Grains and Taps: Find new beers and make your own!

This last week I went to a new local homebrew supply store, Grains & Taps in Lee's Summit. The store is kind of small in old downtown area between 2nd and 3rd Streets on Douglas. I was expecting a just a homebrew supply store with equipment and ingredients. What I found was a couple of guys that are passionate about craft beer and showing the public that brewing your own beer is not a mystical process nor difficult to get started.

The guys of Grains & Taps had advertised a class for a brewer's software that lets a person formulate recipes, instructions, and even a shopping list based on a type of beer that they want to make. I have the software, BeerSmith 2, so I decided to take the class so that I could maybe take a step forward on my next beer I make at home. That is a different story though.

I had never taken a class at a store before so didn't know what to expect. However, what I didn't expect when I walked in the door, was a couple of couches and a beer menu with a pretty long list of options! I got a beer and talked with the people that showed up and we had a good time learning a lot, discussing brewing, and drinking (not necessarily in that order). 

Oh I forgot to mention the class was FREE and I just had to pay for the beer!

The next night Grains & Taps hosted a craft beer tasting, so I had to go to that. They came up with a great way to engage every one for this tasting. For $10 a person, they set up 20 beers to blind taste and answer questions about making it a friendly competition. I might have to do something like it at a party of mine.

So these guys have a wide selection beer that you can take with you or drink there. They know their stuff, so ask them if you have questions or are maybe looking for a new beer to try. They are down to earth and can help someone just starting out drinking new beers and they can get really indepth about beer for an advanced palette. If you think you might want to try your hand at home brewing, they will be able to get started or find that piece of equines that will take you to the next step. (I can see some of my friends raising a glass and saying, "To the next step!")

Tell them Alex sent you and they will join you in making fun of me. Take a look at their website, Grains & Taps.

Next time we will be looking at some terms to know when discussing beer. I will try to get a few more posts out this week.