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Holidaily Brewing. Gluten-Free beer coming to KC!!!! 26 Feb 2021 12:14 PM (4 years ago)

Holidaily brewing is coming to Kansas City, and bringing all of its gluten-free love with it. If you are gluten intolerant or happen to know anyone who is, then you know that the craft beer options are usually very limited. Starting on March 15th, Holidaily brewing company is coming to the rescue.

Holidaily is a 100% gluten-free brewery in Golden, Colorado. By keeping the entire brewery gluten-free they avoid any cross contamination, and their malt bill consists of millet and buckwheat. Holidaily was founded by Karen Hertz in 2016, after she adopted a gluten-free diet, and realized there are very limited options. They will be distributing throughout the entire state of Kansas, and also in Kansas City, Missouri. They currently brew 4 yearly beers, Favorite Blonde Ale, Fat Randy’s IPA, Big Henry Hazy IPA, and Riva Stout, along with three seasonals. I have had the Blonde and the two IPA’s and Big Henry is my favorite, if you did not tell me it was gluten-free I would not have noticed.

You can also find them on facebook, twitter, and instagram.    

 

Cheers,
Brett A. Myces 

 

Below is a list of their awards and accomplishments.

2020
Voted Best Brewery in the Denver Area by Denver A-List Voters
Voted Best Customer Service and Best Brewery in Colorado Community Media Survey
Featured in Esquire Magazine, AZ Central, Healthline.com and Lonely Planet
Founder Karen Hertz Named Finalist for Entrepreneur of the Year in ColoradoBiz Magazine
Founder, Karen Hertz named Titan 100 CEO
 

2019
Editor’s Choice for Best Up-and-Coming Colorado Brewery in the Colorado Sun Magazine
Voted Best Customer Service and Best Brewery in Colorado Community Media Survey
Voted Best Brewery in the Denver Area by Denver A-List Voters
Featured in 9News Denver, Westword Magazine, The Denver Post, Gluten-free Living Magazine
Brewery expansion story aired on local news broadcasts in 17 U.S. cities including KSHB Kansas City
Awarded the Gold Medal for Gluten-free Beer at the Great American Beer Festival 

2018
Fat Randy’s IPA Voted #2 Gluten-free Beer in the Nation in USA Today Survey
Featured in Denver Business Journal, Bon Appetit Magazine, Gluten-free Living Magazine, Denver Channel 7
Winner of Denver Business Journal Small Business Award
Voted Finalist for Best Brewery by Denver A-List Voters

2017

Karen Hertz Winner of Denver Business Journal 40 Under 40 Award

 

The KCBeerBlog Presidential Debate Drinking Game 20 Oct 2020 4:42 PM (4 years ago)

 This article is written to be satirical so please don’t take these rules literally, and if you do decide to play a drinking game during the debate, please drink responsibly.

After watching the first presidential debate and all of the jackassery that came with it, I decided it was time to prepare a KCBeerBlog drinking game to make this spectacle easier to watch. First, I would suggest picking your candidate ahead of time by wearing a red shirt if you are for Trump, a blue shirt for Biden, undecideds can wear white.  As for the beer to drink, go with one from your candidate's home state, Biden, Dogfish Head, Trump, Brooklyn Brewing or Cigar City since He lives in both states.  Undecided voters, can drink any beer you want, but keep it American owned please, and make sure it is a low ABV you never know what this debate will bring.  

Trump Supporters take a drink

• If Trump says “China Virus” or “Kung Flu”

• Hunter Biden is mentioned, 

• Shotgun your beer if He gives Hunter a nickname

• “Fake news”

• Chug a non-alcholic beer

• “Huge,” “Amazing,” “Beautiful.”

• “Rigged” or “Unfair”

• Trump mentions an audit of his taxes

• Audit your wallet and take a drink for every credit/debit card you have

• Trump makes fun of Biden’s mask or mask wearing

Biden supporters take a drink

• If "Obama" or "Obama administration" is said.

• He mentions a mask

• He talks about Dr. Fauci

• “Middle Class” is said

• Joe talks about Kamala Harris

Either candidate discusses take a drink

• NAFTA

• Natural disasters

• California wildfires

• Iowa derecho 

• Drink double for it being almost local

• Hurricanes

• Stock market

• 401K

• Trade deficit

Some other rules

• Everyone takes a drink if Trump is wearing red or Biden is wearing blue

• If a candidate's microphone gets muted, do a waterfall until it is unmuted.

• If Trump’s taxes get mentioned you can assign a drink to anyone you want.

• If anyone mentions Russia, take a shot of vodka, and text the picture of a shirtless Putin on his horse to someone in your phone.

• Put on your mask whenever the words “Corona Virus”, “Fauci”, “Covid”, “Vaccine”, or “Pandemic” is said and continue wearing it until one of the words is said again.  You are allowed to take your mask off to take a drink, or you can be really hardcore and cut a hole for a straw and drink through the straw

• Anytime Amy Coney Barret is mentioned finish the rest of your beer

• If Trump says He is immune, test your own immune system with a shot of Everclear

• If either candidate mentions Hunter Biden’s or Hillary’s email, you can either take a shot or send an email to your Congressperson addressing your most pressing concern for the United States.

• If Trump busts out his “Apprentice” tagline and says, “You’re fired.”  Finish your liquor cabinet and call it a night.

• If Ruth Bader-Ginsburg is mentioned, pour out a sip of beer.

• Whenever absentee ballots are talked about, pour the rest of your beer into a cup, and drink it tomorrow.

