Sam Adam's KMF Tour Details

The Sam Adam's KMF Tour stop in KC is approaching fast and we have all the details for you here. A select number of bars will be getting kegs of the beer, and there are a couple events planned as well. Jennifer Glanville, one of the Sam Adams brewers, will also be in town for several of the events, leading tastings, answering questions, and talking about the beer. Jennifer was kind enough to answer a few of our questions via email this week ahead of the events.


KCBB: Could you please tell our readers a little bit more about the beer and how it came about? 

Jennifer Glanville: Kosmic Mother Funk, or KMF, has been our passion project for many years at the Samuel Adams Barrel Room at our Boston Brewery. It is definitely one funky brew! KMF is the backbone of all of our Barrel Room Collection beers and is blended, in varying amounts, into the five Belgian brews that make up the collection.

KMF on its own has a wild, funky character with some balsamic notes, so to bring all of these flavors together for our limited release Kosmic Mother Funk Grand Cru we added a small amount of Belgian candi sugar, which lends a bit of smoothness and a hint of sweetness. This slightly sweetened batch, is tart, funky and complex with notes of dark fruits, cocoa, cherry and vanilla. The feedback we have received so far from our drinkers has been overwhelmingly positive.

KCBB: I understand that the yeast and bacteria culture was collected from within the Sam Adam's brewhouse. Could you explain a little bit more about how that process was handled? 

JG: KMF is aged in large oak tuns, which contributes to the flavors in KMF as it ages in the wood for over a year. A combination of our own Belgian yeast strain, wild yeast and different bacteria in the tuns all impart unique, spicy, fruity and bright tart character to the beer.

The porous character of the oak allows air to slowly seep into the beer during aging, and this long, slow micro-oxidation through the wood smooths out harsh flavors. There are natural yeasts and bacteria that inherently live in our brewery, and in the aging tuns.

KCBB: As a female brewer in a male dominated industry, could you tell us how you got into brewing and how you think we can bring more women into the craft beer community? 

JG: I have always had a passion and love for craft beer and I pursued this passion through an education in brewing at Doemens Academy in Munich. In 2001 I was busy enjoying my favorite hobby, skiing, when I received a call from The Boston Beer Company, tapping me to join the team.

Since my arrival in Boston, I've done everything from tasting our Samuel Adams beers to ensure they meet our quality standards, working with our other brewers to create new recipes, and managing our brewery here in Boston. I am also a self-proclaimed foodie, and love pairing and cooking with Samuel Adams beers.  Some of my favorites are: Boston Lager and Steak, American Kriek and roasted duck, and OctoberFest pulled pork.

It is amazing to see how many women are in the industry now even compared to 10 years ago.  Here in Boston we have several all-women beer clubs and it is very cool to see passionate women in the craft beer industry out and about educating other women about craft beer.  I always try to encourage women not to be intimidated and follow their passion for making or drinking craft beer.

The Beer

We got a sample of the beer here at KCBB to try out, and we were not disappointed. The beer pours a deep ruby red color with a tan head. It's got a great range of aromas reminiscent of cherries, prunes, and raisins, alongside caramel, toffee, and chocolate aromas from the malt. The barrel aging also comes through subtly with vanilla and oak notes underneath everything else.

The flavor mirrors the aroma, with bright acidic fruity flavors balanced with smooth caramel and chocolate malt flavors. The beer is quite tart up front, but finishes slightly sweet, which helps bring out more of the fruit. It has a pleasant acetic character, like an aged balsamic vinegar. It's got a good sourness, but is well balanced and very easy drinking.

The beer is probably somewhere between a Flanders Red or Oude Bruin if you want to go all style specific on it. I love both of these styles and think they're very under-represented in the pantheon of sour beers, so I'm glad that Sam Adams went this way with the beer.

Events & Availability

Jim Koch signing the poster you can win at Bier Station

Lukas Liquor (MO) Barrel Room Tasting
12/4 - 2:30p-3:30p
Brewer Jennifer Glanville will be on site to greet customers and sample the Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection to consumers.

Bier Station KMF Tapping
12/4 - 4p-6p
Meet Samuel Adams Brewer Jennifer Glanville and be one of the first to sample KMF along with other great beers from the Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection.  Fans will also have the chance to win a custom canvas print autographed by Jim Koch, Founder of the Boston Beer Company.

Michael Smith - Barrel Room Beer Dinner
12/4 - 6:30p
Sam Adams and Michael Smith have paired up to host an epic beer dinner featuring KMF and other Barrel Room Collection beers. The event will be 5 courses, and include crab, escargot, lamb, house made kielbasa, and bread pudding with beer whipped cream. They will be pairing these up with KMF, Thirteenth Hour Stout, Stony Brook Red, New World Tripel and Tetravis Quad. Tickets are $65 and can be purchased by emailing nancy@michaelsmithkc.com or calling 816-842-2202.


The beer will be available at Bier Station and Michael Smith starting 12/4, and the rest of the bars on the list will be getting the beer starting 12/5. Here's a full list of locations where KMF will be available in KC:

B.D.'s Mongolian
Beer Kitchen
Bier Station
Brass Rail
Charlie Hooper's
Conrad's Restaurant & Alehouse
The District Pour House + Kitchen
Helen's
Konrads Kitchen and Tap House
Local Pig/Bridger's
Michael Smith
Rock and Run Brewery
Rusty Horse Tavern
Waldo Pizza (KC and Lee's Summit)
The Well
Westport Ale House