Walnut River Brewing Company | El Dorado, KS
Beer Trip: Walnut River Brewing Company in El Dorado, Kansas
Kansas isn’t known to be a big craft beer hub; however, you will find many hidden gems throughout the state, including Walnut River Brewing Company. Located in El Dorado (just outside of Wichita), Walnut River is actually one of the largest beer producers in the state and they’ve been serving it up since 2013.
The Brewery
Walnut River sits just outside of downtown in a 100-year-old brick building that served as a grocery store, bakery, and even a brothel over the years. The brewery has a couple of picnic tables out front, but the inside is the primary seating area with tables and chairs for 25-ish people. The place maintains a lot of the original feel of the building, with the concrete floor, open structure ceiling, and industrial-like wood and metals used throughout the space. The bar sits in the back of the room and features a neat top where everyone who attended the grand opening signed the bar and then they epoxied over it, creating a lasting memory for both the brewery and the community. Their walls are lined with pictures of both the building itself, as well as Walnut River memories all professionally put together and neatly displayed. The brewing equipment is on full display through a glass overhead door where you can watch the crew at work if you happen to be there during the week.
We were lucky enough to connect with Ben Wheeler, their Director of Marketing, on this visit - and he gave us a behind-the-scenes look into their operations. Ben and the team have some big upcoming changes they are working on, including some rebranding of their beers, enhancements to the brewery, and a potential “special marketing project” involving one of their logos. We are looking forward to seeing this place evolve over the next few years!
The Beer
Any craft beer fan from Kansas recognizes Walnut River, so we were pretty familiar with several of their brews before walking in the door. They maintain 12 different beers on tap, with 5 of those being their flagships. The remaining menu options are composed of seasonals, such as their Octoberfest during this visit, and experimental rotators. Their brewers do a great job of mixing up beer styles and featuring everything from IPAs, a wheat, and Kolsch, to an English brown and an imperial stout on this trip. Anyone will find something to enjoy here!
One can’t feature Walnut River and not talk about their Warbeard. This Irish red is their top seller, and is actually the #1 selling craft beer made in the state of Kansas! This one has awesome malts, providing caramel notes along with a sweet finish that leaves you wanting more. Another flagship of theirs worth noting is an American IPA, the Re-O-Ranged, which gets its name from the oranges used to brew it. While we didn’t pick up much of an orange taste, this ale offers a bright citrus flavor and is somewhat hoppy making it perfect for a warm summer day.
Food, Merch, & More
Walnut River is all about beer, but if you need a snack they have several pizza options as well as soft pretzels, chips and queso, and popcorn. For the non-drinkers in your group, they offer a homemade rootbeer right on tap. Their merchandise section is robust for the space they have and features tons of signs, glassware, several shirts and hats, some really cool socks, and 6-packs of all of their flagship beers available to go. Additionally, they do sell their tap handles, but unfortunately for us, they didn’t have a Warbeard one put together in the back.
Though we didn’t experience these ourselves, Walnut River has unique offerings for individuals and groups alike, including corporate craft brewing experiences, facility tours, “Brewer for a Day” experiences, and a Craft Beer Accelerator. It’s clear that they’re just as passionate about educating others as they are about beer itself!
It was far past time that we visited Walnut River Brewing Company. With so many solid beers and big changes on the horizon, we’ll certainly be making a repeat trip in the future!
Cheers!
