Showing some beer love for Louisville

Yes, Louisville, Kentucky, is very much a bourbon town these days—at least it is in national reputation. Distilleries or bourbon specialty bars seem to be on most every corner of the city’s main business district.

In a contrarian sort of spirit, however, a bunch of my fellow craft beer enthusiasts and I visited the Kentucky Derby City just to see how its local brewery scene might be faring.

Not knowing what to expect, I admit I came away from this visit quite impressed, “I like it.” I found that beer fans, as well as bourbon fans, can have loads of fun in this town.

A self-guided brewery tour

Equipped with a brewery visit agenda, skillfully put together by my beer friends Paige Didora and Michelle Riley, 14 of us met up and headed out for a Thursday-to-Monday, long-weekend of malty market research.

By traveling with a large group of beer folks, each with different palates and beer preferences, I believe I got a pretty good idea of the overall beer quality and ambiance offered by each place we visited. The taprooms ranged from tiny, basic mom-and-pop-type spaces to very nice, big-money investments—and plenty of places in between those edges.

All stops rated

I made a few notes on each place we stopped and pass them along below. I rated not just the beer, but also the overall vibe of the place, IMHO. My scores are points awarded out of 5 possible.

Craft beer outlets I visited included:

West Sixth Brewing NULU

817 E. Market Street, Suite 101, Louisville
West 6th Website

Several times before, I have visited West Sixth’s Lexington KY home base and enjoyed it. I was impressed to find their Louisville taproom also very crowded and vibrant. A busy bar area also includes a comfy outdoor seating space. Very attractive decor. The taps were pretty much like those in Lexington — which means it’s real good. In the redeveloped area they are in are a couple of other restaurants/bars, so it’s sure to be an entertaining stop on your beer tour.

My Rating: 4.25 • Untappd: 3.73

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Falls City Beer & Parlour

901 E. Liberty Street, Louisville
Fall City Website

I didn’t know quite what to expect at the Falls City Beer & Parlour. My childhood memories of Falls City Beer come from six packs my father would stash in the old family fridge. Once at the taproom, I quickly discovered: This is not your daddy’s Falls City beer. I definitely enjoyed a flight of several of their beers and found some tasty modern craft brews. Plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. Good, friendly service. I’d definitely go back to hang out.

My Rating: 4.0 • Untappd: 3.54

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Against The Grain Brewing

401 E. Main Street, Louisville
ATG Website

This was the one Louisville craft brewery from which I’d previously had several beers. Their beer gets out in distribution in Kentucky pretty well—especially their flagship Citra Ass Down IPA. Overall, their beers and food were fine, but I don’t recall anything really exciting us. Its convenient downtown location is a plus. You can visit the brewery and several nearby distillery tasting rooms easily in one afternoon.

My Rating: 3.75 • Untappd: 3.75

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Gallant Fox Brewing

2132 Frankfort Avenue, Louisville
Galant Fox Website

Gallant Fox was a hit with my crowd of visitors. Overall, the beer was excellent. The place was small but quaint. We loved it. Bartenders were entertaining and helpful. I’m partial to these little local brewery taprooms out in the neighborhoods – especially when they make such good beer.

My Rating: 4.25 • Untappd: 3.73

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Ten20 Brewing

1020 East Washington Street, Louisville
Ten20 Website

I thought the beer quality here was solid. A sure bet for beers your group will enjoy. They even gave us a behind-the-scenes brewery tour. Nice comfortable space in the Butchertown district. Huge patio. Modern, hip vibe. A good looking place.

My Rating: 4.0 • Untappd: 3.66

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Trellis Brewing

827 Logan St, Louisville, KY
Trellis Website

While walking across town to another brewery, we happened upon a new one that was not on our list. I had to drop in and check it out. Trellis was situated in a new building in an old commercial/industrial area. I loved that they gave it a modern industrial chic decor. Really cool. The beer was modern (and very good) too. I’m partial to these new breweries that pop up in old industrial settings.

