20 Reasons You Should Visit the Riot Room


Here comes the story of the Hurricane Riot Room. For those who may not know, the Riot Room is a rock/metal venue in Westport, formerly known as the Hurricane. I used to go to the Hurricane on occasion to see bands my friends were in, it wasn't a place I'd go to have a beer. That was back in 2006. Since 2008 the venue has been called The Riot Room but many things remained the same. The big difference now is the beer selection, and what a big difference it is.

I stopped in the Riot Room yesterday after getting a late lunch at McCoy's (there may be better lunch menus but I couldn't pass up the patio) to check out the Scottish Highland Games pub crawl. I figured I'd stop in, see a couple dudes in kilts, grab a Boulevard Wheat and promptly scoot. Three beers and ninety minutes later I was hating myself for not visiting this place sooner.

I called this post "20 Reasons You Should Visit the Riot Room," so here's why you should go:
  1. Avery White Rascal
  2. Chimay White
  3. Bell's Two Hearted
  4. Free State Ad Astra
  5. O'Fallon Hemp Hop Rye
  6. Schlafly Summer Lager
  7. Avery DuganA
  8. Bell's Oberon
  9. New Belgian Lips of Faith Blonde
  10. Grimbergen
  11. Schlafly APA
  12. Boulevard Wheat
  13. Avery Old Jubilation
  14. Schlafly Extra Stout
  15. New Belgium Ranger IPA
  16. Boulevard Pale Ale
  17. New Belgium Skinny Dip
  18. Schlafly Wheat
  19. PBR...
  20. Coors Light...
All of those were available on tap at the circular bar.

OK, so the last two are a bit out of place but they are worth noting because they are the only non-craft beers on tap. If you're feeling cheated because only 18 of those are beers you'd drink, here are two more reasons you should go: Generous pours (the picture above is of the Grimbergen I ordered), and location. Within walking distance from Gomer's Midtown and spitting distance from McCoy's, The Riot Room is pretty conveniently located, parking may be an issue though... Oh, and here's a bonus reason, proper glassware (I put more stock in this than I should but it's always nice to get your beer in the glass it was meant for).

The only draw back to the Riot Room for me, and it won't be an issue for some people, is that the bar is really only open for events. This isn't really a place you can just stop in after work and have a beer, chances are you'll need to come on a show night and pay a cover. Like I said before, I stopped in to check out the Scottish Highland Games folks since I had no idea KC even had a Scottish Highlands Games, let alone that it is two weeks from now. I was able to dodge the cover since this was like three or four hours before any bands went on, but they were doing sound checks so it was impossible to hear the Royals game (which wasn't worth watching anyways) or talk to anyone. I did enjoy Troglodyte's sound check though, it took me back to a time when lived on a steady diet of double bass and second hand smoke.

Other Popular Posts on KC Beer Blog