Thanks to those who've sent me updates in response to the request to keep us posted on where to find good beer in Kentuckiana.
Over the weekend, Jim Huie wrote with this list of his current beers at Maido Essential Japanese (1758 Frankfort Ave., 894-8775).
Draft
Bell's Two-Hearted
Stone Arrogant Bastard
BBC APA
BBC Dark Star Porter
Kronenbourg 1664
Woodchuck Pear Cider
Regular Bottles
Ephemere
Dogfish Head Aprihop
McEwan's Scotch Ale
Bell's Sparkling (almost gone)
Bell's Oberon
Bell's Amber
Rogue Oregon Golden (under a case left)
Rogue Honey Cream
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Left Hand Milk Stout
Samuel Adam's Cherry Wheat
Bitburger
22+ Beers
Rogue Morimoto Imperial Pilsner
Rogue Morimoto Soba
Rogue Morimoto Black Obi
Stone Ruination IPA
Talon Barley Wine
Kirin Ichiban
Asahi Super Dry
Jim adds: "I have a goal to someday have Ruination on tap."
Good luck on that one. My pub, Rich O's Public House, was allocated two kegs of Ruination IPA for June (they're gone as of last week) with the stipulation that they be sold only during June and not at any other time.
I obeyed Stone's "rules" and sold both kegs, one delicious pint at a time, and it wasn't until the nectar was depleted that I questioned following a rule set down by a brewing company that prides itself on breaking rules.
Jim has put together a truly great and diverse short beer list, including one of my summertime favorites, Rogue Honey Cream. That's right -- I'm a big fan of golden ales when they're built like that.
The simple pleasures of beering locally. I'm older now, and simple beer pleasures are the most meaningful to me. They tend to be encountered locally. It is my aim to get unplugged and explore some of them, slowly and thoughtfully. I'd tell you where it's leading, except that I've no idea ... and that's the whole point of the journey: To find out.
Monday, June 27, 2005
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Gannett's sham rag Velocity omits us, but that's fine with me.
The past Wednesday was the occasion for Velocity's special dinng issue, purported to be a comprehensive listing of Louisville area eateries.
Last night I was asked why neither Rich O's Public House nor Sportstime Pizza appeared in this dining issue.
The answer is simple: I didn't return the survey because I was annoyed at the phone call from Velocity soliciting advertising for the special issue. It took five minutes to sift through the bluster to the point where it was acknowledged that we could be listed without buying an ad so long as we filled out a form, which was promptly received and immediately relegated to the waste paper basket.
Oh, well.
Last night I was asked why neither Rich O's Public House nor Sportstime Pizza appeared in this dining issue.
The answer is simple: I didn't return the survey because I was annoyed at the phone call from Velocity soliciting advertising for the special issue. It took five minutes to sift through the bluster to the point where it was acknowledged that we could be listed without buying an ad so long as we filled out a form, which was promptly received and immediately relegated to the waste paper basket.
Oh, well.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Irish Rover Too in today's LEO.
In today’s LEO, restaurant and food writer Marty Rosen reviews Irish Rover Too, the La Grange, Kentucky, branch of the long-established original Irish Rover on Frankfort Avenue.
No fears the second time around for Irish Rover Too
A strong case can be made that Marty, who in civilian life is the chief librarian at Indiana University Southeast, is the best pure writer among those ink-stained Louisvillians who tackle food and drink on a regular basis. He brings erudition to the table along with the meal and libations, and his prose is a joy to read.
Live a bit and you’ll come to realize that Irish pubs are akin to comfort food, but just because everyone’s grandmother could prepare meatloaf, it doesn’t mean that some recipes weren’t better than others.
Chain Irish pubs have begun to sprout across the landscape, and these are both reprehensible and generally populated by people who mistake Killian’s for beer. My advice in this instance, as with most other analogous situations in the pursuit of the perfect pint, is to avoid them.
The chains, and the people.
Outside of Ireland itself, I’ve been to Irish pubs throughout Europe, most of them operated by Irish expatriates, and all of them having at least Guinness in common, or else having no right to lay claim to comprehensible “Irishness.”
Last summer, while in the boondocks north of Atlanta for a family reunion, we discovered M'vorneen's in the unlikely locale of Cartersville, Georgia – and as with a previous experience long ago in Bucharest’s Dubliner, I learned yet again that a pint of stout goes a long way toward relieving a melancholy sense of unfamiliarity.
It is this unparalleled ability to relate to the inner desires of Anglophones that is the singular marketable commodity of Ireland. The Reidys always have done it well in Louisville, and I’m happy to see their La Grange experiment working out.
No fears the second time around for Irish Rover Too
A strong case can be made that Marty, who in civilian life is the chief librarian at Indiana University Southeast, is the best pure writer among those ink-stained Louisvillians who tackle food and drink on a regular basis. He brings erudition to the table along with the meal and libations, and his prose is a joy to read.
Live a bit and you’ll come to realize that Irish pubs are akin to comfort food, but just because everyone’s grandmother could prepare meatloaf, it doesn’t mean that some recipes weren’t better than others.
Chain Irish pubs have begun to sprout across the landscape, and these are both reprehensible and generally populated by people who mistake Killian’s for beer. My advice in this instance, as with most other analogous situations in the pursuit of the perfect pint, is to avoid them.
The chains, and the people.
Outside of Ireland itself, I’ve been to Irish pubs throughout Europe, most of them operated by Irish expatriates, and all of them having at least Guinness in common, or else having no right to lay claim to comprehensible “Irishness.”
Last summer, while in the boondocks north of Atlanta for a family reunion, we discovered M'vorneen's in the unlikely locale of Cartersville, Georgia – and as with a previous experience long ago in Bucharest’s Dubliner, I learned yet again that a pint of stout goes a long way toward relieving a melancholy sense of unfamiliarity.
