Farm Brewing on Miami Creek

Miami Creek Brewing
Photo courtesy of Miami Creek Brewing.

I sat across from Will Reece at a smokey table on a rough wood deck at Woodyard Bar-be-que in Kansas City, Kansas. Under the trees, near the smoke, and on some rustic wood furniture was a perfect setting for discussing his new brewery opening quite far away from KCK. But somewhat near to our surroundings.

Will has been working on bringing his Miami Creek Brewery to life for nearly two years – most of the time since he and his wife Chrissy had moved from a tiny home outside Drexel, Missouri, to a larger house just across the street. Their purchase doubled the farm acreage. It also included a small woodworking building that Will almost immediately marked as a potential professional expansion to his decades-old brewing passion.

They brought a co-worker from Will’s day job, Carl Jacobus, onto the fledgling brewery project. And now, the time has finally come – Miami Creek Brewing will open for the first item this Sunday, October 30 at noon.

While working on the legal and logistic hurdles of starting a brewery, Will has been busy. Besides his IT day job, Will roasts coffee (for sale by subscription on the Miami Creek website). He and his wife grow apples, nectarines, plums, pears and crab apples – many of which will eventually be fermented. But now they all turn to the brewery as they open for the first time.

Grand Opening

Miami Creek Growlers
Photo courtesy of Miami Creek Brewing.

Unlike the urban breweries that have been popping up in KC for the past few years, Miami Creek Brewing has more of a winery vibe. Most of the 1,200 square feet in the brewery and taproom are permanently occupied by the brew house. So bring a lawn chair. Enjoy the fall weather and park-like setting. Have some beer.

Miami Creek will open with seven beers, each made with local ingredients. Really local ingredients. Like stone’s throw local. You-can-see-the-tree-from-here local. If you attended Brew at the Zoo or Festival of the Lost Township, you may have already run into one of these.

  • Nutty Belgian, a Belgian-style tripel made with walnut tree syrup in place of more traditional candy sugar
  • Royal Honey pale ale, with honey from Cooper’s Honey in Peculiar
  • Kona Coffee Stout, with coffee source from a family farm in Hawaii and roasted in-house
  • Cherry barleywine finished with bush cherries grown on the farm
  • Lavender saison
  • Pancho’s Hot Pepper Ale flavored with serrano and habanero chiles
  • Harvest Apple Ale, a malted cider, with a 50/50 split of farm-grown apples and barley, spiced like a traditional apple pie

Those beers will be offered at special grand opening prices both by-the-drink and for growler fills. Will will also be cooking up chili for everyone – really – for free. There will be yard games outside and board games for those inside.

On the Horizon

Miami Creek - end of the rainbow
Photo courtesy of Miami Creek Brewing.

Miami Creek, being a farm brewery far from the city, will not have regular hours for a while. They hope to be open one or two weekends a month. Schedules for hours will be posted to the Miami Creek website and Facebook page.

Future beers will continue to feature farm-grown ingredients and trend to bigger, stronger beers. Carl and Will want to keep it small with unique beers not made around here. They have already eyed a barleywine with blackberries, green walnut scotch ale, and maybe an ale featuring wild hops found on the farm. Plus ciders from heritage apples grown on the farm and meads using local honey are in store.


The growth of breweries far outside the central city – Red Crow and now Miami Creek – show the growth of the Kansas City brewing market has experienced in a short time. It’s exciting.

We look forward to trying the fruits of the farm and their labor. See you on Sunday. Bring your lawn chair. And hope for good weather.

Miami Creek Brewing Grand Opening

Sunday, October 30
12:00 pm–8:00 pm

Miami Creek Brewing Company
14226 NW County Rd 14001
Drexel, MO 64742

By jimmywags

I began the path through good beer in college. Exploring different sixers and bombers based on packaging and label design (art student, mind you), I weaved my way around the continental lagers and Colorado craft ales. My knowledge and interest exploded upon receiving a homebrewing equipment kit as a graduation gift from my parents. Twelve years later, I've brewed most styles, experimented between them, and hunted for the perfect pint.