Beer cave unearthed in Kansas, and it might be the state’s first brewery

Haven’t we all had dreams of discovering a beer cave? Or is that just a Craft Brewing Business fantasy? Well, some folks in Leavenworth, Kansas, are living that dream. According to local affiliate Fox 4 News, some people think workers this week discovered a brewery cave that belonged to the first Kansas brewery. The cave/tunnel/cellar was discovered in the Robert Beall office building on the corner of 6th and Delaware in downtown Leavenworth. Photographer and local historian Debra Bates-Lamborn is cited as connecting it to the first brewery in Kansas, called The Kansas Brewing Co., which was started by German immigrant, John Grund. We quote the article:

While there are arguments about whether it’s the first, there’s no denying Leavenworth was once a bustling brew city. “Back in the 1850s we had a huge population of German people that came here, and they wanted their beer and so they immediately started their breweries. In 1854 we started having breweries pop up all over town,” Bates-Lamborn said.

City spokeswoman Melissa Bower said the only thing the clerk’s office could find from the city directory was an advertisement from 1862 to’ 63. It cites Mr. Grund’s brewery on the corner of 6th and Delaware.

Unfortunately, the property owners told Fox 4 that the hole to this discovery has since been sealed up. But we speculate that they’re keeping that beer cave all to themselves. Well played.