Little Apples offers a variety of homemade brews
By Katelin Schmedemann
Mounted horns, pictures of the area’s past, a hearty lineup of libations: the décor in the Little Apple Brewing Company, Manhattan, befits Kansas cattle country. Club members hang their beer mugs from pegs on a vacant wall.
Behind the bar, thick glass opens up a view of the beer kettles, their contents carrying Kansas names like Bison Brown and Wildcat Wheat.
The Little Apple Brewing Company serves Angus beef and a variety of homemade brews. Located at 1110 Westloop Place, the establishment has been co-owned by Russ and Kelly Loub and Galen and Lori Fink since 1995. Their beers are hand-crafted by the head brewer Kris Bruzina, and his assistants Roger McAllister and Jeff Durrenberger.
The flagship brews of The Little Apple are named by the brewers, and consist of the Black Angus Stout, named in honor of the Finks who own and raise the Angus that the restaurant serves. The beer has a dark chocolate color with subtle smells of caramel. The consistency is thicker than their ales and hints of coffee, chocolate, and caramel.
The Wildcat Wheat Ale is garnished with a lemon wedge and is the color of golden wheat. The taste has a mild citrus flavor. Steve Hummel, a regular patron of The Little Apple Brewery, said, “We call that a lawn mower beer,” referring to the light refreshing taste that is easily drank after a day of hard labor out in the pounding summer sun.
The next flagship is the Prairie Pale Ale, named after the regional landscape in which it was created. It has a dark honey color and leaves a fruity flavor and then a bitter hops aftertaste.
The Riley’s Red Beer, which was named for Bennett C. Riley, one of the supposed founders of Fort Riley and the Big Red One that is stationed at Fort Riley. This beer has an auburn tint to it with a mild flavoring and a hit of hops on the aftertaste.
The Bison Brown Ale is named with a familiar Kansas symbol in mind. It is similar to the stout in the caramel hints and dark coloring, but it is not as thick and when drank the consistency of the flavor is balanced throughout the entire tasting.
The last of the flagships are the seasonal brews. The newest to these is the Kilt Lifter, named after The Little Apple Brewery 2011 Beer Drinker of the Year who has a habit of wearing a kilt about town. It has a slightly thicker consistence than the other ales with a dark auburn color similar to the Riley’s Red.
This is not to say that beer is all The Little Apple Brewing Co. does. Add special themed dinners, concerts, holiday events, and beer competition (notably, the yearly Beer Drinker of the Year, and Hall of Fame awards). Kelly Loub comments, “We are more than just a brewery and more than just a restaurant.”
Their main menu has an array of food consisting of hamburgers, pizza, sandwiches, pasta, and their signature steaks. Occasionally the restaurant announces a special menu, such as a March Tuscan-styled dinner that cost $125 a head. Antipasto, Wild Boar Ragu, Bistecca Fiorentina, and polenta cake were served.
“On St. Patrick’s Day, we had a Catholic priest come in and say a prayer, toasting the day,” Loub reminisced. She said that “staying true to tradition” was a big part of the holiday festivities.