• If Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgenson, gets mentioned, put on a Batman mask to commemorate her brief campaign postponement due to being bitten by a bat and talk in a deep voice like Batman for the rest of the debate.

Cheers,

Brett A. Myces

Prost Brewing Arrives in KC!!! 8 Sep 2020 12:12 PM (4 years ago)

 

If you have spent the summer like the Myces crew, you have been doing most of your drinking at home, while patiently waiting for a return to some normalcy.  Unfortunately, nobody really knows what the new “normal” will look like, so we just keep plugging away looking for moral victories.  On my last stop to the liquor store I was trying to make a quick in and out to avoid covid contact while also adhering to my beer budget.  As I was running head down, mask on, hat pulled over my glasses, they started to fog like the Missouri River bottoms.  I took a brief moment to look up and wipe off the glasses, when my eyes spotted the variety pack of Prost Brewing cans. I had heard of the rumblings of their KC arrival, but ultimately wrote them off along with the rest of 2020. 

I had been familiar with Prost thanks to some Colorado friends, but have never gotten the pleasure of my palate tasting their nectar.  So of course, I bought the Prost, and the rest of my shopping list.  I hurriedly drove home with cornucopia of beers, put on my lederhosen, and listened to my favorite Oktoberfest playlist while pretending I was Great-Grandfather, Sacharo Myces, celebrating in Munich.

Their timing can’t come at a better time. Virtually all the Oktoberfest events are cancelled, and the Myces family morale was at an all time low because our Oktoberfest celebrations will be at home.  

Prost is a traditional German brewery adhering to Reinheitsgebot, better known as the German purity law.  Prost has won several medals at the GABF for their Keller Pils and Weiss Beer, and has several other beers including Maibock, Doppelbock, Marzen, Altbier, Helles, Kolsch, and Dunkel.  I have only seen their canned beer, and their variety packs of Dunkel, Marzen, Pilsner, and Kolsch in the Metro, but hopefully the rest of their lineup arrives soon.

With that being said, if you want authentic German beer, Kansas City now officially has two awesome choices,  KC Bier Company and Prost.  If you haven’t tried Prost head to your local liquor store and give them a try, you won’t be disappointed.  The one key difference between the two breweries is Prost distributes their beer in cans, but both breweries make AMAZING authentic German beer, and hopefully someday we will get a collaboration!

Cheers,

Brett A. Myces

Weekend Beer Trip: Topeka, Manhattan, and more! 17 Aug 2020 4:04 PM (4 years ago)

K Myces here again. The criteria are great beer, taking COVID precautions seriously, and good for a day trip!

First, free activity website. KCBeerBlog superfan Derek S. recommended this website for great free outdoor and paid indoor activities on your road trip. Thanks Derek. https://www.roadsideamerica.com/map/ks

I would love a read a KCBeerBlog guest blog on all the new Lawrence craft beer additions and reviews of the classic places. Hint, hint!  

First stop on our Westward Beer Tour is Blind Tiger Brewery in Topeka. Topeka has had a great explosion of breweries recently, and they all get the Myces thumbs up. However, the first stop is the original and my favorite, Blind Tiger Brewery. All their beer is top notch. Their Maibock (Silver Award Winner! 2014 World Beer Cup. ) is always a Myces favorite, but I love the place because they always have something new. My most recent favorite was a low ABV barrell aged stout. You got all the flavors of a barrier aged stout without having to call an Uber. The bartender always takes our challenge to mix two beers together to make a new tasting brew.

They are great stop for lunch on your day trip too! The Brothers Myces love the Roadrunner: chicken breast topped with tender brisket, melted cheese with side of black beans and rice. The Dave’s Dip is our sharable appetizer recommendation.

COVID safety rating: A+. Masking, social distancing, and outdoor seating if you would like.

Missouri River Breweries for the M.R. 340 or to pretend you are Lewis and Clark 31 Jul 2020 3:37 PM (4 years ago)

As Brother K.E. Myces mentioned, I’ve been on a bit of a beer drinking sabbatical due to Covid-19 and my preparation for the M.R.340. The M.R. is a 340 miles paddle race from Kaw Point in Kansas City, Kansas to St. Charles, that paddlers have 85 hours to complete. Most participants have a “ground crew” that follows their paddlers in a vehicle to provide extra supplies. Since most paddlers travel about 8 mph, the ground crews tend to have plenty of spare time on their hands. Here is a list of breweries located along the route of the Missouri River, for anyone wanting to follow in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark, or their favorite MR340 racer.  Make sure to give each place acall to check their hours and as always wear a mask.

Manhattan Brewing Company! Great beer in a great town. 23 Jul 2020 2:43 PM (4 years ago)

Beer and menu from Manhattan Brewing

Manhattan Brewing Company located in downtown Manhattan, KS opened their doors last week. The three owners have a lot of years in the beer industry, and decided it was time to venture out on their own. Manhattan is LUCKY they did!

Space: The brewery is absolutely gorgeous. My wife was impressed by the interior design. My favorite piece was the hop inspired light! This is a classy place, a perfect date night spot!

The aforementioned Hop light

The Brut Porter

5 Video Games to Pair With Beer Sitting in Your Fridge Right Now! 28 Apr 2020 4:56 PM (5 years ago)

Notorious brewery Dogfish Head opened the floodgates of hobby beer pairing when they suggested brewskis could be paired to the sounds of Guns n Roses on a 45 rpm vinyl, ie, the birth of Beer To Drink Music To. Ever since, breweries such as 4Hands, Ballast Point, Founders, and even Boulevard have suggested their own beer could be paired with certain types of music. That got me thinking “What’s stopping us from pairing beer with the entertainment that will turn us into this in 20 years?”

