MANHATTAN, Kan. — Tallgrass Taphouse unveiled two official flagship beers Wednesday afternoon, honoring its two most popular brews with a permanent place on tap.
Operator Evan Grier said the event was in the works prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but were finally able to gather among friends to celebrate the beers officially.
"Up to this point, Taphouse really focused on being a test kitchen," said Grier. "One of the things that makes us really unique, is that we roll out six to eight beers every month, so as guests come in they really have the opportunity to experience Taphouse uniquely and the fact that we're always pulling out new beers."
The beers stapling their place on tap are "Beauregard," an American Pale Ale, and "Ragnarok," a German-style Festbier.
"We liked Beauregard and Ragnarok so much that we decided to have those available to our guests all the time," said Grier.
Chris Kind-Chalmers, Head Brewer for Tallgrass Taphouse said the process for developing the two staples was surprisingly simple.
"For Ragnarok, this was a long time coming," said Kind-Chalmers. "I had been wanting to make an authentic, German-style festbier for a long time. Most of the examples that you see nowadays, or even before this are kind of Americanized, but we really wanted to recreate that flavor experience for people. So, obviously going right to the source, German malts, German yeast, German hops. We're not reinventing the wheel here, we just wanted to give people that authentic experience.
Taking Ragnarok "to the basics," allowed Kind-Chalmers to nail the composition, and create a house favorite in the Festbier.
Beauregard, is named after "Manhattan's most famous alligator," found his way wild and free in Wildcat Creek, and like it's wild gator counterpart, the beer didn't take long to become talk of the town either.
"It didn't take too long. Honestly, we hit it pretty quick, right off the bat," said the Brewmaster. "The community of Manhattan has really responded to it, like instantly and they love it."
The celebration was an invite-only function, with friends, family, and local business supporters all present to help cement the two beers atop the Tallgrass Taphouse tap for good. The drinks will be permanently available for patrons 21+ to enjoy until the keg runs dry.
Tallgrass also offers a variety of its craft brews available to purchase in crowler cans to take home and enjoy on your own. To learn more about Tallgrass, visit their website.