Our passion for Tallgrass beer goes back to before Wichita Brewing Company was founded. One of our first craft beer ‘ah-ha!’ moments was with Tallgrass’ Buffalo Sweat – a delicious, smooth stout – and we fell in love. It was a beer that truly inspired us to brew great beers on our own for locals to enjoy, and in 2011, that finally became a reality with Wichita Brewing Company opening in west Wichita.

In 2015, we purchased Tallgrass’ original brewing equipment, the brewhouse and fermenting tanks, in order to support the growing demand for the craft beer movement in Kansas. Our head brewer, Ned Vahsholtz, previously worked at Tallgrass. Over the years the team at Wichita Brewing Company became very close to many of the folks at Tallgrass, not only because of periodic visits to Manhattan but also because of the support Tallgrass showed us as a brewery. Tallgrass trained our brewers on their equipment, education on quality control procedures and advice on building a brewery lab.

In 2017, the relationship culminated in a collaboration with Tallgrass to create ‘Haze on the Range’ a great hazy IPA offered at both company’s brewpubs. It’s a romantic story that Tallgrass brands will be resurrected on the original brewing equipment on which they were brewed and by brewers who either used to work for Tallgrass or were trained by the Tallgrass team. With the support of beer drinkers near and far, Wichita Brewing Company hopes to develop that romance in a big way.

With all the love, it’s natural that we sought to bring back Tallgrass beer to the market. We’ve already released Buffalo Sweat and are working on releasing 8-Bit. We also have future plans for Key Lime Pie, Raspberry Jam, and more!