Tap List | New Brewery Coming Soon to Blue Springs 9 Foot Brewing Replacing Wind Shift Brewing
Published August 1st, 2023 at 11:30 AM
Above image credit: Richard and Teri Cartwright plan to make the leap from homebrewing when they open 9 Foot Brewing in Blue Springs. (Courtesy | 9 Foot Brewing)Richard and Teri Cartwright are no strangers to the craft beer scene. The homebrew club they belong to, the Kansas City Bier Meisters, recently won the title of Homebrew Club of the Year from the American Homebrewers Association for the second consecutive year.
Now, Richard and Teri are going pro.
In a recent Facebook post, the Cartwrights announced plans to open 9 Foot Brewing in Wind Shift Brewing’s former space in Blue Springs as soon as they get state and local approvals. In the meantime, they’ll keep homebrewing so they’re ready for the day they can open.
In addition to homebrewing, the Cartwrights are no strangers to the local beer community. Teri is the instructor for Crane Brewing’s Sip & Stretch yoga events. Richard has helped out at Wind Shift doing everything from hop harvests to canning and collaborating with them on his smoked porter. He’s also collaborated with Crane Brewing on a rainbow sherbet Berliner Weisse. They have also poured at multiple KC Nanobrew Festivals throughout the years.
While folks in Blue Springs are mourning the loss of Wind Shift, they shouldn’t have to wait too long for 9 Foot Brewing to open.
Good luck to the Cartwrights on making the scary leap from hobby to profession.
Beer Releases
Boho Brewing — 15425 Old Town Drive, Parkville, Missouri — surprised their customers with a new beer. The latest release is Tropical Double IPA. As the name suggests, the brew is loaded with tropical flavors and aromas thanks to the addition of Amarillo, Citra, Idaho 7, Mosaic and Trident hops. This double IPA comes in at a respectable 8% ABV.
Vine Street Brewing — 2010 Vine St., Kansas City, Missouri — may have just opened, but it’s starting to crank out new beers consistently. This week they released Dubs, a 7.3% Belgian Dubbel. This malt-forward beer will have your mouth dancing with flavors of toffee, caramel and some slight notes of roasted coffee.
Strange Days Brewing — 316 Oak St., Kansas City, Missouri — has two new beers this week. First up is a traditional Vienna lager named Leiwand (which is slang for “awesome” in Vienna). The 5% beer was brewed with 100% Vienna malt that provides biscuit and caramel flavors before finishing light and dry. Strange Days also introduced Microdose, a 4.6% hoppy blonde ale. The beer has the hop flavors of a hazy IPA minus the bitterness. The low ABV allows you to drink these all day to help beat the heat.
BKS Artisan Ales — 633 E. 63rd St., Kansas City, Missouri — released the latest version of their Citra & series. This week the beer features Citra & (Nelson Sauvin), a popular hop in New Zealand. The 7% IPA boasts huge flavors of passion fruit, ripe peach, citrus and mango.
Torn Label Brewing Co. — 1708 Campbell St., Kansas City, Missouri — teamed up with Wichita’s Central Standard Brewing an 8% West Coast imperial IPA. The IPA is loaded with flavors of grapefruit, pine, lemon diesel and cedar. The brewery currently has it on draft and in cans for those who want to take some home.
Sandhills Brewing — 5612 Johnson Drive, Mission, Kansas — has a new version of Chickadee available. The newest iteration features the addition of Black Currant. The 5.4% Berliner Weisse is both tart and sweet and perfect for summer. It’s currently available in 10-ounce draft pours and 16-ounce cans.
Beer Events
Friday, August 4
Lawrence Beer Co. — 826 Pennsylvania St., Lawrence, Kansas — is heading to the Clinton Marina to participate in the Dawg Days of Summer event being hosted by the marina and the Lawrence Humane Society. The event will feature three food trucks plus beer from Lawrence Beer Co. Live music will be provided by Blue 88 and Page 7. This family-friendly event will feature an inflatable obstacle course for the kids. If you’re feeling generous, the humane society will be accepting donations of soft dog treats and dry cat/dog food.
Saturday, August 5
3 Trails Brewing Co. — 111 N. Main St., Independence, Missouri — is throwing its first festival-style event. The Kansas City Originals Music Fest will feature local musicians playing their original songs for six hours. There are 12 bands total, each selected by the event’s host, Kris Bruders, who also happens to be the host for the open mic nights 3 Trails puts on. While the event is free to attend, the brewery would appreciate it if you could tip the bands at the door when you first arrive.
Torn Label Brewing Co. — 1708 Campbell St., Kansas City, Missouri — is hosting a release party for their yearly Extortion 17 wheat IPA. The beer is meant to honor the 30 service members, many of whom were Navy SEALS, and one K9 whose helicopter was shot down, killing them all. A portion of the sales from this beer will be donated to the 98 Fund. The 98 Fund is a nonprofit that was started to help provide scholarships for the children of fallen military personnel as well as providing support for vets and families.
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.