Kölsch Service? Make Way for Kentucky Common Service
Photos courtesy of Trellis Brewing Facebook
Kölsch is a light, crisp and mildly fruity German-style beer. Kölsch service is a tradition from Cologne (or Köln), Germany, in which customers are served a kölsch beer and when the glass is empty, they are automatically served another and the empty glass cleared away. It’s kind of a neverending, compulsory “just one more” you might experience at an American bar.
That is, of course, until you call it a day. Then you just pay your tab.
Leave it to Louisville Ale Trail and Trellis Brewing to come up with Louisville’s version: Kentucky Common service. Kentucky Common sort of is to Kentucky what Kölsch is to Cologne — it was invented here and one of very few beer styles to be invented in the United States. It originated sometime in the middle to late 1800s and was the beer style most Louisvillians (and many other Kentuckians) drank leading into Prohibition.
It fell out of favor with the ongoing watering-down of beer following Prohibition, but it has made a comeback during the craft beer trend of the past decade or so. Louisville Ale Trail has done extensive work to educate the beer-loving public about the beer style, and you also can read more about it in my book, Louisville Beer.
Kentucky Common service debuts at Trellis on Tuesday, July 30, and will happen every Tuesday thereafter. Attendees will get a Kentucky Common for $3, along with a card, and the beers will keep coming until you say “no mas.” (Luckily, Kentucky Common, a dark but light-bodied ale, usually has a low ABV, so you can enjoy more pours.)
In addition, attendees can buy their Kentucky Derby-themed glass for $8. Finally, Michael Moeller of the Louisville Ale Trail will be serving during the launch event.
