Poor Kid Drinks a Good Beer
About
Search
-
2010 Louisville Brewfest
Much like everyday, after I wake, I make my way to my favorite haunt known as Highland Coffee. There I sit, smoke a cigarette and sip on a medium black coffee as I read thought the LEO. I browsed thought the glossy articles in hopes of finding some interesting local events to attend. Lo and behold, my eyes spotted an advertisement for two of my favorite words, beer and free.
The 2010 Louisville Brewfest, located at the Mellwood Art Center, was free to get in, $2 for a beer cup, and $1 per sample. Upon further reading I realized that this was not going to be an event that I would be able to drink at. City Scoot was offering complementary rides from 8pm to 10pm, which means I would be working extra hard once I went into the office. Regardless of my lack of drinking, I was still going to attend and enjoy the company of other beer fans.
The most intriguing aspect of this particular even was how it was centered around local brewers and business. The Keep Louisville Weird campaign and the Louisville Independent Business Alliance sponsored the event. Brewers such as the BBC, Browning’s, and New Albanian were all there sampling out some of their favorite beers. Paul and his crew from My Old Kentucky Homebrew was there, brewing an all grain APA, for anyone who was interested. I wandered thought the crowd with my pretty little City Scoot shirt and chatted with friends, both new and old.
Last year the event was held at the Clifton Center, which in a nut shell, is a tiny little basement with barely any room to move. This year the location was much larger, but I’m willing to guess that the crowd was larger as well. When I arrived, the line for the beer cups and ticket went from one side of the building to the next. As the night progressed the line for tickets was close to non-existent, but the lines for each beer booth had tripled. The lines never lasted long enough for anyone to get frustrated, but the lines were so vague that you could hardly tell which beer you were in line for. The ticket idea, though probably the safest for keeping track of all the money, felt like a small inconvenience. The space, though vastly larger and more convenient than the previous year, was still disorganized and felt cramped with the amount of people there.
Regardless everyone was in good spirits, and unlike the Top of the Hops, I do not know of any beers that ran out early. I even saw a couple of kegs being wheeled though the crowd to various booths. A major plus in my book. There was good music, good food, and good local beer. Despite the fact that I did not get to imbibe, I did have a wonderful day, and an awesome start to my holiday weekend. So after spending an hour or so wandering thought the crowds, I made my way back to My Old Kentucky Homebrew tent to say farewell to Paul, who slapped me with an “I bought local sticker” and handed me a “Chicks dig my worts and boils” sticker as well, went by the City Scoot booth to see how my drivers were doing and check in with my boss, and then it was off to Le Que for some food before wandering into the office. I’m definitely asking off and attending the 2011 Louisville Brewfest, and hope that you do too.
