Pilsner on Tap

Did you know that Boulevard Pilsner has only been in bottles? I didn't. I'd never given it much thought either. I really like Boulevard Pilsner, but I only buy it for specific occasions like a heatwave or a party or if I want to buy a 12 pack of good beer for $11. It never occurred to me that Pilsner wasn't on tap anywhere..

This week that all changes as Pilsner kegs are rolling off the distributor's trucks to go on tap at bars all across the metro. Hopefully, those taps will overtake some of the Budweiser and Miller Lite taps around town and give some smaller bars with few taps an opportunity to carry something from the hometown brewer. I'm kinda looking forward to my first draft Boulevard Pilsner, it would make Andy Dufresne happy.

Firestone Walker

As most of you have probably already heard by now, Firestone Walker's beer will be reaching Missouri's shores last November ... around New Years ... this February! FW is currently wrapping up their launch in Chicago and are looking to have their beer in the hands of Kansas Citians around the first or second week of February. It sounds like there will be two phases to the Firestone Walker release, the first will be the arrival of FW bombers & kegs and the second will be the arrival of FW's Nectar Ale brand in the form of six packs. Missouri is slated to receive Walker's Reserve Robust Porter, Double Jack, 14th Anniversary, Abacus, Parabola, Red Nectar (2010 GABF Gold), Nectar IPA (2010 GABF Silver) and Hemp Ale.

I recently procured a bottle of Firestone Walker Double Jack from @fancypantsbeer and decided to open it in commemoration of my 300th beer review and to preview the beer for anyone who is curious what an $8 bomber of beer from Paso Robles would be like.

The Double Jack is a Double IPA, a bigger dry hopped version of their Union Jack IPA. As someone who isn't crazy about IPAs, I really like the Union Jack. I tend to like Double IPAs a lot more than regular IPAs because they're usually much more malty. Double Jack has a big grapefruit and honey hop flavor that is complemented by loads of Munich malt, giving the Double Jack a citrus sweet, buttery and almost caramel flavor.

This beer reminded me a lot of Great Divide's 15th Anniversary IPA, Schlafly Export IPA and Dogfish 90 Minute. All of these beers have a great hop-to-malt ratio that I really enjoyed. Loads of malt to cover the bitterness of your hops, while still letting all the resin and citrus flavors through.

Double Jack is a great Double IPA that I'm looking forward to trying on tap, hopefully in the near future.

In the interest of full disclosure, I did receive this bottle of Double Jack from a brewery representative but it did not influence my review of the beer.

Kansas Day

Kansas entered the United States just as it was going to war with itself in 1861. Kansas has been pretty controversial ever since. Tomorrow is Kansas' 150th birthday and while you don't have to love it, it couldn't hurt to look back on some of Kansas' contributions to the United States. Free State Ad Astra, Tallgrass Oasis, Free State Copperhead, Free State Oatmeal Stout, Tallgrass IPA, all great Kansas beers, should be hoisted at 6:00 PM Saturday all across the state and toast the greatness that is Kansas.

I will be drinking Tallgrass Oasis, a wonderful hoppy creation that I've neglected for far too long. Even if you don't like Kansas, have no intention of toasting Kansas or are just hearing of Kansas, Tallgrass Oasis should be in your plans for tomorrow. Respect.

Battle of Southern California

It appears the blood battle of southern California is going to be fought in Missouri territory starting this summer. Escondido's Che inspired revolutionaries of Stone Brewing will be battling San Diego's Green Flash Brewery on Missouri liquor store shelves. Southern California's not big enough for the 2 of them and the battle for Missouri will be filled with blood beer. So we can expect rolling gun battles in Westport (unrelated to the Battle of Southern California)and really great beers from 2 of the best breweries in the US. It's going to be a good summer.

Riot Guys 3 - The Infomercial

I'll quit posting these when I stop LOL'ing at them.

Hoptimum

I was surprised yesterday afternoon on my Gnarly Wine quest to find Sierra Nevada's newest limited release beer, Hoptimum sitting around at my liquor store of choice, Tipsy's. After I grabbed my bottle, Tipsy's had 2 left. I wouldn't expect those 2 bottles to still be on the shelf today. On Tap KC only has it listed at 2 other stores right now, Gomer's South (which has a 1 bottle maximum per person) and Lukas in OP. My guess is every other store in town will be getting theirs.

