Beer Trip: Blue Skye Brewery & Eats in Salina, Kansas
It’s been quite some time since we made our way to Salina to visit Blue Skye Brewery & Eats. This place was busy during our visit, with patrons stopping in for a happy hour pint and others meeting up with friends for a weekly dinner. It was clearly a local favorite, both for beer and food alike.
The Brewery
Blue Skye is located in downtown Salina within an old brick building. Out front, they have a small sidewalk patio, but most seating is found inside. The indoor space is broken up into two sections, with one half being the long and narrow seating area featuring a 15+ person bar that runs half the length of the space. The other section includes additional seating, along with the brewery itself and the kitchen. While the space seems somewhat small, it actually has many tables and chairs spread about, which was certainly needed on our visit. The place is located near the railroad tracks, and incorporates that feel into the space with a railyard wood accent wall, industrial-style lighting, and huge photos of rail lines, train cars, and mills.
The Beer
You will find 9 or 10 beers on tap here, featuring a wide range of styles. This visit included a couple of IPAs, a blonde, a wheat, a stout, and a red - just to name a few. We were told that they maintain the Red Penny Wheat and Fire Engine Red as flagship brews, but will repeat recipes periodically to bring some favorites back. About half the board consists of one-time rotating beers, so you can always try something new.
Top to bottom, we were very impressed with the beer quality at Blue Skye. Everything we sampled was top-notch! With so many options that piqued our interest, we had to go with one of the brewery staples and selected the Fire Engine Red. If you like malts, this one is for you. It leaves your mouth coated, but it does have a little hoppiness to balance things out. Our other favorite was the Roasted Hatch Green Chili. This wheat beer is brewed with chili peppers to give a nice initial burst of heat, but it quickly subsides so you aren’t left tasting the fire. While they don’t always have this exact brew on tap, they typically have a pepper variation of some kind.
Food, Merch, & More
Blue Skye has a full food menu featuring appetizers, salads, burgers, sandwiches, and a wide selection of wood-fired pizzas. We got the chicken bacon ranch pizza, which was awesome. Luckily for us, it was still happy hour when we stopped in, so we benefited from half-off select appetizers and $3 pints. In addition to beer, they serve soft drinks, wine, seltzer, and cider options. The merchandise section might be the one weakness here, as it’s limited and scattered - but they still have a few sweatshirts, tees, hats, and brewery stickers available.
If you’re looking for great beer and a bite to eat, then Blue Skye will rival nearly any brewery across Kansas. Salina is fortunate to have such a place, and we can’t wait until our next visit.
Cheers!
