HUMBOLDT — The Big Kansas Road Trip brought hundreds of curious visitors to Humboldt this weekend.
Organized by the Kansas Sampler Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to educating Kansans about Kansas, the trip to Humboldt seemed to check all the boxes.
“It was a wonderful day,” said Monica Frye, Explore Kansas Program Manager. “So many people found great things to explore in Humboldt. They realized it was a unique, bright and welcoming community.”
Frye estimates around 150-200 Explorers — members of the Kansas Explorers club who participate in the biannual trips — participated. “We got great feedback from them, as well as from locals,” she said. “And overall attendance was likely even higher than what we counted when we account for locals who took part in the fun.”
Damaris Kunkler of A Bolder Humboldt also reported positive reviews. “White Tails & Wildlife Museum had 177 attendees on Saturday,” Kunkler said. “Monarch Cement had to add two extra tours due to interest, and the Mount Hope Cemetery had about 80 people attend.”
The overall feeling, Kunkler noted, was that the weekend was a resounding success. “Foot traffic was high, tours were successful, businesses reported making more money, and the community mural was a lot of fun.”
VISITORS attending the Humboldt event got a closer look at two very different industries Saturday. Tours at Union Works Brewing and Monarch Cement Company offered a behind-the-scenes look at brewing and cement production in the community.
“We have a 10-barrel system here and a 10-tap room,” Crow said. “Every beer on tap, we make here in this back room.”
Unlike larger regional breweries, Union Works keeps all its production in-house. “We don’t distribute anything,” Crow explained. “All our beer here is local, sold out of this building.”
During the tour, visitors passed around samples of malted barley and hops while Crow explained how each ingredient contributes to flavor and color. He described roasted barley as the source of darker beer colors and said brewers use a range of pale, dark and caramel malts to create different styles. “When we talk about malt flavors, think of bread-like flavors, cracker, crust, caramel, roasted type of flavors,” he said.
Many of the malts used at the brewery are imported from Germany, Belgium and England. Crow showed guests a Weyermann barley bag from Germany and discussed how hops contribute citrus, pine and tropical flavors. “Those are all going to come from these hops here,” he said.
The tour also covered barrel-aging practices. Crow said the brewery’s limited-release barrel-aged imperial stout reaches around 11% alcohol and is aged in rye and bourbon barrels from West Bottoms Distillery in Kansas City. “They sat there for about 12 months, just kind of soaking in that flavor from the wood,” Crow said.
Crow also discussed the brewery’s water supply and filtration system, noting that the brewery uses city water treated with activated charcoal.
ACROSS TOWN, visitors boarded a bus downtown for a driving tour through Monarch Cement Company — one of Humboldt’s largest employers and longest-running industries.
The tour guide explained that while Monarch occasionally offers extended walking tours, the Big Kansas Road Trip event focused on a bus tour because of time constraints. The route included a look at the company’s solar field project, blending silo construction, production facilities and shipping operations.
At Union Works Brewing, assistant brewer Chandler Crow guided guests through the brewery’s production area while explaining the ingredients, equipment and timelines involved in making beer. The brewery itself is still relatively new. Crow said construction on the building began four or five years ago, while the brewery has been producing beer and serving the public for about two years.