Hoptimum is Sierra Nevada's Imperial IPA

A group of hop-heads and publicans challenged our Beer Camp brewers to push the extremes of whole-cone hop brewing. The result is this: a 100 IBU, whole-cone hurricane of flavor. Simply put —Hoptimum: the biggest whole-cone IPA we have ever produced. Aggressively hopped, dry-hopped, AND torpedoed with our exclusive new hop varieties for ultra-intense flavors and aromas.

Resinous "new-school" and exclusive hop varieties carry the bold and aromatic nose. The flavor follows the aroma with layers of aggressive hoppiness, featuring notes of grapefruit rind, rose, lilac, cedar, and tropical fruit—all culminating in a dry and lasting finish.

It was all I could do to not open my bottle last night after I finished the Gnarly Wine, but the 10.4% ABV would have been too much. I'm looking forward to drinking it tonight so I can decide whether I want to spend another $8 and the time finding it to get another bottle.

Gnarly Wine and Hairy Eyeball

The new Lagunitas is here! The new Lagunitas is here! Hairy Eyeball and Gnarly Wine are hitting store shelves in KC this morning. Hairy Eyeball is a nice winter warmer that kind of set me on my way to loving everything Lagunitas. Eyeball is also, like most Lagunitas brews, high in the ABV at 8.7%. But, it's nothing compared to the 22 oz. bomb Gnarly Wine which is in the 10-12% range. Priced at $3.50-$4 a better value can not be had (unless it sucks).

I haven't had the Gnarly Wine since it didn't reach these parts last year. I'm not a fan of most barley wines, but, I'm going to try this one tonight and skip Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot (also hitting or has hit store shelves by now) yet another year.

The arrival of these 2 Lagunitas seasonals signals the departure of Brown Shugga'. It will be missed, you should pick it up if you see it. And, as always, if you go to a liquor store without Lagunitas or Lagunitas seasonals, ask for it. The liquor stores often don't know what's good and Lagunitas needs us.

Eliminate the 3.2

The Coalition for Jobs and Consumer Choice is pushing the Kansas Legislature to eliminate the 3.2 ABV beer sales in grocery and convenience stores. This bill, presumably, allow grocery stores to sell all manner of alcohol including wine and liquor by eliminating the lowest tier of liquor license.

The group is claiming that eliminating the 3.2 requirement will somehow create over 15,000 jobs and raise $72.5 million in local and state revenue. Without looking at the assumptions behind these numbers they seem to be double counting. I don't doubt that more Kansans would buy wine and beer if it was a little more convenient, but with an alcohol tax of 8% it would take an extra billion dollars in sales to raise that kind of money. Some of the $72.5 million could certainly come from increased income taxes from the 15,000 jobs. But, the jobs number seems just as iffy. Some smaller liquor stores are going to close from increased competition from liquor stores. The number of people losing their jobs would have to offset the 1 or 2 extra people a grocery store would hire. I think most of the 15,000 number would come from the marginal number of new grocery stores that would be built because of the increased profitability of grocery stores.

But, even if these numbers are wrong by a factor of 3, do you think Kansas is in a position to shun $25m and 5000 jobs? A good number of those jobs being Whole Foods and Costco jobs (Wichita has neither chain and would almost certainly get one of each if beer, wine and liquor sales could be added for increased profitability).

I'm interested in what the case would be for not eliminating the rule. Or to turn the argument around, what would be the reason to install a rule allowing grocery stores to only sell 3.2 beer? Could any bill like that ever pass today? It does offer small, neighborhood liquor stores protection from larger competitors, but they can still compete. Grocery stores, typically, have awful beer and wine selections. Smaller stores can definitely sell expertise, convenience and more diverse selection.


I can come up with no great reason to stick with 3.2 beer sales and many good reasons to eliminate them. I'm sure your elected KS state senator or representative would love to hear your thoughts on this issue, you can find the contact information for your elected congressperson here. Drop them a line and tell them your thoughts.

For more Kansas liquor laws that should be liberalized check here (this bill would take care of items 1-3). For the KCTV report on the issue check here.

Waxy O'Shea's Boulevard Tasting

Waxy O'Shea's (Shawnee Mission Pkwy and Quivira in Shawnee) will be having a Boulevard beer tasting February 3rd from 7-9 PM. Representatives from Boulevard will be pouring at least 5 beers including 1 or 2 mystery beers. At this point, having had a certain Boulevard beer that makes me recall such things as Lisa Bonet getting covered in chicken blood (in a good way) just by drinking it, if I see Boulevard and mystery beer, I'm'a be there.

