West Sixth Friends, Trailblazers, and Family -
Today is a big day here at West Sixth. We’ve got some exciting news to share: we’re opening West Sixth Nulu — a new brewery and taproom — on Market Street in the heart of Louisville, Kentucky.
We can’t wait to tell you all about the project (some today, and some in the near future), but first we wanted to talk a bit about how we got to today!
When we started West Sixth — we started it with two simple goals:
To make the beer we love to drink — and make it the best in Kentucky
To have a positive impact on the communities we’re a part of
From day one — we’ve been focused on those two goals. They’re the reason we distributed our IPA from day one — the first IPA packaged and distributed in the state. They’re the reason we canned our beer instead of bottling (better for the beer and for the planet) — and were the first in the state to do so. And they’re the reason we’ve not expanded our distribution for the last 7 years — so we can focus our time, investments, and community support in the state we’re proud to call home.
We’ve done some amazing things over the last 7 years — brewed over 71,000 barrels of beer in over 400 styles, served beer at more than 800 community events from Pikeville to Paducah, and donated more than $700,000 back to charities all across the state through programs like our Pay it Forward Cocoa Porter Program. We’ve had over 5,000 people participate in our Run Club, over 1,000 participate in our bike club, and thousands more do yoga in our Beer Garden.
It’s really crazy when you look back at it — from opening one of the first taprooms in Lexington, to winning a bronze medal for our Pennyrile Pale Ale at the World Beer Cup, to opening the West Sixth Farm (a uniquely-Kentucky Farm brewery located in Franklin county: more info here) — each year has been an adventure!
We’ve been able to accomplish all this because of the amazing team we’ve built here at West Sixth — now 58 strong — many of whom have been with us since the very beginning. In the brewing world — where everyone works with similar equipment and ingredients -- so much of it is about the people. We’re proud to have so many folks who strive to push us forward and have made a lasting impact on what West Sixth is all about.
From the very beginning, Louisville has welcomed us with open arms. We sent our first beer to Louisville just 2 months after we opened our doors — and we’ll never forget our first LIBA brewfest in 2012 where we were just overwhelmed with support. Our partners at River City Distributing have been amazing since that first day, and we’re super-appreciative of John Harris and his whole staff for being on team West Sixth since the start. We couldn’t have a better distributor in the Louisville area. And Liz Vail - who has worked for us since nearly the beginning - does an incredible job representing West Sixth in the area day in and day out.
Our taproom in The Bread Box in Lexington has always been a special place and the heart of our company. Since day one, our customers have continually asked the question “When can you bring this to Louisville?”. Today, we’re excited to announce that that day has come.
For the last 4 years, we’ve been looking for a place to plant our flag in Louisville. We’ve probably looked at close to 30 locations, trying to find a place where we can do something unique and interesting — a parallel to the Bread Box in Lexington.
We’ve also felt a strong attachment to Nulu from the beginning. We’ve sponsored and supported the Nulu Fest since 2014.
When we first looked at the Nulu Marketplace development in April, we knew we had found our home. It’s an exciting development in Nulu — truly a live/work/play development that will host some fun restaurants (more on that soon!), a few other bars, offices, and apartments all overlooking an amazing open-air courtyard. In a 120-year-old old preserved carriage house anchoring the shared space, we’ll bring a unique and historic West Sixth experience to Louisville. With amazing neighbors up and down the street we’ve got a lot to live up to (they’ve set the bar high) — but we’re excited to add a new craft beer experience to the neighborhood.
Even more exciting to us is the fact that West Sixth Nulu will not only be a taproom and private event space, but also a place to experiment with some uniquely-Louisville beers. With a new brewing system located on site — our brewing team will be brewing experimental beers each week that will be only available in Louisville. West Sixth Nulu will also have a strong focus on Bourbon Barrel aged beers — and a lot of our current bourbon barrel aging will move to this location. We’ll feature our famous bourbon barrel aged beers like Snake Cake and Snakes in a Barrel, but we’re also excited to collaborate with some of the fantastic Louisville distilleries — both old and new. And, of course, all the classic favorites like West Sixth IPA, Pennyrile Pale Ale, Low Beam New England IPA, West Sixth Cerveza, and our Sixfold Series will be represented in full force!
We’ve got a lot of work to do, and not much time to do it. Opening sometime early next year, we’re excited to bring our take on the craft beer experience to Louisville. Please, like West Sixth NuLu on Facebook and Instagram, and if you want to be the first to know about events and activities (like a soft opening!) give us your contact info here.
We’re really excited about this whole project — it has been a long time coming. We’ll have lots more information and photos coming in the next few weeks — construction has already begun. Get ready Louisville — it’s going to be a lot of hoppy fun!
Cheers-
Ben, Brady, Joe, and Robin (and the whole West Sixth Team)
PS — We couldn’t have done this without the help of a lot of people — in addition to Kelly Hieronymus and Jesse Brasher leading the charge here at West Sixth, we wanted to say thanks to Clayton Pitcock from Horizon Commercial Realty for keeping an eye out for us and Tyler Smith from PRG for helping us get the project put together. We’re excited to be working with Caoimhín Conway at Miranda Construction to plan and execute the project, and with Mo Deljoo without whom the whole Nulu Marketplace wouldn’t exist. We greatly appreciate Mayor Greg Fisher’s help — and his whole team at Louisville Forward who have worked with us throughout many iterations of this project. And of course, to all of our Louisville friends and partners who’ve kept an eye out for opportunities for years — we’re excited to be joining you soon!