Hank is Wiser Brewery

Wow. I walked in on a Thursday night, and was greeted by Hank, his son Steve and his wife, three other patrons at the bar welcomed me to sit wherever I wanted and immediately began to discuss the finer points of beer. A cash only bar and slightly limited on their selection because they were gearing up for their anniversary party. Hank and I spent a couple hours BS’ing about beer and travel all the while his son made preparations for the upcoming party. Staring at 5 bottles of Utopias behind the bar and 3 bottles of Bourbon County Coffee and Regular Bourbon County, SA Triple Bock and a plethora of other rare to semi rare beers. This place was awesome, 3.75 pints, 1.25 small glasses an owner who spends the time to talk. I can’t wait to come back next Thursday.

Located in the small town of Cheney, a pleasant surprise. A large space with pool tables and darts in the other room. Lots of old school beer advertising as well. Was lucky enough to have Hank himself working the bar for me and service was great despite a large crowd. Only 8 beers on tap for my visit but often have many more. It sounds like there anniversary parties are a big hit. They will soon have full scale barbeque and I was lucky enough to try one of their sandwiches which was quite nice. Prices are as good as they get for food and beer. Out of the way, but I am glad I stopped in!

Stopped by on a Thursday evening which was a small mistake. They do not serve food on Thursdays. Small crowd all playing shuffleboard. The owner broke away and visited with us and we sampled all his brews available that evening. Nice place, nice atmosphere. Will return.

Visited during my summer vacation at the reservoir. The brewer is friendly and talkative. All of the beers I sampled were great. 15 dollars a growler seems a bit steep and there was "not enough" of the two beers I was most interested in taking home in a growler to get either, so I had to settle for my third choice. Other than that, the brewery is pretty solid, and in a nice small Kansas town. The space is pretty cool as well, with the walls being covered in beer coasters. Apparently they sell Sam Adams Millennium by the drink as well, which is pretty gnarly. Did not try any food on my visit.

Made it down to Cheney, Kansas. Went into Hanks place. First lets start with the girls. The blonde at the front is to die for! My goodness ! The rest of the girls are, ok. The beer was cold, and Tasty. Definitely coming back. Later blondie.

A Friday night drive from Junction City to here with wife wanted to go for a long time nice little selection of beers from this place not many people in when we stopped in will go back

Not much in the way of food but the house beer is quite tasty. I had the pleasure to speak with the owner which was an absolute delight. He gave me the extremely rare opportunity to try Sam Adams Utopias for which I am forever greatful! Can’t wait to go back and talk some beer!

Cheney, the home of Hank’s is Wiser Brewpub, looks like most of the small towns in Kansas, in that it’s relatively plain and nondescript. Similarly, Hank’s is very plain from the outside, as it almost has an old-time drugstore feel. Walking inside however, and you are greeted with a very comfortable atmosphere. Various coasters and beer promotional materials literally cover the walls. It’s clear this place was put together by someone who absolutely loves beer. We went for the beer itself, and while the lighter beers offered by Hank are a bit plain, the Porter and Stout both shine. Unfortunately the IPA was out while we were there, and the only seasonal available was an American Light Lager. Hank more than made up for these shortcomings by offering Samuel Adams Utopias - all 4 vintages - in one ounce samples. They also have an impressive array of various bottled beer, though we were more interested in what was on tap. If you’re looking for a lot of options in terms of food Hank’s currently offers one menu item - a pulled pork / shredded beef sandwich with your choice of chips. If the thought of only having one choice in terms of food selection bothers you don’t fret, as Hanks has plans to expand and offer an entire range of barbecue. The establishment is truly fun, and family owned, as the highlight of our meal was having the opportunity to talk to Hank, his wife, and his son. Very enjoyable, and we’re looking to make a return trip to try the IPA, additional barbecue, and some seasonals.

Had a sampler plus a few extras with Steve, the brewmaster and the namesak’s son. Nice, low-key bar that is totally ice house in appearance but serves their own beer and a good selection of micros. They also have quite a few vintage bottles (Utopias being one of them). Steve opened up early to accomodate me and he was nothing but friendly and cool. I recommend going to Hank’s if for nothing else than to support an honest establishment. These guys love beer and good conversation. That’s a winning combination in my book. And yes, their beers have drastically improved since I last tasted them at the Midwest Brewfest in ’08.

Decided to check this out while in Wichita. Nice looking. clean place in a small town. Pool tables and shuffleboard (which should be at every bar). Went on a Saturday at 5:30 PM, and it was pretty dead. Hank (the owner) and his son were working, and they were both really cool. Free popcorn. They haven’t been open for that long, so they really only had sandwiches to eat. Beer was decent, and decently priced. All bottles were $2.50, including stuff from Rogue, Boulder, and others. Nice place, if only it weren’t so far out of the way.