It is this unparalleled ability to relate to the inner desires of Anglophones that is the singular marketable commodity of Ireland. The Reidys always have done it well in Louisville, and I’m happy to see their La Grange experiment working out.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
One road trip, three Indiana breweries: Brugge Brasserie, Broad Ripple and Oaken Barrel.
Recently my friend Greg and I motored to Indianapolis to have lunch and beers at Brugge Brasserie, the city’s newest brewpub. Afternooncaps were taken just up the Monon Trail at the venerable Broad River Brewing Company, then on the Southside at Oaken Barrel Brewing Company in Greenwood.
Coincidentally, the city’s NUVO newspaper chose the same week as our road trip to publish a feature on breweries and craft beer in Central Indiana:
Down to Drinking, by Rita Kohn
Head to Head: The Individuality of Taste, also by Rita Kohn
We began at Indiana's newest brewery.
Brugge Brasserie
Brugge Brasserie opened just a few weeks ago. It is an ambitious effort to duplicate the food menu at a typical Belgian restaurant – mussels, crepes, stews and café snacks – and accompany these culinary highlights with house-brewed Belgian styles.
So far, the results are promising. Décor is clean and modernistic, befitting a sit-down Belgian restaurant more so than a traditional café, and the server was knowledgeable and attentive.
We began with a herring appetizer. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was composed of pickled herring chunks, something more in keeping with the Baltic shoreline than Belgium’s North Sea frontage, although in fairness, it would be almost impossible to replicate the marvelous “new” herring filets with fresh chopped onion favored in Flanders and the Netherlands.
For the main course, Greg chose Carbonade Flamande (traditional Belgian beer and beef stew), while I opted for two pounds of mussels from Prince Edward Island, Canada, with a choice (typical in Belgium) of a half-dozen broths.
The meaty mussels were served heaping over the edges of the requisite black pot, and required a careful stacking of spent shells to avoid an avalanche. I’m compelled to quibble with the presentation of the side of fries – which, as most people know by now, is Belgian national obsession.
Brugge Brasserie serves what to my experience is an inauthentic variety of seasoned fries, something rarely if ever seen in Belgium, and brings them to the table in a paper cone (seen at Belgian street stands and never at restaurants) intended for sticking into holes cut in the tabletops.
Gimmicky. The fries should be parboiled, deep-fried and brought on a plate.
The Carbonade was suitably rich and tasty stew. The version served at Brugge Brasserie comes in an oversized bowl; like goulash in Central Europe and chili in America, there as many ways to prepare and serve the dish as there are cooks.
To be a spanking new brewpub is to frequently run through house beers until supply and demand are adjusted, so only three beers were available on draft on the day of our visit, along with Lindemans Framboise. We didn’t look to see if bottled Belgians are available.
Wit
Traditional Belgian-style cloudy wheat, yellowish-orange, heavier on the coriander than the orange spicing common to the style.
Pilsner
After all, pilsner derivatives (Stella, Maes, Jupiler) account for more than 70% of the beer consumed in Belgium. Really. Pale golden, noble hops; fresh-tasting Germanic derivative, as intended.
Abbey Dubbel
Dark and yeasty, with typical Belgian fruity esters coming out as the ale warmed. Excellent with the mussels and the beef stew.
For such a young establishment, all the elements are in place at Brugge Brasserie for it to be a showplace of a decidedly underserved genre, although certainly there’ll be ample tweaking along the way.
To top off a fine visit, we had an interesting conversation with owner/brewer Ted Miller, who recently was interviewed at Indiana Beer.
Ted attended high school with Kevin Matalucci, longtime brewer at Broad Ripple Brewing Company, then was followed by Kevin as Broad Ripple’s brewer, so it seemed perfectly reasonable to stroll the Monon Trail two scenic blocks, dodging roller blades, bikes and noontime strollers, and visit Kevin and his beers, always great favorites of the Curmudgeon’s.
Broad Ripple Brewing Company
Founded by Yorkshire native John Hill long before microbrewing and Broad Ripple were fashionable, Broad Ripple Brewing’s English-style ambience and flavorful ales remain a benchmark of the Indy beer scene.
Kevin’s ESB and IPA are bona fide Indiana-brewed classics, maybe heavier in body than generally experienced in England, but fiendishly drinkable and tickling the palate with bountiful hops.
Kevin is a gregarious and funny man, and I always look forward to hearing his updates during my infrequent visits to Broad Ripple.
Greg had never been to the Broad Ripple brewpub, so I enjoyed telling him the story about how the quintessentially British pub interior – wood, tin ceilings, upholstered wall seating, stained glass -- actually has not been in place for a hundred years. When John Hill arrived on the scene in the late 1980’s, the building housed an auto parts store.
Oaken Barrel Brewing Company
For a pint shy of two years, Ken Price has manned the helm at Oaken Barrel’s brewhouse. He says that business is good at the restaurant and brewpub, which is strategically placed along I-65 in Greenwood, permitting southerners a final chance at good beer before traversing the painful distance back to Louisville.
Oaken Barrel is installing a larger mash tun and brew kettle, and Ken looks forward to using the increased capacity to fill more fermenters, more quickly. After a period just prior to Ken’s arrival at Oaken Barrel, when Oaken Barrel aspired to be a regional store shelf player in the Upland Brewing mold, the company has sidestepped and opted for being a brewpub that does some distribution.
A good American-style IPA and a seasonal Maibock both stood up quite nicely with a plate of well-spiced chicken wings.
Greg may or may not have eaten … count the beers, and you’ll understand why I’m glad he volunteered to drive.
