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| The giant sign letting you know you have reached your destination |
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| The Aletoberfest |
You know how much I love a good day trip whether it’s to
Excelsior Springs and Hamilton, or just hanging out in the
Stockyards and KCK. Now I have another Missouri destination for a day trip. This time it’s an hour and change East of KC to the small town of
Carrollton, Missouri to vist
River Bottoms Brewery. River Bottoms is easy to find and conveniently located on the Northside of the town square. I stumbled upon this brewery on the drive home from a weekend ̶b̶e̶e̶r̶ ̶d̶r̶i̶n̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ fishing trip, and despite not bathing for 48 hours, wreaking of body odor, campfire soot, and fish, I was welcomed with open arms and had a great 45 minute conversation with the owner and brewmaster Joe.
River Bottoms has a 5 Bbl brewing system with 9 year-round beers on tap, 2 seasonals, and a Kombucha tap handle. They do growler fills, but unfortunately lack a crowler station. On my visit I had a half pour of their Octoberfest Ale (Aletoberfest), Pumpkin Ale, then tasters of their Rye IPA, Tripel, and Pre-Prohibition Pilsner. My two favorite beers were the Pumpkin Ale and Rye IPA. I am normally not a huge fan of Pumpkin beers. I feel like over the last several years, Pumpkin beers have turned into a contest to see who can cram the most pumpkin pie spice into a bottle of beer. Their Pumpkin Ale, on the other hand, consists of ZERO spices giving it a subtle flavor of pumpkin yet the ability to taste the base beer. Conversely the Rye IPA was not a typical hop bomb but more of a traditional smooth and floral IPA. Plus, everyone of their beers is brewed with
Brewers Clarex, to help reduce gluten.
I did not try their pizza because I didn’t know they had a pizza oven and the allure of the 5 Casey’s convenience stores I passed on the way home was too much. Their pizza looked amazing as it was coming out of the oven, and they even have “Pizza nachos.” They will take any pizza on their menu and put the ingredients on a bed of chips and cook it in their pizza oven whoever came up with this idea deserves a Nobel prize and a raise. #MeThinksMeLikes
They also have live music on most weekends and a solid happy hour. I know most of my readers are now thinking, “Thanks Brett, this place sounds badass, but I don’t want to drive over an hour, and only be able to drink two beers then drive home.” As usual I have several solutions for you. You can always hitchhike, uber, make your 16 year old teenager or find a pregnant friend drive. Or my best idea yet. As Barney Stinson would say, “
Wait for it”…………………………… There is an inn within walking distance to the brewery. Joe and Abbie, being the entrepreneurs they are, built a coffeeshop and inn, next to the brewery. How amazing is this?
The Folger Street Inn, is an early 1900’s house with a coffee shop on the first floor, and 4 rooms available to rent. Rates start at $82, which is way cheaper than the uber, safer than hitchhiking, and less annoying than a pregnant friend or whiny teenager. Plus when you have your morning headache you can get a strong cup of coffee for the drive home.
The holidays are coming up and instead of getting more junk to clutter your house, I think a trip to Carrollton would be a great present. It’s great beer, amazing food, and strong coffee.
For more info you can find River Bottoms on
Facebook,
Untappd, or the
webpage.
The Folger Street and Coffeeshop in can be found on it’s
webpage or
facebook.
Cheers,
Brett A. Myces
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| The tap handles |
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| The elk overlooking the stage for the band |
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| The food menu |
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| The beer menu |
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| The Pumpkin Ale |
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| More bar pictures |
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| The front door |
