry Gose (taproom only, end of July) is an Arts & Crafts homebrew winner scale-up by David Schumacher. Tart, crisp, and light bodied with residual sour finish brought together with the acid characters of cranberries. Champagne Cider (taproom only, end of July) is crisp and dry with a hint of fresh Chardonnay grape tones.

Martin City Brewing Company’s Sundown Summer Porter (July 10 release, seasonal, taproom, Missouri and Kansas distribution,) is “a lighter version of a traditional Porter, dark brown in color with notes of toffee, caramel and light roasted coffee.”

Red Crow Brewing Company’s Nora Jane, a blood orange wit (taproom only, early July), is a refreshing summer sipper.

Free State Brewing Company’s Garden Party Lager (4.8-percent ABV, available now at brewery, bottles and draft in Kansas and Missouri), a 2015 Great American Beer Festival gold medal winner, gets its name from the addition of cucumber, basil and juniper. Blood Orange Radler with house orange soda is on tap at the brewery.

McCoy’s Public House’s Mexican-style Corn Lager (early July, seasonal, taproom only), is a light and easy-drinking craft lager brewed with corn.

Kansas City Bier Company’s Der Bauer, a rare German Farmhouse Ale (7.5-percent ABV, on draft at brewery and in Kansas City), resembles a traditional French farmhouse beer, but it is made with all German ingredients. It is also fermented with a Saison yeast strain from a Strasbourg brewery.

“It is a very hoppy beer with Perle hops and is one of our only beers to receive dry hopping, done with Hallertau Mandarina Bavaria hops,” said head brewer Karlton Graham.

Border Brewing Company’s Sour Strawberry Blonde (anticipated release in July or early August) is a seasonal, taproom-only kettle-soured ale with lots of strawberry puree and a light fruit flavor with crisp, slightly sour finish.

Boulevard Brewing Company’s Jam Band, the newest Smokestack Series seasonal beer (7-percent ABV, 6 IBU), debuted in the Greater Kansas City area yesterday. Available exclusively on draft, Jam Band rocks with fruit character from blueberry, red raspberry, and tart cherry juices blended into the beer at the end of fermentation. Crisp and tart with minimal hops, the beer pours a deep ruby and grooves with aromas of dark berries, melon, and subtle citrus.

It’s a whole different kind of jam session with Boulevard’s Jam Band. (Courtesy of Boulevard Brewing Co.)

This Week

Wednesday, July 12

Cinder Block Brewery (110 E 18th Street, North Kansas City, Missouri) releases Hop Maven 8 (9.2-percent ABV, 98 IBUs) as part of its rotating IPA series. The Imperial Red IPA has mega-hops, including more than 44 pounds of Falconer’s Flight, to produce piney, resiny, and tropical characteristics.

Fringe Beerworks (224 SE Douglas Street, Lee’s Summit, Missouri) hosts Columbia-based Bur Oak Brewing Company for a tap takeover from 6 to 8 p.m. Boone County Brown, Big Tree IPA, Lily Ale, Armadillo Pale Ale (first tapping of the new draft-only small batch series), and Barrel-aged Boone County Brown will be tapped.

Meet Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione at Bier Station (120 E Gregory Boulevard) and help raise funds for Skylar Wallace’s son, who was diagnosed with a Wilms Tumor, the most common form of childhood cancer. Wallace sustained a campaign on Twitter over five years (and nearly 2,000 Tweets) to encourage Dogfish Head to distribute in Missouri. Brewery beers on tap include Seaquench, Flesh and Blood Blood Orange IPA, 60 Minute IPA, 90 Minute IPA, 120 Minute IPA, Namaste, Midas Touch, Burton Baton English Old Ale, and Siracusa Nera Russian Imperial Stout.

At 5 p.m., Calibration Brewing Company (119 Armour Road, North Kansas City, Missouri) releases its Black IPA, described as “Full-bodied and rich with smoky undertones and a nice hoppy bite at the end.”  

Thursday, July 13

Learn about The Business of Microbrews at The Martin Event Space (13440 Holmes Road). “Tap List” writer and Kansas City beer author Pete Dulin hosts this free panel discussion, sponsored by Square One Small Business Services, from 6 to 9 p.m. Rock and Run Brewery co-owner and head brewer Gene DeClue, Martin City Brewing co-owner and director of operations Matt Moore, Stockyards Brewing owner Greg Bland, and Red Crow Brewing co-owner and head brewer Chris Roberts share insights about the business side of owning and operating a craft brewery.

Crane Brewing taps its Double IPA and a Grapefruit Radler at its Taproom (6515 Railroad Street, Raytown, Missouri).

Grain to Glass (1611 Swift Avenue, North Kansas City, Missouri) hosts a Thursday Tasting: Boulevard Brewing Love Child Bottle Share. The shop has Love Child No. 7 and No. 8, and encourages participants to bring in their own bottles from earlier years. It’s $15 to attend or $10 if you bring a bottle.

Saturday, July 15

Grain to Glass offers a Homebrewing for Beginners class (4 to 7 p.m., $50). Learn the techniques of sanitizing, brewing, and bottling. Students will brew a batch and bottle. Everyone takes home bottles.

Sunday, July 16

To celebrate the release of Jam Band, Boulevard Brewing Tours & Recreation Center (2534 Madison Avenue) hosts a party from noon to 4 p.m. Tie-dye your own Jam Band tank top, have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, nosh on Heirloom Bakery & Hearth Crunchy Sunshine Granola Nutter Butter, and drink Jam Band. 3 Son Green will also perform.

Sinclair’s Restaurant (1402 NW Highway 7, Blue Springs, Missouri) hosts a beer and bacon-based dinner ($25, 5 to 8 p.m.) featuring Arcadian Moon’s beers. Drink and dine on German-Style Kölsch with Flying Pig Wings and candied bacon, Irish Ale with a bratwurst lollipop and served with bacon beer mustard, Baehr’s Cave Brown Ale with whipped smoked cheddar slices, toasted almonds, pistachios, and bacon-poached potatoes, Latte Vanilla Stout with coffee-crusted filet and house-made bacon crackers with bacon jam, Grand Circuit IPA with bacon-studded goat cheese croquettes and baby arugula salad with mustard dressing, and Ginger Beer with a bacon, cardamom, cheddar and pear tart.

Monday, July 17

BLVD Tavern (320 Southwest Boulevard) prepares a beer dinner paired with brews from Santa Fe Brewery. The limited-seating dinner (7 to 10 p.m. $60/person, not including tax or gratuity) will highlight Freestyle Pilsner, Single Barrel Sour, new release Autonomous Collective Double IPA, Nut Brown Ale, and Java Stout.

— Pete Dulin writes about food trends for Flatland and is the author of the “KC Ale Trail.” Follow @FlatlandKC and #TapList on Twitter for more food news and trends.