Border Brewing Company

the first brewery and taproom in Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District, founded by owner-operator Eric Martens, a former chemical engineer who turned a basement homebrew habit into a neighborhood institution. Independent and locally owned; assessed Tier 1 on the owner-operated + Crossroads-pioneer editorial case.

| Corporate parent | None — independent, locally owned || | Notable features | First brewery in the Crossroads; canning line; launched Baseline, the metro’s first hometown non-alcoholic beer (Dec 2024); German-tradition lagers (cave-buried Oktoberfest); produces Kin Seltzer ||

Description

Border Brewing Company is a craft brewery and taproom in Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District, located at 512 E 18th St.¹ It holds the distinction of being the first brewery and taproom to open in the Crossroads, a status repeatedly cited in local coverage.²³

The brewery was founded by Eric Martens, a former chemical engineer who applies an engineer’s discipline — precise recipe testing and quality control — to his brewing.²⁴ The taproom describes itself as a community-driven space “bridging the gap between beer drinkers and beer lovers,” with the tagline “Fresh. Local. On tap.”¹ It offers craft beers, ciders, seltzers, and cocktails in a bright, open room with communal seating and a patio.³

Border has built a reputation as a trendsetter in the local scene. Martens leans into German brewing heritage — for one Oktoberfest he buried a Marzenbier lager underground in March and unearthed it for the September celebration, honoring a pre-refrigeration tradition.⁵ In December 2024 the brewery launched Baseline, marketed as the metro’s first hometown non-alcoholic beer, debuting in Pale and Amber styles after roughly a year of development.² The company also produces Kin Seltzer, described in coverage as the first Black-owned hard seltzer.²

Ownership and history

Border originally operated from 406 E 18th St. In spring 2021 the company purchased and moved to a larger ~6,483 sq ft space at 512 E 18th St — two to three times the size of the original — to expand its brewing system and add a canning line; the new taproom opened November 12, 2021.⁶⁷ The original space is now occupied by Red Sash Brewing Co.⁴

Year	Event
2014	Eric Martens founds Border Brewing Company
2015	Taproom opens at 406 E 18th St — first brewery in the Crossroads
Spring 2021	Buys larger 512 E 18th St space; expands brewing + adds canning line
Nov 12, 2021	New 512 E 18th St taproom opens
Dec 2024	Launches Baseline, the metro’s first hometown non-alcoholic beer

The business remains independently and locally owned by Martens, with no corporate parent.²

Menu

Last verified: 2026-07-24 · Source: official website — live tap list (synced from the brewery’s own BeerMenus account, list stamped “Updated 06/26/2026”) + flagship pages · URL(s): https://borderbrewco.com/whats-on-tap/ · https://borderbrewco.com/drinks/ · Confidence: High (full official capture; taps kick and rotate — the brewery notes the taproom chalkboard is final truth)

Craft brewery taproom — 20+ rotating taps; beer, hard cider, hard seltzer, hard tea, cocktails, local whiskey, and the Baseline NA series. No dedicated kitchen — food from rotating vendors or nearby Crossroads restaurants. Flights and $5-tier value pours available.

Draft Beer (official live tap list, 06/26/2026)

• Backyard Lager — American Lager, 4.4% ABV · 8oz $4.25 / 16oz $5
• Strawberry Blonde Ale — Blonde Ale (real strawberry), 4.0% ABV · 8oz $4.25 / 16oz $7
• Lima Fresca — Kölsch (sea salt + lime), 5.0% ABV · 8oz $4.25 / 16oz $7
• Patio Pale Ale — American Pale Ale (Cascade, Simcoe), 5.4% ABV · 8oz $4.25 / 16oz $7
• Rooftop Red Lager — Amber Lager (Munich + caramel malts), 5.5% ABV · 8oz $4.25 / 16oz $7
• Shiftie IPA — Imperial IPA, 8.0% ABV · 6oz $4.25 / 12oz $7
• Stay Classy — West Coast IPA, 6.0% ABV · 8oz $4.50 / 16oz $7.50
• Easy Landing — Hazy IPA, 6.2% ABV · 6oz $4.50 / 12oz $7.50
• Porch Swing Pale Ale — Session Pale Ale, 3.8% ABV · 8oz $4.25 / 16oz $5
• Pub Dweller ESB (Nitro) — ESB, 5.0% ABV · 8oz $4 / 16oz $5
• Chocolate Milk Stout — Milk Stout, 4.7% ABV · 8oz $4.50 / 16oz $7.50
• (New) Watermelon Gose — Gose, 4.7% ABV · 6oz $4.50 / 12oz $7.50
• Test Batch — rotating brewer’s experiment · 6oz $4.50 / 12oz $7.50

