Spotlight: Small Business

Big Rip Brewing Company

216 E 9th Ave
North Kansas City, MO
http://bigripbrewing.com

Year founded:

2013

Tell us a little about your business?

The Big Rip Brewing Co is on the smaller-side of craft breweries in the KC Metro. We brew a variety of beers; from a vanilla cream ale, to a West Coast IPA, to barrel-aged stouts, to saisons, and to many different lagers! Along with our inclusivity of beer styles, the taproom is focused on being a welcoming, inclusive space for all! We pride ourselves on lifting up the LGBTQ+ community by hosting parties, comedy shows, vendor events, craft nights, and more all focused on welcoming all the queers!

What benefits have you found to being a small business?

It is great being able to express ourselves as owners and operators of a small business, instead of remaining neutral like most larger businesses do. Having close ties to the community is a huge perk of being so small. We can pick and choose which establishments our beers are sold in, what kind of events we host, and we're able to be very outspoken on social media about all things that affect the LGBTQ+ community.

What's a recent success story or milestone you're proud off?

We have now hosted three large Queer Dyke Night (late evening) events, all of which have been such a HUGE success! We have also hosted two QDN-Lite happy hours earlier in the evening, which brings out even more of a variety of local queers and vendors! Plus, we are about to turn 12 years old in May 2025, and we are the oldest locally-owned brewery in the KC Metro

How can our Chamber members best support your small business?

I think just letting folx know we are here and we are queer! All of our staff are very welcoming and kind to all kinds of people! While we have been here for over 11 years, we are in a somewhat hidden/industrial area that not a lot of people know about.

What would you like our Chamber members to know about your business which isn’t necessarily obvious?

While we have many beers and meads that we produce in house, we also have a variety of canned wine, seltzers, kombucha, n/a beer, sodas, and more! Although we do not have food, folx are allowed to bring in, or order in, any food they'd like! We also have a kiosk in the taproom in which you can order food from our neighbors at Hawg Jaw BBQ and they will bring it over right to your table.