Even though a month has passed already, let’s continue into 2022 with some sweet local breweries who create awesome beers year after year. Some of these are within the “South Central Kentucky” area, while others on this list are not, but have no fear because they are all Kentucky breweries, so none of them are too far out of reach. If you find yourself in the area for any other reason, you are simply passing through on your way in or out of town, or even feel like making the trip specifically for the breweries, these guys will hook you up with the goods.
First up on the list is Gasper Brewing right here in Bowling Green. The space itself, if you get a chance to visit, is already impressive. There’s, of course, the bar up front, which serves a list of their current brews, but beyond the bar is a large, open warehouse area with couches, tables, board games, even Skeeball. Is Skeeball capitalized? I hope so. There’s also a cool back patio area, and sometimes they have food trucks or art shows out back as well, so even if you aren’t much of a beer drinker, there are still a number of things to do over there, which I think is really cool. Focusing back on the beers at Gasper, they offer a range of styles from light witbiers like Wit Oat A Paddle, all the way down to brown ales and stouts, like their popular Downtown Brown.
Next up is Dry Ground, the first brewery in Paducah, which opened in 2014. The name came from a bottling plant back in the 1930’s which flooded and the owner declared that if he ever reached dry ground, that is where he would build his new bottling plant. This is the location where Dry Ground Brewery decided to locate and honor the name some seventy five years later. They brew a full selection from the ‘37 Flood American IPA (yes, that same flood) to the Wheelhouse Wheat to the Rapture Imperial Stout. This brewery does distribute kegs to bars outside of Paducah, so you still may come across something from Dry Ground even if you aren’t in the area. I’d seriously consider it, if I were you, since they’ve done pretty well brewing some legitimately tasty beers in the last few years.
Moving up to Lexington is West 6th, which, as you may be able to surmise, is located on West 6th Street in Lexington. This brewery was founded in 2012, and has released some seriously popular beers you can find in cans at your local Kentucky liquor stores, as well as on draft in many restaurants across the state. Their flagship beer, West 6th IPA, is a classic “sessionable IPA,” meaning that you can grab a six-pack (or more) and head out to any friend’s backyard and hang out and drink a few without feeling weighed down or too full. Their actual location and taproom is really open and give off a relaxed and inviting vibe that anyone in town and into craft beer should stop by to check out.
Another local brewery able to make a name for itself both locally and distantly is Against The Grain, which can be found in Louisville. This one is different from many others in that they pride themselves on constantly brewing different beers and don’t make it a point to go back and remake beers they’ve already made. The ever-changing, massive list of brews coming out of ATG is impressive on its own, never mind the fact that all of these beers are, in their own right, exceptional. Many of these can be found in cans across the state including, but of course not limited to: Brown Note, a fantastic brown ale named after the specific note that when heard causes loss of certain bodily control; the 35K (and its body double the 70K), a strong (and stronger) milk stout; and Citra Ass Down, a superbly popular pale ale focusing on citra hops, which give it an awesome punch of citrus fruit flavors.
Now that that run-on sentence has finally ended, so, too, can the roundup of local breweries. If you find yourself at any of these (or any other) local breweries, be aware that you’re in good company. The people who are a part of the beer scene in Kentucky are, in my experience, some of the most down-to-earth and cool people I’ve come across, so make sure you treat them well, because if you’re into craft beer, they’re the reason why.
-by Josh Helton
