Louisville Beer Store

GREAT! There goes my kids college funds... but it money well spent if its beers I get.

At the store as I type. For a small space, the selection is incredible
. Bottles and growlers for takeout, or 7 on tap for drinking in the store.

Cool brews, but I have to echo Roger: Are they supporting local craft beers too?

They had a good selection of Brownings. I didn't see any BBC and NABC doesn't bottle or can. The place is very small and there were quite a few small problems with the operation. No prices on the "to go" selections and the draft prices were being posted at 7:00.

$.75 for 2oz
$5.00 for 10oz

You do the math.

There wasn't any food in sight. I was under the impression The Patron was creating beer inspired dishes. They is no seating in the building at all. The bar holds about 10 people (no chairs) and another beer cap table holds 4-6.

The beer selection is impressive. There were a number of brews that I haven't seen before. I would say the selection is 65% import vs. 35% domestic. I tried the Brooklyn Savoir Faire, Ommegang Grand Cru Rouge, and Great Divide 15th Anniversary. Great Divide was my favorite by far, the Ommegang and Brooklyn were not my style.

hope the website includes a inventory listing soon??

and although NABC doesn't bottle, they do distribute kegs in Louisville, hint, hint

i may try to stop by today and check it out

shawn

Good draft selection. Perhaps some day they'll do local beers, too

I am a big fan of all of our local brewers, however a wider variety of beers that are not available elsewhere is what will bring me in the door. Attempting to compete with the brewpubs with their beers does not sound like a very good business plan.

Attempting to compete with the brewpubs with their beers does not sound like a very good business plan.

That depends on where the brewpub is located. You'd be surprised how many people in Louisville still are reluctant to cross the bridge and purchase something in New Albany and Southern Indiana. You'd think that era has ended, but it hasn't. If you're Huber Winery and want to sell to the Louisville market, it would be good to have an outlet in Louisville for this reason. Obviously, same goes for us.

I don't argue with the fundamental point that stocking something "hard to get" is good strategy. It is.

A "specialty beer store" that does not have craft beer from ALL of its local breweries sounds a bit oxymoronic to me.

A little more info from Lori:

Hey Brad!

thanks for stopping by and commenting on Hot Bytes!
Definitely come back by soon, things are much more relaxed now....
Trolley Hop was a bit CRAZY! We didn't have the draft system finished until after 6pm that night, the beer cooler wasn't fixed until at 5:30, and our countertops got there just hours before.

We'll be rolling out some cool stuff over the next week... If all goes well will be doing a pairing with the Patron on Friday in the store!
I'll keep you posted...lots more to come!

prost.

As you can see, they had a few hiccups with things arriving late, etc., on their opening day. They have kinks to work out, but the selection is strong, the location great, and more is coming. For those that checked it out over the weekend, I wouldn't set your judgment in stone yet. The food is coming, etc. Give 'em a week or two, and check it out.

Do they offer classes and tasting?

I wish that I knew more about beer, but when I drink, it's invariably wine. Maybe if I knew a bit more, I'd branch out.

Do they offer classes and tasting? I wish that I knew more about beer, but when I drink, it's invariably wine. Maybe if I knew a bit more, I'd branch out.

My guess is that they're considering it. I'm also doing a winter/spring beer education class for the non-credit section at Indiana University Southeast. I'll post the dates and sign up information soon.

Do they offer classes and tasting?

I wish that I knew more about beer, but when I drink, it's invariably wine. Maybe if I knew a bit more, I'd branch out.

At this point, Eliza, keep in mind that they just opened on Friday. According to Lori, new things will be rolled out over time. Right now, I think they're focused on getting things running smoothly and getting the Patron food collaboration thing going.

I'll follow up with Lori when I can on classes and tastings, but I tend to agree with Roger that they're likely considering or planning for this - I would assume tastings first, and then perhaps classes down the road. Don't quote me on that, though.