You’ve probably done it before without thinking about it. Remember when you and your friends started up Mario Kart with a case of Miller High Life? Or when you and your friends played Smash Bros with a case of Miller High Life? Or when you played Call of Duty Warzone online with a case of Miller High Life? This list will be like that kinda. And plus it’s not like you have anywhere to go at the moment so you’re probably gaming and drinking more than usual.

By the way, this is mainly for those who live in the Kansas City area (which KC Beer Blog implies I guess), so if you’re reading this from the town of Canadian, Oklahoma I’m sorry that you don’t have the delicious KC Craft in your area.

1. Animal Crossing: New Horizons
-Leinenkugal Summer Shandy
-Boulevard Ginger Lemon Radler
-Any fruited beer that matches the fruit on your island




In case you’ve been living on a deserted Island the past month, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a game where you’re living on a deserted island. Along with that comes real time events, friendly neighbors, and the ability to customize the island using your imagination. If you follow anyone on KC beer twitter, chances are you’ve seen at least someone mention this game multiple times. Due to the relaxed and tropic nature of this entertainment, it only makes sense to pair it with some fruity and easy to drink brews. Just let me know if your Turnip prices are above 300 please!

2. Final Fantasy VII Remake
- Founders All Day IPA
- Sweetwater 420 Extra Pale Ale
- Whatever beer your Dad drank 23 years ago



To say that Final Fantasy VII Remake has been an anticipated title would be the understatement of the century. The original (released in 1997 on the Sony Playstation) is herald as one of the greatest Role-Playing Games of all time, even more so by the people that actually played it! From what started as a technical demo in 2005, is now an amazing nostalgia trip, back to the days of Grade School where you and your friends would huddle up to the TV and watch as you battle Shinra while sipping a beer you snuck out of your Dad’s fridge. It only makes sense that for the Remake you pair it with a beer from a brewery that got their start in 1997. Bonus points if you still sneak these beers from your Dad’s fridge.

3. Return of the Obra Dinn
- North Coast Old Rasputin
- Boulevard Whiskey Barrel Stout
- The Barrel Aged Beer in your cellar vintage 2013



Originally a release on the PC, this title is now available on all current generation systems. Good thing too as this may be one of the best puzzle games available right now that I have still yet to play. As such, I’ll just copy a bit of the wikipedia article. “Return of the Obra Dinn is set aboard a fictional East India Company ghost ship in the early 1800s whose crew and passengers have all mysteriously died or disappeared, with the game's objective being to discover how. The player uses a combination of deductive reasoning and the use of a Memento Mortem stopwatch to return to the moment of a crew member's death to determine the identity of each of the sixty crew members, how they died and, if applicable, their killer”. So yeah it’s very much a thinking man’s game, and like anything that gets your noggin joggin’ you need something to sip on during your experience. That’s why I suggest heavy/Barrel Aged stouts to pair with this game. When I buy this in the next 5 years I’ll let you know if that statement holds true.


4. Melty Blood Actress Again Current Code
- Two 12pks of Pabst Blue Ribbon tall boys
- 30pk of Keystone Light
- All of your expired beer



You are not sober. Your opponent is not sober. These guys are not even sober. Nobody is ever sober playing Melty Blood. This beautiful abomination of God, originally released on Arcade machines in Japan, and the Playstation 2, is a co-developed Fighting game by Type-Moon and French Bread. It takes characters from the game Tsukihime and has them beat the ever loving frick out of each other. Think of it like Street Fighter meets Dragon Ball Z. This is very much an underground and obscure game with an audience known for their degeneracy to have a setup in any bathroom, playground, and even Walmart. Because of the degenerate nature of this game, it makes sense to pair it with the most degenerate of beers for you and your friends to pound until it hits 4AM. Then it’s time to bust out the heroin needles (ALLEGEDLY!).

5. Hong Kong 97
- Evil Twin Big Ass Money Stout
- Nightmare Windlass of Erasmus
- Your bottle of Hawaiian Speedway Stout from 2015



Right now you have 1 big question for me. “How did you know I had a bottle of Hawaiian Speedway Stout from 2015 in my fridge?” To answer that question, shut up. Hong Kong 97, “released” in 1995, is a shoot 'em up game in which you play as Jackie Chan Chin, who is a relative of Bruce Lee, to exterminate the 1.2 billion red communists of China, and their leader Deng Xiaoping. All while this song plays on a constant 5 second loop. If that doesn’t disgust you, the game over screen uses a picture of, allegedly, a real corpse. I would highly recommend watching this video to learn about the entire history of how this came to be, because it’s just as insane as the game itself. You may believe that anyone who plays this game should be verbally cancelled on Twitter and should be stripped of their right to vote, BUT, just like craft beer I believe we should applaud when video game developers create something incredibly weird, outlandish, and even disturbing. That’s why I suggest pairing and celebrating this game with the craziest and outlandish craft beer you can find, which includes that Evil Twin Pizza and Money beer. God bless this man for creating this art!

In case it wasn’t obvious by now this was mainly a satirical beer blog post, as I wanted to do my 1st post on the blog with something funny. Big thanks to Brett A. Myces for letting me write on the KC Beer Blog.

Cheers,
Luke V.

CO2 shortage? Will beer become the next toilet paper? 23 Apr 2020 1:12 PM (5 years ago)

If you told me one side effect of the Covid-19 pandemic would be a potential shortage of beer, I would have said, “Of course, people are drinking more than ever. There are 22 million unemployed people sitting at home, and everyone else is stuck at home with their family, and their only solace is beer.”

