First All-Kansas Beer in Topeka Since Prohibition
The Blind Tiger Brewery & Restaurant is celebrating the first beer in Topeka since Prohibition brewed with 100% Kansas ingredients, and it is now on tap. This new beer is called Kansas Grown IPA. It is 7.2 % ABV, and has 45 IBUs. They are calling its style "Kansas Style IPA."
Brewmaster John Dean describes this new beer as follows:
"Kansas Grown IPA Field of Dreams. A new dream has taken root in the heart of the Flint Hills; Kansas Malt Company has sprung up in Morris County, Kansas. Lance Tischhauser stopped by the Blind Tiger Brewery one day to ask about the possibility of growing brewing-quality barley in Kansas and if we would be interested in brewing beer with it. Brewing beer with all Kansas-grown ingredients has been a dream of mine since I entered the Craft Beer Movement in 1996.
"Over the last couple of decades every farmer I asked about growing brewing-quality barley for me said it couldn’t be done around here. Lance is a fifth generation Kansas farmer who has taken on the challenge of growing brewing-quality barley in Kansas. He chose two malting varieties from the Limagrain Cereal Seeds breeding station in Wichita, Kansas for this task. For his two-row malt he chose winter barley, Calypso variety. For the English Style Pale Ale Malt he chose spring barley, Odyssey variety. His success, coupled with Kansas Hop Company hops, has made possible a dream of mine which is to brew a beer with 100% Kansas grown malt and hops!
"Kansas Hop Company grew the hops for this brew near Ottawa, Kansas. We used their Cascade, Super Cascade, Columbus, Comet, and Kanook hop varieties in this beer.
"The color is reminiscent of a Flint Hills sunset. The malt character comes across as bright and bready. Clean hoppy notes of Pine, Citrus, and a touch of Black Pepper. If you brew it, they will come."
John Dean, Award-Winning Brewmaster at the Blind Tiger Brewery, and Alvaro Canizales, Head Brewer, have brewed hundreds of different beers in scores of different beer styles over the years, with ingredients from at least three continents. This is our first beer ever brewed with 100% Kansas ingredients.
Kansas Grown IPA was brewed with Kansas grown barley malt, Kansas grown hops, and Topeka water. This beer is truly Local and Farm-to-Glass. We obtained all of the 100% Kansas ingredients directly from the artisanal producers right here in the great Sunflower State.
Barley Malt: The belief by many had been that barley of the high quality needed for brewing beer would not grow well in Kansas. It is mostly grown in the northern tier states and the prairie provinces of Canada. The folks from Kansas Malt Company of Wilsey, Kansas, just west of Council Grove in Morris County, have proved that they can do it by producing some of the best barley malt that John Dean, Blind Tiger Brewmaster, has ever worked with.
Hops: The belief by many had been that hops of the high quality and quantity needed for brewing great beer would not grow well in Kansas. Most hops are grown in a more northerly latitude, such as Oregon and Washington state. The folks from Kansas Hop Company near Ottawa, Kansas have proved they can grow great hops and have produced multiple varieties of great tasting hops in their burgeoning operation.
John Dean, Brewmaster, has been encouraging these two local suppliers for a number of years and it has now paid off. Through everyday Kansas determination, hard work, entrepreneurship, grit, and stick-to-itiveness they have both succeeded masterfully.
Water: Topeka water is great for brewing beer. The mineral balance is just right for many beer styles because the water from the Kaw River watershed flows over many layers of limestone on its way to Topeka. The Topeka Water Department does a wonderful job of cleaning up that water and distributing it. At the Blind Tiger Brewery we run that Topeka Water through a particulate filter, a carbon filter, and, for some beers, a reverse osmosis filter, before introducing it into the Mash Tun and Boil Kettle in the brewing process. Good water makes for great beer, and Topeka has it.
Their award-winning brewing team of John and Al designed and brewed the new Kansas Grown IPA, and it is now on tap at the Blind Tiger Brewery & Restaurant until Topeka drinks it dry.
John said, "It was truly a pleasure to work with the Kansas-grown barley from Kansas Malt Company. It performed well in the Mash Tun and Boil Kettle, and, most importantly, the finished beer tastes great. We have used the hops from Kansas Hop Company before. They have a little more acreage each year so we can get a bit bigger quantity. They have learned their craft and the product is great. We will be doing more all-Kansas beers as we are able to get the ingredients."
"At the Blind Tiger Brewery we try to be Local and Farm-to-Table in every way we can. It is great to see that extend to our truly world-class Blind Tiger Craft Beer. Now we are Farm-to-Glass as well. I can testify that Kansas Grown IPA is delicious and Topeka will love it," said Jay Ives, owner of Blind Tiger Brewery & Restaurant.
