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CraftJacks

The Best Breweries, Brewpubs & Taprooms in Kentucky

Bluegrass and bourbon is what Kentucky is known for. However, if you look close enough, you will see a group of fine, craft beer slinging breweries in the state of Kentucky.

Against the Grain

AtG beers are smooth.

We're big fans of the brewery/smokehouse combo. BBQ and beer is among the many all-time tandems of awesome - a list that includes Miyagi & Larusso, Ketchup & Mustard, Day-drinking & Sunday.

As for the Against the Grain brewery, how it started was some brewing buddies getting together, having some beers, shooting some breezes, then brewing some high quality beers that brought "color" to the Louisville brewing scene.

AtG has a variety of craft brews that push the limits, often. They are distributed throughout most of the United States and in a handful of other countries. We're big fans of the Citra Ass Down, an 8% DIPA that makes you question where that lumberjack on the can got that mace.

When it comes to food, their Smokehouse and their Public House food menus serve slightly different audiences. The former focuses solely on smoked meats, the latter more of a pro-level burger joint. At a distance of 3 miles apart, you can pick either and have a great time. You could even do one for lunch and pub crawl your way to the other for dinner.

Moving back to the beer, they've upgraded over time, moving from the original 2bbl system to a 15bbl, followed by a 30bbl. Against the Grain is a great brewing success story.

West Sixth Brewing

West Sixth has opened four taprooms in Kentucky, all of which balance their year round beers against taproom exclusives. Starting up in 2012, the brewery started in the Bread Box, a 100 year old building in Lexington.