If the local brewing scene continues to grow as it has been, soon my brother in Asheville will have to stop crowing about his Smoky Mountains town’s craft beer primacy. The latest example of the local Louisville-area craft beer growth trend is the announcement recently of Jeffersontown’s 3rd Turn Brewery to open a brewery and taproom in Oldham County.
Until a county vote a couple of years ago, Oldham county outside of La Grange had been a dry county. That vote opened up alcohol sales county-wide, allowing 3rd Turn to move to renovate a Crestwood farm into a brewery and taproom with indoor and outdoor seating and 20 taps, according to a story in Louisville Business First.
The brewery will be located at 6300 Old Lagrange Road, near Yew Dell Botanical Gardens and Kentucky Artisan Distillery. Co-owner Ben Shinkle hopes to grow on the farmland flavoring ingredients for his beers, not yet hops and barley, but flavorings such as hot peppers and fruits. He also hopes that locating the brewery in a rural area might inspire local farmers to grow locally more of the ingredients for beer making.
