Tap List | Parkville Microbrew Fest Preview
Piney River Brewing Company's Hobby Farm Ale . (Contributed | Piney River Brewing Co.)
Published April 17th, 2018 at 6:00 AM
Come rain, snow, wind or sunshine, the 15th annual Parkville Microbrew Fest, scheduled for April 28, is one of greater Kansas City’s longest-running outdoor craft beer spring festivals. Craft brewers, representatives, and attendees don weather-appropriate apparel and gear to sample beer, listen to live music, and enjoy the outdoors at English Landing Park (8701 McAfee St., Parkville, Missouri).
Founded in 2004, the festival predates many of the craft breweries that have opened in Kansas City over the past five years. The original festival featured a mere eight local breweries and attracted around 200 guests. Now, more than 70 breweries and homebrew clubs attract more than 3,000 attendees for the one-day fest, according to the festival website.
The brewery roster includes new local breweries, such as Strange Days Brewing Co., Casual Animal Brewing Co., and 3 Trails Brewing Co. (slated to open this year). Based in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, Fringe Beerworks will have its Freshly Squeezed Grapefruit Wheat and Doc Myers’ Snake Oil Black IPA on tap.
Colony HandCrafted Ales will serve Zoltar (10.5-percent ABV, 89 IBUs), a “festival-only Imperial Coffee Stout made with Post Coffee,” according to brewer Rodney Beagle. Cinco Wheat (5.5-percent ABV, 18 IBUs) is a seasonal “guacamole-inspired Wheat Ale with flaked maize, cilantro, lime and salt added.”
Calibration Brewery, also based in North Kansas City, Missouri, will serve Compared to What Scottish Ale, Beast in Me Brown Ale, Whole Lotta Love Grapefruit IPA and I Never Knew You Raspberry Cider.
Regional breweries making an appearance include Piney River Brewing Co., Logboat Brewing Co., Gella’s Diner and Liquid Bread Brewing, and Walnut River Brewing. Homebrewers will be represented by Johnson County Brewing Society, Missouri Mashers Homebrew Club and other clubs.
Head to the website for the full brewery lineup, ticket information, and details.
Wakarusa Brewery is expanding its hours to include Thursdays. (Contributed | Wakarusa Brewery)
Tap Notes
Wakarusa Brewery (710 Main St., Eudora, Kansas) begins regular Thursday hours this week. The brewery is now open every Thursday and Friday from 4 to 11 p.m. (happy hour runs until 6 p.m.), Saturday from 1 to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 9 p.m. The brewery releases its Irish Red Ale this week.
Martin City Brewing Company (500 E. 135th St.) has a new Beer Club. Free to join, club membership includes a 2-for-1 tap pass valid at MCBC’s Kansas City locations, advance news on upcoming events and details on special releases, and $15 off its Kansas City beer shirts.
Strange Days Brewing (316 Oak St.) has the second “episode” of its Episodes Pale Ale on tap featuring Eureka hops.
New Axiom Brewing Company (949 NE Columbus St., Lee’s Summit, Missouri) is making steady progress on the build-out of its brewery and taproom. Head brewers Mac Lamken, Devin Glaser, Sean Householder and Joe Migletz, director of taproom operations, are behind the project.
“New Axiom is continuing to build every day. The floors were finished last week, walls are going up, the walk-in is up, and overhead doors are in,” Lamken said.
Calibration Brewery (119 Armour Road, North Kansas City, Missouri) has I Never Knew You Raspberry Cider and Mojito Cider on tap. Black Licorice IPA is nearly tapped out. Is This Love? Satisfy My Soul Traditional Cider will be available sometime this week. All ciders are 5.7-percent ABV.
Barley Bus is a transportation company that specializes in tours and tastings at breweries, wineries and distilleries in Kansas City and the surrounding area. The company recently added a Brews, Blues & BBQ tour that includes a trip to Martin City Brewing, Kansas City Bier Company, and BB’s Lawnside BBQ. Another new package tour is available for the Weston Wine Festival on May 19.