Coincidentally, the city’s NUVO newspaper chose the same week as our road trip to publish a feature on breweries and craft beer in Central Indiana:
Down to Drinking, by Rita Kohn
Head to Head: The Individuality of Taste, also by Rita Kohn
We began at Indiana's newest brewery.
Brugge Brasserie
Brugge Brasserie opened just a few weeks ago. It is an ambitious effort to duplicate the food menu at a typical Belgian restaurant – mussels, crepes, stews and café snacks – and accompany these culinary highlights with house-brewed Belgian styles.
So far, the results are promising. Décor is clean and modernistic, befitting a sit-down Belgian restaurant more so than a traditional café, and the server was knowledgeable and attentive.
We began with a herring appetizer. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was composed of pickled herring chunks, something more in keeping with the Baltic shoreline than Belgium’s North Sea frontage, although in fairness, it would be almost impossible to replicate the marvelous “new” herring filets with fresh chopped onion favored in Flanders and the Netherlands.
For the main course, Greg chose Carbonade Flamande (traditional Belgian beer and beef stew), while I opted for two pounds of mussels from Prince Edward Island, Canada, with a choice (typical in Belgium) of a half-dozen broths.
The meaty mussels were served heaping over the edges of the requisite black pot, and required a careful stacking of spent shells to avoid an avalanche. I’m compelled to quibble with the presentation of the side of fries – which, as most people know by now, is Belgian national obsession.
Brugge Brasserie serves what to my experience is an inauthentic variety of seasoned fries, something rarely if ever seen in Belgium, and brings them to the table in a paper cone (seen at Belgian street stands and never at restaurants) intended for sticking into holes cut in the tabletops.
Gimmicky. The fries should be parboiled, deep-fried and brought on a plate.
The Carbonade was suitably rich and tasty stew. The version served at Brugge Brasserie comes in an oversized bowl; like goulash in Central Europe and chili in America, there as many ways to prepare and serve the dish as there are cooks.
To be a spanking new brewpub is to frequently run through house beers until supply and demand are adjusted, so only three beers were available on draft on the day of our visit, along with Lindemans Framboise. We didn’t look to see if bottled Belgians are available.
Wit
Traditional Belgian-style cloudy wheat, yellowish-orange, heavier on the coriander than the orange spicing common to the style.
Pilsner
After all, pilsner derivatives (Stella, Maes, Jupiler) account for more than 70% of the beer consumed in Belgium. Really. Pale golden, noble hops; fresh-tasting Germanic derivative, as intended.
Abbey Dubbel
Dark and yeasty, with typical Belgian fruity esters coming out as the ale warmed. Excellent with the mussels and the beef stew.
For such a young establishment, all the elements are in place at Brugge Brasserie for it to be a showplace of a decidedly underserved genre, although certainly there’ll be ample tweaking along the way.
To top off a fine visit, we had an interesting conversation with owner/brewer Ted Miller, who recently was interviewed at Indiana Beer.
Ted attended high school with Kevin Matalucci, longtime brewer at Broad Ripple Brewing Company, then was followed by Kevin as Broad Ripple’s brewer, so it seemed perfectly reasonable to stroll the Monon Trail two scenic blocks, dodging roller blades, bikes and noontime strollers, and visit Kevin and his beers, always great favorites of the Curmudgeon’s.
Broad Ripple Brewing Company
Founded by Yorkshire native John Hill long before microbrewing and Broad Ripple were fashionable, Broad Ripple Brewing’s English-style ambience and flavorful ales remain a benchmark of the Indy beer scene.
Kevin’s ESB and IPA are bona fide Indiana-brewed classics, maybe heavier in body than generally experienced in England, but fiendishly drinkable and tickling the palate with bountiful hops.
Kevin is a gregarious and funny man, and I always look forward to hearing his updates during my infrequent visits to Broad Ripple.
Greg had never been to the Broad Ripple brewpub, so I enjoyed telling him the story about how the quintessentially British pub interior – wood, tin ceilings, upholstered wall seating, stained glass -- actually has not been in place for a hundred years. When John Hill arrived on the scene in the late 1980’s, the building housed an auto parts store.
Oaken Barrel Brewing Company
For a pint shy of two years, Ken Price has manned the helm at Oaken Barrel’s brewhouse. He says that business is good at the restaurant and brewpub, which is strategically placed along I-65 in Greenwood, permitting southerners a final chance at good beer before traversing the painful distance back to Louisville.
Oaken Barrel is installing a larger mash tun and brew kettle, and Ken looks forward to using the increased capacity to fill more fermenters, more quickly. After a period just prior to Ken’s arrival at Oaken Barrel, when Oaken Barrel aspired to be a regional store shelf player in the Upland Brewing mold, the company has sidestepped and opted for being a brewpub that does some distribution.
A good American-style IPA and a seasonal Maibock both stood up quite nicely with a plate of well-spiced chicken wings.
Greg may or may not have eaten … count the beers, and you’ll understand why I’m glad he volunteered to drive.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Excerpt from DUI Gulag.
Here's a pot stirrer.
DUI Gulag: MADD's Political Agenda
Here's an excerpt:
Instead of focusing on ways to remove the chronic/alcoholic drunk driver from our highways, MADD’s primary focus is upon "drivers who have had something to drink." MADD is undeterred by the fact that government accident and fatality data clearly show that low BAC "drivers who have had something to drink" do not pose a legitimate threat to public safety. The fact that a sleepy person or a person talking on a cell-phone while driving may be inherently more dangerous than someone who has had two or three beers to drink appears to be of no concern to MADD.
I think I wrote this once upon a time ...
