Royal's Stadium - Kansas City, MO

What better place to spend the 4^th of July holiday than a baseball game!  Last year we went to a minor league game in Asheville, NC. (See review, July 2012)  This year, it seemed timely to visit the Kansas City Royals’ Kauffman Stadium, home of the 2012 All Star Game. Our friends, Teresa and Ralph, share our love of good beer and baseball, so we embarked on this adventure together.

Hometown Boulevard Brewing Company is the beer of choice in KC. 

Kauffman Stadium is a knock-out, highlighted with dancing fountains and waterfalls, but I was on a mission to search out the craft beer sold at the ball park. We walked around the entire stadium and found that the beer selections were dominated by the local BoulevardBrewery.  Fortunately, that’s not a bad thing.

There were six choices!

Between the four of us, we chose three of the six drafts available, the wheat, the pale ale and the IPA.  I personally liked the IPA the best, very crisp and refreshing for a warm summer night.  The price is a little daunting at $9.75 a glass, so we kept our consumption down.  It tasted great and sure beat the usual ball park options. 

What's better than craft beer and baseball?

In addition to the Boulevard, I did find a Goose Island IPA on tap, and a booth that sold a variety of bottled craft beer.  They also offered Guinness and Smithwick’s drafts scattered throughout the stadium.

A colorful fireworks display caps off the night. 

The game was mostly a pitcher’s duel, with an exciting 9^th inning rally, that unfortunately fell short for the local fans.  But even in defeat, the orderly crowd stuck around for a great fireworks display.  Hard to beat the fun of an Independence Day weekend that includes baseball, craft beer, great friends...and fireworks!