The real reason for the potential beer shortage is a lack of CO2. I can already hear the peanut gallery asking, “How in the hell do we end up with a shortage of carbon dioxide, haven’t you heard of a thing called global warming? Atmospheric CO2 is at an all time high.” This is certainly true; we are at a historic level of carbon dioxide, approximately 400 parts per million (ppm). In beer drinking terms, the carbon dioxide by volume (CO2BV) in the atmosphere is 0.04%. Your non-alcoholic beers have an ABV of 0.3%. So harvesting from the atmosphere isn’t exactly practical.

So where does most of CO2 come from? It is produced as a byproduct when ethanol is manufactured. As the homebrewers know, yeast “eats” sugar and produces alcohol and CO2. When making it on an Andre-the-Giant-sized industrial scale like the manufacturers at Craig, Carrollton, and St Joseph, you have plenty of CO2 available. For an example of scale, Missouri produces almost 300 millions gallons (~10 million BBL) of ethanol annually, or about the same volume as Sam Adams and Yuengling combined. Unbeknown to everyone except the four Senators who sold most of their stocks over a month ago, the world was going to change drastically, and every sector of the economy would feel the effect.

A pandemic would strike the world, Russia and Saudi Arabia would start pumping oil at an unprecedented rate, and prices would plunge. This would start forcing ethanol producers to scale back as their demand suddenly dropped. Just when things couldn’t get any worse, the country shut down, and damn near all driving stopped, plunging demand for ethanol even more.

Things have gotten so dire, the Compressed Gas Association has sent a letter to Vice President Pence. A portion of their letter says, “Preliminary data show that production of CO2 has decreased by approximately 20%, and experts predict that CO2 production may be reduced by 50% by mid-April unless action is taken to stabilize existing sources of CO2”. Later on in the letter, they mention beer specifically: “A shortage in CO2 would impact the U.S. availability of fresh food, preserved food and beverages, including beer production.” So even they realize we need beer. Now I don’t actually think we will run out of CO2 and beer, but just like during the hop shortage of 2007, the increased price will simply be passed onto the consumer, or we will just have to go back to bottle conditioned beer.

Do any KC brewery insiders know if this is causing problems locally?

For more reading check out the following links.
The Guardian
Compressed Gas Association.
Fox News
Forbes
American Homebrewers Association
U.S. News

Cheers,
Brett A. Myces

Easy Sport Recreation Ale…..I mean Rally Ale. 8 Apr 2020 11:32 AM (5 years ago)

Rally Ale on the left, Recreation Ale on the right

Last summer I enjoyed the salty and tart notes this beer provided, and as the weather has finally started to turn for the better, I decided I was going to get into shape. A good workout isn’t complete without an ice cold adult beverage to accompany it with, and being stuck inside the house is damn boring. So off to purchase some Easy Sport I went. I grabbed my hazmat suit and gas mask from my bug-out bag, and headed to Bubbles. To my surprise, Easy Sport is no longer called “Recreation Ale,” it is now “Rally Ale.”

Most people think of the Rally Monkey, Rally caps, or Rally flags, when they hear the term. Being from the Varsity Blues generation, I immediately think of the term “Puke and Rally,” but I’m classy like that. Not to mention, how awesome would “Puke and Rally Ale” be?

The name change doesn’t surprise me. There are over 6,000 breweries in the U.S. meaning there are tens of thousands of trademarked beer names. This problem has been going on since at least 2004, when Avery and Russian River, both had a beer named Salvation. Instead of letting the lawyers fight each other, Collaboration not Litigation was born. One of the most talked about brewery lawsuits was when Lagunitas sued Sierra Nevada over their Hop Hunter IPA.

This isn’t even the first time Boulevard has had this problem, in the May 2012 issue of All About Beer Magazine. John Mcdonald says, “I tell you, branding is a challenge--because there are so many small breweries and so many brands, so many names are taken. We’ve got a beer right now, we wanted to take to market six months ago, but we can’t get it branded.” My guess on this beer is 80 Acre Hoppy Wheat, as it fits in the timeline of the interview, but that is purely a guess.

So who owns the Recreation Ale trademark? After quickly asking Uncle Google, it appears that Terrapin has an APA named RecreationAle. This doesn’t surprise me that they would request the name change. They are owned by one of the multinational-conglomerate breweries that once upon a time was based in Colorado but moved to Chicago after going corporate.

So there you have it my friends, after this pandemic is over and pickleball season heats up, reach for an Easy Sport Rally Ale. Until then stay at home and watch Varsity Blues, or at least the puke and rally scene on youtube.

Cheers,
Brett A. Myces

A Public Service Announcement from KCBeerBlog: Covid-19 Sucks!! How and Where to Drink Local! 18 Mar 2020 5:17 PM (5 years ago)

What a difference a month makes. A mere 30 days ago, we were playing debate drinking games, counting down until Parkville Beerfest, getting in practice time for the beer mile, trying new shuffleboard strategies in preparation for the Boulevard championship tournament, and figuring out where to drink the greenest beer. Now all the fun has been put on indefinite hold.

The Green Beer We had to drink from home

It’s going to be fine, most of our readers had too much of a beer/liquor hoard anyway. Who this really affects are the immunocompromised, any customer and essential service employees/health care providers/ etc, and parents trying to learn how to home-school their kids on the fly.

