Tyler and Lori and the great places they've created.

I've said it before, and will repeat it now.

I live vicariously through what Lori Beck, Tyler Trotter and their staff have achieved at the Louisville Beer Store, Holy Grale, and the Gralehaus. They've painstakingly realized ideas that are great fun to conjecture over endless servings of ale, but far harder to actually achieve in the real world.

Trust me on this point.

They've implemented and refined these great ideas and brought them to fruition. They've earned the plaudits they receive now and in the future. Now, read this fine profile of Tyler, Lori and their world(s).

Hauses of the holy: How Tyler Trotter and Lori Beck amassed the beer trifecta — Louisville Beer Store, Holy Grale and Gralehaus, by Sarah Balliet (LEO Weekly)

Lori Beck and Tyler Trotter are the power couple behind the Louisville Beer Store, the Holy Grale bar and restaurant, and the new Gralehaus cafe. Bringing a taste of Europe to Louisvillians — who can be fiercely loyal to Kentucky bourbon and Southern culinary traditions — is, in a word, gutsy. And they’ve taken some heat for it. When they opened the Louisville Beer Store in 2009, reviews were peppered with words like “pretentious” and “hipster.” Their growing pains have most recently included a two-year legal battle with a distributor, which Beck and Trotter are slogging through to keep their doors open. (Since they are still under scrutiny, that story will unfold later this year).

The Gralehaus. "From the same people who run Holy Grale."

It is without the slightest tinge of irony, and absent any discernible snark, that I say: I live vicariously through what Lori Beck, Tyler Trotter and their staff have done at the Holy Grale, and now the Gralehaus. They are not necessarily new or original ideas, but this is not the point at all; they've painstakingly realized these ideas, refined and built and implemented them, and deserve all the plaudits they receive now and in the future for doing so.

Congratulations, salutations and best wishes.

I wouldn't be human if I didn't concede a measure of bittersweet reflection. I've wanted to do something like the Gralehaus since those early days in Europe. For 1,001 reasons, ranging from serendipity through circumstance, and not omitting the very palpable fact that I've had neither the money nor the aptitude to pretend otherwise, it was not to be.  So it goes, with no tears shed and rear-view mirrors reduced to shards with a hammer. But my enthusiasm for the Grale empire is absolutely sincere. I've always known it was possible, and I'm simply elated that they've gotten it done.

Keep on rocking, guys.

The much-anticipated Gralehaus opens today, offering a new take on breakfast and lunch fare, by Steve Kaufman (Insider Louisville)