Calendar check: Phoenix Hill Tavern beer festival, coming June 23.

We've been told that Louisville's Phoenix Hill Tavern will be having its first-ever beer festival this summer on Saturday, June 23. Tentatively, the festival (conducted in a customary sampling format) will take place in the tavern's parking lot, with live music and a “food truckus ruckus,” i.e., local food trucks offering edibles for the day.

I completely agree with the sentiments of Jason Schuster, the craft beer brand manager at River City (NABC's Louisville wholesaler):

The beauty in this account is that they draw not only the hard core craft fans but also more mainstream customers, who may be introduced to a brand that they have not tried previously. In other words, this is a great sampling opportunity!

Indeed, Phoenix Hill (founded in 1976) is renowned as a musical venue, but not considered a go-to craft beer showplace. This may or may not change owing merely to a craft beer festival, but surely Jason is right. In terms of demographics, this should be a fine showcase for better beer.

Seeing as one of Louisville's more famous pre-Prohibition breweries, Phoenix, was located just down the street from the premises of the present-day tavern (NABC's annual sour ale is named after it), perhaps there'll be a few ghostly interventions on top of the rest. As always, stay tuned for more details.