What Are You Drinking? Kansas City Edition

Earlier this month, like the vast majority of the country, I earned a day off on Labor Day.  What better way to celebrate the day off than by watching our White Sox in Kansas City and drinking some delicious Kansas City beers?  While it was a quick 24 hour stay in KC, there was still plenty of time to imbibe the variety of beers that the City of Fountains had to offer.  For the KC edition of this blog, I will feature the best beers that I had in the order in which I tried them:

Boulevard Brewing Company: Space Camper Cosmic IPA (5.9% ABV)

Upon arriving in Kansas City early Sunday morning, the natural move was to find a beer from the most renowned brewery in the city.  Space Camper is a flagship series from Boulevard with their Cosmic IPA being one of their most popular beers.  Loaded with hops, I highly appreciated the juicy and tropical flavors of this beer.  Additionally, the bitterness wasn’t too potent.  This is an IPA that I would definitely recommend for non-IPA drinkers to try, especially considering the lower ABV level of it for an IPA.  

@AdamKC1980’s Homebrew Citra IPA (7.0% ABV…..allegedly)

Before I feature this beer, you should first click the link above and give Adam a follow as he is a huge White Sox fan and he and his wife were very gracious to allow me to stay at their home while on this trip.  Upon arriving at Adam’s house (at 8:00 a.m.) he offered me his homebrew to which he said “try my Citra IPA homebrew, I don’t think it’s very good.”  Little did he know that citra hops are my favorite hops and also, he’s wrong.  This was a job well done by Adam despite his thoughts on his beer making skills.  Even Cary is impressed with how good it is!

Torn Label Brewing Company: Alpha Pale Ale (5.5% ABV)

I had this beer while pre-gaming at a cool little establishment in downtown Kansas City.  Another beer that hit the spot on a warm Kansas City day while sitting outside on a balcony with friends.  The Alpha Pale Ale was very light in color and lower ABV that packed some real good juicy flavors.  The juiciness, combined with the weather, was a perfect combo on a gorgeous Sunday in Kansas City.  Torn Label’s Alpha Pale Ale is available year round and I highly recommend looking for this beer if you are ever in KC. 

Boulevard Brewing Company: Easy Sport Rally Ale (4.1% ABV)

As I ventured to Kauffman Stadium in the middle of nowhere Kansas City to watch the White Sox take on the Royals, I discovered Easy Sport and holy shit, it is phenomenal.  This was by far the best beer that I had during the trip.  Easy Sport is considered a blonde ale with tangerine peel and sea salt added in. (gawt damn!!)  Weighing in at 4.1% ABV this light, easy drinking beer is perfect for that 100 plus degree day in Kansas City whilst watching a baseball game.  This is my Royals version of the Pineapple Guppy and should be your go to beer if you ever are ever at Kauffman Stadium.  You can find Easy Sport just above section 108 in Kauffman Stadium with their extended craft beer menu, similar to the Revolution Bar at Guaranteed Rate Field.    

While Kansas City might be known for their amazing barbecue, do not sleep on their craft beer selection.  I look forward to making another trip there soon to further investigate the craft beer scene.  Thanks to all who joined in on the #108ING for the trip!

-Brew Hand Luke