For just $20 and at least 5 samples this is a pretty good deal to introduce your favorite Bud drinker to a better alternative. You're Bud friend has probably had more than one opportunity to try Boulevard beers, but with the possible inclusion of a wonderfully unique beer that can really improve someone's Valentine's Day markedly, you may just have a partner to drive you around town next year on your Hopslam hunt.

To reserve your spots, call Waxy O'Sheas at 913-631-1759.

Back to Classics

Hopslam week is pretty much over now. If you didn't get some, you're pretty much out of luck unless you can convince Mark from The Hopry to give you some from his case stockpile. It might still be on tap for a while at The Flying Saucer, Waldo Pizza or The Foundry. It won't last long.

Last year, we offered some substitutes for Hopslam that can be found (well not Little Sumpin' Extra since they didn't make that this year). This year, I'm going to offer up some old classics that people on the Hopslam hunt haven't probably bought for a while.

Goose Island Honker's Ale
I don't know when I stopped buying Honker's Ale. I've had a couple recently and remembered how much I like it. It's a no frills pale ale with tons of malt flavor with a good hop bite. With the cold KC winter showing no signs of relenting, Honker Ale is a nice contrast to the stouts that are typically associated with the cold weather.

Great Divide Titan IPA
For the hopheads that missed out on Hopslam and just want a nice hoppy sixer, Titan IPA shouldn't be forgotten. To this day, Titan is probably my favorite IPA for everyday drinking. But, I can't remember the last time I had a sixer. In the never ending quest to try new things, my Titan drinking has all but stopped. I'm going to remedy that this week.

Boulder Hazed and Infused
I used to love this beer and nearly always had some around. It's a real hoppy pale ale that really got me to enjoy hoppier beers. I haven't had a Hazed and Infused in probably 2 years. My refrigerator is going to look like 2003 with this in it.

If you want to go new school classic you could pick up some Lagunitas Pale Ale and IPA. You'll be happy, but I typically always have those 2 on hand, particularly the pale ale. As always, if whatever store you go to doesn't carry Lagunitas, ask for it. Lagunitas needs us.

If none of these strike your fancy, go out and buy your favorite classic and see if you still love it.

Riot Guys 2

The fellas from The Riot Room have another video highlighting their beer selection. I see they've decided to stay around awhile this time and took their coats off. I like these little videos, they have a nice irreverent air that I enjoy. Though, they did shy away from using the magic that is Briggs the Schlafly guy in front of the camera. I don't hold that against them, you wouldn't want to use a magic that powerful everyday either. The video does feature a nice discussion of all the Great Divide Yeti flavors and gratuitous use of the word "boom".

Sex and Chocolate

Think Salma Hayek in "Desperado", Kathleen Turner in "Body Heat", Eva Green in "The Dreamers". Think Marvin Gaye singing "Let's Get it on" or "Sexual Healing" or Barry White singing "Practice What You Preach". You got it in your head? Has anyone besides me seen "The Dreamers" (if you haven't go get it and watch it, it will be a better use of your time than reading the following)? Only when you've got all of those things in your head can you feel what it's like to drink Boulevard Chocolate Ale.

Now since I drank it in a Gents meeting with 20 other dudes, this comparison to sex is a little disturbing. Steven Pauwels, Boulevard's brewmaster, did the pouring wearing a sweater that I own and gave us the spiel of how he worked with Christopher Elbow and had to do a bunch of stuff with the chocolate nibs and blah blah blah. We were an hour into Gents, I wasn't into listening, I was into drinking.

It's amazingly light for a chocolate beer but it really brings the chocolate flavor. I wanna say, drinking it was like eating a Hershey bar, but that's not quite right, it's like eating a whole Christopher Elbow chocolate bar with some vanilla beans and Whoppers. It also packs a little punch at about 9% ABV.  It's unlike any beer I've had with chocolate in it's name. The chocolate in other beers is usually just a complementary flavor and most of the time I don't enjoy its presence. With the Chocolate Ale, though, chocolate is the star.

Boulevard is hoping they can release Chocolate Ale by Valentine's Day. If they do they'll be doing a bunch of guys and girls a really big favor. I predict a Kansas City baby boom around Thanksgiving this year and Christopher and Steven should be really popular boy's names.

