List of breweries in Kentucky

Breweries in Kentucky produce a wide range of beers in different styles that are marketed locally and regionally. Brewing companies vary widely in the volume and variety of beer produced, from small nanobreweries to microbreweries to massive multinational conglomerate macrobreweries.

In 2012 Kentucky's 21 breweries and brewpubs employed 270 people directly, and more than 8,000 others in related jobs such as wholesaling and retailing.^[1][2] Including people directly employed in brewing, as well as those who supply Kentucky's breweries with everything from ingredients to machinery, the total business and personal tax revenue generated by Kentucky's breweries and related industries was more than $167 million.^[2] Consumer purchases of Kentucky's brewery products generated more than $160 million in additional tax revenue.^[3] In 2012, according to the Brewers Association, Kentucky ranked 43rd in the number of craft breweries per capita with 14.^[4]

For context, at the end of 2013 there were 2,822 breweries in the United States, including 2,768 craft breweries subdivided into 1,237 brewpubs, 1,412 microbreweries and 119 regional craft breweries.^[5] In that same year, according to the Beer Institute, the brewing industry employed around 43,000 Americans in brewing and distribution and had a combined economic impact of more than $246 billion.^[6]

Breweries

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Active Breweries

• 3rd Turn Brewing - Jeffersontown/Crestwood^[7]
• Abettor Brewing Company - Winchester^[8]
• Against the Grain Brewery^[7] - Louisville
• Akasha Brewing Company^[9] - Louisville
• Alexandria Brewing Company - Alexandria^[10]
• Apocalypse Brew Works^[11][12] - Louisville
• Birds Nest Brewing Company - Danville
• Blue Stallion Brewing^[13][14] - Lexington
• Bluegrass Brewing Company - Louisville
• Braxton Brewing Company^[15] - Covington/Bellevue/Fort Mitchell
• Country Boy Brewing^[16][17] - Lexington/Georgetown
• The Dam Brewhaus^[18] - Benton
• Darkness Brewing^[19] - Bellevue
• Dry Ground Brewing Company^[20][21] - Paducah
• Ethereal Brewing^[22][23] - Lexington
• Falls City Brewery - Louisville
• Great Flood Brewing Co.^[24] - Louisville/Middletown
• Hop Hound Brew Pub - Murray^[25]
• Jarfly Brewing Company^[26][27] - Somerset
• Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company - Lexington
• Mash Cult Brewing^[28][29] - Florence
• Mile Wide Beer Co.^[30] - Louisville
• Paducah Beer Werks^[31] - Paducah
• Shippingport Brewing - Louisville
• Tap on Main Brewing^[32][29] - Somerset
• West Sixth Brewing^[33][34][35] - Lexington/Frankfort/Louisville
• Wooden Cask Brewing Company ^[36] - Newport
• Yancey's Gastropub & Brewery ^[37] - Glasgow
• Stainless Brewing and Spirits - Frankfort

Defunct Breweries

• Oldenberg Brewery, a defunct brewery and pub in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky^[A] – and The American Museum of Brewing Arts^[41] part of a Greater Cincinnati tourist expansion.^{[38][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54]}
• White Squirrel Brewery^[55][56][57] - Bowling Green

See also

• Beer in the United States
• List of breweries in the United States
• List of defunct breweries in the United States
• List of microbreweries

References

Notes

1. The brewery expanded to locations in Louisville, Kentucky and Oviedo, Florida, shortly before being sold and going out of business.^[38] Not to be confused with the Creek Bottom Brew in Oldenburg, Indiana;^[39] nor the Oldenburg Brewing Company in Belle Plaine, Minnesota.^[40]

