KC Bier Company - Never Say IPA

With Never Say IPA, KC Bier utilizes Perle hops (a German variety) in concert with American hops to produce their vision of a German influenced American IPA. On the pour we’re presented with a hazy golden color topped by a large head of off-white foam. The aromas are quite inviting, dominated by a pleasant fruitiness that bends toward citrus, but with touches of stone and tropical fruits, some floral flourishes, and mild herbal tones. The story continues on the palate with soft grapefruit-like citrus impressions merging with stone fruit and maybe a hint of melon, along with a tropical note evoking a light dash of coconut, and a wisp of mint. We felt the malt backbone was super clean, but sturdy, offering a smooth character while letting the hops take center stage. Bitterness is moderate, offering plenty of drying balance to the malts without crushing the palate. For pairing options, this IPA will be quite food-friendly, leaving you with a lot of potential options. For us, baja style tacos sound quite good, as does simple fare like fish & chips, fried chicken, or a thinly pounded pork schnitzel. Cheers!

In the 1800s, German immigrants brought their brewing traditions to America, and pale lagers soon became dominant in the U.S., much as in Europe at that time, as well. Sadly, industrialized “macro-brewing” led to the cheapening of those styles, turning those lagers into a shadow of what real German beer is actually like. When the American craft beer renaissance began in earnest in the 1980s, brewers focused on styles less familiar to American audiences, typically British and Belgian ale styles, while authentic German beers, typically lagers, were often ignored.

KC Bier’s founder, Steve Holle, set out to change that. The great-grandson of German immigrants, he developed an appreciation for German beer from his father and from time spent studying in Hamburg. He became a highly experienced homebrewer, a beer writer with numerous articles and books to his name, and a GABF beer judge. His brewing education includes studies at Munich’s Doemens Brewing Academy.

In 2014, Holle opened KC Bier with his friend and Bavarian native, Jürgen Hager, as well as Karlton Graham, a German-trained Kansas City homebrewer whose education includes Chicago’s famed Siebel Institute and a stint at Doemens. KC Bier’s motto is “We put the i back in bier,” and their focus on and success with traditional German-style “bier” certainly attests to this. The brewery crafts an array of German specialties using malts from a 160-year-old family-owned company in Bavaria; yeast from the famed Andechs monastery & brewery in Bavaria, which has been brewing for over 500 years; and hops grown on a 600-year-old farm in Bavaria’s Hallertau Valley. For more info about the brewery and their Bierhalle and Biergarten, visit kcbier.com.