Meet the West Sixth Farm

WE. ARE. OPEN. 

And it is glorious. For awhile there, we had our heads down working so hard that we weren't sure it'd ever get open! But wow, seeing this gorgeous piece of Kentucky land come to life as the West Sixth Farm has been an absolute blast! Y'all don't even know how good it feels to be under the pavilion watching you walk out to the hop yard to explore, pull your mountain bike right in and lay it down while you hydrate, come in sweaty from a trail run, or play cornhole and watch your sweet kiddos scoop pea gravel into buckets. We live for this stuff! 

We've got our beers on tap, Cascade and Chinook hops growing up poles, over four miles of mountain bike and hiking trails, some great food truck partners, one pretty pond and one fishin' pond, countless black and raspberry brambles tucked in between cider apple trees, and those beautiful rolling hills of the great Bluegrass State. 

Looking at the future of the Farm, we will host great events! Weddings, beer dinners, trail running and biking, and maybe just a good old fashioned cookout here and there. We've also got a nano-brewery to brew up something delicious that you can only get right here in Franklin County. Of course we'd love to start growing vegetables and herbs and be as sustainable as possible, but this is a work in progress, folks! We appreciate so much your enthusiasm to grow with us!

Please come visit! Thank you SO much for being patient and supporting us in our of our biggest endeavors yet. We look so forward to meeting and laughing with all of you as we share our mutual love of good beer and Kentucky. 

Written opening day, 2018 - Visit here for current farm info!

PENNYRILE PALE ALE WINS WORLD BEER CUP® BRONZE METAL

On Thursday night, in Nashville, TN, West Sixth Brewing was awarded a Bronze Medal for their Pennyrile Pale Ale in the World Beer Cup® Competition. 

The World Beer Cup® is the largest international beer competition in the world, with more than 8234 entries from 2515 breweries coming from 66 countries.  

Beers were judged during six sessions over a period of three days by an elite panel of 295 judges from 33 countries—72 percent of whom were from outside the United States.

“We are incredibly honored to be awarded the Bronze for American Pale Ale for our Pennyrile Pale Ale,” said co-founder Ben Self. “And receiving the award for a beer I love, and our team loves, makes it extra special.”

182 entries were received in the American Pale Ale category — making it the 5th largest in the competition.

“We’re particularly excited that this award recognizes the amazing work that our entire brewing and production team is doing,” said co-founder Brady Barlow. “Led by Robin Sither and Andy Smith — they’re clearly making some of the best beers in the world.”

Pennyrile Pale ale is a dry hopped pale ale that brings the hops, delivering big aromas and flavors of tropical fruit, pineapple, juicy orange and pine. The range of hop character seems to nearly evolve throughout the life of the glass. Pennyrile’s medium body helps carry the hops all the way to the finish, where it meets a balancing bitterness that doesn’t overwhelm. Mosaic and Citra hops are the stars of the show.  Pennyrile is currently a seasonal ale at West Sixth available November through April.

Sustainability 2017

When West Sixth was founded in 2012, we made the goal not only to brew great beer, but have a positive impact on the communities we are a part of. We do this in a variety of ways: Supporting non-profits we believe in, being a great place to work, and being as environmentally friendly as possible. We are committed to giving back at least 6% of our profits yearly, are housed in a rehabilitated historic building, and will always pay our employees a living wage. 

This is our second year releasing the Sustainability Report, and we are happy to use it again as a measuring stick for our values while setting goals for the future. We can continue to improve our efforts and are passionate about doing so. By measuring these things under the categories of Social Sustainability, Environmental Sustainability, and Economic Sustainability, we were able to encompass everything we believe in. 

Our social culture is deeply rooted in what we can do for the community we are a part of, including our own West Sixth Team. With programs that give money back to folks who are doing great things, we were able to give $163,250 in 2017! We also love sharing our space with the local beer drinking community through ongoing happenings here in the taproom.