Citations

1. "Brewer's Almanac--Active Brewer Permits, 2004 - 2012". The Beer Institute. Archived from the original on 16 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
2. "The Economic Impact of the Beer Industry--State Legislative & Congressional District Data, Kentucky". The Beer Institute. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
3. "The Economic Impact of the Beer Industry--2012 Data, Kentucky". The Beer Institute. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
4. "Capita per Brewery" (PDF). Brewers Association. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
5. "Brewers Association Announces 2013 Craft Brewer Growth". 13 March 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
6. "Beer Serves America". The Beer Institute. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
7. "Kentucky, Colorado breweries enter Bay State beer arena". Wicked Local Shrewsbury. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
8. "Abettor Brewery plans grand opening this weekend". The Winchester Sun. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
9. "Fehr's XL Resurrected by Akasha Brewing Company". Food & Dining Magazine. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
10. "After setback, Alexandria Brewing Company finds a home". WCPO Cincinnati. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
11. Loosemore, Bailey (February 8, 2015). "12 Days of BrewLou: Apocalypse Brew Works". Louisville Courier-Journal. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
12. Bruggers, James (March 31, 2016). "Really? Beer made from Beargrass Creek water?". Louisville Courier-Journal. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
13. "Hungarian brewery wins Alltech Commonwealth Craft Beer Cup". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
14. "Business awards: Week of May 26". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
15. "Graeter's, brewery team up for new beer". Journal-News. Retrieved 2017-02-03.
16. Patton, Janet (30 July 2015). "Country Boy Brewing Expands to Scott County". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
17. Folz, Andy (29 February 2016). "Ei8ht Ball Brewing Reveals Canning Plans, Beer Release Schedule". Retrieved 1 March 2016.
18. Operle, Derek (June 12, 2019). "Dam Brewhaus in Marshall to begin brewing its own beer". The Paducah Sun. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
19. "This new Greater Cincinnati brewery is embracing the Darkness". Cincinnati Business Courier. Retrieved 2017-02-03.
20. Mazonne, Darlene (September 2014). "The History of Coke & the Future of Beer". Paducah Life. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
21. Lynn, Dixie (March 13, 2015). "Underwriter Spotlight: Dry Ground Brewing Company". WKMS. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
22. Nichols, M. David (May 10, 2016). "Craft Beer Week Turns 4: Local Breweries Step Up Events, Special Bottles". Business Lexington. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
23. Patton, Janet (December 11, 2014). "New Beer From West Sixth Limited To 235 Bottles; Ethereal Brewing Also Open". LexGo. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
24. Durden, Taylor (June 12, 2019). "Kentucky restaurants start preparing to reopen". Wave3 News. WAVE (TV). Retrieved August 31, 2020.
25. "Restaurants modify their operations according to Beshear's guidelines". The Murray State News. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
26. "First craft brewery in Somerset set to open this summer". Lane Report. Kentucky Business & Economic News. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
27. "Jarfly brewery wins Pulaski County chamber's new business award". The Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
28. "Craft breweries popping up in NKY suburbs". Cincinnati. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
29. "Jarfly brewery wins Pulaski County chamber's new business award". The Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
30. "Mile Wide Beer Co. begins canning, will release product on Friday". Insider Louisville. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
31. "Downtown's Bus Stop Brewery". Paducah Life Magazine. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
32. "Juggling plates: Local restaurants challenged by changes in state policy". Commonwealth Journal. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
33. "Art and Craft Brews: 15 Beer Labels That We Love". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
34. "Magic Hat Sues Kentucky Brewer Over Its Logo". Consumerist. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
35. "Brewgrass Country Fall Escape". Southern Living. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
36. "Wooden Cask Brewing coming to Newport". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 2017-02-03.
37. "Glasgow: Brews coming to the square". WBKO. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
38. "Oldenberg Brewing Company". The Gnarly Gnome. Retrieved June 6, 2021. Oldenberg is often considered the start of Cincinnati's "craft" breweries.
39. Creek Bottom Brewery, Oldenburg, Indiana, United States
40. Oldenburg Brewing Company
41. Gelbert, Doug (1994). Company museums, industry museums, and industrial tours: a guidebook of sites in the United States that are open to the public. United Kingdom: McFarland & Company. pp. 76–77. ISBN 9780899509167.
42. "Goodbye to the Drawbridge Inn: Heyday Expansion". June 23, 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2021. In January 1984, public discussion began related to a "small brewery". This was a hybrid of the previous dinner theater concept and represented visionary planning (at least for Greater Cincinnati) on Jerry Deters' part. In the 5 years since president Jimmy Carter had deregulated home brewing no one had tried the microbrewery concept in the region. The complex was planned to host a microbrewery, an entertainment center, a restaurant, and a festhaus.
43. "Oldenberg Brewery". The National Culinary Review. United States: American Culinary Federation: 32. 1993.
44. Morgan, Michael D. (2019). Cincinnati Beer. United States: American Palate. pp. 163–164, 168. ISBN 9781467140898. Despite a brewing pedigree richer than that of Milwaukee or St. Louis, Cincinnati's role in American beer history is quite often underappreciated.
45. Stephens, Sarah (2010). Cincinnati's Brewing History. United States: Arcadia Publishing. p. 111. ISBN 9780738577906. According to Timothy Holian, by the early 1990s Oldenberg beers had earned so much acclaim that the brewery began the self-promotional campaign of 'America's Most Awarded Microbrewery.'
46. "Oldenberg's Brewery Eatery". Night Club & Bar. 11. United States: Opportunities Publishing: 6, 35. 1995.
47. Hunter, Dave (1997). Along the I-75: A Unique Driving Guide for the I-75 Between Detroit and the Florida Border (1998 ed.). Canada: Mile Oak Publishing, Incorporated. pp. 18, 75. ISBN 9781896819068.
48. Clark, Dave (2019). Phoenix Beer: A History Rising to New Peaks. United Kingdom: Arcadia Publishing Incorporated. pp. 10, 68. ISBN 9781439668573.
49. Rhodes, Christine P. (2014). The Encyclopedia of Beer: The Beer Lover's Bible - A Complete Reference To Beer Styles, Brewing Methods, Ingredients, Festivals, Traditions, And More). United States: Henry Holt and Company. p. 105. ISBN 9781466881952.
50. "Oldenberg – Great Hall". Cincinnati Magazine: 73. January 1988.
51. "Oldenberg Brewery". Untappd.com. Retrieved June 6, 2021..
52. "Oldenberg Beer Camp March 24-26, 2000 - Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, United States". Beer Hunter. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
53. Demeropolis, Tom (September 24, 2013). "Commercial Real Estate: Neyer Properties buys former Oldenberg Brewing property: EXCLUSIVE". Cincinnati Business Courier. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
54. Kelly, Brenna R.; Schroeder, Cindy (April 8, 2014). "Drawbridge Inn demolition underway". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
55. Chritchlow, Andrew (2 September 2015). "White Squirrel Brewery: Crafting Bowling Green's Nightlife". College Heights Herald. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
56. Mason, Chuck (13 May 2015). "Craft Beer Movement Grows in Bowling Green". Bowling Green Daily News. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
57. Henderson, Andrew (23 March 2015). "White Squirrel To Open As Community Brewery". College Heights Herald. Retrieved 1 March 2016.