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
Lori Beck and Tyler Trotter, from Holy Grale and the Beer Store. OUR 11 FAVORITE 2012 BEER FESTIVALS Gravity Head (Feb. 24 to mid-March) New Albanian Brewing Co.'s publican, Roger Baylor, assembles the finest list of high-alcohol beers from around the globe. Drink responsibly — or at least save a few dollars for a taxi. GO TO HOLY GRALE (1034 Bardstown Road) Drink: We've been to Holy Grale more times than we'd like to admit, and almost every time we're there, the selection of draft beers — the majority of which we've never heard of — is different from the previous trip. Whenever it's on tap, Founders' hoppy and rich Double Trouble never disappoints. Or try a blind sampling of a bartender's four picks. Guess them all right and the flight is free. To date, no customers — and just three staffers — have nailed all four. Sit: At the bar directly in front of the 20 chalkboard nameplates, each beer written out in colorful letters and arranged by alcohol content, the most potent on the bottom. Staring at them inspires courageous ordering. Sit (in April): In the newly opened beer garden. Sleep? Yes, there are plans to open a "bed and beer"— their version of a bed and breakfast — in the house behind the Holy Grale, each room equipped with its own miniature draft system. Eat: Every time we go, it has become tradition to order the pommes frites and the pretzel loaf with beer cheese. Check out: The building housed a Unitarian church in the early 1900s, so don't forget about the upstairs "choir loft" — which has an additional six taps. Take a picture of: The Last Supper artwork in the bathroom. Don't drop your camera phone in the toilet. MY FIRST BEER Patrick Hallahan, My Morning Jacket drummer "I believe I was 14, attending a typically gargantuan Hallahan family gathering. I was with some cousins about my age, and we decided to sneak a few 'adult beverages' to see what all the fuss was about. We had cans of Old Milwaukee, and I thought it was horrible. I couldn't understand why people wanted to get together and drink something that tasted so bad. I still don't understand why people get together and drink Old Milwaukee. Shame on my family!" MY FIRST BEER Maggie Lawson, co-star of Psych on USA Network "I was a 14-year-old freshman at Assumption the first time I tasted beer. Awful, I know. I was in my own house, and my friend Carly and I were being mischievous and thought it'd be fun to break into the liquor cabinet after my mom went to sleep. We drank Old Milwaukee Light and Southern Comfort. Quite a bit. We were feeling pretty loopy, and the next thing I remember was getting violently sick at about 5 in the morning. I woke up my mom and told her I must've eaten some bad potato skins at T.G.I. Friday's. She bought it, or so I thought. Just recently, she told me she knew I'd been drinking when I woke her up because she could smell it on me. She decided not to punish me because she thought the sickness was punishment enough, and she was right. Since that night, I've never been able to drink bourbon and have never 'acquired' a taste for beer. Imagine that: A girl from Kentucky who can't drink either. So lame. And thus my love of wine began." [50] LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 2.12 Rocky's Sub Pub's Craft Beer Extrav- aganza (April 21) This family-friendly fifth-annual event doubles as a great place to view Thunder Over Louisville. Getting buzzed while military aircrafts buzz overhead is a far cry from smug- gling hooch onto the Great Lawn. Southern Indiana Uncorked (May 26) While primarily a festival showcasing Southern Indiana wines, this Memo- rial Day weekend party in historic Corydon, Ind., also features plenty of local beers. Buy Local First Fair (May 20) All-you-can-drink stoneware mug filled with local potables at the Water Tower. The Keg Fest of Ale (June 2) This seventh-annual benefit for the Crusade for Children features more than 40 breweries and three craft-beer distributors at St. Anthony's of Padua Church in Clarksville, Ind. Louisville Independent Business Alli- ance Brewfest (June) Keeping Louis- ville weird with thousands of people… and a few kegs. You do the math. Brew at the Zoo (August 25) Lagers, porters and stouts — oh, my! This event gives the animals a chance to watch people doing silly things. German-American Club Oktoberfest (September 21 & 22) The prices are the only things not authentic about this Camp Taylor landmark's Oktober- fest. Pitchers of German beer flow for less than $10. P.S.: Eat the sauerkraut balls and thank us later. NuLu Fest (September 22) Craft beer. Live music. Enough de- tails? Highlands Beer Festival (December 1) Held during Bardstown Road Aglow, you can go inside the craft-beer movement while staying inside Valu- Market in the Mid City Mall. It is De- cember, for crying out loud. Louisville Craft Beer Week (Date to be determined) Celebrate the craft-beer movement with tast- ings, pairings and beer dinners throughout the area. — Tony Singleton Q