Full Disclosure: I was provided Chocolate Ale by Boulevard. It didn't have any effect on the review, but you can be the judge of that.

Hopslam Day

Royal Liquors has it

It's HOPSLAM DAY! Royal Liquors on State Line has it right now. Any liquor store in Missouri that's worth going to is going to have it as well. Enjoy!

Drinking Made Easy - KC

Zane Lamprey's new show, "Drinking Made Easy" will be featuring KC in tonight's episode. For those unfamiliar, Zane Lamprey used to have an entertaining show, "Three Sheets", that was funny namely because Lamprey would get pretty drunk by the end of the show. "Drinking Made Easy" is nothing like that, it's more like a travel show where Lamprey goes to 3 or 4 places, drinks there and moves on to shoot another day. I've seen the Chicago and St. Louis episodes and didn't think that much of the show, Stella called it "really f...ing annoying".

Fat City is reporting that Lamprey will be featuring The Drop's edible cocktails, Westport Cafe & Bar and Buzzard Beach. I have it on good authority that friend of the blog, brewer Jeremy from Boulevard, will also be on the episode. The Drop will be having a watch party at 7:30 tonight. The show will be on HDNet (1105 on UVerse), at 7:30 (Fat City says 8, but they are wrong). If the St. Louis episode interests you, you can make it a whole Lamprey hour by tuning in at 7.

North Coast Old Stock Cellar Reserve Bourbon Barrel

Speaking of '09 beers, Royal Liquors on State Line and in Brookside have a limited supply of the '09 vintage of North Coast Old Stock Cellar Reserve Bourbon Barrel (I'm going to call it Old Joe for short), a barleywine aged in umm...bourbon barrels. I'm not a fan of such a long name in a beer, barleywines or bourbon barrel aging in beers. But, if you like 2 of those 3 things the North Coast Old Stock Cellar Reserve Bourbon Barrel is for you. It's a very highly regarded beer as well as very rare. At this time, I don't know any other stores with "Old Joe" but I'm guessing it's in Gomer's and Lukas locations in Missouri.

Waldo Pizza Cellar Series Part Deux

Waldo Pizza Tap Room has announced the second edition of their Cellar Series. No, it's not 2008 Hopslam or even 2009. But, it is at least interesting. They are releasing 2 bottles of each of the following:

2009 Boulevard Imperial Stout, 750mL $28.95
2009 Boulevard Saison Brett, 750mL $28.95
2009 Boulevard BBQ, 750mL $28.95
2009 Boulevard Sixth Glass, 750mL $19.95
2009 Southern Tier Cuvee 2, 22oz $30.95

I don't know if you can find any of these 5 beers from 2009 anywhere else in town. They will continue to release 10 beers every couple of months for the rest of the year.

A couple of Arrogant Bastards are visiting KC today

Have you heard the rumors that Stone will be distributing their beers in Missouri this year? For the past couple of weeks there has been a bit of a hullabaloo on the Twitters over a couple of tweets from Stone's VP Arlan Arnsten. Arnsten and Jason Armstrong, Stone's Central Region Sales Manager, stopped in Saint Louis yesterday to chat with Major Brands and they'll be in KC today to scout a few warehouse locations and grab a couple beers on their way back to sunny San Diego.

Stone beers are a little hit or miss for me, but as long as they send some Cali-Belgique our way I'll be happy. If the Stone guys are listening, you should stop by Blanc on the Plaza for lunch. I think Blanc's Au Poivre burger would go real nice with a bottle of Arrogant Bastard.

Improv Wine Tasting

Hello Kansas Citians!

Ward Parkway surprised me tonight with an improv Costco wine tasting event! He set out three 1.75 liters of Costco-purchased wine. And yes, it was only the best $10 wine money could buy: three bottles of California’s Twisted Old Vine Zinfandel, Australia’s Yellow Tail Shiraz, and Chile’s Frontera Cabernet-Merlot. There was also a plate of cheese and crackers! He really outdid himself this time.

In glasses next to the cheese and cracker plate, he’d poured samplings of each of the three wines. He placed a pad of paper and a pen nearby so I could taste and then record my preferences. I worked my way left to right, sniffing and tasting. The first two, the Frontera and the Shiraz, were pretty dry. That’s my preference in a red wine, an absence of sweetness, strong hints of oak and, and very dry. These two wines were actually quite similar in taste and I had a hard time distinguishing between them. I chose the Shiraz, though, as my favorite of the two.