DUI Gulag: MADD's Political Agenda
Here's an excerpt:
Instead of focusing on ways to remove the chronic/alcoholic drunk driver from our highways, MADD’s primary focus is upon "drivers who have had something to drink." MADD is undeterred by the fact that government accident and fatality data clearly show that low BAC "drivers who have had something to drink" do not pose a legitimate threat to public safety. The fact that a sleepy person or a person talking on a cell-phone while driving may be inherently more dangerous than someone who has had two or three beers to drink appears to be of no concern to MADD.
I think I wrote this once upon a time ...
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Tim Webb returns with a fully updated "Good Beer Guide to Belgium."
British beer writer Tim Webb’s essential “Good Beer Guide to Belgium” guidebook has been updated, and the new version is being published this summer.
Webb's Belgian beer guide is a classic, but not just because it is essential for any beer lover contemplating a trip to Belgium who seeks the most accurate information on where to find the best beers and what to drink once there.
In terms of style, Webb writes with acerbic wit, refusing to suffer fools, international brewing conglomerates and bad beers alike. To read his guidebook is to receive a primer on what it means to be a beer aficionado in a world that unthinkingly accepts the mediocre.
In conjunction with Destinations Booksellers in New Albany, I’ll try to put together a bulk order for Webb's book if enough people are interested in owning a copy. Please let me know.
Webb's Belgian beer guide is a classic, but not just because it is essential for any beer lover contemplating a trip to Belgium who seeks the most accurate information on where to find the best beers and what to drink once there.
In terms of style, Webb writes with acerbic wit, refusing to suffer fools, international brewing conglomerates and bad beers alike. To read his guidebook is to receive a primer on what it means to be a beer aficionado in a world that unthinkingly accepts the mediocre.
In conjunction with Destinations Booksellers in New Albany, I’ll try to put together a bulk order for Webb's book if enough people are interested in owning a copy. Please let me know.
Friday, June 03, 2005
Frankfort Avenue Corridor/Clifton: Please help edit and augment the Curmudgeon's area good beer selections.
Readers, this is the sixth of several posts that provide sections of my forthcoming Good Beer Guide to Kentuckiana, which will be posted at the Potable Curmudgeon web site.Your help is badly needed. What have I gotten wrong, forgotten, omitted?
---------------------
FRANKFORT AVENUE CORRIDOR/CLIFTON
Beginning in the early 1990’s, the stretch of Frankfort Avenue from Story Avenue to the intersection with Lexington Road became home to numerous restaurants, shops and pubs, with particular concentration in the Clifton neighborhood.
Bourbons Bistro
2255 Frankfort Ave.
894-8838
By most accounts, this newly opened establishment (spring, 2005) has the most extensive list of bourbons in the city. No word yet on beer.
Café Lou Lou
1800 Frankfort Ave.
893-7776
It may boast the bizarrely trendy Pabst Blue Ribbon on its web site, but owner/chef Clay Wallace tells us that there is good beer to be found within.
Caffè Classico Espresso Café
2144 Frankfort Ave.
894-0199
If you’re a fan of European coffee and espresso and prefer the gentler, more refined continental approach to caffeine absorption, you’ll love Tommie Mudd’s Caffe Classico.
A Europhile by way of Buenos Aires (his wife’s birthplace), Tommie’s Italian espresso roast is sleeker, smoother and less oily than the Seattle-style that most of us grew up enjoying, and which in fairness, continue to drink at other Frankfort Avenue coffee houses (Heine Brothers, Java Brewing) – of course, depending on the mood.
Caffe Classico goes beyond excellent coffee, and also has sandwiches, light meals and a short beer list, mostly lagers, but also featuring Duvel, still one of the must-stock Belgians.
Irish Rover
2319 Frankfort Avenue
899-3544
The original Irish Rover on Frankfort Ave. (recently joined by the Irish Rover, Too in Lagrange) has been the yardstick for Irish pubs in Louisville since 1994.
Michael and Siobhan Reidy offer the standard Hibernian lineup of well-kept draft ales and lagers, along with a kitchen that integrates classic Irish recipes with new trends in the island’s cookery. Highly atmospheric, and much recommended.
Maido Essential Japanese
1758 Frankfort Ave.
894-8775
A critically praised Osaka-style “pub, sake bar and eatery,” with a very good beer list assembled by co-owner Jim Huie, formerly a bartender at BBC St. Matthews, described in this Potable Curmudgeon blog entry.
North End Cafe
1722 Frankfort Ave.
896-8770
We’re awaiting word on the beer list at this recently expanded restaurant.
---------------------
FRANKFORT AVENUE CORRIDOR/CLIFTON
Beginning in the early 1990’s, the stretch of Frankfort Avenue from Story Avenue to the intersection with Lexington Road became home to numerous restaurants, shops and pubs, with particular concentration in the Clifton neighborhood.
Bourbons Bistro
2255 Frankfort Ave.
894-8838
By most accounts, this newly opened establishment (spring, 2005) has the most extensive list of bourbons in the city. No word yet on beer.
Café Lou Lou
1800 Frankfort Ave.
893-7776
It may boast the bizarrely trendy Pabst Blue Ribbon on its web site, but owner/chef Clay Wallace tells us that there is good beer to be found within.
Caffè Classico Espresso Café
2144 Frankfort Ave.
894-0199
If you’re a fan of European coffee and espresso and prefer the gentler, more refined continental approach to caffeine absorption, you’ll love Tommie Mudd’s Caffe Classico.
A Europhile by way of Buenos Aires (his wife’s birthplace), Tommie’s Italian espresso roast is sleeker, smoother and less oily than the Seattle-style that most of us grew up enjoying, and which in fairness, continue to drink at other Frankfort Avenue coffee houses (Heine Brothers, Java Brewing) – of course, depending on the mood.
