Servaes Brewing Company

Servaes Brewing Company is the first brewery in Kansas owned and operated by a female head brewer — Courtney Servaes opened the downtown Shawnee taproom in 2019 and has built a reputation for experimental and barrel-aged beers, sour ales, and NEIPAs that push well past conventional craft brewery norms.¹²

Description

Servaes Brewing Company opened on April 20, 2019, at 10921 Johnson Drive in downtown Shawnee — a historic stretch also home to Transport Brewery and Pegah’s Family Restaurant — making it the first brewery in Kansas owned and operated by a female head brewer, and at the time described as Kansas City’s only female-fronted brewery.²³ Owner and brewer Courtney Servaes began homebrewing in 2012 following graduation from Baker University, joining the Lawrence Brewers Guild and spending years refining her craft before turning the hobby professional.⁴

The brewery specializes in styles that demand technical patience and creative risk: NEIPAs, barrel-aged beers, novelty releases, and innovative sours — including beers fermented with whole pumpkin pies, entire boxes of red velvet cake mix, and chocolate chip cookies.² The experimental approach has won Courtney homebrewing awards and a devoted following among Kansas City craft beer enthusiasts.

In 2023, Servaes Brewing doubled its downtown Shawnee footprint — expanding from approximately 2,700 to 5,500 square feet by annexing an adjacent storefront and creating a dedicated event space called the Mosaic Room, supported in part by a $100,000 forgivable SEED loan from the City of Shawnee.⁵ A second location, Servaes Brewing Co. – Riverfront, opened in June 2024 at 118 S. Second St. in Atchison, Kansas — Courtney’s hometown.²⁴

Ownership and history

Ownership

Period	Owner / Operator	Notes
2019 → present	Courtney Servaes (women-owned, sole head brewer)	LLC filed March 2018; building possession August 2018; opened April 20, 20192

Founding story

Courtney Servaes grew up in Atchison, Kansas, graduated from Baker University (a small liberal arts school in Baldwin City, KS), and later pursued an MBA at Ottawa University while developing the business plan for the brewery.⁴ She spent years in the Lawrence homebrew scene — joining the Lawrence Brewers Guild and rising to vice president — before pursuing a commercial license. Prior to full-time brewing she worked in journalism and then nearly a decade in higher education marketing, including as a digital marketing strategist for the University of Kansas.⁴

Courtney married Brandi in 2015 and together they have two sons, Aaron and Dylan.² The family’s decision to open in Shawnee rather than Lawrence reflects a deliberate move into the Johnson County market; the subsequent Atchison location closed the loop back to Courtney’s hometown roots.

The founding year is sometimes listed as 2016 in reference to early homebrewing activity; the LLC was filed in March 2018, the building secured in August 2018, and the taproom opened to the public April 20, 2019.²

Links

• Official site: https://www.servaesbrewco.com/
• About page: https://www.servaesbrewco.com/about

Sources

Disputes

None at this time.

Footnotes

1. Servaes Brewing Company official website — https://www.servaesbrewco.com/ — asserts: name, address (10921 Johnson Dr, Shawnee, KS 66203), active operating status, current hours. ↩

2. Servaes Brewing Company — About page — https://www.servaesbrewco.com/about — asserts: Courtney Servaes owner/head brewer; began brewing 2012; LLC filed March 2018; building possession August 2018; opened April 20, 2019; first female head brewer in Kansas; NEIPAs, barrel-aged, sour beers; Courtney married Brandi 2015; sons Aaron and Dylan; Atchison Riverfront location opened June 2024. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

3. Feast Magazine — “Servaes Brewing Co., Kansas City’s Only Female-Fronted Brewery, Now Open in Shawnee” (May 2019) — https://www.feastmagazine.com/travel/kansas-city/servaes-brewing-co-kansas-citys-only-female-fronted-brewery-now-open-in-shawnee/article_7faecba2-7111-11e9-982b-53b213a00ff8.html — asserts: “Kansas City’s only female-fronted brewery”; opened in Shawnee. ↩

4. VoyageKC Magazine — “Hidden Gems: Meet Courtney Servaes of Servaes Brewing Company” — https://voyagekc.com/interview/hidden-gems-meet-courtney-servaes-of-servaes-brewing-company/ — asserts: Courtney grew up in Atchison, KS; Baker University graduate; Ottawa University MBA; Lawrence Brewers Guild VP; journalism and higher-ed marketing career; University of Kansas digital marketing strategist. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

5. Johnson County Post — “Servaes Brewing Co. doubles downtown Shawnee space” (April 2023) — https://johnsoncountypost.com/2023/04/24/servaes-brewing-shawnee-growth-199946/ — asserts: expansion from ~2,700 to ~5,500 sq ft; Mosaic Room event space; $100,000 SEED loan from City of Shawnee. ↩