A beer hoard that would make Dick Yuengling jealous

Alma Mader Brewing, Great Beer, and Great Neighbors! 5 Mar 2020 3:32 PM (5 years ago)

With the weather in KC finally making a turn for the better, I decided to get out on the town and check out a brewery I hadn’t visited before. I closed my eyes, threw a dart at the map.  Four darts in my wall later one finally landed on Alma Mader, (al-muh mAY-duhr) so South of the river I went. Not really knowing what to expect, I did a quick review of their website to get some information. 

¡Vamos! Mexican-Style lager is gone, what will the replacement be? 23 Feb 2020 10:46 AM (5 years ago)

See the arrow and the letter "e" on the bottom left

Earlier in the month, Boulevard made a couple of announcements regarding beers for 2020. You can read it for yourselves, but the two biggest headlines were Saison-Brett is coming back this year! Can I get a Hell Yeah!

The other big news was the discontinuation of ¡Vamos! Mexican-Style Lager. I will miss ¡Vamos!, but luckily there are plenty of Mexican Lagers in the market for our summer thirst.

With ¡Vamos! gone, “What is going to be the Royals collaboration?” BLVD won’t release these details but they did release a teaser in their press release. You can see a picture of the cans on the canning line, and if you zoom in closely you can see a letter “e.” After consulting my encyclopedia of beer styles there are not very many that end in “e.” I narrowed it down to four choices: Double, Triple, Bier de Garde, and Blonde.

The first one I ruled out was Bier de Garde. I know Boulevard likes its European beer styles, but I don’t really see this style meshing with summer baseball games. That left me with Double, Triple, and Blonde. I negated the first two, because in order for these beer styles to fit the spelling they would have to change from the traditional spellings of Dubbel and Tripel. With BLVD being traditionalists on beer styles I couldn’t see them changing the spellings just to make a baseball pun. Plus they have already released Nommo as a Dubbel and we all know about Long Strange Trippel. Although, I’m sure Trip Hogue wouldn't mind being able to drink his namesake beer on a beach or at a baseball game.

This leaves Blonde as my guess for the new Royals beer. Again this is just a guess, based on a blurry picture, but people have found Sasquatches out of blurrier pictures than this.

The powers that be have said they will make an official announcement sooner than later, but until then I guess we just have to play the waiting game or become BFF’s with some Boulevard employees.

Cheers,
Brett A. Myces

Short Pours: The best selling beers in America! 9 Feb 2020 4:08 PM (5 years ago)

Bud Light the #1 selling beer in America

What are the top 6 beers in the good ole’ U.S.A? I’m betting that 95% of the readers can guess 4 of the top 7. Spoiler alert!!!

Matriculating to Glory: A Prelude 31 Jan 2020 4:18 PM (5 years ago)

32 Beers and 32 Chiefs players and Coaches. KCBeerBlog's official guide to beer and the Chiefs for the game next weekend! 23 Jan 2020 1:13 PM (5 years ago)

In case you missed it, there is an important football game going on next weekend and the Chiefs are playing in it. So I am going to do my best to give you a local beer to drink for most  of our Chiefs players and coaches. With all the great beer available, hopefully this will help you narrow down the list.


Andy Reid: B.O.S.S. Imperial Red Ale from Levi Garrison and Son’s Brewery. If I have to explain why you should drink this beer for Coach Reid, I’ve lost all hope in humanity.

Patrick Mahomes: Saison-Brett. Every brewery tries to recreate and clone this beer, just like every NFL team tries to find their version of Patrick Mahomes. Luckily there is only one Patrick Mahomes and only one Saison-Brett. Kansas City has them both. There are similar beers and similar quarterbacks, but none are as good as the original. Plus, you don’t really know how good you have it until they are gone. With Saison-Brett it was the one year hiatus, with Mahomes it was the injury scare this year.

Add caption

Travis Kelce: Tank 7. Both are franchise cornerstones in their respective professions. Kelce seems calm, gentle and kind, then get him on the field and he is a beast. Tank 7: tasty, easy drinking, and you think you could drink these all night long. The beer drinks like a 4% ABV, then after a few the 8.5% finally hits you. If you get complacent with Tank 7 and Kelce, they will woop your ass! There are also several very good farmhouse Ale’s on the market, just like there are multiple good tight ends, but KC has the best of both. Kelce said it best, “You gotta fight, for your right, to parrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrtttttttttyyyy,” and is there any better way to get the party started than with some Tank 7?

Congrats to KC Bier Company!! You are Officially a Regional Brewery! 20 Jan 2020 1:15 PM (5 years ago)

The KC Bier Company logo

We finally have another regional brewery in the metro area to replace the ghost of Tallgrass. That brewery is KC Bier Company. I’d like to raise a stein to Steve, Jurgen, and Karlton for their hard work and accomplishments. So what is a regional brewery you might ask? A brewery must first be a craft brewery as defined by the Brewers Association, then they must brew between 15,000 and 6,000,000 barrels of beer annually. KC Bier Co. just snuck in with 16,526 barrels in 2019. It’s crazy that it was only in 2014, we were celebrating their first kegs of beer being distributed, look at how evolved and sophisticated they have grown up to be, just like your good friends at KCBeerBlog. It won’t be long before they are brewing 6 million barrels and considered a large brewery! I hear all the cynics out there saying “Whoop-de-darn-doo, 16,000 barrels, who cares.” Well it is actually a very big deal, there are over 7,000 breweries in the United States, and only 250 or so of them are regional breweries. So again congrats to KCBier Company on being a 3.5%er! (250/7,000)

Chiefs Playoff Game and What to Drink. The Decision is Easy! 5 Jan 2020 6:55 AM (5 years ago)

The Tank 7 Cans!!!!

