Free State's 20th Anniversary

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 C³ 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 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.