Bier Station prepares for its biggest event yet: Zwanze Day

John Couture arrives at Bier Station holding a fistful of papers.

“Just picked up our permits for Zwanze Day,” he says. It’s around 9:30 a.m. on the first chilly day of September, and Couture, owner of the tasting bar and bottle shop at 120 East Gregory Boulevard, wears a blue Bier Station hoodie. “I don’t want to lose these,” he says as he goes to file the papers in a back room.

Zwanze Day, the annual Cantillon tapping of a special lambic chosen by owner and brewer Jean Van Roy, marks Bier Station’s first outdoor event — requiring that paperwork.

“We just are really, really proud to have it,” Couture says. “We’re really honored. Honestly, it’s the biggest deal that we’ve ever had.”

Initially, the plan was to hold the tapping indoors, but once Couture gauged the interest on social media — messages from people in Chicago, Minnesota, southern Missouri and elsewhere — he realized that more people wanted to attend than Bier Station’s walls could hold.

As luck would have it, a few city officials happened to stop in at Bier Station for a happy-hour brew at the right time. A conversation unfolded, and the officials offered to help guide Couture through the permitting process. “I’m not a big believer in fate, but that sure was great timing,” he says. “They [those in the city’s Regulated Industries Division] understood what Zwanze meant for Kansas City, and they really helped keep the process moving along in such a short time frame.”

So, at 2 p.m. Saturday, September 20, in the front parking lot, Bier Station taps this year’s Zwanze Day beer, Cuvée Florian, an Iris Grand Cru blended with a Kriek and dry-hopped, and brewed in celebration of Van Roy’s son’s 18th birthday.

Another change: It’s a ticketed event. “We didn’t want to limit it to 135 people in this space,” Couture says. But he also didn’t want people camping out in line, only to be disappointed if they couldn’t get in. The plan now calls for Bier Station to hold tasting sessions at 2 and 3 p.m., with 100 tickets earmarked for each. A third session, for 200 general-admission ticket holders, is set for 4 p.m. and runs until 10.

Those attending the first two sessions are guaranteed a pour of the Zwanze, along with tastes of three other Cantillon kegs tapped during those hours. Two more Cantillon kegs will be tapped during the GA slot. To avoid clogged lines, ticket holders can pick up two pours at once.

Tickets cost $14 for each of the first two sessions. That price includes a 4-ounce pour of Cuvée Florian. Ticket holders can also buy pours of other Cantillon beers (Mamouche, Gueuze, Iris), also limited to 4-ounce pours. GA tickets, available online, cost $4. Couture says he’s still working on the pricing of the other pours.

“When I was a beer consumer, I didn’t have that much money, and it really bothered me when there was something special that people would just price-gouge,” he says. “I’ve always believed that we just do our traditional markup for any beer that we pour. Even though it’s a very special beer, we have our set markup for beers.”

Cantillon won’t be the only special tapping on Saturday.

“We’re going to announce soon a list of other Shelton Brothers kegs that are really awesome that we’re going to tap that day, too,” Couture says. “So there should be lots of good beer for folks. And we’re also looking at some special surprise kegs — maybe.”

Couture realizes that most of his customers aren’t going to make both an afternoon and an evening of it. So after the initial wave of tastings, as people filter out, he plans to let people in for free after 5 p.m.

“There should be chances for people who want to come later and still get some great beers,” Couture says. “I would bet there would still be some Cantillon on later in the night. I can’t say for sure, but there’s a lot of kegs to spread around.

“We’re trying to do our best to make as many folks as happy as possible,” he adds. “It’s hard for something like that when you only have a limited amount of pours. I feel bad for people who won’t get it. There’s only so much that you can do.”

For those who do make a day and a night of it, there’s the Smokin’ Fresh Streetside BBQ food truck, which sets up outside. And Bier Station’s own menu will include some surprises.

If Zwanze Day proves to be as successful as Couture expects it to be, he’s ready to put on more outdoor events at Bier Station.

“Now that I know how the process works, we’d like to do more of them,” he says. “It’s just fun to be outside.”