Another edition of a rejuvenated Louisville Beer Week is on the horizon. This year’s calendar begins on October 21 and concludes on the 30th.
A “beer week” is a locally-oriented tribute to, and a celebration of, all things beer. The idea is that breweries, pubs, restaurants, beer bars and package stores hold events: beer tastings, beer dinners, brewery tours, beer and food pairings and tap takeovers (to name just a few common activities). Breweries collaborate with each other to create new beers. Individual establishments organize their own events, and collectively a governing committee tries to spread the word.
Louisville Beer Week’s “governing committee” is the gang at Louisville Ale Trail, which “serves to engage with Louisville tourists and residents about our local beer scene by encouraging city-wide tourism through the promotion of participating member brewery taprooms.”
Last year I had the pleasure of participating in a Louisville Beer Week beer and brewing history panel discussion, which had the unexpected side benefit of making me realize that 2022 was my 40th anniversary in the beer trade. In turn, this led to a great deal of ongoing reading and research.
What a long, strange trip it’s been, but there has never been a single instant when I considered trading it for job security and a living wage.
I’ll devote today’s column to the information release detailing Louisville Beer Week 2022, reprinted here in its entirety.
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Louisville Beer Week Returning October 21 – October 30
Organizers celebrate five years of Beer Week
Louisville Beer Week is returning for another year and welcomes the community to help celebrate five years of Louisville Beer Week and the historic and evolving beer community in Louisville, KY. This year, Louisville Beer Week will run from Friday, October 21 through Sunday, October 30, including an inaugural Louisville Beer Fest kick-off event at the German-American Club.
Louisville Beer Week 2022 will once again feature beer collaborations, panel discussions, and multiple citywide events put on by nearly twenty-five brewery taprooms. And, for the first time ever, Louisville beer lovers have the opportunity to attend a kick-off beer festival showcasing only Louisville-based taprooms on Friday, Oct. 21, from 5-10 pm at German-American Club.
“For the last five years we’ve been asked to host a beer festival during Louisville Beer Week,” said Louisville Beer Week organizers. “Our 5th anniversary seems like a good time to do it. We’re thankful that we’re able to host it with our friends at The German-American Club. We’re also hosting a couple of great panels that feature some friends in the spirits industry in addition to partnering with the Pink Boots Society to put on our annual Women in Beer Panel. Of course, we’re excited to see the return of brewery collaboration releases and other fun events citywide all week long.”
Participating Louisville breweries this year include 3rd Turn Brewing, Against the Grain Brewery, Akasha Brewing Co., Apocalypse Brew Works, Atrium Brewing, Bluegrass Brewing Co., Butchertown Brewing, Chimera Brewing Co, Falls City Beer Co., Gallant Fox Brewing, Gordon Biersch, Goodwood Brewing, Gravely Brewing, Hi-Wire Louisville, Holsopple Brewing, Hometown Brewing Co., Mile Wide Beer Co., Monnik Beer Co., Noble Funk Brewing Co., Old Louisville Brewing, Shippingport Brewing, Ten20 Craft Brewery, West Sixth Nulu, and Wild Hops Brewery.
“The team at Noble Funk is excited to participate in our first Louisville Beer Week,” said Dominique Shrader, Noble Funk Brewing co-founder. “We are grateful to be a part of this supportive and talented brewing community and always enjoy the opportunity to collaborate with other local breweries. It was awesome to get to work with Mile Wide Beer Co. this year for the annual collaboration series and we look forward to sharing that release and getting to try the creations of the other brewery participants.”
More information about Louisville Beer Week headlining events:
- Louisville Beer Fest: Friday, Oct. 21. 5-10 PM at German-American Club (1840 Lincoln Ave). $10 ticketed event. $2 for 5oz beer pours or $6 for full pours.
- From Stave to Glass Barrel Panel: Tuesday, Oct. 25, 7-9 PM at Bourbon’s Bistro (2255 Frankfort Ave). $25 ticketed event. Space is limited.
- Women in Beer Panel: Thursday, Oct. 27, 7-9 PM at Logan Street Market (1001 Logan Street). Donations to The Pink Boots Society encouraged.
For a full schedule of Louisville Beer Week events or to purchase event tickets, visit www.louisvillealetrail.com.
About Louisville Beer Week
Louisville Beer Week, presented by Louisville Ale Trail, is a grassroots collaboration by Louisville beer nerds for Louisville beer nerds and is a seven-day celebration of Louisville’s historic and growing beer community.
About Louisville Ale Trail
Louisville Ale Trail serves to engage with Louisville tourists and residents about our local beer scene by encouraging city-wide tourism through the promotion of participating member brewery taprooms. To learn more, visit www.louisvillealetrail.com
Roger Baylor is an educator, entrepreneur and innovator with 40 years of hands-on experience and expertise as a beer seller, restaurateur and commentator. As the co-founder of New Albany’s Sportstime Pizza/Rich O’s Public House (which later became New Albanian Brewing Company) in the 1990s and early 2000s, Baylor played a seminal role in Louisville’s craft beer renaissance. Currently he is the beer director at Pints&union in New Albany and Common Haus Hall in Jeffersonville. Baylor’s “Hip Hops” columns on beer-related subjects have been a fixture in F&D since 2005, and he was named the magazine’s digital editor in 2019.
