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KC beer left for dead getting a new 'spirit'

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Beer left for dead is getting a new spirit.

Boulevard Brewing Company and J. Rieger & Co. will unveil the new, unique liquor at Boulevardia next month.

It's called "Left for Dead" because the spirit uses beer which would have been poured down the drain.

Before Nathan Perry became Head Distiller at J. Rieger & Co., he worked at Boulevard.

Perry explained, "I knew just because working in the quality department in Boulevard had some really strict quality standards for beer, there was some beer that had to get dumped, had to go down the drain for various reasons. It could be just that it doesn't taste like what wheat beer should taste like."

So Perry distilled some of that beer through a process similar to what they do with their whiskey, creating a totally new spirit.

"When you smell and taste the one we did with wheat beer, you can taste it, like, 'Hey, that's wheat beer, right?'" Perry said.

From pale ales to stouts, Perry said each tastes unique.

Transforming beer into liquor isn't a new concept, but distillery co-found Andy Rieger explained re-purposing beer which was otherwise left for dead is.

"Whereas for us, what we're doing is we're not brewing beer to make it then into something else, but rather taking something that's set for the drain, and so that's what makes this project completely unique," said Rieger.

Now, instead of dumping beer, Boulevard will send it to the Rieger distillery.

"Left for Dead" will debut at Boulevardia, which runs from June 17 to 19.

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Shannon Halligan can be reached at shannon.halligan@kshb.com.

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