Louisville Named Top 10 Beer City

Louisville beer. Photo by Kevin Gibson

I remember how excited I was when I heard Louisville had its first “microbrewery,” that being the long-departed Silo Microbrewery that opened in the early 1990s. It seemed like a dream. And now, at least according to a recent study, Louisville is the sixth-best beer city in America.

To quote an angry poet, the times they are a-changing.

The new study, titled “The Best Beer Cities in the U.S.” and conducted by Real Estate Witch, which refers to the U.S. of A. as “America the brew-tiful” (trite, but we get it), studied the 50 largest metropolitan cities to determine its findings, with Pittsburgh scoring the highest, followed by Cincinnati, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Denver and then Louisville.

Their rankings were based on numerous factors, such as:

·         Breweries per capita (x4)

·         Average price of beer (x3)

·         Affordability of domestic beer (x3)

·         Affordability of imported beer (x3)

·         Average Yelp rating of breweries (x3)

·         Average Yelp rating of bars (x3)

·         Bars per capita (x2)

·         “Beer passion” score based on Google Trends data (x2)

Of Louisville, Real Estate Witch wrote, “Louisville has seriously improved its standing among beer cities, thanks, in part, to its bars. Louisville has a rate of 24 bars per 100,000 residents — 26% more than the average city in our study (19 per 100,000). Plus, Louisville bars average 4.27 stars on Yelp, the third-highest score out of all 50 cities we ranked. 

“Derby City’s brewery scene also deserves a toast. The city has 2.8 breweries per 100,000 residents — more than double the national average (1.3 per 100,000). Those breweries earn an average of 4.36 stars on Yelp, ahead of the typical city’s rating of 4.24.”

Most popular breweries listed were Monnik Beer Co. and Atrium Brewing. But let’s face it, the Louisville area is chock full of great breweries that stand out for many diverse reasons. Gravely Brewing is a fantastic, music-themed spot, while places like Apocalypse Brew Works, Gallant Fox, 3rd Turn, Great Flood, Holsopple, Akasha, Old Louisville Brewery, Shippingport, Mile Wide, Falls City and many others offer ideal neighborhood spots to hang out with friends and regulars and enjoy a brew. And Against the Grain brews some of the best stuff you can get your mouth on (Citra Ass Down, am I right?).

And there are great places across the river, starting with the sprawling entertainment complex at Floyd County Brewing and including hideaways like Donum Dei and Our Lady of Perpetual Hops. And don’t sleep on the food and brews and New Albanian Brewing Company.

Rounding out the Top 10 on Real Estate Witch’s list are Indianapolis, Nashville, Charlotte and Minneapolis. The worst beer city in the U.S.? That would be Los Angeles. No one goes there anyway. Right?