SIXTH BIRTHDAY REFLECTION

Yet again another week for the books. Every year when most of the lights are off, streamers and popped balloons hanging around, there are only a few employees left and it is the perfect time for reflection. Somehow this sixth birthday felt bigger and brought on more nostalgia than ever -- probably because we are officially closer to ten now.

This year came with all the old classics and some brand new happenings. Our annual Homebrew Competition brought in a lively bunch on a rainy day and we released our first ever One-Off cans, Second Fiddle Simcoe and Mo' Beam New England IPA. We patted ourselves on the back for choosing to do the Magic Show on the first Sunday instead of the one after The Big Day, and it was as cool as ever to see all those great kiddos in our big beer garden with their eyes lit up.

We celebrated our weekly Run/Walk and Yoga clubs, then went on into our second annual Local Mash. It has quickly become one of our favorite events, showcasing inspiring Kentucky chefs who totally outdo themselves with tastebud explosions that match perfectly with our beer. Community Day always brings our Bread Box together and then we gear up for Saturday.

The day started early with at least ten people in line at 6:30am growing steadily throughout the morning for the Noon release of Snakes Awake! and Snake Cake bottles; a few even for the free stuff at ten! Let me tell you, if you have never been in a long-awaited craft beer bottle release line, you are missing some serious camaraderie. The craft beer connection is strong and witnessing it is such a pleasure. By the time we got around to the bottles, we'd all been laughing for hours. 

Next up came the Fruit Beam Bar (four fruited New England IPAs) and Snake Cake tapping. Of course there were sour candies, Sunrise Bakery Cupcakes, owner tours, Bellaire Blooms flowers and airbrushed t-shirts, rounding it all out with live music surrounded by shiny silver tanks. 

Our West Sixth team keeps growing and each year we get to talk about all the years past. How many beers were on when we started and who worked behind the bar. The giveaway mishaps and equalization of stress and fun. Funny stories told of owners with pint glasses on their hands, who got weird at the end of the night, and where we'll be in six more. 

We hope you spend this next year with us laughing, drinking good beer, and watching our Farm come to open. Meet you next year for number seven! 

WEST SIXTH TURNS SIX

Our SIXTH birthday is upon us!! We’re so excited to celebrate with our friends, family, staff, and community! Over the years of brewing beer we’ve gotten to see our growth not only supported by thirsty customers, but by the love and support of our fans. We’re going big for number SIX with a FULL week of celebrations! Click here for full rundown!

We've had so much fun over the years brewing beers, meeting folks from all over the world who walk in our doors loving beer or not loving beer, growing our amazing team and investing in causes and places we believe in. Year one we canned IPA before we even opened the doors, knowing how good it was; and now here with are with 14 canned beers, countless bottles, another taproom and a farm! 

We have been having a total blast and look forward to many, many more birthdays as an Independent Craft Brewery in Kentucky. Please come raise a glass with us during this full week of fun! See you then. 

West Sixth Cerveza!

Please welcome the newest member of the West Sixth Can Family, the West Sixth Cerveza! We’re so excited to announce this much-awaited addition to our lineup.

In the style of a Mexican Lager, West Sixth Cerveza is crisp and pleasant with a cracker like malt character, notes of corn and a low amount of hops to create a quenching and sessionable lager. Crack a West Sixth Cerveza or add a slice of lime to a freshly poured pint - this brew is satisfying and approachable to all!

We’re incredibly excited to announce this newest canned offering. It’s been almost a year since we introduced a new beer into a can, and our fans have been asking for this one for a while.

This staff favorite weighs in at 4.6% ABV, and is hopped with German noble hops, sure to quench your thirst. Join us for the taproom release Monday February 26th, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to get details soon for upcoming release!

As with all of West Sixth’s cans, this one was designed by Lexington print and design shop Cricket Press. “We wanted this can design to stand out from our current canned offerings, but also give a nod to some of the classic colors and graphics that are characteristic of Mexican lager styles. To explore this further, we added a Papel picado motif (Mexican folk art cut-paper flags) to anchor the West Sixth branding.” said Cricket Press co-owner Brian Turner.

West Sixth Cerveza will be available throughout Kentucky and into Cincinnati, OH in late February, and will be a year-round offering. Keep your eyes peeled for these handsome cans on your favorite store shelf!

Cheers!

Ben, Brady, Joe, Robin, Matt, Hendrick, Kelly, Jesse, Dale, Shane, Andy, Liz, Riah, Conor, Clarke, Eryn, Steven, Jacob, Matt Witt, Delia, Jay, Greg, Jared, Kaitlyn, Raya, Chris, Nick, Demarco, Olivia, Tim, Birch, Dustin, Shawn, Katarina, Katie, Forrest, Jackie & Amy.

A CHRISTMAS STORY

We had our employee meeting this morning where Owner Joe told us the story of the first batch of Christmas Ale. At the time there were about a third of the employees we have now and our "offices", (one table in a dark room at the top of a ramp with a flickering neon light), were located where we now keep our merchandise. There is also no temperature control up there, so thoughts of warming beers were swirling as the Kentucky weather was throwing us bitter temps in the wrong month.

Owner Robin made Joe up a test batch that came in at about 5% ABV. Owner Ben says Joe's immediate reaction was that "there ain't enough alcohol in this!" The goal here was for it to heat up those cold bones, which is how we ended up with this Winter Warmer style. Upon the next batch at 9%, we were ready to can it up and ship it out, after many deliberations as to how to get a label on it quick enough to be out before Christmas.

