Topeka Brewfest Nov. 17 will bring together local craft breweries

Iron Rail Brewing, the capital city's newest craft brewery, is launching a Topeka Brewfest in November to offer a sneak peek of their building and to celebrate all the local breweries.

"We are partnering with Blind Tiger and Norsemen and Happy Bassett," said Thad Halstead, spokesman for AIM Strategies, the Iron Rail developer. "We want to get people excited about what’s going on downtown. We’re going to give people some great Topeka beers, and give them a sneak peek of what we’re doing. We’ll have a band coming in, a 90s cover band, called the Mixed Tape. We’ll have food trucks. It’s just a fun day to get downtown and enjoy some local Topeka beer."

The Topeka Brewfest on Nov. 17 will block off Kansas Avenue between 7th and 8th streets, Halstead said, with the stage being located at 7th Street.

The brewing community tends to be a supportive and collaborative group, said Jay Ives, owner of Blind Tiger. He was pleased to be invited to join the brewfest.

"There’s definitely a camaraderie among craft brewers, that’s not just here in Topeka. That’s nationwide," he said. "The Iron Rail will be the fourth craft brewery in Topeka when it gets started here in a few weeks. They’ll be a member of the community so we want to celebrate that."

That camaraderie has been important as Iron Rail planning occurred, Halstead said, and was an important part of deciding to launch the brew fest.

"It’s really just a great chance for everyone to see what Topeka has to offer. The brewing community is one of those that everybody embraces each other, and it’s this cool collaborative arrangement. It’s fun to be part of something that everyone works together and everyone is on the same page and pushing each other to get better, to learn more, to do cool things," he said. "We’re excited to be part of that."

Details of the event are still being worked out, but Halstead said Iron Rail will definitely be open in some way to give let customers get an idea of what the new brewery at 705 S. Kansas Ave. is all about. Their brew master has been working to get a brewery menu set, and the restaurant menu is done. Concrete bar tops were installed recently and the renovation of the building is coming together.

The Topeka Brewfest will be held from noon to 5 p.m.