You might have heard there is a big football game going on next weekend. So now it is time to decide on the very difficult decision of what beer you want to drink for this joyous occasion. If you are having a #DryJanuary, then you can stop reading and drink any of the WellBeing Beers. If you are having a #DryJanuary, except for the Chiefs games, then please keep reading.

I have spent countless hours discussing different strategies for the optimal tailgating beer with the Myces’ over the holidays and we have come to a unanimous decision at the bottom of this essay. #SpoilerAlert, the picture ruins it all.  First things first, I am going to discuss beers you should NOT drink.

1. Chiefs Kingdom Ale. I’ve written about it before, so I won’t get into details. Although the Chiefs logo is cool and the beer is decently priced, it is really just a multinational-conglomerate, watered-down, cheap-beer in disguise.

Evolve, Die, or Sell. The Constant Changes, Challenges, and Hyper-locality of Craft Beer in 2019 17 Dec 2019 3:25 PM (5 years ago)

Evolve or Die, Craig Charles.

15-24 Brewhouse, Another Beer Worth Driving For! 7 Dec 2019 9:36 AM (5 years ago)

The great artwork for the beer

Every family has their own Thanksgiving traditions, and the Myces family is no different. We all go to brother K. E. Myces’ house in Manhattan, drink beer, go to Wal-Mart (Making sure we have a good buzz and have one of the In-Laws to drive us), tell stories, pretend we are 22 and go out on the town in Aggieville, all while trying not to piss each other off. It’s always a delicate balance, but we make it work.

The 12 tap handles

This year, we added another amazing tradition in the routine. Instead of Black Friday shopping, we started Black Friday beer drinking. Always the connoisseur of good deals, we discovered a brewery with $2 pints and $7 Crowlers to celebrate the one year anniversary at 15-24 brewhouse in Clay Center, Kansas. As I’m always the sceptical one, I felt this deal was too good to be true, but I had to check it out anyway. After having great success in the small town breweries of River Bottoms, Levi Garrison, and Dubious Claims, how could I turn down this opportunity? Is there anyway I can set up a collaboration between some of these awesome establishments? We were able to talk Ms. Myces into driving the 3 Myces men for our afternoon outing, so we didn’t need to have a slap bet to see who had to drive.

They have 12 beers on tap with one of them being nitro. There were 5 signature beers with their 1 Eye Open IPA, being the top seller, and the rest of the tap handles consisting of rotating seasonals. They also have a full service restaurant that I wasn’t able to try, but they have burgers and hand-cut steaks, delivered fresh and never frozen daily from the local Clay Center Locker. Their restaurant is about as ‘farm to table’ as you can get!

I drank the Ohdle Stout, Tri-Sarah Hops IPA, Hitchin’ A Ride Red, and Knickers in a Nut. Don’t judge, I wasn’t driving. All 4 were amazing, but the Stout hit it out of the park. Their Sunset Shandy was a great take on a Shandy for those wanting a sweeter beer. Between the other Myces’ we had a pint of all their beers and didn’t drink a bad beer. The bartender Sarah did a great job answering our obnoxious questions and pouring us several samples.

My Ohdle Stout

The brewmaster, Clint learned his craft working in Colorado and for Granite City Brewery in Iowa, before setting in Clay Center with his wife. He couldn’t ever shake his brewing itch, so he opened 15-24 on the square in Clay Center with a local investor. They opened Thanksgiving weekend 2018, and have been brewing constantly ever since. They have a 5 Bbl system and have already sold over 1,000 bbl this year. That’s a helluva lot of brew days my friends. 100% of their beer is sold in house, and they have beers sold directly out of the bright tank to ensure you are getting the freshest beer possible. They also have a crowler machine and will fill your growler as well. There is also a rumor of a Berliner Weisse being aged in wine barrels sitting on blackberries, coming the week after Christmas #MeThinksMeLike. So if anyone wants to get Brett Myces a late Christmas present this would be a good start.

The decor behind the bar

For all you city folk reading this, your first question is going to be, “Where in the blue hell is Clay Center?” Well my smart alec answer is “At the intersection of State Highway 15 and US Highway 24 in Kansas,” but it is an easy drive of 37 miles Northwest of Manhattan. Now your second question is going to be, “How do I get home or where do I stay?” You have several choices, you can always stay in Manhattan or Junction City and be responsible, or there are actually Airbnb’s in Clay Center. I totally understand if you don’t want to spend an entire weekend there, but they do have a zoo, golf course, and aquatic center. I would propose staying Friday night in Manhattan to check out Tallgrass Taphouse and the Little Apple Brewing Company, sadly they no longer brew beer, but are an excellent beer bar with great food. Then head to Clay Center and spend the day visiting the town and drinking beer, before settling into one of the Airbnb’s.

More information on 15-24 is on their website, facebook page, trip advisor, yelp, or untappd.

