I’ve always said that every week is beer week in Louisville (or at least it should be), but this week Kentucky Beer Network has rallied local breweries to make it official. The Kentucky Beer Network is a one-man operation and the brainchild of local beer enthusiast David Satterly. He created the name and a Facebook presence to help promote beer around the state. Local brewers worked with him to give the week of local brewing appreciation new life.
The week of events and brew appreciation began Oct. 26 and will culminate this Saturday, Nov. 3, with the release of several, special Kentucky Proud beers at various breweries around town. Here are a few of the highlights you can still get in on:
Wednesday, Oct. 31
Goodwood releases La Muerta Willett Stout: No, this isn’t a Halloween beer. Rather, it was brewed for Dia de Los Muertos, a Mexican holiday designed to honor deceased friends and family. The imperial stout, aged in Willett bourbon barrels, will burst with roasted malt and chocolaty flavors, along with a big dose of the barrel and bourbon it rested in. Live music by flamenco guitarist Gareth Jones will help you wash it down. 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 1
Friendsgiving Collaboration with Falls City and Holsopple: Sure, it’s a bit early for turkey and stuffing, but it’s never too early for beer. Hilltop Tavern in Clifton plays host to the event that pays tribute to things we can all be thankful for, like friends, food and beer. Friendsgiving features Thanksgiving-inspired food specials along with a pair of collaboration beers between Holsopple Brewery and Falls City Brewing Co. One is an imperial chocolate stout called Cocoafication, while the other is a cranberry sour. 6 p.m.
Dia de Los Muertos Party: Speaking of that November holiday, Monnik Beer Co. will pay homage with a themed party and the release of a new beer: Mole Materials, a variant on their core beer His Dark Materials. 3 p.m.
Tessie Rollout at Mile Wide: Tessie, a northeast IPA that took Louisville by storm shortly after Mile Wide Beer Co. opened in 2016, comes back on tap and in cans for this event, but it doesn’t stop there. Mile Wide also will roll out a peach and apricot version as well as a mango version. If that’s not enough, at 6 p.m., there will be a special tapping of a cask of double dry-hopped Tessie. Reserve your Uber ride now. 4 p.m.
Food and Beer at V-Grits: 3rd Turn Brewing has collaborated with brand-spanking-new False Idol Independent Brewers on an abbey ale called The Sexton. At this Louisville Beer Week event, the beer will be released and food pairings will be provided by the V-Grits vegan kitchen. 5 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 2
Battle of the Brewers Karaoke: Warm up your vocal cords and get ready to belt out your favorite tunes, as Louisville Beer Week 2018 winds down with karaoke at Kaiju in Germantown. Five representatives from breweries around the city will square off every 30 minutes with a song of their choice and the crowd will judge the winners. Best of all, a portion of every beer sold that night goes to Strive, a group that creates affordable creative wellness education and services to the community. 8 p.m.
Collab Beer Release at 3rd Turn: 3rd Turn Brewing and Great Flood Brewing Co. teamed up to create a sour ale made with oranges grown at 3rd Turn’s Oldham Gardens in Crestwood. It must be good, because they dubbed the beer My O Face. Think about it. 3 p.m.
Kentucky Proud Beer Release: This “event” — which takes place at breweries all over the city — is the pièce de résistance, if you will, of Louisville Beer Week. The first 100 people at each location to buy one of these special beers, brewed with ingredients from various Kentucky Proud businesses around the region, will get a commemorative glass and poster. More importantly, they’ll get to try a tasty, one-brew-only beer.
Akasha Brewing Co. and 3rd Turn Brewing got together to brew a sour apple tart IPA, which will be tapped at both locations; Monnik created a grisette using peaches from Shelbyville sourced through Paul’s Fruit Market; Against the Grain Brewery brewed a farmhouse lager with peaches from Mulberry Orchard near Shelbyville.
Others hosting Kentucky Proud beer releases included Holsopple Brewery (Nutty Hempster, a brown ale with hemp seeds), Falls City (peach saison) and Gordon-Biersch (blackberry tripel). The latter sourced their Kentucky blackberries through a local distributor. Head brewer Nick Landers described the beer as a rose-colored ale brewed with Belgian malts and fermented with blackberries. It was created from a recipe by assistant brewer Maggie Bray and has a dry finish with a touch of sweetness, along with slight bitterness.
Landers calls it a “well-disguised” 11 percent alcohol by volume, adding that it “puts the ‘boo’ in ‘boozy.’”