The Free State Brewing Company is a microbrewery

Microbrewery

A microbrewery or craft brewer is a brewery which produces a limited amount of beer, and is associated by consumers with innovation and uniqueness....

 based in Lawrence, Kansas

Lawrence, Kansas

Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...

. It opened in 1989 as the first legal brewery in Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

 in over 100 years. In 2010, the brewery announced plans to expand to distribute to vendors in Kansas and Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

, and as far east as St. Louis. On May 21, 2010 Free State Brewery began to distribute bottled beer to stores in Lawrence, Kansas. Four bottled beers were released: Copperhead Pale Ale, Oatmeal Stout, Ad Astra Ale, and Wheat State Golden.

Beers

The first beer Free State Brewing Company made, Ad Astra Ale (which takes its name from part of Kansas's state motto), won a Bronze Medal at the 1991 Great American Beer Festival.