Beer Me! — Free State Brewing — Lawrence, Kansas, United States

Read about our trip to Germany and Prague at
The "Beer Me" Blog!

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Free State Brewing

636 Massachusetts
Lawrence KS 66044-2236
Telephone: +1 785-843-4555
Hours: Sunday noon-11:00pm, Monday-Saturday 11:00am-midnight.
Brewer: S.Bradt, G.Paulson, S.Grabbe, B.Scott
[Contact] [Update]

Notes

Visited: June 3, 2013

Opened: 1989

Annual Production: 2,500 bbl

Contributors: Diane Crawford, Richard R Tinurelli

Updated: March 13, 2016

News

2008-09-05: Firefighters extinguish two-alarm blaze at new Free State Brewery facility in east Lawrence (Lawrence Journal-World & News)
2007-11-30: Free State to start bottling beer (Lawrence Journal-World)

Beer List

Ad Astra Ale

German-Style Brown Ale/Düsseldorf-Style Altbier
- Date: October 5, 2000 (#3567)
  
  Package: draught
  
  Place: Great American Beer Festival, Denver CO
  
  Score: 15½ points
  
  Overall Impression (3)
  Bright brown, thick head. Big Munich malt aroma. Medium body, toasty, nice hop flavor, drying at the end.

Bleeding Kansas Lager

German-Style Pilsener

Date: June 3, 2013 (#9125)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 15½ points

Appearance (3)
Bright deep golden. Thick head.

Aroma (2½)
Very mildly earthy.

Mouthfeel (8)
Light-medium body, smooth. Grainy malt and grassy hops; not too sweet and not too bitter. Clean grainy finish.

Overall Impression (2)

Brightwater Saison

French & Belgian-Style Saison

Date: June 3, 2013 (#9129)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 18 points

Appearance (3)
Bright yellow. Huge head.

Aroma (4)
Lemony. Mildly grainy. Fruity.

Mouthfeel (9)
Light-medium body, fizzy. Sweet and fruity, lemony-citrus flavor. Very low bitterness. Clean citrusy finish.

Overall Impression (2)

Brinkley's Maibock

German-Style Heller Bock/Maibock

Date: May 5, 1998 (#2761)

Package: bottled

Place: Siebel Institute of Technology, Chicago IL

Score: 15½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Bright brown, low carbonation, thick head. Hint of Hersbruck aroma. Medium body, sweet and brown. Flash of bitterness in the middle, sweet finish. Thanks to Free State's Kevin Eichelberger for the bottle!

Date: June 3, 2013 (#9128)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 15½ points

Appearance (3)
Bright golden. Thick head.

Aroma (3½)
Huge grapefruity hops.

Mouthfeel (7)
Massive, chewy, and bitter. Loads of citrus, mango, biscuit. Grassy, with some sulfur.

Overall Impression (2)

Date: July 31, 1993 (#221)

Package: draught

Place: Oregon Brewers Festival, Portland OR

Score: 15 points

Overall Impression (2½)
Amber, thick head. Caramel and alcohol aromas. Bitter. Very slightly sour. Bitter.

Date: June 3, 2013 (#9126)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 16 points

Appearance (3)
Bright copper color. Dense head.

Aroma (3)
Fruity, resiny hops.

Mouthfeel (8)
Medium body, fairly fizzy. Big caramel malt and big citrusy hops. Nicely bitter. Floral, hoppy finish.

Overall Impression (2)

Date: June 3, 2013 (#9124)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 16 points

Appearance (3)
Bright deep golden. Thick head.

Aroma (3)
Grainy, toasty malt. Very mild grassy hops.

Mouthfeel (8)
Light body, fairly fizzy. Big grainy malt flavor, smoky. Grassy hop flavor, low bitterness. Sulfury. Clean malty finish.

Overall Impression (2)

Date: June 3, 2013 (#9127)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 17 points

Appearance (3)
Bright copper color. Dense head.

Aroma (3½)
Big citrusy hops.

Mouthfeel (8)
Medium-big body, smooth. Huge grapefruity hops, fairly bitter. Malt sweetness in the background. Lingering citrusy bitter finish.

Overall Impression (2½)

Date: May 10, 1998 (#2767)

Package: bottled

Place: Siebel Institute of Technology, Chicago IL

Score: 15½ points

Overall Impression (3)
Red opaque, very low carbonation, no head. Caramel sweet aroma, alcoholic, woody. Thick, bitter, strong. Lots of alcohol flavor, pretty bitter from the middle through the long bitter finish. A little metallic late. Nicely warming. A fine dessert beer along the lines of Thomas Hardy Ale. Thanks, Kevin!

Date: June 3, 2013 (#9130)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 20 points

Appearance (3)
Yellow, slight haze. Dense head.

Aroma (4)
Very nice oak smoke.

Mouthfeel (10)
Light body, creamy. Nicely smoky on a clean malt background. Very low hop flavor and bitterness. Clean finish, mildly smoky and mildly malty.

Overall Impression (3)
Wow.

Date: June 2, 2013 (#9133)

Package: draught

Place: Anton's Taproom and Restaurant, Kansas City MO

Score: 18 points

Appearance (3)
Bright golden. Dense creamy head.

Aroma (3½)
Citrusy, spicy hops.

Mouthfeel (9)
Medium-big body, chewy. Big floral, citrusy, grassy hop flavor. Nicely bitter, with a biscuity malt background.

Overall Impression (2½)
Real good beer.

Date: June 3, 2013 (#9123)

Package: draught

Place: at the brewery

Score: 17 points

Appearance (3)
Bright golden. Dense head.

Aroma (3½)
Clean, sweet, mildly citrusy.

Mouthfeel (8)
Light and fizzy. Sweet, biscuity malt all the way through. Mild fruity, citrusy hop flavor. Very low bitterness. Clean sweet finish.

Overall Impression (2½)