The third wine, the Twisted Zin, was by far the sweetest of the three. This would be expected, from a zin. It had the exact same, dark red appearance of the other two wines, so visually I could not tell them apart. It was much sweeter and had less of a bite. Not my favorite. I guess if I were a chick, I’d prefer the fruitiness. Definitely a weaker, more “girly” drink. It almost needed some Canadian Club. A bit fruit-punchy. Not my preference. It would have made a good wedding wine.

Ward had me leave the room so he could mix the glasses up a bit. A few moments later, he called me back to the “wine tasting area” (kitchen) and had me try again. I immediately identified the Twisted “girly” wine. Set it aside. The other two gave me trouble. They were similar. Smokey. Oaky. Dry. I still chose the Yellow Tail Shiraz over the Frontera Cab/Merlot. The Shiraz was a bit drier and slightly more flavorful. Difficult for me to tell, however, as they were very close in taste for my “undeveloped” palate – which is weird to me, as I’m a self-described Wine-O. Maybe the boxed wine I typically consume has altered my taste buds.

I then mixed up the glasses for Ward Parkway a few times and he also did not like the Twisted Zin. He could pick it out quickly with its fruity essence. Like me, he had difficulty identifying the other two wines, which led me to believe that my observation of “similarity” was accurate. He eventually chose the Frontera as his favorite $10 bottle of Costco wine.

There were others we could have purchased at that price point, but for now, we’ll stick with the Yellow Tail or the Frontera--which ever is on sale. They both seem to be a good bargain for a foreign wine and they're pretty darn tasty.

And as Kathy Griffin’s mom would say (about a box of wine), “Tip it!”
*Raising my glass(es)* Here’s to YOU!

Reporting from Seattle,
Wes Port

Riot Guys

It looks like the beer lovers at The Riot Room are going to do a weekly Youtube video highlighting their tap beers, beer specials and concerts for the week. As long as they keep putting Briggs in front of the camera I'll keep watching. This week's taps include Goose Island Dominique, Goose Island Pepe Nero and Founders Double Trouble in addition to their large Schlafly selection and others.

You Say You Want a Revolution?

We'll pick it up where last night's Keith Olbermann's worst person in the world got interesting:

And the worst person in the world is Jim Koch of the Boston Beer Company, purveyor of the popular beer brand Samuel Adams. Samuel Adams, leader of the American revolution, leader of the Boston Tea Party, America's first terrorist act. This week a new beer has been added to the Samuel Adams lineup, Revolutionary Rye Ale, the very same week a "revolutionary" gunman shot Rep. Giffords in the head.

Jim Koch is so fond of revolution, it's used over and over again on the Sam Adams FAQ page:

Jim Koch wanted a name that might represent that revolutionary idea. Samuel Adams was a leader of the American Revolution and was a Boston brewer and patriot. A fellow brewer and a fellow revolutionary, Samuel Adams was the perfect namesake.

This violent imagery of "revolution" has no place in our post-Tucson society, it had no place in our pre-Tucson society. How many killings can be traced back to Jim Koch's irresponsible language? Columbine? Oklahoma City? Virginia Tech? 9/11? No one can say.

Revolution has no place in our national conversation and Revolutionary Ale, a better than average, somewhat sour rye beer is only contributing to the violent political rhetoric in our land. Jim Koch is trying to hide Revolutionary Ale by only putting it in mixed 12 packs labeled Sam Adams American Originals,  To Jim Koch, though, revolution is not an original idea, it's the American way. Because of that, Jim Koch, you're the worst person...IN THE WORLD.

Hopslam Sonnet Reprise

O Hopslam, Hopslam! Wherefore art thou Hopslam?
Deny thy Glazer's and come forth to me;
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I'll remain hop thirsty
Tis my want of your taste that is my enemy.
Thou shall be free, though thou is not.
Where art thou, Gomer's wait list is a fortnight long
Nor your name has not been heard by the Glazer distributor.
A shame is that.
What's in a name? That which we call hoppy
By any other word would smell as sweet.
So Hopslam would, were he not Hopslam called,
Retain that dear perfection which he owns.
Without that title. Hopslam, doff thy name;
And for thy name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself from retail shelves when present.

