Holy Grale

Made it over here based on a recommendation from shrubber85. seated out on the back patio. Loved the atmosphere, seemed very euro, including the menu.. Schnitzel sandwich was amazing as were the fries. Ecclectic tap list. Must visit in Louisville.

Visited here whilst out picking a couple of barrel picks at Makers Mark and New Riff. Wow, what a great recommendation. On a strip of very good bars and restaurants including Jack Fry's. Outside is like a modern little Church with a neon cross. Inside is a small and dark cosy but sophisticated bar space. Line up is stunning, mainly sour focused with some good local beers too. Has Cantillon, Crooked Stave, Dupont, 3 Fontenein and some really good American wild beers. One of the best bars I've been to in the States. Just a well curated list, nice vibe, cool staff and relaxing space.

Been a few times now and every time I go I like it more. Great tap list with Belgians as well as other German and US selections. The bottle selections are similarly excellent. Food is good staff are knowledgeable and the space is an old church which I think is cool. I love this place. Great beer destination, only 21 taps but what they did shows you don’t need more than that. They have a B&B next door above their brunch place which is a nice way to combine an epic tap list with lodging for travelers. The food there is very good as well. Server told us a retail shop next door is coming and they are one of the biggest sellers of Orval, he said top 5.

Very nice selection of beers and very friendly staff! Cool interior too.

Charming ambiance and excellent food. I was expecting a few more taps than what they had running on the day, but the mix was pleasantly eclectic. I would have loved to have checked out the loft, but it was closed for a private event. Definitely a must stop in Louisville.

So, after returning to Louisville for another full week this year, it’s quite clear that this place is a true gem and needs a brand new write-up. I liked them a lot last year, mind you, but...yeah...this is the sort of place that I wished like hell existed in Boulder (Backcountry has its moments for sure, but it just doesn’t invite repeated visits the same way HG does, and they don’t seem to have good luck with their import kegs, often seeming old or poorly cared-for). Let’s start with the vibe. Zero TVs. Zero ticky-tacky advertising. Brick and dark wood. Elegant and classy without being pretentious or "fancy". Eclectic, varied music played at very modest volume, never loud or obtrusive (classical, post-rock, jazz, it’s all over the place and rarely if ever junky pop music). In an old church. Downstairs main area, cozy upstairs loft, and outdoor back patio. It does get cramped when it gets busy (very little room between the bar and the side wall, so on crazy nights you literally have to walk outside and back in the back door to get to the other side or upstairs. But those sorts of times are usually just late nights Fri/Sat or when a beer festival happens to be in town. It’s a really enjoyable place to sit and drink...warm and inviting and oh, so geeky. Six taps upstairs, all separate from the downstairs list, so make sure to check the paper menu or just go up there. And all of their staff are cool folks who like good beer...amount of knowledge varies from person to person but is generally quite high. Sometimes they do get stressed when things get nutso, but I never once felt unwelcome or cold-shouldered or disrespected. And then of course there’s the beer selection itself. You’ll not find anything better in town. Even before the Shelton fest-related kegs started dropping, they had ultra-obscure stuff like Boon Foeder 85. And then of course there’s a good chance to see XX Bitter, Taras Boulba, De Ranke Saison, Haand Norwegian Wood? Where the hell else are you going to find treasures like these on draft??? They are somewhat Belgian-centric, but absolutely spread the love with stuff from Germany, England, Scandinavia, etc. as well. Plenty of American stuff too, but geeky, less often-seen breweries. And lots of neat stuff in bottles, too (including Blackberry Farm, de la Senne, etc.). So...yep...it’s one of the best bars in the country for sure. Not every visit will offer 4+ quality draft winners for your tastes (whether due to the keg being less than stellar or just leaning too much towards trendy Stillwater/Prairie sorts of pseudo-brewer things), but even for a super-picky curmudgeon like me it’s rare that they won’t have *something* that will rock your socks (and as I said, the bottle list can cover you if the draft doesn’t).

Nice bar with open sunny patio. Great diverse tap selection and similar though relatively small bottle selection. Knowledgeable staff and great food. Best place in Kentucky so far...

Visited both the day before, and the day of Zwanze 2016. Some street parking is available, but the parking lot right beside it is not. I guess the noodle place next door is very stingy with their parking lot, so don’t park there. It’s best to park in the residential area very close by. There are two floors to the place. Upstairs is called the Choir Loft, where they have about 25 more seats and another set of taps. On a normal day, the loft opens at 6 PM, where the rest of the bar opens at 4 PM. The taps the day before Zwanze were stellar. A draft lambik from Boon, a bunch of rarer Belgian beers, plenty of awesome Kentucky and other craft beer available. They offer 5 ounce pours of everything, too. Proper glassware goes without saying. The staff all know their stuff about beer, too. Service was a bit slow at times, but for the most part, I was able to walk up to the bar and have beer in hand within a couple minutes. This place is world class, and should be visited if ever in the vicinity. Both of my visits here were excellent.

Parking is limited on the street. Smaller u-shaped bar and small beer garden out back. Selection is good. Average value.