The Blue Grass State
I’ve been travelling to the USA on business for over 20 years with the majority of trips to the East or West Coasts or Chicago. On my recent trip I had the pleasure of visiting the South Eastern state of Kentucky. I had been promised a taste of Southern Hospitality and this promise was certainly fulfilled in the 36 hours in the state. Arriving at Louisville airport I learned that my lift had forgotten the time difference between Kansas City and Louisville and was still an hour away. At the Airport Grill I discovered two nice surprises Catfish and Kentucky Ale, both of which were good to taste.
Kentucky Ale is brewed by Lexington Brewing and Bottling Company. Sold as a marriage of Irish Red and English Pale Ales, it just had to be tasted. I wasn’t disappointed! Kentucky Ale is full bodied with a nice amber colour and a pleasant aroma. I’m not sure what they were, I’d have to take George our Master Brewer with me to know for definite, but it contains some malts not usually found in American Craft beers. The smoothness and quality of the Ale and the fact the staff at the Grill poured it perfectly had me trying one or two more before my lift arrived.
On leaving Louisville airport we took Interstate 64 towards Lexington. I am always amazed by the size of the USA, drive more than 4 hours in Ireland and you drop off the end, drive 4 hours in the USA and you maybe have managed to get into to next state. My colleague had been driving 5 hours and was still in good shape. As we travelled towards Lexington the scenery became very green and the horse farms started to appear. A sunny day in March was showing Kentucky at its best. As we travelled the I64 the links between Europe and Kentucky were obvious, Paris, Versailles and Frankfort! I wasn’t sure about the spelling of the last one, but later found out it was so named because of the fort, but whether frank owned it? It is in fact the State Capitol of Kentucky.
After a short break to check into our hotel we continued our tour of Kentucky drinking establishment with a visit to ‘The Pub’. Having worked opposite the Fullers Brewery in Chiswick for many years I got excited to see the large sign outside proclaiming they were serving ‘London Pride’. I even more pleased when we got inside to see the Belhaven’s ‘80/-‘. George our Master Brewer who was formally at Belhaven, had told me about their success in the USA, here was proof indeed!
Jay the barman welcomed us to ‘The Pub’ and let us peruse the fine menu of beers they have on offer. Resplendent in his kilt, I was pleased to note that it was somewhat more modest than those worn by the female servers. Jay knows his stuff! He quickly introduced us to the Award winning Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, also by Lexington Beer. This is a truly unique experience. We all like to think we’ve developed a unique beer, (see our new beer later in the year), but this supping beer with the distinctive bouquet of a well crafted bourbon is like nothing I’ve ever tasted. Aged for up to 6 weeks in freshly decanted bourbon barrels from Kentucky distilleries it has a strong oak flavour supported by some vanilla overtones. Once again this ale is full, one might even say robust, and comes highly recommended.
At ‘The Pub’ we drank ‘Bourbon Barrel Ale’ in a snifter which works really well as it “focuses the aromas, amplifying them”. The snifter is a good tasting glass for ‘Bourbon Barrel’, the narrow opening concentrating the complex aromas of the Ale. The interior of ‘The Pub’ was shipped over from the UK to guarantee the authentic experience. The centrepiece is a handcrafted bar from which guests can sample a wide range of English, Scottish and Irish bottled, draught and cask conditioned beers. Ready to move onto something different I checked out what Irish beers were available and found that the usual Guinness, Harp and Smithwicke’s were my options. I guess this is the opportunity for SLBC, to bring something different into the market. While looking after us Jay even managed to pass a bartenders test. All in an afternoons work I guess.
The following day we visited Harry’s bar to watch University of Kentucky (I’d been very confused by the UK being so popular in these parts) playing Ole Miss (I won’t even go there) in the Southeastern Conference. Our host Craig was delighted by the 71-58 win, especially as Jodie Meeks scored 25 points and Patrick Patterson had 15 points and 14 rebounds. I played safe and drank a few glasses of Blue Moon before getting in the car for the 6 hour road-trip to Chicago. I wish I’d drunk more, if we were at home this road trip would take us to the middle of the Atlantic!
Southern Hospitality certainly works for me! My thanks to Craig, Karen and Maggie for hosting us and giving us such a wonderful time. Kentucky has a few great beers, some of the best I’ve tasted in the US. We’ll be happy to complement them with our fine Irish Ales in the near future.
