Pipkin Brewing Co., circa 1999.
Previously: 40 Years in Beer (Book II), Part 81: In 2025, the heaviness got me good, and I did NOT write a beer book.
In Louisville and Southern Indiana during the 1990s, the cadence of progress was belated and choppy as we crept toward a state of “microbrewing,” which was in the process of taking on the identity of “craft” brewing.
45: The Silo and Oertels, as well as a pivotal newspaper article (1992).
49: Bluegrass Brewing Co. — an ideal brewpub? Also, the Lite-Free Zone.
61: The Silo Microbrewery’s fatal travails, 1994 – 1997.
64: The 2,301 day McOldenberg Brewmall 1990s vigil.
There were initial stirrings circa 1989 at Charley’s on Main, where David Pierce brewed a batch or two. The Silo’s existence began with promise, yet it couldn’t escape the foibles of shambolic ownership. The Oertel’s revival never managed to finish its own brewhouse, vending contract-brewed beers for only a short time before the restaurant’s wheels became detached from a vehicle that was standing still.
Only Bluegrass Brewing Company (BBC), founded in 1993, possessed the financial wherewithal and management stability to deliver on the Louisville area’s potential for locally brewed beer. More than three decades later, BBC survives downtown by the KFC...
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