Louisville Magazine is Louisville's city magazine, covering Louisville people, lifestyles, politics, sports, restaurants, entertainment and homes. Includes a monthly calendar of events.
Issue link: https://loumag.epubxp.com/i/53439
[ Editor's Letter ] Beer Town, U.S.A. B Y KANE WEBB "A human being is primarily a bag for putting food into; the other functions and faculties may be more godlike, but in point of time they come afterwards. . . . I think it could be plausibly argued that changes of diet are more important than changes of dynasty or even of religion. Te Great War, for instance, could never have happened if tinned food had not been invented. . . . Yet it is curious how seldom the all-importance of food is recognized. You see statues everywhere to politicians, poets, bishops, but none to cooks or bacon-curers or market-gardeners." — George Orwell If food defines the man, it defines cities, too. New Orleans? Po' boys and muffalettas and tourism built on restaurants. Chicago? Brick- thick pizza. New York? Pizza again, though thin and foldable, and street-vendor hot dogs and whatever's trendy in international kitchens. Louisville? Hot Browns, I guess, and maybe Benedictine? But I tell folks that I've found Louisville to be a "great drinking town — and I don't mean that in an alcoholic way, if you know what I mean." Most people do. Beyond the inherent bourbon culture, which informs this state the way oranges do Florida, Louisville has a striking neighborhood-pub feel to it. And the feeling is getting stronger. New brewpubs and gastropubs seem to open on the hour. Some places offer dozens of beer choices, with the taps changing regularly. How could a city magazine worth its ink ignore this trend? So we bellied up to the bars, dug beneath the suds and surveyed this growing cottage industry, producing a user's guide to Louisville beers and beer joints that should at least get you through the winter. I know what you're thinking: "A beer issue, Thanks, Mabel. You will be missed. December 2011 cover girl. 1998-2012 [8] LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 2.12 huh? What a gig. You so-called journalists tip a few back and call it 'work.' Or, better, 'research.' Please." Oh, ye strawman of little faith and too much cynicism. Beer research takes time. It takes commitment and dedication. Why, some weekends demanded stops at three or four bars. Tis was no tiptoe through the taps. Tis was . . . aw, who am I kidding? We (hiccup) loved it. And not just for the reasons you might think. (Although those weren't bad.) But because full immersion into this town's beer scene resulted in better getting to know the town itself. Beer is serious business in Louisville. At most stops, listening to obvious regulars order their brews, I was reminded of nothing so much as sommeliers on a business trip through Napa's vineyards. Tese folks know porters and stouts. Tey can talk ABV, IBU and IPA. When I asked Sergio Ribenboim of Sergio's World Beers why he didn't have a sign outside, he said he wanted only serious beer drinkers; that is, those who appreciated the unique tastes of great beers. He doesn't run a bar; he runs a kind of club. In the end, this longtime beer drinker — first beer, a sip of my dad's Schlitz circa 1978 — learned to appreciate a whole new world of frothy tastes. I discovered I like sours and porters (though not smoky ones). And I found the local beer experts keen to share their knowledge without sounding like wine snobs. We even asked some proprietors what's in their refrigerators, beer-wise, and found a fair number of cheap domestics mingling on the shelves with the good stuff. Beer may or may not be the "new bourbon," but it's come a long way from Budweiser or bust. Oh, and in the spirit of full disclosure, here's what's in our refrigerators: Me: Tree seasonal Blue Moons, a handful of Miller Lite bottles, two Tecates in cans, a lonely bottle of Stella Artois and a fresh six-pack of the Champagne of Beers, Miller High Life. Bottles, of course. Jack Welch, senior editor and wordsmith: "I have a couple bottles of Bohemia, an earthy Mexican beer; a couple of Beck's; a couple of Pilsner Urquells and the bottom of a growler of Falls City." Melissa Duley, associate editor, editor of our special publications and the one who came up with the idea for this beer bash: "A Blue Moon left by a friend last summer. Predict it will still be there this summer. I'm a bourbon girl!" Josh Moss, managing editor and editor of the beer package: "Trader Joe's Vintage Ale, Kwak, Delirium Nocturnum, one Miller Lite can, Bud Light tall boys, Bud Light bottles, one Coors Light bottle, Land Shark, Great Lakes Christmas Ale, Harpoon Winter Warmer, Widmer Bros. Pitch Black IPA, Abita Christmas Ale, New Belgium Snow Day, Bell's Christmas Ale, Southern Tier Old Man Winter Ale." (Note the first: Well, Moss did recently host a party.) (Note the second: Art director Suki Anderson and photographer John Nation aren't beer drinkers. Tey just made the beers look really good in the photos.)