Coffee & Beer Tours = Fun.

Coffee + beer = two of my favorite things in life.

So, when an opportunity arises to combine the two, it is an awesome day in book. Unfortunately, I did not experience both in the same drink (but I will soon, I'll get to that). Instead, we toured both a local coffee company and a local brewery today. In fact, the two are right around the corner from one another.

Our first stop was The Roasterie, a local coffee company known for having an airplane on the roof of their building. On our tour, we learned that this is an actual airplane, not a replica. It was being flown regularly before being purchased by The Roasterie, and could fly again.

At The Roasterie, with their iconic
roof-top airplane in the background.

The unique thing about The Roasterie is that their coffee is air roasted. Only a handful of companies use this roasting method instead of the traditional drum-roasting method. We actually got to witness the air roasting in action, so that was really awesome. We were even able to touch the beans as they swirled around in the cooling mechanism.

After our tour, we spent some time just lounging in the cafe, and I enjoyed a delicious latte.

We learned about the cupping process,
which their basis for choosing which coffee beans to purchase from farmers.

Rockin the hairnets.

Latte art 

 We were then off to experience a tour of Boulevard Brewing Company. Boulevard is a craft brewery, and their most popular beer (and my absolute favorite) is their Unfiltered Wheat. I've always been a fan of this hometown brewery, and have been wanting to tour their facility for quite some time. It doesn't hurt that just a few weeks ago, an announcement was made that Boulevard has become an official sponsor of my beloved soccer team, Sporting Kansas City.

The Boulevard Brewing Company's
icon is their smokestack. 

Anyway, the highlights of the tour were the bottling line and the tasting room. I also learned a little more about the brewing process, but I was already pretty familiar with how Boulevard makes their beer. I did learn, however, that Boulevard makes one last addition of yeast during the bottling for a second fermentation process. This enhances the flavor of the beer and  prevents the quality from deteriorating over time.

I was really more interested in their commitment to the community and sustainability. I learned that Boulevard has a no-landfill policy at their facility. Not a single piece of waste from their brewery winds up in a landfill. I also didn't realize that they were responsible for starting Ripple Glass, a huge glass recycling effort here in Kansas City. I utilize this service all the time, often recycling Boulevard bottles, but didn't realize that they played such a huge role in making that happen. They also have two electric car ports, which are still pretty rare in Kansas City.

The Boulevard bottling line.

Hibiscus Gose & Dry Stout

The best part of the tour, and any other brewery tour, was the tasting room. We had four bottle caps each that we could cash in for samples of different brews. I made it a point to try the brews that I hadn't ever tried before - those included their Hibiscus Gose, Dry Stout, 80 Acre Hoppy Wheat, and the Single Wide I.P.A. The Hibiscus Gose is unique in that it was actually created for Boulevard employees only and cannot be found anywhere outside the brewery. It had a salty taste, and it was actually VERY good.

Both of these tours were FREE! So if you live in Kansas City, or ever find yourself in Kansas City, check out these awesome local businesses! They are both great, responsible local companies that sell great products. AND these two have actually joined forces to create a coffee ale. They haven't provided a release date yet, but it is supposed to arrive sometime this month. Yummm!!