Caffe Classico goes beyond excellent coffee, and also has sandwiches, light meals and a short beer list, mostly lagers, but also featuring Duvel, still one of the must-stock Belgians.
Irish Rover
2319 Frankfort Avenue
899-3544
The original Irish Rover on Frankfort Ave. (recently joined by the Irish Rover, Too in Lagrange) has been the yardstick for Irish pubs in Louisville since 1994.
Michael and Siobhan Reidy offer the standard Hibernian lineup of well-kept draft ales and lagers, along with a kitchen that integrates classic Irish recipes with new trends in the island’s cookery. Highly atmospheric, and much recommended.
Maido Essential Japanese
1758 Frankfort Ave.
894-8775
A critically praised Osaka-style “pub, sake bar and eatery,” with a very good beer list assembled by co-owner Jim Huie, formerly a bartender at BBC St. Matthews, described in this Potable Curmudgeon blog entry.
North End Cafe
1722 Frankfort Ave.
896-8770
We’re awaiting word on the beer list at this recently expanded restaurant.
Baxter Avenue Strip: Please help edit and augment the Curmudgeon's area good beer selections.
Readers, this is the fifth of several posts that provide sections of my forthcoming Good Beer Guide to Kentuckiana, which will be posted at the Potable Curmudgeon web site.Your help is badly needed. What have I gotten wrong, forgotten, omitted?
---------------------
BAXTER AVENUE STRIP
Probably Louisville’s heaviest concentration of bars, restaurants and clubs, and in recent years the object of much scrutiny on the part of neighborhood activists, this area is in flux with the advent of 4th Street Live.
Flanagan’s Ale House
934 Baxter Ave
585-3700
Owned by the same family as O’Shea’s, and with an import-accented bottled beer list tending to be more stylistically challenging than the area norm.
Molly Malone’s Irish Pub and Restaurant
933 Baxter Avenue
473-1222
In the beginning, Molly Malone’s was long on expensive imported décor and short on charm, but this has changed, and the pub seems to have settled into its niche with good grace. A younger, perhaps rowdier crowd testifies to its location along the Baxter Avenue strip. Fine outdoor seating in front.
O’Shea’s Traditional
956 Baxter Avenue
589-7373
Steadily evolving during the first decade of its operation, O’Shea’s has become a dependable venue with solid pub grub, frequent musical entertainment and yet another above average outdoor seating area.
Irish standbys Guinness, Harp and Smithwick’s are joined by Rogue and Goose Island seasonals on a mid-range draft list, while the bottled list leans heavier toward the British Isles, but includes a few more esoteric styles, represented notably by Celebrator Doppelbock and Duvel.
Outlook Inn
916 Baxter Ave.
583-4661
This fabled late-night meeting place has less to do with good beers, although they’re served right alongside the more popular swill, than with thirty years of experience catering to Highlands drinkers.
Wick’s Pizza Parlor
975 Baxter Avenue
458-1828
Wick’s now operates at multiple locations, though it is known primarily for the original Baxter Avenue shop. Perhaps a good beer or two (Bass?) is available on tap, but the pie’s decent, and the other nearby choices place it squarely on the Baxter pub crawl circuit.
Willy’s
942 Baxter Ave.
583-2969
Originally “Wet Willy’s,” an idea that strangely coincided with a Florida bar chain of the same name, and famously ran afoul of local animal rights activists concerned with a proposal to have live alligators (or something equally absurd) roaming beneath a glass dance floor … conceived and operated by local “club concept” masters … catering to a very young crowd … none of which bodes well for quality of the 68 beers said to be on tap (including swill and cider) … but to each his or her own.
---------------------
BAXTER AVENUE STRIP
Probably Louisville’s heaviest concentration of bars, restaurants and clubs, and in recent years the object of much scrutiny on the part of neighborhood activists, this area is in flux with the advent of 4th Street Live.
Flanagan’s Ale House
934 Baxter Ave
585-3700
Owned by the same family as O’Shea’s, and with an import-accented bottled beer list tending to be more stylistically challenging than the area norm.
Molly Malone’s Irish Pub and Restaurant
933 Baxter Avenue
473-1222
In the beginning, Molly Malone’s was long on expensive imported décor and short on charm, but this has changed, and the pub seems to have settled into its niche with good grace. A younger, perhaps rowdier crowd testifies to its location along the Baxter Avenue strip. Fine outdoor seating in front.
O’Shea’s Traditional
956 Baxter Avenue
589-7373
Steadily evolving during the first decade of its operation, O’Shea’s has become a dependable venue with solid pub grub, frequent musical entertainment and yet another above average outdoor seating area.
Irish standbys Guinness, Harp and Smithwick’s are joined by Rogue and Goose Island seasonals on a mid-range draft list, while the bottled list leans heavier toward the British Isles, but includes a few more esoteric styles, represented notably by Celebrator Doppelbock and Duvel.
Outlook Inn
916 Baxter Ave.
583-4661
This fabled late-night meeting place has less to do with good beers, although they’re served right alongside the more popular swill, than with thirty years of experience catering to Highlands drinkers.
Wick’s Pizza Parlor
975 Baxter Avenue
458-1828
Wick’s now operates at multiple locations, though it is known primarily for the original Baxter Avenue shop. Perhaps a good beer or two (Bass?) is available on tap, but the pie’s decent, and the other nearby choices place it squarely on the Baxter pub crawl circuit.
Willy’s
942 Baxter Ave.
583-2969
Originally “Wet Willy’s,” an idea that strangely coincided with a Florida bar chain of the same name, and famously ran afoul of local animal rights activists concerned with a proposal to have live alligators (or something equally absurd) roaming beneath a glass dance floor … conceived and operated by local “club concept” masters … catering to a very young crowd … none of which bodes well for quality of the 68 beers said to be on tap (including swill and cider) … but to each his or her own.
