What I love about breweries is the creativity and Im not just talking about creativity in yeast, malts and hops. I mean, when you think about it, anyone can do a tap takeover, be it a restaurant or bar. Live music draws customers, too.
But to maintain a relationship with the community, breweries seem to have a knack for pairing beer with unique, creative, fun events.
Take, for instance, a recent new series at Goodwood Brewing called Poses & Beermosas, a Sunday morning yoga class taught by Goodwoods own Denise Ingle. Its an hour of yoga that Ingle assures me is mostly beginner friendly However, its a lot of core, normally, she warned and comes with a special treat at the end in the form of a beermosa.
Naturally, my next move was to ask whats in the mimosa, and the answer is Goodwoods hemp gose and peach-cranberry juice. Sounds tasty, and $10 gets you the yoga class and the brew. Poses & Beermosas debuted this past Sunday, and from now on, its going to happen every Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Also it is a BYOM (bring your own mat) event. And if you cant make it to Goodwood on Sundays, Flat 12 Bierwerks in Jeffersonville offers Brew Guru Yoga every Mondays at 7 p.m.
It doesnt stop there.
Against the Grain Brewery plays host to a regular event called Barrel Heads & Brushes, in which attendees get a barrel head, serving tray or wood sign, paint and stencil brushes and lots of paint, and a free reign to paint whatever you want on your wooden palette.
Naturally, craft beer is involved, too, and groups are welcome to register, as are individuals. Registration fees varies, depending on what you choose to paint on. The next one happens Tuesday, Aug. 8, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Check out Against the Grains Facebook page to learn how to register.
You get the picture.
Great Flood Brewing has themed get-togethers, a recent one of which was a Great Gatsby-themed party. Apocalypse Brew Works is forever having festivals and charitable events, especially involving animal charities. A miniature horse dubbed LiL Sebastian made a guest appearance at one of those.
Gordon Biersch does Pints for Parkinsons, including the tapping of maibock beer and the passing around of the giant boot of beer; Old Louisville Brewery and Floyd County Brewing Company regularly have themed trivia; 3rd Turn specializes in animal rescue events, even hosting one recently for Raptor Rehab, and Donum Dei in New Albany recently had a guess the number of bottles to kick off the release of their 2017 Drunken Unicorn.
You get the picture. Its about more than just beer at our local breweries, and I have to give that one a public thumbs up.
Old Louisville Brewerys birthday
Speaking of Old Louisville Brewery, the little brewery just turned a year old. Of course, it took two and a half years to get the space ready for opening, so kudos to the work Wade and Ken Mattingly have done over there. They celebrated with limited can releases, and plan to do more and more events going forward. Theyre even planning to distribute Old Louisville beers citywide in the near future.
Were going to focus on what our identity is going to be and how to move forward, Wade Mattingly said.
Tessie and Catalina re-release
If you missed out on getting your four-pack of Louisvilles white whale beer, Tessie IPA, Mile Wide Beer Co. has canned another batch and will release it for sale this Friday, July 28, when the taproom doors open at 2 p.m. If you missed out last time (like I did), bite the bullet and just stand in line like all the other craft beer addicts.
But, hey, if you are just that stubborn or cant get off work in time theres nothing wrong with a four-pack of Catalina Breeze IPA, which also will see another release on Friday.
Firkin Fridays at Great Flood
Great Flood recently started a new series called Firkin Fridays, in which theyll make variants of some of their core beers in limited batches by placing them in casks and adding flavors. The first one happened last week, featuring Toasted Brown Ale with Sunergos Coffee, cocoa and vanilla bean.
Vince Cain of Great Flood said Firkin Friday will be a weekly staple going forward, or bi-weekly at the very least. Watch the brewerys social media for updates.