United Nations of Beer

News Room Bar, Kansas City

by Shawn Borich
(KS, USA)

News Room Bar
Kansas City, MO, USA

"If you can stomach our customers, you can stomach our food." This is the motto of the News Room Bar Kansas City, MO. I have never been brave enough to try their food, but I have filled my stomach with plenty of pints there.

The News Room is not the trendiest place in KC. You can leave your shiny new shirt at home. While the décor -- front pages of The Kansas City Star from important days in history -- has a sort of kitschy charm, it is totally unintentional.

This bar is about one thing and one thing only: beer. It wastes no frills on cups (they give you plastic SOLO cups house party style), or mood lighting (it seems like the less the better is the operating assumption), for these trivialities could only distract from the beer's calling.

This focus on beer may lead you to assume that they have a significant number of beers on tap. In fact, the beer list is rather unremarkable, with the KC mainstays of Boulevard -- a popular local microbrew -- PBR, Miller and Bud Light.

What sets this establishment apart is not the number of beers, but the reverence they give the liquid gold. Like a hobo putting their last dollar into the church coffers, the News Room has little to offer, but holds nothing back.

It is this earnest approach to beer drinking that makes this bar a must-see stop on any beer lover's tour of KC. Here you will find a beer revival raging every night around 2am that will renew your spirits and affirm your belief in beer drinkers everywhere.