Irish Style Evening

Today the Shlafly Extra Stout will hit some of the bigger Missouri liquor stores and is well worth picking up so you can do some damage Irish Style. I'm getting ready to put on my Southie Tuxedo to pick some ip with Irish style. I already have plans for my sixer tonight.

I'm going to throw darts at pictures of David Beckham while I drink my first bottle. Irish Style!

With the second bottle I'm going to punch a Protestant. Irish Style!

With the third bottle I'm going to punch a Catholic. Irish Style!

With the fourth bottle I'm going to do find a Scotsman and lift his kilt. Irish Style!

On the fifth bottle I'm going to watch "The Town" and root for the bank robbers. Irish Style!

After the sixth bottle I'm going to fall asleep in the street. Irish Style!

With the Schlafly Imperial Pilsner, Extra Stout and Cybil Stone (No. 15) still on shelves (if you see No. 15 make sure to add it to OnTapKC) you can make it a Schlafly weekend.

The Return of Rye-on-Rye

Boulevard's Rye-on-Rye is returning... but you won't see it in 2011. I just wanted to get that out there because it's the biggest news in this blog post. The first run of Rye-on-Rye was really well received last year, so it seemed like a given that Boulevard would do another batch. The reason this beer won't make it to shelves in 2011 is because the Rye beer needs to age in Templeton barrels for a year. Templeton just bottled their rye whiskey in December so Boulevard would have just received their barrels. No barrels = no Rye-on-Rye.

Rye-on-Rye is an interesting beer, one that I think is well worth the wait. The worst part of waiting until 2012 for a bottle of batch #2 though, has to be waiting until six months after that to enjoy the beer. I bought two bottles of Rye-on-Rye last year and opened one as soon as I got home. I thought the whiskey was too strong and there wasn't much rye beer in the flavor. I kept the second bottle for about four months before drinking it and it was a completely different beer, much more mellow and much more balanced. That's the beer I'm looking forward to drinking in 16 to 20 months from now.

Schlafly Imperial Pilsner

The first of the Schlafly 20th Anniversary beers, Imperial Pilsner will be available in very limited quantities in select stores today. From the Facebook posting:

A VERY LIMITED amount of Schlafly #20 Imperial Pilsner should be on the shelves sometime today in the following stores. Brown Derby Wine Center in Springfield, Gomers In Lees Summit, Gomers South and Riot Room. A few more to come tomorrow and that will be it.

These probably will be gone quickly so if you're interested you had better visit Gomers tout de suite or the Riot Room tonight or take the chance it will be gone.

UPDATE: The bottles won't be out until tomorrow so you can cancel your lunchtime plans for a Gomers run.

UPDATE II: Today's the day and I have the bottle counts for you. All the Gomers in Missouri except Midtown are getting 6 bottles, Midtown is getting 12. Royal Liquor on 103rd is also getting 6 bottles. These bottles should be priced in the $10-$12 range. The Riot Room will have 6 as well going for $18. Next Thursday the only keg of Schlafly 20 in KC will be tapped at The Flying Saucer. 

Boulevard Chocolate Ale

I haven't heard many specifics on Boulevard's Chocolate Ale since it was first announced last year. A few acquaintances have sampled the beer at the brewery and were unable to pin down the style or give any specifics on what it tasted like other than, "chocolaty..." I came across this image of the back label of the Chocolate Ale bottle and thought I'd share it. There are a few more details here on the collaboration with Elbow and the style of beer they settled on. It didn't answer all my questions but I did enjoy reading it just the same.

Noble Pils

Sam Adams Noble Pils was a new spring seasonal for Sam Adams last year. I was very happy with this addition. I recently wrote that I really like Sam Adams seasonals and Noble Pils is my favorite of that bunch. I saw some at Lukas Liquor in Martin City last week when I was out there buying some Lagunitas Mason jars, my new beer mugs of choice. I decided to not buy any that day because I already had a couple of Missouri only beers already and thought I could just pick some up on my next trip to Tipsy's. I kind of regret that decision now since I haven't seen any Noble Pils since. But I know it's coming to store shelves this week if it's not already there.

My Lagunitas Mason jar almost emptied of it's Brown Shugga' 

It's situations like this that make OnTapKC a potentially valuable resource. If you see some Noble Pils be sure to tag it, it only takes a couple of seconds. I already logged my sighting, and you can check here to see other sightings of Noble Pils.