I spent some time at The Louisville Beer Store on Saturday night, chatting with Tyler and Lori. They're great people with alot of passion for craft beer. From our discussions, I can tell you that education is a top prority for the LBS. We've talked about doing tastings, cask nights and also some beer and cheese pairing events. I've taught Beer 101 classes at other places in Louisville, so I will hopefully be helping them do the same at their store. As far as their selection, which seems to have come under fire a bit, they only have 8 taps and want to keep those constantly rotating, to always offer new and different beers. They're getting what I see as alot of undue heat for not carrying every Louisville craft beer in their store. First of all, its their store. They have a very limited amount of space and are choosing to something a little bit different. They do have Browning's She-Devil and BBC's BB Stout. I would imagine that they'll have everyone represented at one time or another, but not at all times, and not all brands. I can't imagine that they have the space to do that, unless they were to compromise their vision for what they want LBS to be. Also, as Lori mentioned, they opened very quickly. So, I'm sure their package selection will grow with time. The other issue that they're facing, with regard to their draft selections, is that they are limited on space. They have 8 taps, but their cooler only has room for 1/6 or 1/4 barrel kegs. This is a hinderence in that there are beers that they may want to carry, but they simply don't have room. Again, maybe in the future this will change, but right now, it is what it is.
We should also recognize that the East Market/Butchertown area is quickly becoming, to quote Lori, a craft beer "Bermuda Triangle". Between Browning's, BBC, LBS, Sergio's, Maido, Kentucky BBQ Co. and My Old Kentucky Homebrew, there are alot of places that can make any beer geek's money disappear quickly.
Anyway, many congratulations to Tyler and Lori, and here's to many prosperous years.

Hey Scott
First, i wish the LBS the best of luck and think that it can only be good for BEER in the metro to add another great beer store to the scene.

I'm not trying to split hairs here, but i don't think they're receiving any "undue heat" for not carrying the locals, and certainly not anymore than other restaurants/stores have received for having a limited selection.

I'm being particularly snarky because the name is "The Louisville Beer Store" and they may not have all the Louisville breweries in stock. Sorry, i find humor in such things. "hey man i just went down to the Louisville beer store- yeh, what'd you get? - some beer from San Diego"

"choosing to something a little bit different" in the Bermuda Triangle of beer doesn't go unnoticed in the greater metro Beer scene (Cumberland, NABC, Rays, DCE, BBC Shelbyville, Alltech, Upland, The Keg, Old Towne, The Liquor Barns, etc)
and for the most part, i'd consider the jibes from local members of the beer community to be viewed as constructive criticism.

I'm willing to give them some time to get things in order, but consider what "something different" means in the Louisville beer world.
The Louisville beer culture is the one area where we may not be behind the rest of the country by 20 years
There is a beer dinner at least once a month, tastings every week, promotional visits by brewers at least once a month, beer courses offered at local colleges, beer and food pairings throughout the area offered via tastings or special events, growlers of craft everywhere, 2 local home brew organizations, at least one social club dedicated to drinking craft beer, countless little beer festivals, great craft beer at almost all of our fine dining establishments and more than half our sushi bars, you don't even get credit for a draft list unless you've got 20 handles in this town, and your bottle list has to be more than 50 before anyone even notices that you serve beer.

The bar for a "specialty" beer store in Louisville has already been set pretty high by places like The Keg and Liquor Barn.

Again, its great to have another craft beer destination in town!

shawn

In a thread awhile back discussing Roger's new place, I articled what I saw to be a tension restaurant owners face - a tension between what they want to do and what the audience expects. This is a tension all "creative" folks face, and I would think that's no different for someone opening a craft beer store. The act of balancing between what is proposed versus what is accepted is an act of negotiation. I'm more than willing to be open- minded to what these owners are offering us (their proposal). While we all have our expectations - expectations set high by the standards of the local beer community - it would be wrong not to be flexible with these expectations.

Would I like to see a store that carries all the locals? Sure. Is that a make or break criterion? Surely not.

Would I like to see a store that carries all the locals? Sure. Is that a make or break criterion? Surely not.

Just to clarify, I agree completely. I also liked what Scott said with reference to the education angle. Indeed, there are numerous paths to enlightenment.

Finally went to Louisville Beer Store yesterday, with some out-of-town friends in tow. My first impression was immediately positive, as a number of other friends and acquaintances were there for a Sunday afternoon session, independently of our plans. I had a flight with tastings of the Ommegang Grand Cru Rouge, Brooklyn Chocolate Stout, Gonzo Porter, and one trippel that I'm forgetting the name of, and they were all delicious. Got a couple bottles to go, mostly of things I didn't recognize (more than a few of the foreign selections were ones I didn't recognize, which is pretty rare these days). The domestic selections were more familiar, but that's not a complaint, as many of them are brands and styles I already like.