Pipkin Brewing Company - Pipkin Porter

Pipkin Porter is brewed with no less than 6 malts including Two Row Pale, Pipkin Pale, Wheat, Crystal, Black Patent and a whole lot of Chocolate malt. Paul hops it twice during the boil with Northern Brewer hops. Look for a chocolate malt character dominating this beer all the way though, from the nose to the finish. Note a deep dark ruby-brown color in this medium-bodied, filtered porter. We found the flavor to offer chocolate malt, coffee and caramel flavors and the finish, crisp and non-lingering. Overall, a fine interpretation of a classic style. We really liked it.

Louisville’s first brewers included immigrants from the British Isles and, later, German speaking immigrants from southern Germany, Switzerland, and Alsace-Lorraine. These forerunners brought German styles of beer, particularly lager beer, and dominated the local brewing industry in the late 1850's. At the turn of the century, a Louisville beer drinker could pick from over twenty local breweries.

Well, that was then and this is now and unfortunately, when you think Kentucky, you’re not thinkin’ beer. You’re going with whiskey. Am I right? Unless you’re Paul Hummer. When he was fifteen years old, his father began brewing avidly in the basement of their house and seemingly this early exposure to homebrewing proved to be a turning-point in Paul's life. After High School, most guys go to college to drink beer, but Paul studied how to brew it at the University of California at Davis where he majored in brewing studies. Diploma in hand, he worked for 4 years at the Weeping Radish Brewery in Durham, North Carolina and then relocated to Louisville, Kentucky where the microbrewery market had been out of commission since 1978.

Inspired by one of his favorite Belgian breweries, Chimay, Paul launched the Pipkin Brewing Company and named it after his favorite brewer's barley, Pipkin, which typically displays an intense biscuit and malt flavor. The backbone of every Pipkin brew is this exceptional barley malt, a traditional variety rarely employed due to its high cost. Paul will tell ya, "The Pipkin malts lend a depth of flavor to the beers which can only be achieved with superior raw ingredients."

With one salesman and two brewers, Pipkin Brewing Company prefers to slow steady growth, putting out 1,200 barrels a year (a yield that's doubled since opening in 1998). You can only find Pipkin Blonde, Pale Ale, Brown, and Porter on tap and in bottles at some 150 locations around Louisville or in your box this month!

For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (502) 584-2739.