Louisville, Ky. – One of the city’s oldest and most iconic beer brands is launching its largest product-line expansion ever. Falls City Beer, established in Louisville in 1905 and revived in 2010, is extending its lineup from two bottled beer varieties to seven—adding a new year-round offering tied to Louisville’s pre-Prohibition bourbon industry, plus a family of seasonal releases.
The first two of the new bottled varieties, Kentucky Common and Easy Goer Session IPA will join Falls City’s existing offerings, Falls City Pale Ale and Hipster Repellant IPA, on store shelves beginning this week.
Kentucky Common exploded in popularity in the early 1900s in Louisville, at the same time the city’s bourbon industry was booming. Brewed with corn, barley and rye, Kentucky Common shares similar ingredients to a bourbon distiller’s mashbill. The Common style originated in Louisville, and it’s estimated that a staggering 75 percent of beers consumed in Louisville were Common-style brews prior to Prohibition. Now, in a nod to the city and the brewery’s rich history, Falls City is rebooting it for today’s craft beer fans to finally enjoy the all-but-forgotten beer style.
The new Kentucky Common from Falls City is a rich, easy-drinking ale with an ABV (alcohol by volume) of 4 percent. It will be produced year-round and available in select markets in Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee and Ohio.
Easy Goer Session IPA will kick off Falls City’s new series of bottled seasonal varieties. Featuring Palisades and Citra hops, it is a sessionable, well-balanced IPA with an ABV of 4.5 percent. The IPA beer style still reigns as the top craft beer style in the nation, just ahead of the seasonal category. Easy Goer Session IPA will be available through mid-August in select markets in Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee and Ohio. Three other seasonal offerings will follow, this fall and next winter.
“Falls City Beer is a brand that is totally connected to Louisville, so not only is this a huge day for the brewery, but for the city as well,” said Falls City Master Brewer Dylan Greenwood. “You can still see old Falls City signs on buildings around town. With new bottled beers like our Kentucky Common, we’re saluting local history but also producing well-balanced craft beers with the quality and variety that craft beer fans now expect.”
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer visited the Falls City brewery today to celebrate the brand’s expansion, declaring March 1, “Falls City Beer Day” in the city of Louisville.
“Falls City is iconic to Louisville and watching its growth in the last handful of years is very exciting and meaningful to our city’s renaissance of craft beer and spirits,” Fischer said. “With 58 breweries in business in Louisville pre-Prohibition, Falls City is helping us return to the days of, as Falls City says best, ‘craft beer before craft beer was cool’.”
To unify the growing line of Falls City brews, a new portfolio-wide packaging update also was undertaken, creating a new look for the brand. Falls City Pale Ale, launched in 2010, and Hipster Repellant IPA, launched in 2014, have shed their old designs and also share the refreshed look to fit in with the expanded product line.
7-Barrel Series to release limited-edition draft offerings each month
As production increases, Falls City continues to invest in its Portland location on 10th Street between Main and Market, which it shares with Old 502 Winery. The two businesses created a craft beer and wine hub called Over the 9 bar and restaurant as part of a $1 million renovation project launched in 2014. Over the 9 is located next door to the brewery.
In addition to brewing some of the new bottled varieties, the 10th Street brewery is producing a limited-release beer each month as part of the Falls City 7-Barrel Series. These special brews will be available on draft only, while supply lasts at Over the 9 and select bars and restaurants. The March release in the 7-Barrel Series is a Maibock – a traditionally German style with a big, malty taste and smooth finish. For more information on the series, visit FallsCityBeer.com.
Falls City will hold a public launch party for the new brews today, March 1, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Over the 9. Master Brewer Dylan Greenwood will be on hand to talk craft beer with enthusiasts and to celebrate the major product line expansion.
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