Beer is one of those beverages that somehow feels instantly relatable and accessible to most people. There is no special way (other than cold) or time of day that it is more appropriate to drink it, and it comes in a variety of styles, flavor profiles, and price points.
It is also easily portable, available in bottles or convenient cans, which means you can take it with you and drink it almost anywhere. Finally, you can find beer almost anywhere. From a baseball game to the fanciest five-star restaurant and from a gas station to a big-box retailer, if you want beer, you can typically find beer.
Big beer—brands like Budweiser, Busch, Coors, and Miller Lite—may have branded beer with an everyman, blue-collar vibe, but at its core, it goes deeper than that. Beer has its own unique, loyal fan base, and when talking about Kansas City’s local craft beer scene one thing is clear—craft beer here is made for people who love it, by people who love it.
Just look at how our local craft beer scene has exploded in the last ten years in Kansas City. What Imperial Brewing Company and Heim Brewing started in the early 1900s in Kansas City and Boulevard Brewing continued in 1989 when John McDonald rolled his first keg of Pale Ale down the street to Ponak’s Mexican Restaurant, pouring until his keg was empty, continues to this day with taprooms located in every neighborhood across the city. No matter where you live, there is likely a local brewery nearby just waiting to pour you a glass, as local taprooms are replacing the spot once held by a neighborhood pub or beer bar. What could be more local than drinking a locally made beer right in your own backyard?
In the beginning many craft beer companies, trying to separate themselves from watered-down big beer brands, leaned into statement beers brewing sharply bitter West Coast IPAs, only to discover Hazy IPAs were more approachable, and that ultimately brought more beer drinkers to the yard. Access to better and locally grown hops and new yeasts allowed many local craft breweries the luxury of being small enough to play with exciting new styles, with each of them eventually settling on a style or flavor profile to hang their hat on. Walk into any taproom in this town and ask what their most popular beer is, and that is usually a solid place to start your tasting journey.
Today breweries are diversifying, brewing much more than just beer; some are making their own ciders, spirits, and canned cocktails. They are dabbling in real root beer, kombuchas, seltzers, and even hop-infused sparkling water. For those looking for all the flavor without the buzz, there are craft brewers also making nonalcoholic beer that tastes just as good as the real thing.
So whether you are a beer novice or a cicerone, there is plenty of local beer (and more) to be discovered at craft breweries in Kansas City. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but simply a starting point. May it inspire you to get out and discover how much good beer there is to enjoy at a taproom near you. Cheers!
Boho Brewing – Parkville
There are some interesting things happening at the Old Town at Creekside Development in Parkville, and Boho Brewing is one of them. Owner Robert Mann opened his taproom in January (naming it after his Bohemian ancestors) serving German and Czech-style lagers, including their popular Parkville Pale Ale. The outdoor patio is the place to be with views of a green space that includes a giant LED-lit tree and a sound stage that has live music on the weekend. The icing on the cake—you can get food from Whiskey River Pizza & Pub delivered to you from next door.
The Big Rip Brewing Company – North Kansas City
As head brewer and co-owner of the North Kansas City brewery, Bri Burrows was one of the first women to hold the title head brewer in Kansas City. In addition to brewing beer, Burrows shows her support for marginalized groups by working to diversify the Kansas City beer industry, something that is evident in the events she hosts and in the wide variety of beer styles emerging from her four-barrel brewhouse. Try Hathor’s Sweet Brown, a flagship beer that is a roasted brown ale brewed with lactose for sweetness.
Stockyards Brewing Co. – West Bottoms
Greg Bland opened Stockyards Brewing Co. in 2016 in the original Golden Ox’s cocktail lounge, keeping all the original charm of this 65-year-old cowboy-themed bar. Outfitted with a custom three-vessel brewing system, Stockyards Brewing offers a rotating line of seasonal brews—including Stocktoberfest, Black IPA, and Mexican-style Cerveza Royale—and is currently planning to open a second location in Overland Park.
Alma Mader Brewing – Westside
Ask anyone who really knows our local beer scene in Kansas City, and they will probably mention Alma Mader as being at the top of the KC craft-brew game. After years spent working at breweries in both Denver and Seattle, Nick Mader and his wife and brewery co-founder, Tania Hewett-Mader, moved back home to Kansas City to open Alma Mader (pronounced may-der) Brewing in April 2019. This ten-barrel brewhouse and taproom produces only a handful of beers at a time, including his picture-perfect Czech-style pilsner, Premiant, and pales and IPAs to enjoy in their tasting room or on the outdoor patio.
Casual Animal Brewing Company – Crossroads
Casual Animal Brewing Co. opened in 2018 in the heart of the Crossroads Arts District in Kansas City. Today, owners Kyle and Laura Gray have expanded into the stunning industrial space next door, brewing a combination of beers, ciders, and hard seltzers all named after animals. The brews can be enjoyed inside or at the outside sidewalk seating. Snacks are available and food vendors often pop up here happy to feed the crowds.
