Today we’d like to introduce you to Alana Gwinner.
Hi Alana, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started Eleven Three KC in 2017; my partner had an unexpected day off and we are both into craft beer, so we were like “what’s happening at the breweries?” I tried to find a site that just had everything listed but, I couldn’t find one. So, my partner was like “why don’t you just start one!” And that’s what I did. I started posting daily events on what was going on within our local craft beer community and what was being released, and it just took off.
I chose the name Eleven Three KC because I wanted something that was Kansas City specific in case I ever wanted to branch away from craft beer. K is the 11th letter of the alphabet and C is the third, so Eleven Three KC!
At first, posting events and releases was great but I wanted to start doing more and give back to the community.
In 2019, I created a raffle fundraiser for Unruh Furniture and their Mom Fund. Several local businesses donated items to two raffles and I was able to raise/donate about $380! I also created two beer calendars, one that featured several local breweries across the metro to raise funds to the Missouri Pit Bill Rescue and the second that featured several womxn brewers, winemakers, and syrup makers to raise funds for another animal shelter…
In 2020, I hosted an I Am Craft Beer event for our local craft beer community to join together to discuss diversity and inclusion, we were able to raise funds for the Boys and Girls Club of KC.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
It was great at first, until about last year when Covid hit. My main focus was events, posting/sharing them and trying to plan them. But, after everything kind of locked down, there wasn’t much to really share/post.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
In 2021, I was one of the unlucky ones and I was laid off from my “adult job”. But, it was more of a blessing in disguise because it allowed me to focus on my painting, and I was able to join a couple of other teams – Beers With Nigel, KC Canning Co., and Boozy Botanicals! I have also had the time to collaborate on beers with a couple of breweries! In June, I joined forces with several womxn in the industry to brew a beer at Crane Brewing (release TBD) and I collaborated with the head brewer at Apex Aleworks and brewed Ooo Bae, an ube coconut lager with a hint of cayenne, and 10% of proceeds from this beer will be donated to Hate Is A Virus! Ooo Bae is out now, so try it if you’re able to!
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Find me on social media – Eleven Three KC, on IG/FB/Twitter. I am open for collaborations! I have some free time so I’d love to get back into planning events, brewing more beers, etc.!
I have also started a Patreon; however I have paused it this summer, but it consists of videos and recipes of me cooking/baking with beer!! I’ll start that back up in September, feel free to check it out!
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.eleventhreekc.blogspot.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/eleventhreekc
- Facebook: www.Facebook.com/eleventhreekc
- Twitter: www.Twitter.com/eleventhreekc
- Other: https://linktr.ee/ElevenThreeKC