Flights & Tasters

• Flight of 4 — 4oz pours · $12
• Individual Taster — 4oz · $3.50

Bottles & Cans

• Barrel Aged Firepit Porter — Imperial Porter, 9.0% ABV · 500ml bottle $16
• Trapdoor Tripel — Tripel, 9.0% ABV · 500ml bottle $13
• Barrel Aged Chocolate Milk Stout — barrel-aged milk stout · 500ml bottle $16

Hard Cider, Seltzer & Tea

• Gin Basket Hard Cider — Spiced Cider, 5.3% ABV · 8oz $4.25 / 16oz $7.25
• Pink Drink — Hard Seltzer (real fruit, gluten-free), 6.5% ABV · 8oz $4.25 / 16oz $7
• Sweet D’s Hard Tea — Hard Iced Tea, 5.0% ABV · 16oz $7

Cocktails

• Chocolate Espresso Martini $10 · Frescarita $11 · Pink Cosmo $11 · Highballs $8

Local Whiskey (2oz pours)

• J. Rieger & Co. Straight Bourbon $9 · J. Rieger Straight Rye $9 · Restless Spirits Sons of Erin $9 · Restless Spirits Stone Breaker $12 · West Bottoms Convergence Whiskey $11 · West Bottoms Kansas City Whiskey $10

Non-Alcoholic

• Baseline NA Pale — non-alcoholic pale ale, 0.3% ABV · 12oz can $7 (Baseline series: Pale + Amber — metro’s first hometown NA craft beer)²
• Soda $2 · Sparkling Lemonade 16oz $3 · Wild Bill’s Soda 12oz can $4

Live tap list: https://borderbrewco.com/whats-on-tap/

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Links

• Website: https://borderbrewco.com ¹
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/borderbrewingco/
• Phone: 816-469-5287 (per official site borderbrewco.com, accessed 2026-07-24; wrong seed value (816) 900-0700 superseded)⁸

See also

• crossroads-arts-district
• Registry

Sources

Footnotes

1. Border Brewing Company — official site. Asserts: address 512 E 18th St KC MO 64108; “Fresh. Local. On tap.” positioning; craft beer/cider/seltzer/cocktail taproom. ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. Startland News — “Trendsetting Crossroads brewer taps another first: KC’s only locally-owned non-alcoholic beer” (Dec 2024). Asserts: founder/owner Eric Martens; first brewery and taproom in the Crossroads, established 2015; independently locally owned; Baseline launch (Pale + Amber) as metro’s first hometown non-alcoholic beer; ~1 year development; Kin Seltzer as first Black-owned hard seltzer. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

3. Visit KC / Crossroads Arts District listing; kccrossroads.org. Asserts: 512 E 18th St KC MO 64108; Crossroads Arts District; community-driven taproom, communal seating, patio. ↩ ↩²

4. “The Story Behind Border Brewing: A KC Local Craft Beer Journey” — borderbrewco.com blog; corroborated by Eric Martens LinkedIn. linkedin.com. Asserts: Martens chemical-engineering degree (Kansas State University); ~6 years process engineer at Burns & McDonnell; basement homebrew origin; outgrew original space now occupied by Red Sash Brewing Co.; founded 2014. ↩ ↩²

5. KSHB 41 — “Border Brewing Company keeps German tradition alive with a twist.”. Asserts: owner Eric Martens; German brewing tradition; cave/buried Oktoberfest Marzenbier practice; local independent ownership. ↩

6. Feast Magazine — “Border Brewing Co. will move to a new space in Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District this spring” (2021). Asserts: move from 406 E 18th St to 512 E 18th St; ~6,483 sq ft; new taproom opened Nov 12, 2021; expanded brewing + canning line. [Source title/URL captured via search result; full-text fetch returned HTTP 429.] ↩

7. Craft Brewing Business — “Kansas City’s Border Brewing buys a retail spot to expand operations.”. Asserts: purchase of larger retail space, 2–3x bigger than original; expanded brewing capacity + canning line. ↩

8. Crossroads Arts District directory — phone listing 816-469-5287. Conflicts with seed phone 816-469-5287 (per official site borderbrewco.com, accessed 2026-07-24; wrong seed value (816) 900-0700 superseded); confirm. ↩