Previously: 40 Years in Beer (Book II), Part 60: Those glorious Belgian beer cafes (Euro Beer Travel 1995, Part III)
Beer writer Michael Jackson’s visit to Louisville on November 19, 1994 began at Bluegrass Brewing Company and concluded at Rich O’s Public House. Between these stops, Jackson dropped by the Silo Microbrewery. A small crowd of local beer aficionados followed him from place to place, and the mood was one of unreserved euphoria.
- 40 Years in Beer (Book II), Part 56: Michael Jackson’s 1994 visit to Louisville — BBC, the Silo, Rich O’s
- 40 Years in Beer (Book II), Part 57: Beer writer Michael Jackson’s reaction to the Red Room at the Public House (1994)
Then, just five days later, Courier-Journal reporter David McGinty saw to it that our post-Jackson buzzes were considerably dampened: “The Silo Microbrewery, at 630 Barret Ave., has filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The filing by the corporation that owns the microbrewery and restaurant lists about 130 creditors and says the business owes the 20 largest unsecured creditors a total of about $95,000.”
- 40 Years in Beer (Book II) Part 45: The Silo and Oertels, as well as a pivotal newspaper article (1992)
People liked to compare, and I was one of them, but speculation about the relative merits of the Silo versus Bluegrass Brewing never mattered nearly as much as the realization that the Louisville metropolitan area was capable of supporting more than one or two craft breweries. The vexing question was how this growth might be encouraged over the long term.
David Barhorst’s tragi-comic scheme to revive Oertel’s Brewing Co. at the short-lived Pegasus Restaurant in Butchertown predictably played out as farce, and by all rights it should have taught all of us valuable lessons about root and branch priorities. Unfortunately, the propensity of the Silo’s ownership group to shoot its frail creation in the foot explains why the entity never seemed to find firm footing.
A default level of ingrained incomprehension on the part of the Silo’s ownership was evident from the start. Frustrated by it (and with better prospects at Bluegrass Brewing Co.), David Pierce left the Silo’s brewhouse for BBC in 1993 after only a year aboard. David was replaced by Eileen Martin, with the late Matt...Read more