4th Street Live/Near 4th Street Live: Please help edit and augment the Curmudgeon's area good beer selections.
Readers, this is the fourth of several posts that provide sections of my forthcoming Good Beer Guide to Kentuckiana, which will be posted at the Potable Curmudgeon web site.Your help is badly needed. What have I gotten wrong, forgotten, omitted?
---------------------
4th STREET LIVE
4TH Street Live, which opened in 2004, is Louisville’s latest effort to remake its moribund downtown, this time in the image of the many Cordish real estate company’s developments throughout the United States.
As such, considering the company’s long track record, bountiful incentives provided by local and state governments, and an influx of people actually living downtown for the first time in recent memory, the effort stands a very good chance of succeeding.
The less said about Hard Rock Cafe and TGI Friday’s, the better.
Early results suggest that a demographic shift in entertainment habits is under way, with food and drink businesses in the Highlands and Frankfort Avenue and Bardstown Road corridors reinventing themselves by moving away from the younger party crowd that flocks to 4th Street Live’s posh, neon-encased clubs.
When 4th Street is closed off for special concerts, a special “area” alcohol license enables people to walk the street freely between establishments.
The Pub Louisville
569-7782
Nicholson’s Scottish pub in Cincinnati is part of the same tavern chain as The Pub, and the two share many traits.
Drafts are heavily English/Scots/Irish, with a representative list of bottled beers, wines and spirits. There is a stated intent to offer cask ales, but as yet, no information on their frequency. If Nicholson’s can be taken as a guide, then we may expect cask offerings from B. United International and Shelton Brothers, served with a cask breather, and very high priced.
Sully’s Saloon & Restaurant
585-4100
Boasting just enough Celtic imagery to be classified as “faux” Irish, and meriting further research.
Maker’s Mark Bourbon House & Lounge
568-9009
Obviously mentioned here not for the beer, and also not just for the Maker’s Mark, as the management expresses a commitment to showcasing bourbons from all Kentucky distillers.
NEAR 4TH STREET LIVE
Crowds drawn to the Cordish entertainment enclave are starting to see more locally owned options just outside the boundaries, including coffee shops, delis, and at least one beer-friendly establishment.
BBC 4th Street
2 Theatre Square (north of Broadway)
568-2224
As if the BBC saga weren’t already confusing, another outpost has popped up just south of 4th Street Live, on Theatre Square (itself the remnant of a 1980’s revitalization effort), roughly opposite downtown’s most atmospheric musical venue, the Louisville Palace.
BBC 4th Street serves beers brewed in St. Matthews by Jerry Gnagy, and food prepared by the owners of Third Avenue Café, who are the primary operators of this newest BBC.
Since brewster Eileen Martin, late of Browning’s, is managing BBC 4th Street, there is some talk of brewing on site at some point in the future.
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4th STREET LIVE
4TH Street Live, which opened in 2004, is Louisville’s latest effort to remake its moribund downtown, this time in the image of the many Cordish real estate company’s developments throughout the United States.
As such, considering the company’s long track record, bountiful incentives provided by local and state governments, and an influx of people actually living downtown for the first time in recent memory, the effort stands a very good chance of succeeding.
The less said about Hard Rock Cafe and TGI Friday’s, the better.
Early results suggest that a demographic shift in entertainment habits is under way, with food and drink businesses in the Highlands and Frankfort Avenue and Bardstown Road corridors reinventing themselves by moving away from the younger party crowd that flocks to 4th Street Live’s posh, neon-encased clubs.
When 4th Street is closed off for special concerts, a special “area” alcohol license enables people to walk the street freely between establishments.
The Pub Louisville
569-7782
Nicholson’s Scottish pub in Cincinnati is part of the same tavern chain as The Pub, and the two share many traits.
Drafts are heavily English/Scots/Irish, with a representative list of bottled beers, wines and spirits. There is a stated intent to offer cask ales, but as yet, no information on their frequency. If Nicholson’s can be taken as a guide, then we may expect cask offerings from B. United International and Shelton Brothers, served with a cask breather, and very high priced.
Sully’s Saloon & Restaurant
585-4100
Boasting just enough Celtic imagery to be classified as “faux” Irish, and meriting further research.
Maker’s Mark Bourbon House & Lounge
568-9009
Obviously mentioned here not for the beer, and also not just for the Maker’s Mark, as the management expresses a commitment to showcasing bourbons from all Kentucky distillers.
NEAR 4TH STREET LIVE
Crowds drawn to the Cordish entertainment enclave are starting to see more locally owned options just outside the boundaries, including coffee shops, delis, and at least one beer-friendly establishment.
BBC 4th Street
2 Theatre Square (north of Broadway)
568-2224
As if the BBC saga weren’t already confusing, another outpost has popped up just south of 4th Street Live, on Theatre Square (itself the remnant of a 1980’s revitalization effort), roughly opposite downtown’s most atmospheric musical venue, the Louisville Palace.
BBC 4th Street serves beers brewed in St. Matthews by Jerry Gnagy, and food prepared by the owners of Third Avenue Café, who are the primary operators of this newest BBC.
Since brewster Eileen Martin, late of Browning’s, is managing BBC 4th Street, there is some talk of brewing on site at some point in the future.
Irish Pubs: Please help edit and augment the Curmudgeon's area good beer selections.
Readers, this is the third of several posts that provide sections of my forthcoming Good Beer Guide to Kentuckiana, which will be posted at the Potable Curmudgeon web site.Your help is badly needed. What have I gotten wrong, forgotten, omitted?