We made 200 cases that year, a 30 barrel batch, and they were all gone within what seemed like minutes. There are some good stories about the folks who were working the canning line at the time. You know, getting all warmed up during their shift. 

That same beer is still here today, though refined and after a few years even nostalgic. It's Kentucky Christmas in an aluminum vessel. It's your secret hideaway when family gatherings are getting to be too much, your late night football beer when its snowing, and something you can age and bring out in July for that yummy Christmas feeling. 

Merry Christmas Season, ya'll!

P.S. It's available now. 

MEET WEST SIXTH

In the two+ years since Kaitlyn has been with us, she's given out more smiles than we all have in our years combined. Chances are, if you've been to West Sixth even one time, you know this smile and have probably even gotten a warming hug! 

I asked Kaitlyn a few questions that I probably already knew her answers to: "If you were president which law would you make? If a child asked you if Santa was real, what would you tell them? What can you not live without?" Her answers in a nutshell? Kindness, kindness, and hazelnut coffee creamer. 

She admits she has some flaws, like losing everything and wishing she could have a button on her body for things like keys, her phone, her wallet. She claims she is indecisive but really, her positive energy has made us blind to these things.  When asked to describe her job to a child? "People come see you and get juice, then they hang out awhile and you make them happy! And throwing parties!"

We couldn't live without her around here! 

PINK PAY IT FORWARD

Our Pay it Forward Cocoa Porter has been around for three years. Since its arrival, we have always given back 50 cents of each six-pack sold you a non-profit in different corners of the state. Every quarter, our staff has a vote to decide which nominees we will Pay it Forward to. But this time, we had it in our hearts to change it up a bit. 

For the last quarter of the year, 50 cents for each six-pack sold will go to support Susan G. Komen Kentucky, who works with communities to prevent and cure breast cancer by investing in breakthrough research. Did you know that 1 in 8 women will receive a breast cancer diagnosis in their lifetime? We will do our best to support this cause in any way we can.

Look for the pink tops in stores for the next few months. We look so forward to partnering with you to fight breast cancer. Our love and support goes out to all those affected.

If you have a program you're passionate about, please let us know so that we can get them on the ballot!

MEET WEST SIXTH

Tim has been a fixture around West Sixth since we opened. It's no surprise that he's known for local activism and riding his bike, as he is one of the co-starters of a community bike shop in our building (The Bread Box) called Broke Spoke. We always knew he'd end up on the payroll, and has been killing it in the Special Events department since sometime last year.

When I asked Tim what he'd like to be when he grows up, he said 'not grown up'. Cheers to that! (Mare's Milk Stout on us, Tim. You can pour it.) Speaking of beer, when asked to describe West Sixth beer to someone with no tastebuds, an entire debate ensued. Activist! But he did say it was a party in your mouth, explaining his hypothetical baseball walkout song by The Coup, 'Everythang'. Listen to that one at your own risk, folks. 

If given one million bucks, Tim would take half of it to care for his family, and half to invest back into non-profits he is passionate about. This is especially important to us around here, so our hats are tipped. 

A few ending facts: He'd be a dog if he were an animal because the only expectations are to eat food and love on people. He loathes cell phone holsters, bluetooths and pop sockets, (cell phone gadgets). And if asked by a child to explain his job, he'd say it's the easiest job he's ever had, selling beer! 

SUSTAINABILITY 2016

When we started West Sixth, we stated from the beginning that our goal was not to just brew great beer, but to have a positive impact on the communities we're a part of. We try to do this in a variety of ways - from supporting non-profits directly, to being a good place to work, to being as environmentally-friendly as possible. These values have informed many of our choices in building the brewery - such as our choice to rehabilitate an older building to house the brewery, to providing a living wage to all employees, to our ongoing commitment to donate at least 6% of all our profits back to organizations doing good work in the communities we're a part of. 

We were inspired, this year, to try and create a measuring stick for our sustainability so that we could start begin to see how we live up to those values and set some good goals for our future here at West Sixth Brewing. We wanted to put it all on paper to see how far we've come, and how we can continue to improve to get where we want to be. By measuring these things under the categories of Social Sustainability, Environmental Sustainability, and Economic Sustainability, we were able to encompass everything we believe in. 

Our social culture is deeply rooted in what we can do for the community we are a part of. With programs that give money back to folks who are doing great things, we were able to give $122,141 in 2016, much of it matched by our good giving partners. We also love sharing our space with the good beer drinking community through various weekly happenings here in the taproom.

On the economics spectrum, we are happiest to spend our money with local business at every opportunity possible. By doing this, we feel as though the places we live, work and eat are being benefitted by us in some way. We also bought a farm in Frankfort, Kentucky to remind people that brewing beer is an agricultural act, and that, too gives back to our great state.

Environmentally, we were conscious from the beginning that by choosing to can our beer, we were doing our part to be better for the planet as a whole. With that, and switching to reusable, stainless steel cups for some community events, we hope to reduce the amount of waste going to landfills. It is our biggest West Sixth environmental hope, this upcoming year, that we can continue to decrease our waste in recycling and beer making.

Last but not least, it is our employees who make the world go round at West Sixth. We want to pay them well, provide for them opportunities to grow and thrive, and give them access to benefits. We love our growing group and want to keep them!  

You can download our full report here. As always, we know it is not perfect. We plan to update this report annually, and welcome any feedback you might have here.