E-Malt.com News article: USA, KY: West Sixth Brewing Company expanding in Lexington

West Sixth Brewing, a craft brewery located in Lexington, will undergo a major expansion, The Lane Report announced on February 5.

“When we started West Sixth less than two years ago, we never in a million years expected the amazing response our fans have given us,” said founder Ben Self.

West Sixth Brewing will be expanding into an additional 13,000 s.f.

“This expansion includes the addition of a new 40 barrel brewhouse and six 80 barrel fermenters,” said founder Joe Kuosman. “This will allow us to produce approximately three times the amount of beer that we could before in our previous 15 barrel system. We’ll also keep our 15-barrel system and brew smaller batches on it – which will allow us to explore even further our barrel aging program. Beers like Snakes in a Barrel, our barrel aged imperial stout, are incredibly popular, and we’ll be able to brew an even wider variety of them with this combination of systems.”

In addition to the new brewing equipment, West Sixth has also expanded with a new 1200 s.f. cooler and centrifuge.

This expansion will also allow West Sixth to begin canning its third permanent beer.

“Today, we’re also excited to announce that sometime over the next month, we’ll begin canning our newest beer, the Lemongrass American Wheat,” said founder Robin Sither. “This American wheat is brewed with Sorachi Ace hops and nearly six pounds of fresh lemongrass in each 15-barrel batch. The Sorachi Ace hop, which originated out of Japan, has a very unique flavor that we believe complements the lemongrass perfectly. It’s a craft beer drinker’s wheat.”

“We’re excited to be able to expand our can offerings with a third permanent can,” said founder Ben Self. “Ever since we introduced the West Sixth Amber in cans last year, we’ve heard time and time again that our fans want more options in a can. Obviously printing 200,000 cans of a new design is a big undertaking, but we’re excited to offer it.”

The can design, which was designed by local artist Brian Turner of Cricket Press, resembles the look of the IPA can with a teal and yellow design, and the use of lemongrass and lemon imagery.

The Lemongrass American Wheat will be rolled out on draft and in cans over the next 6 weeks throughout Kentucky and into Cincinnati.


05 February, 2014