Tap List | Local Brewery Scores at Great American Beer Festival

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many breweries were forced to pivot and offer to-go beers since taprooms had to be closed.

One of the area’s hottest breweries for to-go beers was Brookside’s BKS Artisan Ales. Every Thursday at 7 p.m. BKS would offer up weekly four-packs and sell out almost instantly.

As if they needed any extra help selling their delicious beers, BKS drew national attention recently by winning a silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF). The beer that medaled was Clouds. It was the brewery’s first-ever submission at GABF.

Clouds is a hazy double IPA that rings in at 8.2% ABV. The category it medaled in was the “Juicy or Hazy Imperial IPA,” which is a newly formed category acknowledging the growing popularity of New England-style IPAs. 

If you’re unfamiliar with the Great American Beer Festival, it’s probably the biggest beer festival in the country. Breweries from all over come to Denver to pour beer at the festival and submit beers for judging.

Winning the silver at the fest is no easy feat. Judges sampled nearly 10,000 beers from more than 2,000 breweries during the competition. 

Winning a silver is quite impressive in and of itself, let alone winning it on a first-time submission. Congrats, BKS!

Beer Releases

Red Crow Brewing — 1062 W. Santa Fe St., Olathe, Kansas — has released their collaboration beer with Fountain City Mini-Con. Widow’s Bite is a black lager. The beer comes in at 4.9% ABV and has classic elements of a dark beer roastiness while still being light bodied.

Lost Evenings Brewing Co. — 8625 Hauser Court, Lenexa, Kansas — just released their brand new beer Pancakes By The Ocean. This 5.3% ABV beer is a maple blueberry sweet stout and is a riff of their Muddy Paws Sweet Stout. It’s only available on draft at the tap room for a limited time.

Pathlight Brewing — 11200 W. 75th St., Shawnee, Kansas — has a brand new wild bottle-conditioned saison called Feeding Chaos available. This 7.5% ABV beer uses wild yeast and was naturally carbonated in the bottle.

Transport Brewery — 11113 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, Kansas — is starting to release their German-style beers just in time for their Oktoberfest celebrations. Their latest release is Vise’n, a classic 5% ABV German hefeweizen with big flavors of banana and clove.

Rockcreek Brewing Co. — 5880 Beverly Ave., Mission, Kansas — is getting in on the fall action with their new beer, Big Dawg. This 6% ABV beer has citrus flavors with a malty backbone and finishes slightly piney from the hops.

Crane Brewing Co. — 6515 Railroad St., Raytown, Missouri — has a double release this week. Lady Midday is a 4.5% ABV tart ale with dark cherries and Hatch Green, Fresno and Serrano chilies. Peaches n’ Heat is a 6.5% ABV IPA also brewed with Hatch Green chilies and peaches.

BKS Artisan Ales — 633 E. 63rd St., Kansas City, Missouri — has their New Zealand style IPA Chur Thing available. The 7% ABV beer is similar to a West Coast style IPA but uses New Zealand hops like Nelson Sauvin.

Fields & Ivy Brewery — 706 E. 23rd St., Lawrence, Kansas — invites you to try their new beer, Imperial Pilsner. It rings in at 7.6% ABV and 40 IBUs. It was brewed with jasmine rice and Hallertau Blanc hops.

Beer Events

Friday, Sept. 24

Transport Brewery — 11113 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, Kansas — has their Oktoberfest celebrations going on all weekend. They’ll have events like Bring Your Own Stein night, a stein holding competition, and more. They’ll also be releasing many of their German style beers including their Festbier. For exact activities going on each day, be sure to check their Facebook event page.

Servaes Brewing Co — 10921 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, Kansas — is also hosting their Oktoberfest celebrations. They’ll be releasing their Marzen and Schwarzbier. They’ll also have soft pretzels available from KC Pretzel Boys. 

Rockcreek Brewing Co. — 5880 Beverly Ave., Mission, Kansas — has another Oktoberfest celebration for you. They’ll be starting their two-day celebration on Friday night. Rockcreek will be releasing their Marzen and will be partnering with Kravin’ It KC to provide authentic German food like sausages and Bavarian pretzels. If you can’t make it on Friday they’ll also be partying all day Saturday.

Crane Brewing Co. — 6515 Railroad St., Raytown, Missouri — is participating in a multi-brewery event at Bar K. Meet The Brewer (& Their Dog) will feature brewers from different breweries around the area to answer questions and talk about all things local beer. A portion of the proceeds from the event will benefit Midwest Animal ResQ.

Saturday, Sept. 25

Free State Brewing Co. — 636 Massachusetts St., Lawrence, Kansas — is sponsoring the weekend long Lawrence Busker Festival. Taking place Friday through Sunday, this festival features performers ranging from comedians to magicians to musicians.

East Forty Brewing — 1201 W. Main St., Blue Springs, Missouri — is hosting a Broga event at their brewhouse. This yoga event is specifically for men and will focus on learning basic yoga poses. Afterwards enjoy some craft beer and food with your friends!

Big Rip Brewing Co. — 216 E. 9th Ave., North Kansas City, Missouri — is one of many North Kansas City breweries participating in the Pint Path event which was written about in a previous Tap List article. The event takes place throughout NKC and runs from noon-5 p.m. 

Sunday, Sept. 26

Red Crow Brewing — 1062 W. Santa Fe St., Olathe, Kansas — is hosting Brewhouse Yoga class with yoga instructor Kristy West. Make sure to bring your own yoga mat and stick around for a post-yoga beer included with each ticket.

Limitless Brewing — 9765 Widmer Road, Lenexa, Kansas — is hosting a Tailgate Party for the Chiefs game. Limitless will be providing free food before the game starts and will of course be showing the game when it starts.

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.