Road Trip! The Beer Trappe in Lexington

Every now and then it’s good to get out of the Queen City and explore the drinking culture in further flung regions of this great country. At just about a 90 minute drive away, the lovely college town of Lexington makes a great day trip. Usually if I’m going to Lexington I’m thinking bourbon, but recently Charlie and I got together with members of one of our favorite local bands, Ford Theater Reunion, to record a drinks segment for our podcast, The Charlie Tonic Hour, at The Beer Trappe in Lexington. It turned out to be an incredibly educational and fun experience. Eric, Joe, Allen and Alex are huge beer nerds and I learned all about gypsy brewers, natural fermentation, and beer that can taste like cheese. Of course it also turned into an hour and half long episode of great beer conversation interlaced with random thoughts on our first drinking experiences, why not trying is sexy, and a beanbag chair covered in kittens. So it was kind of a mixed bag. Listen at your own risk.

In fact, rather than listening to me enjoying The Beer Trappe, I recommend that you head for 811 Euclid Ave in Lexington Kentucky and experience it for yourself. Named one of the 100 best beer barsin America by Draft Magazine, The Beer Trappe has 8 rotating taps and over 400 bottles of craft beer from around the world that can be sampled in-house or purchased for enjoying at home. I was blown away by the selection of beers and would have been completely at a loss for where to start if not for our friends, but I get the impression that the staff are just as eager to help you find a good beer or ten or twenty to try. If you are in need of more guidance, on Sunday afternoons  they hold Beer School, a relaxed tasting of beers within a particular style or theme that is moderated by National Beer Judge Kevin Patterson.

The Beer Trappe was highly worth the drive but the whole neighborhood would make for a really nice day out. Once you’ve sampled all you can reasonably try at the Beer Trappe, head next door for some cheap but very good Cajun food at Bourbon N’ Toulouse, do a walking tour around historic Lexington to take in some sights and then head back to Euclid for a burger and a carafe of cocktails at Charlie Brown’s. Just do yourself a favor and make sure you have a driver for this particular road trip.