Topeka and Kansas City

Unfortunately, that route doesn’t take you very close to good liquor stores or breweries. The only two stores of note near the airport are Bubbles (N Oak Trafficway) and Gomer’s (NW 64th St). Otherwise, you may want to stop by Free State or Lawrence Beer Company in…Lawrence on the way to Topeka.

If you have the time (and the opening hours align), I strongly recommend stopping by Alma Mader or BKS in KC.

 

I'm a KC native and making my first pilgrimage home since pre-pandemic. The last time I was in town, I was thoroughly impressed by BKS, and I was hoping to get a sense of how things have changed since my last visit.

• Quality - Is their beer still on the same level as 2019? I got the impression they've increased their production scale since I was last there, and a lot of other formerly stellar breweries lost their magic in the course of increasing batch sizes. I'd be curious to hear opinions on whether they're still pumping out amazing brews or if they've fallen victim to slippage as they've scaled up.
  
• Taproom space - I recall the taproom being fairly small--maybe the size of a single-wide trailer. I think i heard something about them acquiring more of that building, and I'd love to know if their indoor drinking space is more generous now. I'm struggling to find photos on their website, Yelp, or Facebook, and I'm not sure mid-July is the best time to enjoy their patio.
  
• Can availability - Cans were pretty limited when I was last in town, and I got the vague sense that scoring a 4-pack became very competitive when they first started online sales, but I see cans available on their website now. Is to-go beer readily available, or do some of their releases sell out quickly.

Thanks in advance!

 

BKS is still producing the best ipas in the city. Other breweries have gotten good too though, but I still think bks remains on top in terms of ipas.

Theyve slowly expanded the taproom space. As they buy more of the building they turn more of the space into a taproom space. The old bar has been turned into a table. Its still not a large space by any stretch of the imagination but its a lot bigger than it used to be.

Availability is good now too. Stuff will eventually sell out but it doesn't sell out in 2 minutes like it used too. Some stuff they hold for walkup only too and doesn't make it online. I don't think anything would sell out that quickly anymore except for a potential special release such as ba stout/barleywine

They have been starting to find their stride too with the pivo lagers and are worth trying, but those come in smaller batches i believe

 

Thanks! This is exactly what I was looking for.