This year, we feel our biggest contribution environmentally was getting the West Sixth Farm built up! We planted hops, trees, and berry brambles, raised two cows who sustainably grazed 30 of the Farm's 120 acres, and partnered with the Kentucky Mountain Biking Association to create four miles of mountain biking trails. Canning our beer is a choice we continue to make to do what we can for the planet as a whole. 

We are happiest to spend our money with local businesses at every opportunity possible so as to support our state economy. By doing this, we feel as though the places we live, work and eat are being benefitted by us in some way. It's also great how many of our employees live close to the brewery and often choose non-car commutes, benefitting our closest locale. 

Speaking of, it is our employees who keep West Sixth running, giving us the ability to give back as much as we do. We want to pay them well, provide them opportunities to grow and thrive, and give them access to benefits. Our team is our biggest asset and we want to keep them around!   

You can download our full report here. As always, we know it is not perfect. We plan to update this report annually, and welcome any feedback you might have here. Here is the report from last year. 

SIXTH BIRTHDAY REFLECTION

Yet again another week for the books. Every year when most of the lights are off, streamers and popped balloons hanging around, there are only a few employees left and it is the perfect time for reflection. Somehow this sixth birthday felt bigger and brought on more nostalgia than ever -- probably because we are officially closer to ten now.

This year came with all the old classics and some brand new happenings. Our annual Homebrew Competition brought in a lively bunch on a rainy day and we released our first ever One-Off cans, Second Fiddle Simcoe and Mo' Beam New England IPA. We patted ourselves on the back for choosing to do the Magic Show on the first Sunday instead of the one after The Big Day, and it was as cool as ever to see all those great kiddos in our big beer garden with their eyes lit up.

We celebrated our weekly Run/Walk and Yoga clubs, then went on into our second annual Local Mash. It has quickly become one of our favorite events, showcasing inspiring Kentucky chefs who totally outdo themselves with tastebud explosions that match perfectly with our beer. Community Day always brings our Bread Box together and then we gear up for Saturday.

The day started early with at least ten people in line at 6:30am growing steadily throughout the morning for the Noon release of Snakes Awake! and Snake Cake bottles; a few even for the free stuff at ten! Let me tell you, if you have never been in a long-awaited craft beer bottle release line, you are missing some serious camaraderie. The craft beer connection is strong and witnessing it is such a pleasure. By the time we got around to the bottles, we'd all been laughing for hours. 

Next up came the Fruit Beam Bar (four fruited New England IPAs) and Snake Cake tapping. Of course there were sour candies, Sunrise Bakery Cupcakes, owner tours, Bellaire Blooms flowers and airbrushed t-shirts, rounding it all out with live music surrounded by shiny silver tanks. 

Our West Sixth team keeps growing and each year we get to talk about all the years past. How many beers were on when we started and who worked behind the bar. The giveaway mishaps and equalization of stress and fun. Funny stories told of owners with pint glasses on their hands, who got weird at the end of the night, and where we'll be in six more. 

We hope you spend this next year with us laughing, drinking good beer, and watching our Farm come to open. Meet you next year for number seven! 

WEST SIXTH TURNS SIX

Our SIXTH birthday is upon us!! We’re so excited to celebrate with our friends, family, staff, and community! Over the years of brewing beer we’ve gotten to see our growth not only supported by thirsty customers, but by the love and support of our fans. We’re going big for number SIX with a FULL week of celebrations! Click here for full rundown!

We've had so much fun over the years brewing beers, meeting folks from all over the world who walk in our doors loving beer or not loving beer, growing our amazing team and investing in causes and places we believe in. Year one we canned IPA before we even opened the doors, knowing how good it was; and now here with are with 14 canned beers, countless bottles, another taproom and a farm! 

We have been having a total blast and look forward to many, many more birthdays as an Independent Craft Brewery in Kentucky. Please come raise a glass with us during this full week of fun! See you then. 

West Sixth Cerveza!