My Rating: 4.25 • Untappd: 3.72

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Holy Grale

1034 Bardstown Rd, Louisville, KY
Websitet • Facebook

This was the stop I most wanted to make. Not a brewery, but a beer bar. I’d heard praises about the place for years. Those praises were absolutely on point. For fans of Trappist and Belgian beers, the Holy Grale is nirvana. You won’t be disappointed in their extensive list of premium specialties. An obviously well-curated beer list — no crap. Beautiful indoor bar and a super nice outdoor beer garden. Service was excellent, even though the place was crowded. I can’t say enough good things about this bar. It truly lives up to its reputation.

My Rating: 5.0

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Atrium Brewing

1154 Logan St., Louisville
Atrium Website

Across the board, Atrium Brewing was one of everybody’s favorite breweries. Such care is taken in each brew. These brewers really know their craft. Very nice indoor and outdoor seating areas, plus a cozy open-air loft in the rear. Canned beer togo. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this place to any craft beer fan. As a matter of fact, I’d love to be back there now. As an overall brewery experience—beer variety, beer quality, bar & taproom ambiance and service quality—I’d say it came out on top for me.

My Rating: 5.0 • Untappd: 3.94

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Sergio’s World Beers

1605 Story Avenue, Louisville
Sergio’s Website

As we walked up to its unmarked exterior door, I had no idea what to expect inside. After ringing the doorbell, we were let into a front room with a bar and walls of shelving and coolers filled with beer. In the long, narrow building, as I walked toward the back seating room, I passed shelf after shelf with hundreds, maybe thousands, of bottles from everywhere in the world. My eyes were literally popping. My friend Kendall Joseph from Nashville, who had visited Sergio’s several times before, had told me you have to see it to believe it. Well, okay. Nothing can prepare you for this. Incredible. Kelly, the co-owner lady, was at the bar pouring drafts and talking about the bar’s history. I’m told, Sergio himself is often there, but he was out on a beer procuring mission when I was there. Check out their current draft list to get an idea of the place. An amazing world beer bar. Quite the novel experience.

My Rating: 5.0

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Akasha Brewing

909 East Market Street, Suite 700, Louisville
Akasha Website

Sitting off a big parking lot downtown, Akasha was not on our priority brewery list, but happened to be sitting near a restaurant at which we had just finished dinner. Several of us ventured over and sampled their wares. Pretty standard but very solid list. We sat at an outdoor table next to the parking lot. Not much ambience, but the beer was good.

My Rating: 3.75 • Untappd: 3.77

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Bluegrass Brewing

300 West Main Street, Louisville
Bluegrass Website

I think this downtown location is an historic craft brewery. I mean it might be the oldest of the area’s craft beer makers. Its daylight basement location made it seem more like a speakeasy than a modern craft brewery. While the beer was definitely drinkable, it also seemed a bit dated stylistically.

My Rating 3.25 • Untappd: 3.52

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Shippingport Brewing

1221 W. Main St.
Shippingport Website

Shippingport is one of those very basic urban brewery taprooms—nothing fancy or glamorous here—outside of the beer. Focusing on mostly standard, traditional beer styles, but doing them very, very well, this place impressed us. Though it may not look like much, and kind of sits alone in a commercial-industrial section of town, it excelled in offering well-made, flavorful beer with a friendly, laid-back vibe. On the food side, its small menu was competent and filling. Its brewer/owner, Amelia Pillow, was there and came over to chat with us during our Sunday visit for lunch and beers. She even joined us for a group photo. My kind of hangout.

My Rating 4.5 • Untappd 3.79

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Mile Wide Beer Co.

636 Barret Avenue, Louisville
Mile Wide Website

Mile Wide, like many other urban core breweries, operates out of an older building that has been converted to house a small brewery and taproom. It has a novel layout which includes a kitchen and a walled outdoor section. It’s a laid-back sort of place that focuses on current popular craft styles. A relaxed space, lots of concrete but friendly. Quite tasty drafts, too. Nice selection of cans togo.

My Rating: 4.0 • Untappd: 3.87

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If you’d like to give Louisville a visit—even if its mainly about the bourbon—do give some time to a local beer outlet or two. Check out the Louisville Ale Trail website for lots of helpful information. There’s a lot happening these days in the Falls City more than Falls City.