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IRISH PUBS
The Irish Rover paved the Anglo-Irish pub path more than ten years ago, and numerous competitors have followed in the Reidys’ footsteps. Kitty O’Kirwan’s (Irish) and Sir Churchill’s (English) are two that didn’t make the cut.
Irish Rover
2319 Frankfort Avenue
899-3544
The original Irish Rover on Frankfort Ave. (recently joined by the Irish Rover, Too in Lagrange) has been the yardstick for Irish pubs in Louisville since 1994.
Michael and Siobhan Reidy offer the standard Hibernian lineup of well-kept draft ales and lagers, along with a kitchen that integrates classic Irish recipes with new trends in the island’s cookery. Highly atmospheric, and much recommended.
Molly Malone’s Irish Pub and Restaurant
933 Baxter Avenue
473-1222
In the beginning, Molly Malone’s was long on expensive imported décor and short on charm, but this has changed, and the pub seems to have settled into its niche with good grace. A younger, perhaps rowdier crowd testifies to its location along the Baxter Avenue strip. Fine outdoor seating in front.
O’Shea’s Traditional
956 Baxter Avenue
589-7373
Steadily evolving during the first decade of its operation, O’Shea’s has become a dependable venue with solid pub grub, frequent musical entertainment and yet another above average outdoor seating area.
Irish standbys Guinness, Harp and Smithwick’s are joined by Rogue and Goose Island seasonals on a mid-range draft list, while the bottled list leans heavier toward the British Isles, but includes a few more esoteric styles, represented notably by Celebrator Doppelbock and Duvel.
---------------------
IRISH PUBS
The Irish Rover paved the Anglo-Irish pub path more than ten years ago, and numerous competitors have followed in the Reidys’ footsteps. Kitty O’Kirwan’s (Irish) and Sir Churchill’s (English) are two that didn’t make the cut.
Irish Rover
2319 Frankfort Avenue
899-3544
The original Irish Rover on Frankfort Ave. (recently joined by the Irish Rover, Too in Lagrange) has been the yardstick for Irish pubs in Louisville since 1994.
Michael and Siobhan Reidy offer the standard Hibernian lineup of well-kept draft ales and lagers, along with a kitchen that integrates classic Irish recipes with new trends in the island’s cookery. Highly atmospheric, and much recommended.
Molly Malone’s Irish Pub and Restaurant
933 Baxter Avenue
473-1222
In the beginning, Molly Malone’s was long on expensive imported décor and short on charm, but this has changed, and the pub seems to have settled into its niche with good grace. A younger, perhaps rowdier crowd testifies to its location along the Baxter Avenue strip. Fine outdoor seating in front.
O’Shea’s Traditional
956 Baxter Avenue
589-7373
Steadily evolving during the first decade of its operation, O’Shea’s has become a dependable venue with solid pub grub, frequent musical entertainment and yet another above average outdoor seating area.
Irish standbys Guinness, Harp and Smithwick’s are joined by Rogue and Goose Island seasonals on a mid-range draft list, while the bottled list leans heavier toward the British Isles, but includes a few more esoteric styles, represented notably by Celebrator Doppelbock and Duvel.
Breweries in Metro Louisville: Please help edit and augment the Curmudgeon's area good beer selections.
Readers, this is the second of several posts that provide sections of my forthcoming Good Beer Guide to Kentuckiana, which will be posted at the Potable Curmudgeon web site.Your help is badly needed. What have I gotten wrong, forgotten, omitted?
----------------------------------
BREWERIES IN METRO LOUISVILLE
Swill may yet reign as Louisville’s beer of choice, but the city still manages to sustain five separate brewing entities.
BBC Brewing Company
636 East Main Street
584-2739
Located on the downtown Louisville site of the now defunct Pipkin Brewing Company, BBC Brewing is a production brewery wholly separate from the original brewpub from which it was spawned. This split came about as a result of what can only be called an “uncivil war” between brewpub and brewery investors, circa 2002.
Eventually a settlement was reached, and now BBC Brewing Company produces kegs and bottles for off-premise sales, with original BBC brewmaster David Pierce crafting versions of his classic styles (Alt, Dark Star Porter) similar to, and in the case of the APA, markedly superior, to those still brewed in St. Matthews.
No food service is offered at the Taproom, but visitors are invited to bring their own snacks and meals or consult a handy guide to local eateries that will deliver.
Bluegrass Brewing Company
3939 Shelbyville Road
899-7070
The original BBC brewpub (1993) is located on Shelbyville Road in the St. Matthews neighborhood on Louisville’s east side. The brewer is Jerry Gnagy, and the beer lineup includes classic BBC styles (American Pale Ale, Dark Star Porter, et al) as formulated by original brewmaster David Pierce, as well as Jerry’s own rotating seasonals (an excellent California Common, for one, and also the headsplitting Ultra) and even a few holdovers (Mephistopheles Metamorphosis) from Tim Rastetter, who served as a consultant for a brief period circa 2002-2003.
Food is served seven days a week, televised sports and live music are constants, and there is an attractive outdoor seating area.
Browning’s Restaurant & Brewery
401 East Main Street (at Louisville Slugger Field)
515-0174
Fine dining (Park Place on Main) and a brewpub (Browning’s Restaurant & Brewery), both under the same management, lie side by side within Louisville Slugger Field, home of the city’s Triple-A Bats. The showpiece tower brewing system that serves as the central design feature of Browning’s has often been mistaken for a spittoon by a series of “no speak beer” owners and decision makers, but the brewpub remains the only hope for a decent pint of beer within the confines of the notoriously beer-unfriendly Slugger Field.
