After the craziness of the holidays and then lots of time spent indoors with two cabin feverish kids, Aaron and I couldn’t plan a date night soon enough. We decided to do something a little different and go on a self-directed brewery tour in the Crossroads neighborhood in Kansas City.
The city and its surrounding suburbs have a lot to offer if you’re looking for craft beer, and just within the Crossroads neighborhood alone we were able to visit six breweries, all within walking distance of each other.
{Brewery Emperial} Our first stop was lunch at Brewery Emperial, which was already full of people at 1 p.m. Luckily we were able to get a table, and the food and beers did not disappoint. They were still serving brunch, so I had a breakfast burrito, but Aaron ordered fish and chips which were delicious! I tried their Belgian Wit and Gustav Kolsch beers, and definitely preferred the Wit. Aaron had their Emperial IPA and the Biscuit.
{Border Brewing Company} Border was our next stop, where I had the Strawberry Blonde–one of my favorites of the day. It was fruity but not sweet, and I loved it. Aaron had the Shiftie IPA and he liked it but it wasn’t his favorite.
{Double Shift Brewing Company} At Double Shift I had the Direction of Travel Kolsch, which I liked but wasn’t a favorite. Aaron loved his selection though, and its name–Tesselation IPA–was perfect for a math teacher.
{Casual Animal Brewing} Casual Animal was one of my favorite stops. With a shuffleboard table and board games, it was definitely a place I could stay for a while and hang out. We stayed long enough for Aaron to kick my butt at shuffleboard, play a few rounds of Connect Four, and drink some beer of course. I had the Local Motive Strawberry Ale which I liked, but not as much as the Strawberry Blonde at Border.
{City Barrel} City Barrel is the only place that Aaron and I had been to before, but we only had appetizers when we went the last time. This time it was our dinner stop and it did not disappoint. I had the Day Drinker Mango Mimosa IPA, which was delicious (and not at all hoppy), and Aaron had the Mega High Fives IPA. For dinner I had the pork chop which was huge!
{Torn Label Brewing Company} Torn Label was our last stop and the only one that was more off the beaten path. By this time I had consumed more beer than I had in quite some time, so I count it as a win that this is the only location where I didn’t get any photos. It was dark and felt like a dive bar, which we loved. I had the Monk and Honey Belgian ale, which had more bite than I prefer (but I don’t like any beer that is too heavy or hoppy), and Aaron had the Hang ‘Em High.
We had a great time! Are you a beer drinker? What do you like?