Please welcome the newest member of the West Sixth Can Family, the West Sixth Cerveza! We’re so excited to announce this much-awaited addition to our lineup.

In the style of a Mexican Lager, West Sixth Cerveza is crisp and pleasant with a cracker like malt character, notes of corn and a low amount of hops to create a quenching and sessionable lager. Crack a West Sixth Cerveza or add a slice of lime to a freshly poured pint - this brew is satisfying and approachable to all!

We’re incredibly excited to announce this newest canned offering. It’s been almost a year since we introduced a new beer into a can, and our fans have been asking for this one for a while.

This staff favorite weighs in at 4.6% ABV, and is hopped with German noble hops, sure to quench your thirst. Join us for the taproom release Monday February 26th, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to get details soon for upcoming release!

As with all of West Sixth’s cans, this one was designed by Lexington print and design shop Cricket Press. “We wanted this can design to stand out from our current canned offerings, but also give a nod to some of the classic colors and graphics that are characteristic of Mexican lager styles. To explore this further, we added a Papel picado motif (Mexican folk art cut-paper flags) to anchor the West Sixth branding.” said Cricket Press co-owner Brian Turner.

West Sixth Cerveza will be available throughout Kentucky and into Cincinnati, OH in late February, and will be a year-round offering. Keep your eyes peeled for these handsome cans on your favorite store shelf!

Cheers!

Ben, Brady, Joe, Robin, Matt, Hendrick, Kelly, Jesse, Dale, Shane, Andy, Liz, Riah, Conor, Clarke, Eryn, Steven, Jacob, Matt Witt, Delia, Jay, Greg, Jared, Kaitlyn, Raya, Chris, Nick, Demarco, Olivia, Tim, Birch, Dustin, Shawn, Katarina, Katie, Forrest, Jackie & Amy.

A CHRISTMAS STORY

We had our employee meeting this morning where Owner Joe told us the story of the first batch of Christmas Ale. At the time there were about a third of the employees we have now and our "offices", (one table in a dark room at the top of a ramp with a flickering neon light), were located where we now keep our merchandise. There is also no temperature control up there, so thoughts of warming beers were swirling as the Kentucky weather was throwing us bitter temps in the wrong month.

Owner Robin made Joe up a test batch that came in at about 5% ABV. Owner Ben says Joe's immediate reaction was that "there ain't enough alcohol in this!" The goal here was for it to heat up those cold bones, which is how we ended up with this Winter Warmer style. Upon the next batch at 9%, we were ready to can it up and ship it out, after many deliberations as to how to get a label on it quick enough to be out before Christmas.

We made 200 cases that year, a 30 barrel batch, and they were all gone within what seemed like minutes. There are some good stories about the folks who were working the canning line at the time. You know, getting all warmed up during their shift. 

That same beer is still here today, though refined and after a few years even nostalgic. It's Kentucky Christmas in an aluminum vessel. It's your secret hideaway when family gatherings are getting to be too much, your late night football beer when its snowing, and something you can age and bring out in July for that yummy Christmas feeling. 

Merry Christmas Season, ya'll!

P.S. It's available now. 

MEET WEST SIXTH

In the two+ years since Kaitlyn has been with us, she's given out more smiles than we all have in our years combined. Chances are, if you've been to West Sixth even one time, you know this smile and have probably even gotten a warming hug! 

I asked Kaitlyn a few questions that I probably already knew her answers to: "If you were president which law would you make? If a child asked you if Santa was real, what would you tell them? What can you not live without?" Her answers in a nutshell? Kindness, kindness, and hazelnut coffee creamer. 

She admits she has some flaws, like losing everything and wishing she could have a button on her body for things like keys, her phone, her wallet. She claims she is indecisive but really, her positive energy has made us blind to these things.  When asked to describe her job to a child? "People come see you and get juice, then they hang out awhile and you make them happy! And throwing parties!"

We couldn't live without her around here!