Real beer comes to Lexington #tinychallenges

I've only attended the Lexington Fest of Ales once, but it was one of the most memorable. It wasn't that I found a particular beer there that I loved; I didn't. It wasn't that I enjoyed being crammed into a small space with way too many people; I didn't. It wasn't that I enjoyed there being far too few beers due to the state Alcoholic Beverage Control group removing a substantial number of beers at the last minutes due to typos in the paperwork; I didn't.

It was because I found out that Lexington was finally going to have a real, honest, craft brewery to call its own. West Sixth was being born.

My best friend and I had complimentary tickets from a vendor I did business with regularly, so we decided to go hang out for the evening and drink on someone else's tab. It was a good plan. My friend happens to be a well-connected local lawyer who is very recognizable in a crowd due to his height. When Ben, one of the West Sixth founders and a friend of my friend, wandered over to say hello, little did I know that I was about to learn one of the coolest pieces of news no one yet knew.

Ben proceeded to tell my buddy that they had just signed the paperwork to occupy the old bakery facility on west sixth street and they were going to open a brewery. At first, I was skeptical this would be just another factory for American Light Lager, my arch enemy, but Ben was quick to set the record straight. They would be a craft brewery focused on making great beer. They did not disappoint.

So here I sit, 6 years to the day after the only Fest of Ales I ever attended, inside West Sixth brewery, writing this post. Its a funny old world, but one I am glad has a brewery this good in it.