Torn Label Brewing Co. – East Crossroads
Torn Label Brewing Co. was among the first breweries to call the East Crossroads home in 2015. Founders Rafi Chaudry, Travis Moore (who is also head brewer), and Carol and Chad Troutwine opened their public house where you can order a beer along with the crazy delicious Mexican cuisine provided by Tacos Valentina or in their more intimate taproom overlooking the brewery. Their beers cover a wide range of styles, including ales, stouts, lagers, and IPAs.
City Barrel Brewery + Kitchen – East Crossroads
The three owners of City Barrel Brewing Co., Joe Giammanco, James Stutsman, and Grant Waner, have achieved a trifecta of good taste: a great location in the brewing district in the East Crossroads, an intriguing yet accessible selection of beers on tap, and a full-service, seasonal food menu. Guests will find a tasty selection of IPAs, including their signature Rad AF, lagers, wheat and pale ales, that they can enjoy along with the chef Benjamin Wood’s comforting food.
Vine Street Brewing Co. – 18th & Vine
The dream of local beer enthusiast, rapper, jazz performer, and co-owner Kemet Coleman, Vine Street Brewing Co., Missouri’s first black-owned brewery, has recently opened near 18th Avenue and Vine Street. The historic building is home to the brewery, tap room, and beer garden, in addition to being a community space and a live-music venue. Brewers Woodie Bonds and Elliot Ivory are responsible for the beverage program and are in the process of defining their basic beer selections, which includes IPAs, lagers, wheat, ales, and stouts, before adding seasonal beers.
Crane Brewing – Raytown
In fall 2015, Crane Brewing’s 15-barrel production brewery opened in a former manufacturing building owned by the president, co-founder, and innovative homebrewer Michael Crane. The rest of the team includes vice president and co-founder Chris Meyers, CEO Jason Louk, and head brewer Bryan Stewart. The brewery enjoys a strong following for its farmhouse ales, sour ales, and wild-fermented beers. Located right on the Rock Island Trail in Raytown, the rustic taproom is the closest brewery to the Kauffman Sports Complex.
Diametric Brewing Company – Lee’s Summit
Opened in an office park in Lee’s Summit in 2018, Diametric Brewing Company is the work of four homebrewers turned brewery owners—Mac Lamken, Joe Migletz, Devin Glaser, and Sean Householder. The owners blended their individual brewing styles to provide their guests a well-rounded selection of beers and sodas, producing everything from IPAs to wheats and porters to sour beer. There’s a large communal bar, indoor tasting room, and outdoor patio overlooking a beautiful pond. Taylor Jones, the head chef and pitmaster at Burn Theory Fire Kitchen, supplies the barbecue and tacos made in his food truck outside and delivered to your table.
BKS Artisan Ales – East Brookside
The awards just keep rolling in for Brian and Mary Rooney’s BKS Artisan Ales located in Kansas City’s East Brookside neighborhood. Their focus is on quality beer production needed to satiate the crowds packing their charming tasting room on the weekends. An award-winning homebrewer before he opened the brewery, Brian uses a seven-barrel system to produce hazy IPAs and double IPAs, lagers, and ales, along with his English-style mild called Rockhill & Locust, the first beer he brewed back in 2017.
KC Bier Co. – Waldo
Working to put the “i” back into the word beer, owners Steve Holle, Jürgen Hager, and head brewer Karlton Graham, have turned KC Bier Co. from a Waldo-based brewery into a regional one specializing in German-style beers, such as the dunkel, a Munich-style brown lager. Helles is another popular beer, a golden Bavarian-style lager, as is the Hefeweizen, a pale Bavarian-style wheat ale. With a large taproom and an even bigger beer garden outside, there is plenty of room to find a spot to enjoy a beer and soft pretzel.
Friction Beer Company – Shawnee
Co-owners Brent Anderson and Nathan Ryerson worked harder and longer than most to find the perfect spot to open Friction Brewing Co. in downtown Shawnee. With the goal of bringing their signature pilsners, hazy IPAs, and milk stouts to the neighborhood, Friction opened inside the 100-year-old Hartman Hardware building offering what they call a “music-soaked beer experience.”
Limitless Brewing – Lenexa
During the pandemic, Limitless Brewing business didn’t shrink, it expanded, allowing owners Emily and Dave Mobley along with Darin Worthington and Dave’s brother, Steve Mobley, to purchase land in Lenexa to build their new 7,000-square-foot facility to house everything from production to a taproom with a large patio in the back, serving up their West Coast and Hazy IPAs, dark lagers, sour beers, and even a Hot Chocolate stout.
Tall Trellis Brew Co. – Olathe
It would make sense that the guys who grow and sell local hops under the name Kansas Hop Company, would also be the ones to make the beer. Tall Trellis Brew Co. was the brainchild of co-owners Ryan Triggs, Clyde Sylvester, and Nick Feightner, who opened their unique taproom last year in Olathe to showcase beers made by the over 70 breweries that use their hops, in addition to a few seasonal beers they are brewing themselves in their one barrel system. Their taproom has a large outdoor seating area surrounded by live hops, which grow up to 20 feet tall. Guests can sit outside and sip on suds made from the hops that surround them.