Whalez Candles has officially opened for business. Owner Matt Wiley began testing his concept in late 2017 for handcrafted candles housed in select craft beer cans and bottles. He delayed the business launch while focusing on family matters, but now sells the candles at select beer festivals and online.
Wiley said he will donate 10 percent of all his monthly proceeds to Saint Jude Hospital in honor of his mother’s passing with cancer in January.
Weston Brewing Company (500 Welt St., Weston, Missouri) has released Root Sellers Cucumber Ginger Beer on tap at its restaurant and pub. The beer was inspired by a popular Jamaican drink.
Tickets are now on sale for Hip Hops Hooray Beer Fest on Aug. 11, 2018. The event will have beer from local breweries and homebrewers, a DJ spinning hip hop, and appetizers. Turning Point and Rettsyndrome.org will receive a portion of proceeds.
This week, Boulevard Brewing Company releases Allegro Non Troppo, a Belgian-style golden sour ale aged with 2,000 pounds of crushed Tempranillo grapes. (Contributed | Boulevard Brewing Company)
This Week
Tuesday, April 17
Beers from Rahr & Sons, a brewery from Fort Worth, Texas, will be featured at Barley’s Kitchen + Tap (16649 Midland Drive, Shawnee, Kansas). Try Iron Joe Oaked Scottish Ale with Coffee, Adios Pantalones Cerveza de Sesión, Paleta de Mango Mango Chile Beer and Iron Thistle Scottish Ale on tap.
Wednesday, April 18
Casual Animal Brewing (1725 McGee St.) releases a new beer in its Local Motive series for After the Harvest. After the Harvest Local Motive Fruit Ale is “a fruit-forward ale infused with passion fruit and pineapple.” Through July 1, two dollars from every pint of Fruit Ale sold will go toward After The Harvest, a nonprofit that redirects fruits and vegetables from waste to agencies serving hungry people.
Thursday, April 19
Cinder Block Brewery (110 E. 18th Ave., North Kansas City, Missouri) serves its Weathered Wit via a randall filtered through pineapple and cherries.
Forks and Corks, a benefit for Harvesters, offers food and beverage from numerous restaurants, wineries, and local breweries such as Boulevard Brewing, Cinder Block Brewery, Crane Brewing, Kansas City Bier Company, Stockyards Brewing, Smoke Brewing and more.
Friday, April 20
Limitless Brewing (8113 Overland Park Drive, Overland Park, Kansas), a brewery-in-planning, hosts a final craft beer sampling in the driveway of the brewery owners. Sanchos Streetside food truck, Yummylicious Cookies and a DJ add to the festive fun. First-come, first-serve. Beers available include Saison, Russian Imperial Stout, Belgian Dubbel, Hazy IPA, Biere de Garde, Berliner Weisse and Strawberry Brett Saison.
Crane Brewing Company and Kansas City Bier Company will serve beer at Ooh! Outpouring of Hope Fest, a benefit for Community Services League.
HopCat (401 Westport Road) celebrates 4/20 with “super dank” beers on tap, including Oskar Blues Brewery Pinner Throwback IPA, 4 Hands Brewing Co. Contact High, O’Fallon Brewery Smoke Porter, and Saugatuck Cottonmouth Quencher (Peach). The taproom will also give away custom Super Dank matchbooks (while supplies last).
BLVD Tours and Rec Center (2534 Madison) celebrates its berry-licious Jam Band with a jam. Activities include making a tie-dye Jam Band tank top and Long Strange Tripel bandana, a hi-five competition and Jam Band chicken wings on the menu. Counter-Culture will perform too.
Bier Station (120 E. Gregory Blvd.) partners with Sierra Nevada for a Bridging The Gap benefit on Earth Day weekend. The goal is to kick the keg of Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale with all proceeds from the sales of the beer going to Bridging The Gap.
Saturday, April 21
Grinders Stonewall (10240 Pflumm Road, Lenexa, Kansas) pairs a pour of Founders’ Kentucky Breakfast Stout served with a pancake breakfast while supplies last. KBS will be tapped from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Any remaining beer and pancakes will be served on Sunday.