Cheers,
Brett A. Myces

Glass, growlers, and crowlers

The awesome license plate letting you know where the bath room is

A picture of their menu

The Boulevard 30th Anniversary Party! 16 Nov 2019 2:28 PM (5 years ago)

The Extra Pale Tap Handle

A BLVD Superfan showing off her T-Shirt with the BLVD Rep

River Bottoms Brewery the next brewery day trip 6 Nov 2019 3:12 PM (5 years ago)

The giant sign letting you know you have reached your destination

The Aletoberfest

You know how much I love a good day trip whether it’s to Excelsior Springs and Hamilton, or just hanging out in the Stockyards and KCK. Now I have another Missouri destination for a day trip. This time it’s an hour and change East of KC to the small town of Carrollton, Missouri to vist River Bottoms Brewery. River Bottoms is easy to find and conveniently located on the Northside of the town square. I stumbled upon this brewery on the drive home from a weekend ̶b̶e̶e̶r̶ ̶d̶r̶i̶n̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ fishing trip, and despite not bathing for 48 hours, wreaking of body odor, campfire soot, and fish, I was welcomed with open arms and had a great 45 minute conversation with the owner and brewmaster Joe.

River Bottoms has a 5 Bbl brewing system with 9 year-round beers on tap, 2 seasonals, and a Kombucha tap handle. They do growler fills, but unfortunately lack a crowler station. On my visit I had a half pour of their Octoberfest Ale (Aletoberfest), Pumpkin Ale, then tasters of their Rye IPA, Tripel, and Pre-Prohibition Pilsner. My two favorite beers were the Pumpkin Ale and Rye IPA. I am normally not a huge fan of Pumpkin beers. I feel like over the last several years, Pumpkin beers have turned into a contest to see who can cram the most pumpkin pie spice into a bottle of beer. Their Pumpkin Ale, on the other hand, consists of ZERO spices giving it a subtle flavor of pumpkin yet the ability to taste the base beer. Conversely the Rye IPA was not a typical hop bomb but more of a traditional smooth and floral IPA. Plus, everyone of their beers is brewed with Brewers Clarex, to help reduce gluten.

I did not try their pizza because I didn’t know they had a pizza oven and the allure of the 5 Casey’s convenience stores I passed on the way home was too much. Their pizza looked amazing as it was coming out of the oven, and they even have “Pizza nachos.” They will take any pizza on their menu and put the ingredients on a bed of chips and cook it in their pizza oven whoever came up with this idea deserves a Nobel prize and a raise. #MeThinksMeLikes

They also have live music on most weekends and a solid happy hour. I know most of my readers are now thinking, “Thanks Brett, this place sounds badass, but I don’t want to drive over an hour, and only be able to drink two beers then drive home.” As usual I have several solutions for you. You can always hitchhike, uber, make your 16 year old teenager or find a pregnant friend drive. Or my best idea yet. As Barney Stinson would say, “Wait for it”…………………………… There is an inn within walking distance to the brewery. Joe and Abbie, being the entrepreneurs they are, built a coffeeshop and inn, next to the brewery. How amazing is this? The Folger Street Inn, is an early 1900’s house with a coffee shop on the first floor, and 4 rooms available to rent. Rates start at $82, which is way cheaper than the uber, safer than hitchhiking, and less annoying than a pregnant friend or whiny teenager. Plus when you have your morning headache you can get a strong cup of coffee for the drive home.

The holidays are coming up and instead of getting more junk to clutter your house, I think a trip to Carrollton would be a great present. It’s great beer, amazing food, and strong coffee.

For more info you can find River Bottoms on Facebook, Untappd, or the webpage.

The Folger Street and Coffeeshop in can be found on it’s webpage or facebook.


Cheers,
Brett A. Myces

The tap handles

The elk overlooking the stage for the band

The food menu

The beer menu

The Pumpkin Ale

More bar pictures

The front door

Cocktail for the weekend, Pinckney Bend it is!! 22 Oct 2019 3:30 PM (5 years ago)

A pre-made  Pinckney Bend Gin and Tonic in the can

I know this is KCBeerBlog, and I’m not talking about beer or Kansas City today, but stick with me until the end of this essay. It’s worth the 5 minutes of your life. I’ve discussed all the changes in consumers drinking habits with hard seltzers and cocktails in a can. Now I have finally found the unicorn of cocktails in a can. It is Pinckney Bend canned Gin and Tonic (Prounounced Pink knee). While their gin is amazing and has won multiple awards, what really sets their distillery apart is their tonic syrup. Per their website “It is also the only tonic syrup on the planet developed specifically to harmonize with the flavor profile of a companion gin.” What I love best about this Tonic syrup, is the ability to titrate the sweetness and it’s plethora of uses. You can use it as an adjunct in multiple drink recipes, but my two personal favorites are their traditional Gin and Tonic with a lime and a muddled cucumber or a Pinckney Lady, if you want to get creative this weekend. They even make a cask finshed gin , a Navy strength gin and are on the Hibiscus wagon with their hibiscus gin.

Now onto a little bit of history of the distillery. Pinckney Bend is located in New Haven, Missouri, (also the former home of Second Shift Brewing before their move to St. Louis) just a short drive from the winery and bachelorette destination of Hermann, Missouri. So, the next time your significant other drags you to Hermann, drag them to New Haven, it’s well worth the short detour. The distillery is open daily from 12-6 pm for tastings and tours and gets its name from the defunct river town of Pinckney, Missouri. The name was also inspired from a note in the diary of William Clark, yes that William Clark, when He bought 2 gallons of whiskey from a local citizen for $8 in 1806, after a pretty famous expedition. Adjusted for inflation that would be $168 today, no wonder he complained about the price. The distillery was founded by 3 friends Tom, Jerry, and Ralph, when they wanted to take the homebrewing/home distilling hobby big time. They officially opened for business in 2011 and promptly won the Gold Medal in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2012. Their spirits are available at most liquor stores throughout the metro area. If you are looking to mix things up this weekend and get away from the beer, Pinckney Bend is a great addition to any liquor cabinet.

