I’m starting the Wicked Wichita Brew Tour this weekend. What is it, you ask? It’s a way to get caffeinated and intoxicated. Coffee and beer. Seeing that caffeine is an upper and beer is a downer, they should counteract each other nicely. No, seriously, it’s an excellent way to go try local shops in Wichita serving good coffee and beer. Visit Wichita, an event planning company for all things Wichita, started it several summers back. This year, it starts on June 15, which happens to be the day I’m starting it too.
Coffee
Anybody who knows me knows that I love my lattes. I have a latte Every. Single. Morning. We have an espresso machine at our house and have for about 10 years. It’s not super fancy (we did have a fancier one several years back, but it broke), but it does the trick. My husband once asked me why I get up in the morning. My answer: my latte. He said, “Seriously, why do you get up in the morning?” I said, “Seriously, my latte.” And it’s true. Sitting alone and having my latte in the morning is the best part of my day. (I sometimes think about my morning latte when going to bed at night.) There’s just something about the sweet, creaminess of steamed vanilla milk and espresso. When going to coffee shops, I usually get a vanilla latte. I gauge my happiness/satisfaction with the coffee shop by how well they make their vanilla lattes. Must be steamed to the perfect temperature (not too hot and not too cool). Must be sweet enough but not overly sweet. Must be creamy (I like a little foam). Vacation means that I get to have 2 lattes a day. (I’m frequently on vacation in my mind!) Soo, that being said, you can see that the coffee part of the brew tour is a quite exciting to me.
The coffee scene is evolving in Wichita. I moved to Wichita from Lawrence about 10 years ago (what?!) which had a coffee shop every few feet. I worked at Milton’s, a coffee shop in downtown Lawrence, for several years. I was used to being able to get a good latte/coffee from numerous places. When I moved to Wichita, not so much. There weren’t very many good coffee shops and not the ones that you could sit and enjoy the ambiance. But, over the past few years, the coffee scene is getting better and better. [Side note – Wichita is slowly getting better and better with everything. There actually seems to be some good revitalization finally going on in the city. Of the coffee shops on this tour, only 3 have been around longer than 5 years.]
The Wicked Brew Tour obviously does not include all the coffee shops in the city, and quite honestly, a few good ones are not on the tour. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t quite a few great options. There are also options that I would not have thought of to get a coffee – ahem, Donut Whole, Augustino Brewing Co., and Cocoa Dolce. I think of donuts, beer, and chocolate with these places. But I’m willing to try new things!
Beer
I also like a good beer. I used to drink Bud Light, but I really don’t know why. Probably because it’s a lake beer and that’s where I primarily drank it. (Sorry Bud Light fans!) Over the years, my taste buds have evolved and I like a more complex beer. Is that a term? I lived in Lawrence for quite a while, and I loved Free State Brewery (both for beer and food). I’m more partial to ales (wheat and golden) and sometimes fruity beers. Free State’s cyclist was my fave (a golden with lemonade)!
I’ll admit I’m not that great with my beer knowledge. I don’t think I could tell you what an IPA is although I do know that it’s a specific type of beer (or some type of beer term). And I still don’t like the taste of super dark (usually a stout or porter, right?!) beer, although I love the look! I like the foam of a cappuccino so I feel like I should like the foam of a stout. [Side note – a friend of mine once got a Guiness in a schooner, a 32-ounce glass jar, and I drew my initial “S” in his foam, and it stayed there his entire drink. I found that fascinating. You get points if you can name the Lawrence bar that had schooner specials.] Maybe I’ll try a dark beer during this tour to see if my taste buds are still evolving.
Like coffee, the Wichita beer scene just keeps getting better over the years. When I moved to Wichita, I could count the number of breweries on one hand. It was River City. In the past 4 years, at least 7 new craft breweries have opened! On the tour this year, there are some great craft breweries, including most of the newer ones. I tried Hopping Gnome and Central Standard for the first time last year on the Wicked Brew Tour 2017, and I thought they both had great beers. I’m particularly excited to try out Norton’s Brewing Co. this year as it is the newest brewery to open in Wichita (April 2018).
Wichita Wicked Brew Tour – How Does It Work?
It’s so simple. First, you pick up your passport from one of the 8 participating coffee shops or 9 breweries. Then, you drink. Either your coffee or your beer. See, simple. You then get a stamp on your passport from the participating coffee shop or brewery. Once you get your passport filled up (you only need 8 stamps), take it into the Visit Wichita offices to get your t-shirt. Word to the wise – you need to get your drink on quickly! It’s a popular event, and they run out of t-shirts. This is my second year of doing the tour, and I didn’t get a t-shirt last year because I didn’t finish fast enough. I gave it a valiant effort – particularly on one night when Ryan and I had a date night and we hit up 4 breweries. But, I still didn’t finish in time to get the shirt. Although I probably don’t need another t-shirt, I’m going for it this year! I’ll post an update when I finish about my experience and my faves!