Double Shift Brewing (412 E. 18 St.) releases Blueberry Grind, a collaboration with Messenger Coffee, on draft and in 500-milliliter bottles.
The Blueberry Sour Ale with lemon peel and coffee (4.3-percent ABV) is “not a coffee beer,” head brewer Bryan Stewart explained.
“This is a beer born of a desire to craft a unique product in respect to beer and coffee. Using Messenger Coffee’s natural processed Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, Blueberry Grind is designed to replicate bursting notes of blueberry cobbler, and citrus found naturally in the coffee. Working in tandem with lactic acidity to pull sweetness from the beans, we’ve added blueberry, lemon peel and Citra [hops] to create this collaboration.”
Hy-Vee (310 SW Ward Road, Lees Summit, Missouri) hosts its first annual Hyvee Brewfest ($40), featuring 50 breweries from 1 to 4 p.m. Kansas City Bier Company founder Steve Holle is a guest speaker. Each attendee receives two sandwich tickets good for a burger and brats, a logo beer mug and a mixed six-pack of beers.
We told you vinyl and beer was a thing. Dogfish Head and the Flaming Lips have a collaboration for National Record Day. (Contributed | Dogfish Head)
At Bier Station, Dogfish Head celebrates Record Store Day with the release of a beer and vinyl collaboration with The Flaming Lips. Attendees can enjoy a music-inspired cocktail or a pint of Dogfish Head’s SeaQuench Ale, Bitches Brew, and Dragons & YumYums. Dogfish described the latter beer as “an intensely tropical, yet subtly bitter pale ale brewed in collaboration with The Flaming Lips.”
The beer is made with dragonfruit, yumberry, passionfruit, pear juice and black carrot juice. Record Store Day giveaways include a limited-edition Crosley record player, a copy of Dogfish and Sony’s record collaboration ‘Music to Drink Beer & Make Love To,’ and a rare collectible two-song vinyl record by The Flaming Lips titled ‘The Story of Yum Yum and Dragon.’ The vinyl, filled with Dragons & YumYums beer, is one of only 100 beer-filled copies in existence, according to Dogfish.
Sunday, April 22
Relax and dine for Lazy Sundays at Cinder Block Brewery (110 E. 18th Ave., North Kansas City, Missouri), where the kitchen will serve breakfast egg rolls, porter beer syrup with pancakes, and French cider mimosas.
Boulevard Brewing Company releases the latest in its Brewhouse One Series, Allegro Non Troppo (11-percent ABV, 6 IBUs).
HopCat celebrates Earth Day by teaming up with 11 breweries to raise money for The Urban Farming Guys, a nonprofit that helps establish sustainable communities in blighted areas. Representatives from the nonprofit will answer questions and provide information on volunteer involvement from noon to 4 p.m. One dollar from each pint sold from the Earth Day beer list will be donated to The Urban Farming Guys. The list includes Ballast Point Brewing Co. Pineapple Sculpin, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Pale Ale, North Coast Brewing Co. Ruedrich’s Red Seal Ale, Brauerei Aying Celebrator and more.
Monday, April 23
Locals Night at Cinder Block Brewery means year-round beers are $3 from 4 to 9 p.m.
Martin City Brewing (500 E. 135th St.) releases MC Pale (5.4-percent ABV, 35 IBUs) in six-pack cans and draft. Made with Pilsner, Munich, and Carafoam malts, and Simcoe, Taiheke, Mandarina and Huell Melon hops, brewery co-owner Matt Moore described MC Pale Ale as a “crisp, flavorful, refreshing American-style pale ale.”
“This beer pours a light golden color with a cap of white foam,” Moore said. “The aroma is fruity with highlights of orange peel and melon. The flavor is crisp with a clean bitterness, and a fruity follow-through from the American and New Zealand hops, bringing notes of citrus and a hint of pine on the finish.”
– 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.