Short Pours - Week of 2/16
If
you haven’t checked out the Beer Calendar on the left hand side of your screen
(or the drop down menu for you mobile users) in awhile, this may be a good time
to go ahead and do that. This week
is absolutely packed with beer events throughout the area. From new releases to new breweries
opening, there are a number of events this week that should make you want to
get out of the house despite this cold, snowy weather. Here is a look at just some of the
events taking place this week.
Boulevard Brewing Co. - The Calling IPA Release
If
you were at a local restaurant or bar today, you may have noticed that
Boulevard’s newest year-round Smokestack Series release, The Calling IPA, starting showing
up on draft around town today. To
celebrate their new release, Boulevard will be hosting a launch party at Charlie Hooper’s in
Brookside on Wednesday 2/18 at 6:00PM.
Representatives from Boulevard will be on hand passing out complimentary
tastes of The Calling and giving away some nice Boulevard swag to those who
attend.
Boulevard
also completed the first bottling run of The Calling today but hasn’t yet confirmed
a release date for bottles so it’s only available on draft for the time being. I had a chance to try The Calling last
weekend on tap at the Boulevard Tasting Room and it is definitely worth seeking
out if you have not had a chance to try it yet. I think it will be a very welcome addition to the all ready
great lineup of Smokestack Series beers from Boulevard.
Torn Label Brewing Co. Events
Torn Label Brewing Co. kicked off 2015 with
a launch week full of events to showcase their flagship beers along with some
of their other offerings. Since
then, their House Brew coffee wheat stout has become one of my go-to choices
when dining out or having a beer around town so needless to say when I heard
about the firkin they are releasing Tuesday 2/17 at 5:00PM at Green Room Burgers and Beer, I was pretty
excited.
Rafi
Chaudry from Torn Label Brewing Co. explained to me that in order to create
this special firkin, “Thou Mayest Coffee aged some of their
green Columbian beans in used Dark Horse
rye whiskey barrels before roasting, producing beans with notes of vanilla
cream, black cherry cola and butterscotch soaked red apple. We
extracted coffee from them and are aging it onto a firkin of our coffee wheat
stout, House Brew. I'm especially
excited about it since the unique process of producing this particular firkin
means that four great locally owned Kansas City companies in all - Dark Horse,
Thou Mayest, Torn Label & Green Room - had a hand in the finished product
in some way.”
In addition to the firkin release,
Torn Label Brewing Co. will debut their new winter seasonal this week, Café Dubbel. Rafi described the brewing process
behind Café Dubbel as using “a highly concentrated but very lightly roasted
single origin Ethiopian coffee hot brewed by Thou Mayest. The
coffee was roasted on the very light end of the spectrum to highlight its
brightness: a burst of vibrant citrus acidity cuts through a sweet,
burnt caramel flavor profile.
Aromas of clove, vanilla and apricot give way to notes of honeycomb
toffee and lip smacking maple syrup on the palate, defying expectations of both
a coffee beer and a Belgian ale.”
To celebrate the release of Café
Dubbel, Thou Mayest will be tapping the first keg of it on Thursday 2/19. Bier
Station will also be tapping a keg of Café Dubbel right when they open their
doors at 11:00AM on Saturday 2/21.
If you haven’t had a chance to try Torn Label Brewing Co. yet, this is a
good week to change that.
Border Brewing Company Grand Opening
Speaking
of new breweries in the Kansas City area, Border
Brewing Company, located at 406 East 18th Street in the
Crossroads District, will be celebrating their grand opening this Saturday,
2/21. Their doors will officially open
at 11:00AM and the celebration will go until 11:00PM that night. If you can’t make it out Saturday,
you’ll still have a chance to take part in the opening festivities as Border
Brewing will be open 11:00AM – 6:00PM on Sunday 2/22 as well.
Border
Brewing’s flagship beers include a blonde ale, “Patio” Extra Pale Ale, “Rooftop”
Red Ale, a double IPA, “Campfire” Porter (porter aged on oak chips) and a chocolate-milk
stout. More information regarding these beers
can be found here.
Big Ass Stout Day – The Foundry
As
if there weren’t enough choices on how to spend your Saturday this week, The Foundry in Westport will be tapping a
number of big, dark beers for their Big Ass Stout Day that will be sure to keep
you warm on a mid-February day.
The party starts at 1:00 PM and each beer will be priced
individually. Some of the beers
will only be available in 6 ounce pours to give more people a chance to try
them while the others will be available in 6 ounce and full pours. The tap list is quite impressive and is listed below:
4
Hands Peanut Butter Chocolate Milk Stout
Bell's
Java Stout
Bell's
Expedition 2013
Boulevard
Imperial Stout
Boulevard
Oatmeal Stout
Deschutes
Abyss
Founders
Kentucky Breakfast Stout
Goose
Island Bourbon County Brand Stout
McCoy's
Ursa Major
Perennial
Abraxas
Perennial
Barrel Aged Abraxas
Prairie
BOMB!
Southern
Tier Choklat
Southern Tier Creme Brulee
