Last week my wife and I spent three days in Louisville, Kentucky. An old friend was getting married and so we decided to stay for a couple of days after the nuptials. When one thinks of Kentucky it is bourbon, not beer, that first comes to mind. The state produces 95% of the nation’s bourbon. At any given time there are 4.9 million barrels of bourbon aging in Kentucky, which is a higher number than the state’s population (4.4 million).

Like many American cities Louisville was once home to a thriving brewing industry. At the beginning of the 20th century it was the 15th largest brewing center in the United States. But as happened elsewhere in the country, one by one, those breweries closed as the industry consolidated and smaller breweries were caught up in swirl of mergers, acquisitions, and closures. In 1978 Falls City Brewery, the last brewery standing in the city of Louisville, closed its doors. Founded in 1905 Falls City is an interesting story unto itself. By 1977 the brewery was struggling and in an attempt revive its ailing fortunes it recruited Billy Carter (brother of President Jimmy Carter). The result was Billy Beer. Billy Beer was a resounding failure and in October of 1978 Falls City Brewery ceased to exist.

Today, according to The Brewers Association there are 18 craft breweries in the state, giving it a ranking of 46 out of 50 states. Eight of those craft breweries are located in Louisville. Recognizing the economic and cultural value of a vibrant brewing industry, in 2014, the Mayor of Louisville, Greg Fischer, formed the Mayor’s Brewery Workgroup. This group comprised representatives from local breweries, the Kentucky Guild of Brewers, the Greater Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau, the online media outlet Insider Louisville, and the Mayor’s Office. The group produced a 14 page report that included five recommendations, one of which is to revive historical Louisville beer traditions such as German-inspired beer gardens, Bock Day, and Kentucky Common beer.

In his Encyclopedia of Louisville John E. Kleber documents the important role that beer gardens played in the lives of the city’s large German-speaking immigrant population during the 19th and early 20th centuries. German immigrants started arriving in Louisville in the late 1840s. Louisville beer gardens were family-focused and were particularly popular on a Sunday which for many people was their only day off during the week. The beer gardens were dealt a blow in in 1906 when Prohibitionists successfully lobbied for legislation that outlawed public drinking on a Sunday. Prohibition, which came into effect in 1920 with the passage of the 18th Amendment, was the final nail in the coffin for Louisville’s German beer gardens. In the post-Prohibition era private consumption of bottled beer became more prevalent and beer gardens never regained their former popularity. Mayor Fischer would like to see that change and revive beer gardens in Louisville, not necessarily permanent gardens, but ones created in association with special events held in the city.

Another victim of Prohibition, and one that the Mayor’s Workgroup would like to see make a comeback, is Kentucky Common beer. According to numerous sources Kentucky Common beer is one of only three styles of beer that can lay claim to being indigenous to the United States; the others are Classic American Pilsner and California Common (although I have also heard about a style called Pennsylvania Swankey). Kentucky Common was almost exclusively brewed and sold in and around Louisville. The final product was amber to light brown in color, malt-accented, highly carbonated, with a low ABV (4.0% to 4.4%). It was both quick (6-8 days) and inexpensive to produce. This made it very popular and between 1900 until the start of Prohibition it has been estimated that 75% of the beer sold in and around Louisville was Kentucky Common. In their 1901 book, The American Handy Book of the Brewing, Malting and Auxiliary Trades Robert Wahl and Max Henius describe Kentucky Common as being ‘mainly consumed by the laboring classes’. A number of Louisville’s current craft breweries brew a contemporary version of the Kentucky Common including Apocalypse Brew Works (brewed according to a 1912 recipe from Louisville’s Oertele Brewey), Bluegrass Brewing Company, and Against the Grain Brewery. Pat Hagan, founder and owner of Bluegrass Brewing Company noted that Kentucky Common is ‘uniquely Louisville in that it’s such an important part of our city’s distinguished brewing heritage’.

Another recommendation of the Mayor’s report is the revival of Bock Day. When Louisvillians were not drinking Kentucky Common beer they were probably drinking bock. Bock is a malty, low-hop, lager-style beer (although it was originally an ale) that traces its origins to the town of Einbeck in Lower Saxony, Germany where it was first brewed in the 14th century. Bocks were heartier (read higher alcohol and nutritional content) than other beers. They were typically 7-8% ABV and due to their higher nutritional content were popular during the fasting season of Lent and, in fact, were often brewed with the aim of being ready for the arrival of the Lenten season. In Germany they were particularly popular with fasting German monks – a liquid substitute for food if you will. The anticipated release of the Bock was reported in local newspapers and on posters plastered all over town. Its release was known as Bock Day and became a day of celebration for those who participated and when it arrived many took the day off of work. Bock Day was celebrated in Louisville until the early 1900s.

It has been less than a year since the Mayor’s Local Brewery Workgroup Report was published. So one cannot expect too much progress on the implementation of recommendations in that short period of time. Having said that a number of Louisville’s breweries do produce their interpretation of Kentucky Common and I had an opportunity to sample some at Bluegrass Brewing Company in downtown Louisville. Of course there is no way to tell the extent to which the contemporary Common resembles any of the original Common beers. Many of the original recipes no longer exist. And even where such recipes do exist it is impossible to replicate them exactly. Apocalypse Brew Works brews a Kentucky Common using a 1912 recipe from the Oertel Brewing Company; a recipe that called for corn grits. Unable to get refined corn grits Apocalypse opted to use cornstarch. As Kevin Gibson, author of Louisville Beer: Derby City History on Draft correctly points out brewing is both a science and an art. And while much of the science can be replicated the art is much more difficult; those subtle touches that are added by the brewer to set his or her beer apart are lost with the passage of time and cannot be replicated. It rained a lot during our three days in Louisville so it would not have been a good time to have a beer garden. However, we did come across one at the 4th of July Independence Day celebrations at the city’s Waterfront Park. People seemed to be having fun and enjoying both the experience and the occasion.

So kudos to Mayor Greg Fischer for paying attention to and bringing together members of Louisville’s craft beer community to think strategically about their industry. More mayors could learn from Mayor Fischer’s lead. The craft beer sector is growing and all indications are that it will continue to grow. The industry represents a great opportunity for a community to support its entrepreneurs, boost its tourist dollars, and reconnect with its history. And to the people of Louisville who were so generous in their hospitality during our visit I say Cheers Y’all.