Beer me: Kentucky's craft beer scene exploding

LOUISVILLE — Bourbon has long been an integral part of Kentucky's identity, and bourbon culture has effortlessly ruled Louisville's bar and restaurant scene. But some competition has emerged, and it's delicious.

Kentucky's craft beer and microbrewery scene has erupted in recent years, especially in Louisville and Lexington, and 2015 is shaping up as another banner year for brewing and drinking fine beers. Four breweries have opened in Louisville in the last two years, with at least two more expected next year, and four have debuted in Lexington.

In all, 14 microbreweries have opened in Kentucky since 2011, joining veterans BBC, Cumberland Brews and the Lexington Brewing and Distillery Co.

"Nationally, we're still way behind ... but we're catching up," said Louisville's John King, executive director of the Kentucky Guild of Brewers, or KGB, formed in 2012. "I think we can make Kentucky known as a beer state as well as a bourbon state."

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer agrees. He was part of a brewery work group largely comprising KGB members that debuted an initiative in October.

They made a game plan for 2015 that includes a city-wide beer trail, the addition of local brews at city-sponsored events, the creation of a bourbon-barrel beer event and, most importantly, a commitment to prod Kentucky's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to revise laws that make it difficult for breweries to open and market their beers.

"It's good for the city and it's good for them," Fischer said of the brewery initiative, "and they could use some assistance from us with the ABC laws and some of the other things that can be pretty intimidating.

"We can help advocate for them, and we feel like that's the kind of stuff we should be doing, removing obstacles so that local businesses can be successful. Plus, it's fun."

Kentucky has some catching up to do: Only nine states have fewer microbreweries. Indiana, for example, has 100 while Kentucky has 17. According to statistics gathered by the Craft Brew Conference, the number of U.S. breweries has reached a record high of more than 3,000, with another 1,500 on the way. Craft beer sales, meanwhile, rose 18% in 2013 even as overall beer sales dropped by 2%.

Early next year, Louisville will add the Akasha Brewing Co., while Danville's Beer Engine will open a tap room in Schnitzelburg and eventually begin brewing on site. The Braxton Brewing Co. will open in Newport, Ky., and Louisville's Against the Grain Brewery & Smokehouse, which opened three years ago, has begun a $1.7 million expansion. Its beer is distributed in 38 states and Europe.

Adam Watson, one of Against the Grain's owners, said that it's difficult to pin down why Kentucky has suddenly gone beer crazy. Although Louisville has a rich history of brewing dating back to the 1800s, there was a 15-year drought between Falls City Brewing shutting down in 1978 and the 1993 opening of the now-defunct Silo Microbrewery and the still thriving Bluegrass Brewing Co.

But until 2011, the only new breweries to open were Louisville's Cumberland Brews, the Lexington Brewing and Distillery Co. and Louisville's Browning's, now closed. Beer culture, however, thrived.

In Louisville alone, the last few years has seen a boom in taprooms or restaurants with a dedication to craft beers, including the Louisville Beer Store, My Old Kentucky Homebrew, Holy Grale, the Nachbar, Sergio's, River City Drafthouse, Four Pegs, Craft House and Gordon Biersch. The Louisville Independent Business Alliance Beer Fest, which is devoted to craft beers, drew 6,000 fans to Slugger Field this year.

In Southern Indiana, the New Albanian Brew House, NABC's Public House & Pizzeria and Flat12 Bierwerks are the go-to spots.

"It amazes me," said Pat Hagan, president of BBC. "The craft market has grown by 15% or 20% every year for a long time, and I don't know why it took Louisville so long, but I'm glad to see that it finally hit here."

Bourbonism, a marketing gambit combining Louisville's bourbon and food scenes, is booming, so it's unlikely that craft beer will be little more than a sidekick for at least a few more years. But Fischer said that he sees the two as natural partners in increasing tourism and enhancing Louisville's small-business scene.

"We're just a stronger city when we do all of that stuff together," he said. "We're increasing the pie, so to speak, for all of those folks and it's really complementary. It's great for people who live here, but for visitors to town, they're on this adventure to find unique local stuff.

"You can see the passion of the entrepreneurs for all of the work they're doing," Fischer added. "I think that's really neat when you can connect somebody who's passionate about what they're doing with an economic opportunity for them to make a living and help the community at the same time."