Boulevard Brewing Company

Founded in 1989, Boulevard Brewing Company has grown to become the largest specialty brewer in the Midwest.
The Boulevard story begins in 1988, when founder John McDonald started construction of the brewery in a turn-of-the-century brick building on Kansas City’s historic Southwest Boulevard. A vintage Bavarian brewhouse was installed, and the first batches of beer were produced in the fall of 1989. That November, the first keg of Boulevard Pale Ale was delivered—in the back of John’s pickup truck—to a restaurant just a few blocks away.
Boulevard beers, known for their full flavor, distinctive character, and unsurpassed quality, are currently available throughout Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma, Colorado, California, Indiana, Arkansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia with partial distribution in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. The GABF® Gold Medal-winning Unfiltered Wheat Beer remains our most popular offering. An easy-drinking American-style wheat beer, Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat is the best-selling craft beer in the Midwest.
In 2006, a major expansion adjacent to the original brewery raised Boulevard’s brewing capacity to approximately 600,000 barrels per year—a sizable increase from the 6,000 barrels contemplated in John’s original business plan. The new brewing and packaging facility is a model of sustainable urban architecture and engineering; a three-story, 70,000 square foot building housing a new, state-of-the-art 150-barrel brewhouse, packaging lines, administrative offices, and hospitality rooms. The best way to soak in our culture is to join us for a tour.

Author: Caroline Porsiel