Falls City Brewing Co. made headlines recently when it announced a move to a new space, with a new brewhouse.
Falls City had been brewing draft beers here in Louisville but the bottled products have been contract brewed in Nashville. When the new brewery, at 1301 W. Main St., becomes operational later this year, all brewing will take place here in the River City. That hasn’t happened since the original iteration of Falls City closed in 1978.
In the meantime, however, Falls City is sharing its homegrown beers around town in other forms, one of those being the recently-launched Neighborhood Series. During 2017, the brewery will release, every two months, a beer inspired by a specific Louisville neighborhood.
The first one was released in honor of Old Louisville, and Falls City’s brewers chose a pre-Prohibition-style porter, which they appropriately named Victorian Mansion. This creamy, chocolaty porter is a strong specimen, and it can now be found in taps around the city following a kickoff event hosted at Magnolia Bar.
The beer is brewed to pre-Prohibition style, head brewer Dylan Greenwood said, meaning a couple of the main ingredients are molasses and corn, which were readily available in the early 1900s.
The next in the series will be dedicated to the Clifton neighborhood, and the beer will be a double IPA called District 9. A launch party will be held at Hilltop Tavern, 1800 Frankfort Ave. on March 23, and limited edition glassware will be available — get them while they last.
Tailspin announces bands, beer list
Tailspin Ale Fest has announced the bands that will perform at the Feb. 18 beer extravaganza: Motherfolk and Fat Box. The former describes itself as “genre-bending,” while the latter plays a fusion of rock, funk, blues and jazz, and claims to “never lose sight of the groove.”
In addition, the official beer list was made public and, as expected, it’s a doozy. Roughly 250 beers will be available for sampling, with more than 75 breweries participating. In other words, take Lyft or Uber, or plunk down a mere $10 for the festival’s Get on the Bus, Gus shuttle service. Find out more at TailspinAleFest.com.
As an aside, though: The impressive list also serves to remind us that most of the good beer names have already been taken; if you go, look for beers with monikers like Nice Melons, Mustache Ride and Pennsylvania Tuxedo.
New menu coming at Cumberland?
Cumberland Brewery, the little brewpub that has been serving the Highlands since 2000, announced on social media in late January that a new menu was on the way. The menu there has been fairly consistent over the years, in part because it simply worked.
The Jamaican jerk wings are a revelation, the bison chili is just right and the weekly specials — burger and a beer on Wednesday, steak and a beer on Thursday — are quiet standby hits. Heck, you can even get a fried bologna sandwich to go with one of the brewery’s ever-rotating draft choices.
So will the menu be completely overhauled, or just tweaked? The announcement said only, “stay tuned.” Cumberland owner Mark Allgeier said we should not fear — the menu changes will consist of offering more sides, a new salad or two, and — the magic words — new tacos.
“It’s a focus on making our present menu better,” Allgeier said.
Expect the new menus to roll out around mid-February. Until then, enjoy the current menu and a pineapple IPA, while it lasts.
Bye-bye, BBC St. Matthews
After about two weeks of whispers, Bluegrass Brewing Company St. Matthews disclosed it was closing its doors after two-plus decades in business. It served its last beer on Sunday, Feb. 6, after a week-long farewell tour that brought out regulars and former regulars in droves.
The East Main Street location continues on, with a Theater Square return in the works, and word is the search is on for an East End location to take the place of the original. Regardless, the cozy spot in St. Matthews will be missed by many — especially longtime members of the mug club known as the Worthogs.
