Cinder Block Brewery

Cinder Block Brewery is an independent, owner-founded craft brewery and cidery at 110 E 18th Ave. in North Kansas City, born in 2013 out of owner Bryce Schaffter’s cinder-block basement and named for it.¹²³

Description

Cinder Block Brewery is an independent craft brewery located at 110 E 18th Ave. in North Kansas City, Missouri.¹⁴ It opened on September 27, 2013, making it one of the first wave of breweries to open in the Kansas City area during the region’s craft-beer revival.² The brewery operates a roughly 15-barrel brewhouse and runs a barrel-aging program in addition to its taproom.⁵

The business was named for the cinder-block basement where owner Bryce Schaffter spent years homebrewing before going commercial.¹² Visit KC describes it as “a neighborhood brewery crafting award-winning beer and cider in the heart of North Kansas City,” and the brewery markets itself as both a brewery and a cidery.⁴ Its taproom anchors a community space the business calls “The Commons,” with private event rooms and patio seating.⁴

Notable beers include Block IPA, a hop-forward flagship built on six hop varieties; Northtown Native, a traditional Dortmunder-style lager brewed with German ingredients and lagered for two months; and Nightmare Quad, a Belgian quad aged in J. Rieger & Co. barrels.⁵

Ownership and history

Cinder Block was founded in fall 2013 by homebrewer Bryce Schaffter, whose home-brewing habit in his cinder-block basement grew into a commercial plan over roughly five years.¹² Schaffter is identified across sources as the owner.¹² He met brewer Bryan “Bucky” Buckingham at a regional beer event; Buckingham — who previously worked at the 75th Street Brewery in Waldo, the 23rd Street Brewery in Lawrence, and Free State Brewing Co. — joined Cinder Block as brewmaster / director of brewing.²³ Some early accounts also credit John Baikie as a co-founder alongside Schaffter.²

The brewery opened as a small North Kansas City taproom with six year-round beers and has since expanded its production, taproom, event space (“The Reclamation Room” / “The Commons”), and a barrel-aging program.²⁴⁵ All available sourcing indicates the brewery is independently owned and operated; no parent company or out-of-town corporate owner is indicated.²⁴

Links

• Official site: https://cinderblockbrewery.com/
• Visit KC listing: https://www.visitkc.com/listings/cinder-block-brewery/
• Untappd: https://untappd.com/CinderBlockBrew

Sources

Disputes

None recorded.

Footnotes

1. https://cinderblockbrewery.com/ — Official website. Asserts: business name, North Kansas City location, “A Foundation for Craft Beer,” cidery/brewery identity, cinder-block basement origin. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

2. https://www.thepitchkc.com/cinder-block-brewery-set-to-open-on-friday-september-27/ — The Pitch. Asserts: opened September 27, 2013; owner Bryce Schaffter; brewer Bryan “Bucky” Buckingham; basement origin; among first KC-area breweries; six year-round beers at open. (Founding year and ownership also corroborated by Feast Magazine and BrewView MO.) ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

3. https://www.feastmagazine.com/travel/kansas-city/article_42be5adc-44f7-11e4-ae6a-0017a43b2370.html — Feast Magazine, “Where We’re Drinking: Cinder Block Brewery.” Asserts: owner Bryce Schaffter; director of brewing Bryan Buckingham; Buckingham’s prior roles (23rd Street, 75th Street, Free State); basement naming story. ↩ ↩²

4. https://www.visitkc.com/listings/cinder-block-brewery/ — Visit KC official tourism listing. Asserts: address 110 E 18th Ave., North Kansas City, MO 64116; “award-winning beer and cider”; neighborhood brewery; current taproom hours; active listing (June 2026). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

5. https://cinderblockbrewery.com/beer/ — Official beer page. Asserts: Block IPA (six hop varieties); Northtown Native Dortmunder lager (German ingredients, two-month lagering); Nightmare Quad aged in J. Rieger & Co. barrels; 15 bbl facility and barrel-aging program. ↩ ↩² ↩³