To celebrate their anniversary my favorite brew pub has been serving up small batches of some of their more popular brews. The festivities started on the 18th and I believe they run through Monday the 23rd, check their
website for more details. When Free State opened up in 1989 it was the first post-prohibition brewery in the good state of Kansas and I've been visiting it on an almost weekly basis ever since I moved here in 2000.
I was lucky enough to be able to stop in twice to enjoy the celebrating. On Thursday I stopped by in the afternoon and enjoyed three pints. The first was Ironman Imperial Stout which is my favorite stout, period. It is rich and creamy and has a beautiful balance of roast and chocolate flavors that makes it an absolute joy to sip. Next I had a light colored Bier de Garde that was finished with a champagne yeast, kinda fruity with a dry finish. My third and final was C
3 IPA, a big double IPA that is hopped with a whole bunch of Columbus, Chinook, and Cascade hops, delicious.
Friday night I wandered back down because I knew they were going to have Eccentricity on tap, a blended, barrel aged beer. Unfortunatly, by the time I arrived the Eccentricity was gone so I had to “settle” for Owd Mac's Imperial Stout. I believe this was the 2005 vintage, same vintage I had
last year. The big stout still has a lot of malty complexity, a mix of molasses, oak, vanilla, bourbon, and anise. I also had a nice dark rye called Black Eye Rye and another pint of C
3. All in all, a great two days of craft beer. Congratulations Free State, on your twenty years of brewing. I hope the next twenty are just as awesome.
Friday night I wandered back down because I knew they were going to have Eccentricity on tap, a blended, barrel aged beer. Unfortunatly, by the time I arrived the Eccentricity was gone so I had to “settle” for Owd Mac's Imperial Stout. I believe this was the 2005 vintage, same vintage I had last year. The big stout still has a lot of malty complexity, a mix of molasses, oak, vanilla, bourbon, and anise. I also had a nice dark rye called Black Eye Rye and another pint of C3. All in all, a great two days of craft beer. Congratulations Free State, on your twenty years of brewing. I hope the next twenty are just as awesome.
