Bier Station

kcillini77

Kansas

3.89/5  rDev -8.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$

I stopped by on I believe their second day of operation - New Year's Eve. This is a completely new concept for Kansas City. I understand they had to do a little petitioning in order to even get licenses to do what they are doing, which is a beer bar/bottle shop combo.

When I stopped in I didn't have a lot of time, and I was by myself, so I didn't really sit back and get the full experience, which would be hanging out with some friends, trying various beers, and then buying a bottle or two to take back to your place.

Prices are posted for both "to-go" and "here" on the bottles, and prices seem pretty reasonable. Bottled selection looks very good. Taps are updated via video screen and also tweeted out as they are changed via @BierStation.

Service is kind of hard to rank, because this isn't full-service by design. You can grab a table, but you are supposed to come up to the bar. This is explained well, and servers/ownership seemed very friendly.

I see lots of promise here, particularly because it is a beer place alone - no wine, no spirits. This could become THE beer place to go to in KC assuming ownership focuses on making it just that, which they appear poised to do. Best of luck to them!

01-06-2013 05:41:34 | More by kcillini77

LambicPentameter

Kansas

4.58/5  rDev +8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

This is a great resource for beer lovers in Kansas City. The atmosphere is nothing fancy, but it's a laid-back and casual place with a bar and various table sizes. They also have a "beer garden" upstairs that has big glass garage doors on the sides that I'm sure will allow for a nice drinking area when the weather warms up. But ultimately, the most important part about Bier Station is the beer. The atmosphere just needs to be comfortable.

They have 20 taps that rotate on a very regular basis, which allows them a lot of flexibility. They get keg-only releases like Green Flash's recent Black IPA, but on a recent visit they also did something that I hadn't heard of before. They had GF West Coast IPA on tap, but it was "randalled" with mint and mango. I guess randalling typically involves pouring the beer over fresh hops at the time of serving, with the idea that the alcohol will strip the hop oils into the beer and make for a bigger hop kick. In this case, I suppose they did the same with mint leaves and mango. It was subtle enough that it was probably wasted on anyone who hadn't had the West Coast IPA before, but I found it made the beer more refreshing.

In addition to the taps and a menu featuring a moderate selection of charcuterie, cheese and pretzels (I haven't sampled their food), they have a wall of traditional glass coolers like you see in a regular liquor store. The coolers are stocked with a wide variety of sixers, bombers, 750s, and even singles for creating build-your-own 4- and 6-packs. The build your own can be a little pricey to take with you (their beers have a to-go and a drink there price), but that's because they offer some beers that I haven't really seen being sold as singles in the KC area.

My most frequent experience with Bier Station is going to pick out something to take home, but I typically will grab a glass or taster or two from their taps while I watch a little TV and pick out what I want. Eventually I'll have to try some of their food.

I'll finish by saying the service is really good. The staff are all super friendly and helpful, and more than willing to answer a question or provide a recommendation. Bier Station also hostso special event nights. I haven't been able to attend any of these events, but the last one I know of involved a few representatives from a nearby Lawrence, KS brewery (Free State) coming in to offer samples of a couple of their beers and giving away some free Free State tulip glasses.

03-22-2013 05:38:55 | More by LambicPentameter