Date Night: Brewery & Winery Tours

It’s date time! This month, how about you and your honey brew up some fun with one of these tasting activities?

Brewery Tour

KC Bier Co. opened in 2014 and has since gained a very loyal following, especially when it comes to their dunkel. They pride themselves on the fact that they use only four ingredients: malt, hops, yeast and water. On a recent Saturday, my husband and I (and about 25 other people) took a tour of the brewery in Waldo. Robert was our tour guide and he was great! With his deadpan humor, he made the experience entertaining for all. The tours are held at 1:00 on Saturdays, cost $10 and last an hour or more. During the tour, you get to sample the brewery’s four main beers: hefeweizen, helles lager, pils, and dunkel. The latter was served to us right out of the big conditioning tank. Pretty cool! In addition to the brewery tour, KC Bier Co. has a very nice bierhalle and outdoor biergarten. They also serve various food items.

Winery Tour

If wine is more your thing, be sure to visit Stonehaus Farms Vineyard & Winery in Lee’s Summit. It was established in 1996 and offers nine different wines, including dry, semi-sweet, dessert and fruit wines. They grow all their own grapes, evidenced by the numerous vineyards on the property. The winery sits on a small lake, has extensive outdoor seating and also offers two event facilities. The tasting room was recently redone and shows off some of the original stone used to build the house after which the winery is named. It is definitely one of the prettier wineries we have been to, and even better is the fact that tastings are free. The Vidal blanc was my favorite by far, with the Vivant being a close second. While you are there, grab a glass of your favorite wine to enjoy in the tasting room or outside with some of their cheese and crackers.

Distillery Tour

A third option is to visit the oldest distillery still operating west of the Mississippi: the Holladay Distillery, better known as the McCormick Distillery. The site is on the National Register of Historic Places. They offer $10 distillery tours every day of the week. On premises, they make bourbon and whiskey—the first batch of bourbon was crafted way back in 1856! They also bottle gin, vodka and tequila. The distillery uses rye, wheat, barley and corn to craft their libations, with all wheat and corn being sourced from within 90 miles of the site. As part of the tour, you get to see their new event space, watch a short video in an old cave and dip your finger into three different fermentation tanks of mash to have a taste. Fun experience! To end the tour, you can try three samples of any of the McCormick products. Additional samples are just 25 cents. You also can buy souvenirs in the store and pick up free recipe cards for various cocktails.

Hannah Berry is a freelance writer who lives with her husband in Kansas City. They enjoy regular date nights and love trying new restaurants and activities.