It's a bit of a shame they are releasing it so early in the year when it's so cold out. I liked this a lot on warmer days, pilsners don't really appeal to me when I'm cold. Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to drink a sixer of it right away when I get some, I would just prefer to have it a little later in the winter. Boulevard Irish Ale is also out now, it seems like seasonals are arriving earlier and gone by the time their actual season rolls around. I think it's about time to stop this trend and push everything back a month.

Introducing OnTapKC

Good people of the KC Beer Blog, I recently launched a new web site to help people track new and interesting beers that are available in Kansas City. It's called OnTapKC. Some of you may have already started using the site a little while back, but it official went live on 12/31 and I wanted to give the rest of you a brief overview of the site.

Who?
OnTapKC is powered by you, and drinkers like you. The site is set up to allow you to quickly and easily contribute by letting everyone know what beer you found and where others can find it in KC.

What?
The site's main feature is a map that plots out the location of beer bars, restaurants, liquor stores, etc. in KC where the last 100 or so craft beers have been tagged. Users are able to create new locations and new beers on the fly, if you know the name of the beer you're drinking and a rough approximation of where you're drinking it, you too can help out. The site is optimized to run on most devices so you'll be able to contribute right from your bar stool.

Where?
OnTapKC.com is the domain, we've set up a Facebook page and a Twitter account to post updates and promote notable sitings (like when Infinium or BBQ was first spotted). As the name would imply, we're focusing on KC, but we've got some info on locations in Lawrence, St. Joseph (believe it or not), Lee's Summit and other outlying suburbs.

When?
The site is live now thanks to everyone who helped me test out the functionality and corrected my spelling errors.

Why?
Because finding a great beer on tap or in bottles is something that's worth sharing. If you're like Chimpotle and online achievements are the only things that motivate you, you'll be happy to know that registered users rack up a bar tab that's based on their contributions to the site. As you tag beers, tag locations, post comments, rate beers, rate bars and restaurants you'll earn bottlecaps and my eternal gratitude.

I'm excited to finally have the site up and running after working. I hope everyone else finds it as useful as I do and helps contribute in their own way. If anyone has any questions or feedback you can email the site directly at ontapkc@gmail.com, contact us on Facebook, Twitter or call our drunk dial Google Voice number (828)OnTapKC.

Irish Day

Boulevard Irish Ale six packs are hitting Kansas City store shelves today. Irish is many people's favorites but today is bittersweet for me because it means Nutcracker won't be around much longer. You better stock up on Nutcracker and get your first Irish today. Irish Ale is probably the quickest seasonal to sell through so get it while you can.

Dear Deschutes

Dear Deschutes,

Please come to KC soon.

Fresh Hop

3 years ago Sierra Nevada Fresh Hop Harvest was probably my first beer quest. I don't think I'd ever sought out a beer that wasn't in my local liquor store. It's kind of weird to think about now when I'm pretty informed on what I'm going to find at any liquor store in town. But, back then I just didn't know that much. When I finally found it I really loved it and had 3 or 4 bottles while it was out.

Many beer quests later including the Boulevard 21st Anniversary Fresh Hop Pale Ale and I decided to revisit the Sierra Nevada Northern Hemisphere Harvest. I hadn't had one since November of 2007 and Tipsy's has had 4 cases stacked by the beer coolers for several weeks now. For only $3.50 how could I not try at least 1 bottle. The problem with trying many different beers all the time, you kind of forget some of the really good everyday beers.

I had a Boulevard 21st Anniversary sitting around so I decided to drink them both in the same night. I started with the Sierra Nevada and it was better than I remembered. The hops flavor was present but much less muted than in an ordinary Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. But the malty flavor was wonderful, almost creamy. For a beer with "hop" in its name it had no bitterness and was a more complementary flavor to the malt. I absolutely loved it.

The Boulevard 21st Anniversary I had right after just didn't stack up. I didn't really think the first one I had was that great which is why I had another one sitting around. I bought 2 when it came out with every intention of drinking both of them pretty quickly but I never really wanted the second one. It just doesn't have a ton of flavor, malty or hoppy and it's has just a bit of a spicy flavor that I could do without.

I know there's more Sierra Nevada Harvest around town but not much. I'm a little late to the party on it, but I'm definitely going to stock up on it my next trip to Tipsy's. Boulevard 21st Anniversary has come and gone so I'm really late on it. If you're upset you missed it, just pick up a Sierra Nevada Northern Hemisphere Harvest and be happy you're getting a better beer at half the price.