On the KC Ale Trail: Torn Label Brewing Company

Torn Label Brewing Company built its 4,000-square-foot outpost in the Crossroads Arts District before 2014 drew to a close. Initially, Alpha Pale Ale, Monk & Honey, and other styles brewed by Torn Label were only able to be enjoyed at bars around Kansas City. That is the case no longer as Torn Label’s tasting room debuted in July 2015 and has been welcoming craft beer lovers ever since.

Founded by Kansas City area natives Rafi Chaudry and Travis Moore, Torn Label Brewing Company launched in December 2014 as a production brewery. The tasting room was scheduled to be Phase 2 of the brewery’s construction. 

“We’ve been thrilled to see Torn Label pop up more and more places around town,” says Rafi Chaudry. “However, one of the things we learned during our launch week was how eager people were for us to have a tasting room.”

Before opening Torn Label, Chaudry built an eight-year career producing films in Los Angeles. Moore, who graduated from law school in Chicago, shifted away from practicing law. They both felt that the time was opportune to do what they loved. The duo spent the last decade exploring wildly disparate brewing cultures in southern California, Chicago, New York and Belgium before returning to their hometown and starting the brewery.

Torn Label’s tasting room has a capacity of 30 people.

“We offer growler fills, beer by the glass and flights, open to the public weekends only,” says Travis Moore. “We're open Fridays from 5pm-Midnight, Saturdays Noon-Midnight and Sundays Noon-8pm."

The tasting room has 12 draft lines. Moore says, “We expect to have nearly that many Torn Label varieties flowing on opening day.”

Torn Label’s core beer portfolio includes House Brew, a coffee wheat stout with Sumatran toddy from nearby Thou Mayest Coffee Roasters; Monk & Honey, a Belgo-American Table Beer brewed with local honey from Peculiar, Missouri; and Alpha Pale, a sessionable pale ale with an aggressive West Coast-style hop profile. Newer beers include Omega Saison, a juicy farmhouse ale, and Tongue-Lash, a mouth-puckering sour hoppy wheat, that pairs bright acidity with the intense tangerine and grapefruit citrus notes of Amarillo hops.

Moore says, “We’re an American-style craft brewery that puts our own spin on classic Old World styles.”

Chaudry adds, “We’re into sessionable beers with enticing tastes.”

Torn Label’s neighbor, Double Shift Brewing, which opened its doors in July, joins Border Brewing Company among the three operating breweries in the Crossroads. Brewery Emperial is anticipated to also open in the Crossroads in late 2015.

Learn more about the KC Ale Trail and the city's delicious beer scene at a special event, August 11, at The Kansas City Public Library! Event details and RSVP here.

Photos © Pete Dulin & Travis Moore