Casual Animal Brewing launches ‘Think & Drink,’ a lecture series that puts learning on tap
Photo Courtesy of Lara Gray
Kansas City’s beer lovers now have something new to pair with their pints: a craft of curiosity and community. Casual Animal Brewing Company has launched “Think & Drink,” a lecture series on the first and third Thursday of every month that brings together experts, academics, and curious minds for evening talks on topics ranging from sleep science to banned books. No topic is off the table.
“It’s one of those things where you didn’t know that you wanted to learn about these things,” says Lara Gray, owner of Casual Animal. “But if you’re grabbing a pint and sitting and listening, you’re kind of intrigued that now you know more about volcanoes.”
The idea stemmed from the brewery’s ongoing collaboration with UMKC and their “Science on Tap” program, as well as the unexpectedly positive response to a native plants lecture during Casual Animal’s annual Earth Day celebration. That success sparked the team’s realization that Kansas Citians are hungry not just for good beer, but for good ideas, too.
From there, a partnership began to bloom with UMKC and the Linda Hall Library, an institution known for drawing national scholars, and The Third Place Historian. Together, they’ve created a forum where education and socializing can intersect in a relaxed, inviting space.
“It’s meant to be informative, but it’s meant to be social and fun as well,” Gray says. “We certainly want people to be able to come and learn something they didn’t know before but also be able to engage in discussion with each other as well as with the speaker.”
Each “Think & Drink” session includes a roughly 40-minute lecture followed by an open Q&A, hoping to encourage discussion among audience members and the speaker. Guests are encouraged to grab a beer, settle into the taproom, and take in a topic they might never have explored otherwise.
During the inaugural session on July 17, the lecture explored why some people are light sleepers while others are deep sleepers. The next event on July 31 will discuss the parallels between the Cold War’s Red Scare and current political climates. The next one on the docket is a talk by a Linda Hall arborist on humans’ fascination with trees. Future themes include loneliness, literacy, and banned books.
Photo Courtesy of Lara Gray
Gray says the lineup is purposefully eclectic and intentionally apolitical.
“It’s just to be curious and it’s just feeding into people’s general curiosity,” Gray says. “It’s a bit like what people seek for when they pick up a book, right? It’s just kind of changing your own perspective and narrative with other people’s thoughts and knowledge.”
Beyond the lectures themselves, “Think & Drink” serves another purpose of building connections in a city still reshaping its social fabric post-pandemic.
“As much as we’re five years out of the pandemic, so much has still changed in our social circles and how we spend our time outside of our home,” Gray says. “We want to be sure we’re creating an environment and an incentive that people can’t necessarily get at home.”
As the series grows, Gray hopes to expand the speaker pool beyond Kansas City, potentially tapping into Linda Hall’s national research network or visiting academics at UMKC. Funding opportunities are also being explored to support honorariums and bring in more diverse voices.
“It’s just a snippet of time to give people an option to express their curiosity a little bit,” Gray says. “We hope people will attend when it’s a topic they know nothing about, or maybe know a little something about, because I think having different levels of knowledge in the room only amplifies the experience for everyone.”
To guarantee a seat, you can RSVP on Casual Animals website, where you can also find an event calendar for upcoming lectures. Attendance is free, and you can purchase drinks at the taproom’s bar.
