John McDonald

John McDonald is the founder of Boulevard Brewing Company, which he started in 1989 in a converted railroad building on Southwest Boulevard and grew into the largest specialty brewer in the Midwest — a cornerstone of Kansas City’s craft-beer identity.

Biography

John McDonald graduated from the University of Kansas with a BFA in printmaking in 1976.¹ Working as a carpenter and cabinet maker with a shop on Southwest Boulevard, he discovered the depth of European brewing tradition during a mid-1980s trip to France, which turned a home-brewing hobby into a calling.²

In 1989, McDonald founded Boulevard Brewing Company, converting a historic brick railroad facility on Southwest Boulevard into a small brewery; the first keg — Boulevard Pale Ale — was delivered November 17, 1989.² Boulevard’s Unfiltered Wheat Beer (introduced in 1994) became its flagship and a regional staple, and the company grew over the following decades into the largest specialty brewer in the Midwest, helping put Kansas City on the national craft-beer map.² In 2013 McDonald agreed to sell the brewery to Belgium’s Duvel Moortgat in what was then the largest U.S. craft-brewery acquisition; he remained the company’s guiding figure and returned to lead it in 2021.³ He also co-founded Ripple Glass, Kansas City’s glass-recycling enterprise, and is an inductee of the UMKC Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame.¹

Legacy

McDonald is one of the founding figures of the modern American craft-beer movement in the Midwest. Boulevard’s Southwest Boulevard brewery anchored the revival of the surrounding district, and the brand remains synonymous with Kansas City.

See also

• boulevard-brewing

Sources

Footnotes

1. “John McDonald: Founder of Boulevard Brewery,” University of Kansas College stories — KU BFA in printmaking, 1976; carpenter on Southwest Boulevard; Ripple Glass; UMKC Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame. ↩ ↩²

2. Boulevard Brewing Co. — company history; mid-1980s France trip; founded 1989 in a converted railroad facility; first keg (Pale Ale) Nov 17, 1989; Unfiltered Wheat introduced 1994; largest specialty brewer in the Midwest. ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. “A Buyout on the Boulevard,” Brewbound; Food Republic (2013-10-18) — Duvel Moortgat acquisition announced October 2013 (completed 2013–14); McDonald returned to lead Boulevard in 2021. ↩