Cheers,
Brett A. Myces

Everything you need for a great Gin and Tonic

Join the AHA 'cause Brett Myces said so!! And you get great discounts too. 8 Oct 2019 2:24 PM (5 years ago)

Anyone who knows anyone from the Myces family knows we are always looking for a good deal. Some people might call us cheap, frugal, or thrifty. I won’t deny any of these terms, but I tend to use the politically correct term, fiscally responsible. As you know we are always searching for a good happy hour ($3 Zombie Monkey at Tallgrass Taphouse) or great beer deal via our passport. So last week when the KCBeerBlog crew (Brett and Moe) had happy hour with the KCHopTalk crew, the conversation turned to the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) and the perks of joining the American Homebrewers Association (AHA).

Being a Myces I was totally disappointed in myself that I’ve lived in KC for over a decade and didn’t know these perks existed. There are over 2,300 beer, food, and homebrew discounts available all throughout the United States. A huge perk for anyone that travels as much as I do and bases most of their vacations around great beer. Now I am spreading my new-found wealth of knowledge with all of you. Here is a list of the amazing local perks for you, if you live in Waldo joining is a no-brainer, half of the neighborhood is listed here.

1. Flyingsaucer 25% off food
2. Hogshead KC 10% off
3. Lew’s 20% off draft craft beer
4. The Well 20% off draft craft beer
5. District Pour House 10% off craft beer
6. Old Chicago and Hopcat 10% off food
7. East 40 Brewing 15% off housebrews
8. Bier Station 10% off beer to-go
9. Grain to Glass, Happy hour priced beer all day (1 pour only) and 10% off homebrew supplies
10. Granite City, Mug Club beer pricing
11. Weston Brewing, Free sample tray
12. Cinder Block 10% off
13. Kansas City Bier Company 10% off
14. Crane Brewing 10% off
15. Stockyards $1 off pours
16. Torn Label $1 off pours
17. Fringe Beerworks $2 off first pour
18. BLVD 10% off Merch, and 1 free full beer
19. Transport  Brewing 15% off

As you can see, it will not be very difficult for anyone to get their $43 worth in beer savings. This isn’t even including the copious Saint Louis and Springfield discounts. You also get 6 issues of their homebrew magazine Zymurgy, access to message boards, the Brew Guru app to check for these deals anywhere you go. Finally, one of the most sought after deals of this membership is the ability to get pre-sale access to the GABF. So there you go my friends, work a few extra hours at work and join this great club. They even have a free 30 day trial if you are on the fence.  Plus this might give me a chance to get back into the homebrewing game.


Cheers,
Brett A. Myces

What is Your Beer For The Chiefs Tailgate? 19 Sep 2019 1:31 PM (5 years ago)

The deceptively craft looking Chiefs Kindgom Blonde Ale

 The Chiefs home opener is right around the corner and that means it is time to figure out what beer or seltzer water (it is 2019 after all) you want to drink for your tailgate. While I won’t tell you which beer you should drink, I am going to tell you which beer NOT to drink. The main beer on this list is Chiefs Kingdom Blonde Ale. I have no doubt that this is a good tasting beer, but as you will read below it is actually a multinational-conglomerate, watered-down, cheap-beer in disguise.

As most of you already know, the NFL will do anything to make a dollar. They charge the military for advertisements when they “honor” the armed services and you can read for days on the corporate welfare they receive for new stadiums. Hell, even the NFL Hall of Fame Museum cost me $22 plus tax, and $10 plus tax to park in a gravel parking lot this summer (it is not worth the money). Now we are presented with another money-making scheme that started last year in the form of Chiefs Kingdom Blonde Ale (CKBA).

Don’t get me wrong; I have no vendetta against the Chiefs and their $60 parking. I am going to several games this year, proudly wear my Chiefs hat to work, watch all their games, and will be more than willing to pay $7.50 for a multinational-conglomerate, watered-down, not-so-cheap beer at Arrowhead. I’m just calling a spade a spade.

You may have noticed Chiefs Kingdom Blonde Ale making its debut last year and wondered where exactly it came from. Well, after a short google investigation the truth shall set us free! CKBA is the first beer to have an official trademark of an NFL team! Look at the Chiefs being progressive on the marketing front! It is a very well-designed package with Kansas City and the Chiefs plastered all over the place, and at 4.8% ABV is designed for the ̶b̶i̶n̶g̶e̶ social drinking that goes on at tailgates. One might speculate that this beer is brewed locally, but as my hunch suspected this is not the case. There isn’t a local brewery with deep enough pockets for the Chiefs trademark. CKBA is brewed by Golden Road Brewing. Followers of the blog will recognize this name from our coverage of breweries designed to look like craft beer but still owned by a certain multinational-conglomerate brewery on the east side of the state.

If you’re looking for a good local tailgate beer, may I suggest KCBier Pilsner (If only they had cans), BLVD Kolsch or KC Pils? And remember, the Myces all love Life Coach Lager, as it is the perfect beer for a game of Louisville Chugger. If anyone in the parking lot happens to challenge you to Louisville Chugger with Life Coach Lager, it is most assuredly a Myces! Better yet, go to your local brewery and have a couple growlers filled up. Then you can have a real beer shotgunning competition. As for my official home opener beer of choice, I am pleased to announce that I will be going with the remnants of my Yuengling hoard and some Sweetwater Kick Plastic Pilsner I scored on clearance at Hy-Vee for $5 a six pack.

Another One Bites the Dust: If you can't beat 'em, buy 'em. Platform Brewing is sold 15 Sep 2019 11:32 AM (5 years ago)

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