TOP OF THE HILL 2009
}
11
BEST BEER SELECTION
1st — Free State Brewing Co.
636 Massachusetts St.
2nd — 23rd Street Brewery 3512 Clinton Parkway
3rd — Old Chicago 2329 Iowa St.
BY RACHEL SCHWARTZ rschwartz@kansan.com
Photos by Jerry Wang/KANSAN
Free State Brewing Company, 636 Massachusetts St. was voted as the place in Lawrence with the best beer selection. When it opened in 1989, Free State was the first legal brewery in Kansas in more than 100 years.
Free State hostess and University alumna Bethany Ashlock said she thinks that the brewery's history is one reason that students know about and favor the beer selection there.
"We have flagship beers that have been around for a number of years so students are introduced to those when they come in with their parents," Ashlock said. "Students' parents and sometimes even their parents' parents have been drinking them for years."
Besides the flagship beers, Free State offers seasonal beers that Ashlock said she thinks also appeal to customers.
"Since opening the brewing facility, we can change out our seasonal beers on a monthly basis, instead of once a semester," Ashlock said.
Another reason that Ashlock said students may favor Free State is because of its weekly specials. On Monday nights there are specials that feature beers for $1.75 each.
According to a student vote, the second best beer selection is 23rd Street Brewery,
3512 Clinton Parkway. Managingpartner Matt Llewellyn of Lawrence said he was thrilled when told that University students favor the beer selection at the breery.
Though he acknowledged that the restaurant was not the typical hang-out spot for University students because of its location, he said he knows some students come in for dinner and others come for the late-night parties that the brewery has on occasion.
He said he thought that the brewery's variety is also a key factor to its appeal.
"The most beers we can ever have on tap is nine, but we change them all the time," Llewellyn said. "We always have the four flagship beers, but the other five change around so you will always get something unique."
In addition to these two places, Old Chicago, 2329 Iowa St., has a beer selection that University students enjoy, as it is the second runner-up.
Lawrence resident and Old Chicago bar manager Jim Koehn credited this to one simple fact.
"We have a lot of beers," Koehn said. "People come from all over so they've seen beers from different regions of the country. We typically have beers from most regions of the country and international beers as well."
—Edited by Tim Burgess
PAID ADVERTISEMENT
BEST PIANO BAR IN LAWRENCE 1st - The Barrel House 729 New Hampshire St.
Barrel House