KANSAS CITY, MO – Raise a glass, Kansas City! Boulevard Brewing Co., the hometown hero that kicked off the Midwest craft beer boom, is popping corks (and barrels) for its 35th birthday with a limited-edition 35th Anniversary Ale – a bourbon-barrel-aged beast that’s equal parts nostalgia and liquid luxury.
Born on November 17, 1989, when founder John McDonald hand-delivered the first keg of Boulevard Pale Ale, the brewery has spent three and a half decades pushing boundaries, building community, and proving that great beer belongs in every celebration. Now, they’re toasting their legacy with a 12.5% ABV monster aged in Soft Red Wheat Bourbon barrels and Ben Holladay Bottled-in-Bond barrels from Missouri’s historic Holladay Distillery in Weston.
“This isn’t just a beer – it’s a love letter to 35 years of bold ideas and local pride,” says Boulevard Brand Manager Adam Hall. “We teamed up with Holladay to blend our brewing magic with their 160-year bourbon legacy. The result? A sip of Missouri history.”
Holladay Distillery’s VP of Marketing and Sales, Patrick Fee, adds: “Boulevard is Missouri beverage royalty. Pairing our Real Missouri Bourbon with their barrel-aged mastery? That’s a collab written in oak and stars.”
What’s in the glass?
Aroma: Warm caramel, vanilla-kissed bourbon, fresh-baked bread
Flavor: Molasses, dark plum, toffee, and a velvet-soft finish
Pairs with: Sharp aged cheddar, slow-roasted brisket, or dulce de leche cheesecake (yes, really)
Vibe: Big, round, and dangerously drinkable despite the ABV
35th Anniversary Party Alert! 🎉
Friday, Nov 15, 5–7 PM: Happy Hour at Boulevard Brewery – first pours of 35th Anniversary Ale + throwback beer flights
Nov 16–17: Ride the KC Wheel with a Boulevard beer for just $19.89 (nod to the founding year!)
All November: Pale Ale = Beer of the Month at every Tanner’s Bar & Grill in KC
Grab Yours Before It’s Gone
The 35th Anniversary Ale is rolling out now in 4-packs of 12-oz bottles across Greater Kansas City and select markets. Use the Boulevard Beer Finder to track it down near you.
Cheers to 35 years of craft, community, and Kansas City pride – here’s to the next pour!
About Boulevard Brewing Company
Boulevard Brewing Company, Kansas City’s craft beer pioneer, kicked off its legacy on November 17, 1989, when founder John McDonald personally delivered the first keg of Boulevard Pale Ale to a local bar. What started in a modest brick warehouse with a single 35-barrel brewhouse has grown into the Midwest’s largest independent craft brewery, now boasting a 200-barrel system and distribution across 40+ states. From the hoppy, citrus-kissed Pale Ale that ignited the region’s craft revolution to iconic staples like Unfiltered Wheat Beer—a hazy, lemony crowd-pleaser—and Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale, with its bold Belgian yeast and grapefruit zest, Boulevard blends tradition with fearless experimentation. Smokestack Series limited releases, such as bourbon barrel-aged quads and rye whiskey-finished stouts, showcase the brewery’s mastery of wood and time, earning medals at FoBAB and GABF alike.
Over 35 years, Boulevard has stayed true to its Kansas City roots while pushing boundaries—collaborating with local distillers like Holladay for barrel-aged gems, launching the 35th Anniversary Ale in 2024, and fostering community through tours, a sprawling Beer Hall, and sustainability initiatives like solar power and water reclamation. With a portfolio spanning crisp lagers, juicy IPAs, tart sours, and decadent imperial stouts, Boulevard remains a gateway for new drinkers and a benchmark for craft veterans. Every pour reflects McDonald’s original mantra: brew bold, drink local, celebrate together.
About Holladay Distillery
Nestled in the rolling hills of Weston, Missouri, Holladay Distillery stands as the oldest continuously operating distillery west of the Mississippi River, a living testament to American ingenuity since its founding in 1856 by the audacious brothers Ben and Major David Holladay. Inspired by a pristine limestone spring first charted by Lewis and Clark in 1804, the siblings transformed a former meat-packing site into a bourbon powerhouse, harnessing the mineral-rich water to distill their inaugural batch from a mash of corn, rye, wheat, and barley—sold in 1857 for a mere 35 cents per gallon. Ben, the “Stagecoach King” who built an empire spanning Wells Fargo lines and the Pony Express, became America’s largest private employer by 1864, yet it was this humble distillery that endured as his true legacy, weathering ownership changes, a 1957 fire, and a rebranding as McCormick Distilling Company in 1942 before a 1993 revival by local investors. Revitalized in 2016 to honor its roots, the site—listed on the National Register of Historic Places—underwent a $10 million renovation in 2015, resuming on-site bourbon production after decades away, now crafting Bottled-in-Bond expressions like the flagship Ben Holladay Missouri Straight Bourbon Whiskey and Soft Red Wheat, aged in historic ironclad rickhouses under Missouri’s dramatic seasonal swings for a depth of caramel, vanilla, and spice that whispers of 169 years of craft.
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