CrossRoadsKC Beerfest Recap: A great day and great party

Posted by Brett A. Myces July 02, 2019

CrossRoadsKC Beerfest Recap: A great day and great party

Getting ready!!

The Beer list

Well another successful beerfest is in the books, and now it’s time to sit back and reflect on the day that was. First things first, let’s start with the good.

Location, location, location: This should be in the amazing or halcyon category. Grinders is that amazing of a venue. They had more than enough space to handle all the guests, plus there are a multitude of restaurants, breweries, bars, etc, to visit before and after.

Beer: There were plenty of good beers to choose from, including the usual local breweries. My personal favorite brewery for the event was Maine Beer company. They are relatively new to Missouri and I hadn’t gotten around to trying their beer yet. If you are looking for some good beer for the 4th, give them a shot. My favorite beer, was Background Radiation, Brett IPA from Double Shift. I'm sure that comes as a surprise to you.

The best beer of the day!!

Food and Water: Ample food trucks were available, plus Grinders had their kitchen up and running. The staff had plenty of water jugs readily available and always ice cold. The was especially critical with heat indexes in the 100’s.

VIP: Brett, Moe, and Mrs. Saic, decided to splurge for the VIP tickets and it was well worth the investment. VIP access, got us into our own air conditioned lounge, private bathroom, and front row seats to the concert.

Music: The bands were amazing, and they put on a heck of a performance. I’m not exactly in the know about 70’s music, but I recognized most of the songs Pet Rock sang.

Beertender of the day award

Beer tenders: Everyone was very nice and helpful, and I’d like to give a special shout out to the beer tenders at the Boulevard booth, for dealing with KCBeerBlog trio all afternoon.

Bathrooms: There were ample port-a-potties, and I never noticed a line, but I didn’t pay that much attention due to my VIP access.

Now let's get into the not so good.

Plastic cups: This was the first beerfest I’ve been to that didn’t give everyone their own tasting glass. Instead they were pouring beer into single use solo cups. This led to massive amounts of waste, but they did a great job of having plenty of trash cans readily available. There was even one patron who had the specific goal of trying to taste every beer. I’m not sure how his quest actually ended, but judging by his stack of cups, he was pretty close to accomplishing it. Not that I actually need any more beer glasses, but I would have gladly paid an extra $5, for one, instead tossing away so much plastic

One man's epic quest to drink them all

That's a lot of cups

Weather: No one can control the weather, but it was a hot one. I didn’t see anyone have any heat related issues, and there was enough shade, plus a decent breeze.

They ran out of beer!: This wasn’t the first time I’ve seen a beerfest run out of beer, so there was a precedent to it. I want to give a shout out to Martin City, for being the last brewery standing. The tastings were scheduled to last until 9 and the beer was gone at about 830. Not exactly a huge crisis, and judging by peoples joyous banter, nobody left the event thirsty.

Overall, this was a damn good beerfest and a damn good day. There wasn’t any jackasserous douchebaggery to deal with so that made everything that much better. Thank you CrossroadsKC for hosting such a great event! Splurging for the VIP tickets was well worth the price, and I already have my calendar marked for 2020. With that being said Brett and Moe will see you next year.

Cheers,
Brett A. Myces