Central Standard missed its 5th birthday bash, so the 6th will be a two-day throwdown.
Popular Wichita craft brewery Central Standard Brewing at 156 N. Greenwood didn’t get to throw its annual birthday bash block party when it turned 5 last summer. (Thanks, COVID)
But its owners will make up for it this weekend when the business turns 6.
Instead of the annual one-day bash, the party will be spread out over two days. Saturday’s fun will include new beer releases, live music all day and a dunk tank in which several Wichitans — including yours truly —will be dropped into freezing cold water for a good cause.
Sunday’s celebration will have a more family-friendly feel. There will still be live music, but the brewery also will be bringing in a bounce house and will set up a petting zoo in Hyde Park just across the street.
Food will be sold both days by local food trucks. Big B’s Beef and The Rolling Greek will be there on Saturday, and on Sunday, Brazita Bites and The Critical Cart will be serving.
The party lasts from noon to midnight on Saturday and from noon to 7 p.m. on Sunday, and as always, the events will spread out into the street in front of the brewery, which will be closed down for the party.
Admission is free.
The owners are also bringing back a popular attraction they last had during their first birthday party in 2016: a dunk tank. People can pay $5 for three throws at a target, and if they hit it, they’ll dunk various volunteer victims. I’ll be sitting on the plank at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, and others will go before and after me, including City Council member Brandon Johnson at 2:30 p.m and Dan Norton from Nortons Brewing Company at 3 p.m. CSB owners will put themselves on the drunk-tank platform at 4 p.m.
Proceeds from the dunk tank will go to the Wichita Park & Recreation Department.
Central Standard Brewing first opened in August of 2015 and quickly earned a fan base of craft beer fans who loved its funky tap room fitted with garage doors that could open to the outside as well as its strong and sour beers.
It was busy right away, and owners Andy Boyd and Ian Crane — friends since high school who both developed an interest in home brewing — continued to expand the business. They brought in partner Nathan Jackel, and over the years, they’ve won many top beer awards and even started canning their beers on site.
Last summer — at the end of a six-month COVID-19 shutdown of their tap room — they added a big new outdoor seating space on the south side of the building, situated under a canopy of lights.
CSB owners say when they look back at all that’s happened, they can’t believe it’s been six years since opening day.
“It feels like it’s gone very fast,” Boyd said. “And we’re having fun with it still.”
This story was originally published August 25, 2021 at 1:57 PM.
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