Against The Grain: Louisville, KY www.atgbrewery.com/

This pub is inside the Louisville Slugger baseball field. Home of the Louisville Bats, Triple A Cincinnati Reds affiliate. Don't let the location fool you. It is the middle of December and this place was rock'n. Great original beers and food. The beer art was art.


The beer names are awesome. My favorite was HOP: David Lee Froth. My favorite to drink was Smoke:
Pub Description:
Smoke   Smoke'em if you got'em! At AtG we are smoke beer fiends! Rarely does an American brewer attempt the classic techniques to make a smoke beer and rarely do they succeed when they try...We aim to change that! Our smoke beers can be lightly smoked or intensely smoky, whichever it is... you can bet it's the best around! We utilize smoked grains from all parts of the world, from the classic peat smoked malts of Scotland, to the clean beech wood smoked malts of Germany, the flavor profiles are endless. So if you're in the mood for some rauch, get a Smoke!

All the beers were original and well thought out. I had the flight and added the other 3 beers that were on tap.

• Session      
• Hop
• Whim
• Malt
• Dark
• Smoke
• Brown

If you look at there website it looks like they have over 100 beers they make under these categories.
I ordered the smoked and grilled wings and baked beans, The wing were good. The beans were great.

It was super busy. My sever was really good. She took the time to talk and explained all the beers and told me everything I need to know about Louisville.

Rate the Pub

Beer: 5
Food: 4
Atmosphere: 5

Bluegrass Brewing Company: Louisville, KY
www.bbcbrew.com

I stayed downtown Louisville and walked right down 4th street to one of the Bluegrass Brewing Company three locations. I started off with the flight. It contained Summer Wheat, IPA, American Pale, Alt, Pumpkin, Dark Star Porter and an Organic Blond. Everything was nice, I enjoyed the wheat and the porter the best. I also had them add on extra and I thought it was weird they did not include it in the flight. The Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Stout. This was the most original beer on the menu. It was aged in a bourbon barrel. I do not think they drained the barrel. It was very "bourdony".

 
The food there was your average brew bub fare.

The service was a bit to be desired. Granted they were not to busy and it was a Monday night. The waiter was fine, but no one was to friendly and the bartenders were doing shots and have beers.

Beer: 4
Food: 3
Atmosphere: 2

Black Star Co-op, Austin, TX

Austin, TX: Black Star Co-op  http://www.blackstar.coop/

I found this place as I always find local breweries via the internet. There were several to choose from that I will visit in the future, but what set this brew pub apart was it was a co-op. They invite all to invest and everyone that works there earns a living wage.
I took a cab from downtown Austin and it seemed like it took forever to get there, most of it was traffic and some of it was watching the meter tick. I arrived at an outdoor shopping and upstairs apartment/condo complex.
I started out with my normal order the flight. It was "Wood Week". They had just cracked open there beers that have aged

in wood barrels. Their beers are great. Full flavored, nice body.
At Black Star you order at a counter as you walk in and come to fined out you clean your own table. They have a nice menu. After much deliberation I ordered the Texas Red Brisket Chili. Huge chunks of brisket in a red sauce. All their food is local. As as far as brewery food goes, (which is hit or miss) this was fantastic.







The Atmosphere inside was what I imagined Austin to be, hip. Everyone was hip. People on computers doing work, groups of friends having drinks and young hip families with strollers having dinner.

My favorite beer and I ordered a pint was the:

Crotchety Dockhand
Our rich coffee porter brewed with Cuvee Black and Blue, oatmeal, and molasses.
7.1% ABV, 27 IBU                                                                


All in all the Black Star Co-op is a great place. The beer is tops and the food is local.              





Rate the Pub:
(1) not cool -- (5) Top of the line.

Beer:   5

Food:  5

Atmosphere:  3