Irrigation Ales

Irrigation Ales is a rural brewery in Courtland, a north-central Kansas town of 294 people that the brewery calls the smallest brewery town in the state. Owners Luke and Jennifer Mahin describe themselves as rural by choice. Courtland is Luke’s hometown, and Jennifer comes from Columbia, Pennsylvania. Luke and his father, Bill, homebrewed for years, and Jennifer brings long experience in serving and bartending. The idea grew out of the Courtland Fermentation Club, which Luke helped start in 2014 after Kansas legalized sharing homebrew in group settings. The brewery pours eight beers made with local ingredients such as Kansas-grown malt, hops, fruit, vegetables and herbs. Its name and focus highlight the Kansas Bostwick Irrigation District, near Lovewell Lake and the Republican River. Its mission is to have a positive influence on its rural region through fermentation. It also hosts private events.