Reflecting On Westport's 4th Annual Strong Ale Fest

Photo courtesy of John Bryan

This past weekend we pulled off our 4^th Westport Strong Ale Fest, and one thing that we were reminded of was how great KC beer drinkers are! We have an awesome group of people who are passionate about good beer, and it was apparent with the amount of beer drinkers who came out on the blustery 28 degree day! 

The ones who bundled up and braved the cold are serious beer drinkers, and we thank each and every one of you who attended! In all honesty, I wish Mother Nature would have given us some snow for the fest, but we still had a pretty great day!

There have been a lot of questions about who designed our luchador image this year, and I will say it’s the same guy who has designed all of our beer fest images, Charlie Burt. Charlie and James Westphal, our owner have talked about this theme for over a year now, and it was pulled off perfectly by Charlie and his artistic abilities! Thank you, Charlie for creating such a fun design that really had people talking!

If you liked this year’s theme, you’ll really like the theme we have planned for next year! Yes, we plan that far in advance! 

As for the beer, a good friend of mine said that “all the beers are of VIP level”. That was the plan for this fest. I’ve been communicating with breweries and distributors for the past year, writing the best list that we possibly could for this fest. The brewers brought their “A” game with the lineup this year. A few standouts for me were the 4 Hands Madagascar Vanilla Stout, Perennial Abraxas, Founders KBS, Goose Island 2013 Bourbon County Stout, Boulevard Love Child #4, McCoy’s Ursa Major 2011, and Cinder Block Brandy Barrel Aged Barley Wine. 

Saturday’s date was perfect timing to help Boulevard Brewing Co. and Odell Brewing Co. finish their 25^th anniversary week of events! Congratulations Boulevard and Odell, you’ve been brewing quality tasty beer for 25 years. We raise a glass to you and to 25 more!

Matt Shadid, Odell Brewing Co. (left), David Colgan, Boulevard Brewing Co. (right)

The Boulevard Crew, from left to right, David Colgan, Julie Weeks, Sarah Carlew, Blair Finn, Jeremy Danner, and Rob Odell

I would finally like to thank my festival planning partner, Cory Puckett for all of his help. With Char Bar doing practice runs all weekend in preparation for their Monday opening, James Westphal was of no help, sorry James, but we’re being honest here! Cory was the admin guy who was able to get all of our permitting done, and he even drove to Lawrence to pick up the tasting glass. 

Festival planners, Randyl Danner and Cory Puckett

We’ve learned that no matter what the weather is like in November, this is the perfect time for strong beers and a Strong Ale Fest. We are looking forward to next year and we hope you are too!

-Randyl Danner, Director of Beer