First, a confession: Last year, my friends and I were among the last standing staggering at Beer Fest, sucking down samples of specialty brews even as the cleaning crew was shooing us off the premises.
Beer Fest is an annual fundraiser for the Kansas City Free Health Clinic and the AIDS Service Foundation. For several hours each fall the top floor of a parking garage at The Legends shopping district transforms into a brew-swilling heaven where several thousand beer fans belly up to folding tables stocked with more than 300 types of suds.
Just as in 2008, the place was packed with dudes sporting pretzel necklaces and women teetering drunkenly in their high-heeled boots on a chilly Saturday afternoon. For the first two hours, the atmosphere was festive as the golden booze flowed freely.
Alas, the tap ran dry far too soon.
By 3:30 p.m., it was already slim pickings. When I ambled over to the Breckenridge Brewery table to try their Agave Wheat, there was no sign of the Colorado company. By 4 p.m., a full hour before the end of the event, the sample tables were virtually bare.
But, unlike the other beer purveyors, Boulevard Brewing Co. showed up with a truck full of kegs. A long line formed in front of the Kansas City crew, and they kept our glasses full long after all the other options had expired. Luckily, the local hero saved the not-nearly-drunk-enough day.
Click here (or on the photo) for a slideshow of the event.
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