Cumberland Brews
1576 Bardstown Road
458-8727
Matt Gould, the hardest-working brewer in Louisville, squeezes every last drop of quality out of an impossibly tiny 2-barrel system in the very heart of the Highlands, with personal favorites including Nitro Porter and Pale Ale.
Opened by the Allgeier family in 2000, Cumberland Brews has garnered consistently good reviews for the quality of its kitchen and the intimate conviviality of the atmosphere.
New Albanian Brewing Company
3312 Plaza Drive, New Albany
812-949-2804
Established in 2002, NABC is the microbrewing arm of New Albany’s Rich O’s Public House (the area’s finest specialty beer bar since 1992) and Sportstime Pizza, which began operations in 1987.
In April, 2005, the brewing baton was passed from Michael Borchers to Jesse Williams, and it is hoped that an increase in brewing capacity will be achieved later in the year.
----------------------------------
BREWERIES IN METRO LOUISVILLE
Swill may yet reign as Louisville’s beer of choice, but the city still manages to sustain five separate brewing entities.
BBC Brewing Company
636 East Main Street
584-2739
Located on the downtown Louisville site of the now defunct Pipkin Brewing Company, BBC Brewing is a production brewery wholly separate from the original brewpub from which it was spawned. This split came about as a result of what can only be called an “uncivil war” between brewpub and brewery investors, circa 2002.
Eventually a settlement was reached, and now BBC Brewing Company produces kegs and bottles for off-premise sales, with original BBC brewmaster David Pierce crafting versions of his classic styles (Alt, Dark Star Porter) similar to, and in the case of the APA, markedly superior, to those still brewed in St. Matthews.
No food service is offered at the Taproom, but visitors are invited to bring their own snacks and meals or consult a handy guide to local eateries that will deliver.
Bluegrass Brewing Company
3939 Shelbyville Road
899-7070
The original BBC brewpub (1993) is located on Shelbyville Road in the St. Matthews neighborhood on Louisville’s east side. The brewer is Jerry Gnagy, and the beer lineup includes classic BBC styles (American Pale Ale, Dark Star Porter, et al) as formulated by original brewmaster David Pierce, as well as Jerry’s own rotating seasonals (an excellent California Common, for one, and also the headsplitting Ultra) and even a few holdovers (Mephistopheles Metamorphosis) from Tim Rastetter, who served as a consultant for a brief period circa 2002-2003.
Food is served seven days a week, televised sports and live music are constants, and there is an attractive outdoor seating area.
Browning’s Restaurant & Brewery
401 East Main Street (at Louisville Slugger Field)
515-0174
Fine dining (Park Place on Main) and a brewpub (Browning’s Restaurant & Brewery), both under the same management, lie side by side within Louisville Slugger Field, home of the city’s Triple-A Bats. The showpiece tower brewing system that serves as the central design feature of Browning’s has often been mistaken for a spittoon by a series of “no speak beer” owners and decision makers, but the brewpub remains the only hope for a decent pint of beer within the confines of the notoriously beer-unfriendly Slugger Field.
Cumberland Brews
1576 Bardstown Road
458-8727
Matt Gould, the hardest-working brewer in Louisville, squeezes every last drop of quality out of an impossibly tiny 2-barrel system in the very heart of the Highlands, with personal favorites including Nitro Porter and Pale Ale.
Opened by the Allgeier family in 2000, Cumberland Brews has garnered consistently good reviews for the quality of its kitchen and the intimate conviviality of the atmosphere.
New Albanian Brewing Company
3312 Plaza Drive, New Albany
812-949-2804
Established in 2002, NABC is the microbrewing arm of New Albany’s Rich O’s Public House (the area’s finest specialty beer bar since 1992) and Sportstime Pizza, which began operations in 1987.
In April, 2005, the brewing baton was passed from Michael Borchers to Jesse Williams, and it is hoped that an increase in brewing capacity will be achieved later in the year.
Indiana Package Stores: Please help edit and augment the Curmudgeon's area good beer selections.
Readers, this is the first of several posts that provide sections of my forthcoming Good Beer Guide to Kentuckiana, which will be posted at the Potable Curmudgeon web site.
Your help is badly needed. What have I gotten wrong, forgotten, omitted?
------------
INDIANA PACKAGE STORES
Bridge Liquors
110 Knable Lane
812-945-6396
Located near Floyd Memorial Hospital, this decades-old, family-owned business has enjoyed sustainable evolutionary growth over the years, and only recently expanded again, doubling the stores’ floor space. Bridge Liquors is aggressively pursuing the local craft beer consumer with a broadened selection of microbrews and imports.
Old Mill Wine & Spirits
2876 Charlestown Road, New Albany
812-941-1350
Since the mid-1990’s, Old Mill has stocked the widest overall variety of beer, wine and spirits, with its wine selection especially drawing plaudits from Louisville critics – no mean feat. The beer selection remains far above average, but Bridge is nipping at Old Mill’s heels, and in the view of many, may already have surpassed it.
Your help is badly needed. What have I gotten wrong, forgotten, omitted?
------------
INDIANA PACKAGE STORES
Bridge Liquors
110 Knable Lane
812-945-6396
Located near Floyd Memorial Hospital, this decades-old, family-owned business has enjoyed sustainable evolutionary growth over the years, and only recently expanded again, doubling the stores’ floor space. Bridge Liquors is aggressively pursuing the local craft beer consumer with a broadened selection of microbrews and imports.
Old Mill Wine & Spirits
2876 Charlestown Road, New Albany
812-941-1350
Since the mid-1990’s, Old Mill has stocked the widest overall variety of beer, wine and spirits, with its wine selection especially drawing plaudits from Louisville critics – no mean feat. The beer selection remains far above average, but Bridge is nipping at Old Mill’s heels, and in the view of many, may already have surpassed it.