The Oxford Dictionary defines “excellence” as “the quality of being outstanding or extremely good.” This reminds me of a moment in 2009… Wise words from a young man… “Strive for excellence in everything you do, and you will not fail.” It is those words that have resonated in everything we do at Against The Grain. Whether it’s the countless batches of beer we are brewing or the sweeping up the remnants of the party from the night before, it is this uncompromised and constant mantra that drives us to move against the grain…

Which brings me to our most recent accolades: If you were not aware, Ratebeer.com awarded Against The Grain: Kentucky’s Best Brewery 2013, Kentucky’s Best Beer 2013 (70K, barrel aged imperial milk stout), and Kentucky’s Best Retail Establishment 2013 (brewpub). These awards are determined from an aggregate of scores derived from raters on the RateBeer website. It is with great honor we accept these awards and we are proud of our team for helping put AtG on the map for better beer consumers in the world.

If you’d like to take a look at our haul and the other great brewers and retailers honored for 2013, click the badge below:While this is a great honor, we are not deterred from our original goals. We aim to continue to change the face of beer culture for Louisvillian’s. We aim to make ‘the highest quality’ a standard for the better beer drinkers of our great city and beyond. We aim to offer our customers the opportunity to experience drinking world class beers, in a world class setting, and served in a world class manner, as we believe it should be the standard. We will not compromise our standards towards sourcing the highest quality ingredients, nor will we take short cuts in “best practices” of production. We are honored by these accolades in 2013, but… onward to 2014…

In 2014, expect to see the same innovation that you have come to know from the beers we produce. We will continue to produce an ever-changing line of beers that will focus on our core categories: Session, Hop, Whim, Malt, Dark, & Smoke. However, expect to see us refine, improve, and perfect your favorite AtG brands from the past. Expect to see more AtG beer, as we strive to satisfy your voracious thirst for those brands that have garnered the honor of being in your glass.

Expect to see progression in our service and service standards, as we look to excel as one of Louisville’s fine brewery/restaurant(s). We have invested in our team by standardizing our service standard with the Cicerone® program Certified Beer Server credential. This standard has afforded our team the credentials to be a more apt guide in educating and serving our great customers.

For more information on the Cicerone® program Certified Beer Server, click the badge below:

Expect to see Against The Grain pursue the world of beer with a global view, as we will continue to export beer from Kentucky to over 38 states in the United States, as well as exporting to western Europe in any of the 15 countries that we have sent beer before. Expect to see the AtG team travel the country and globe pursuing a greater understanding of what it truly means to be a world class brewery, producing world class beer. We will visit our home base supporters as much as possible, whether it be the Tailspin Ale Fest or holding events for Louisville Craft Beer Week, we will be there. We will also represent AtG nationally, with attendance at brewery invitational events such as, Brewvival in Charleston, SC, and the Beer Advocate Extreme Beerfest in Boston, MA. We will visit the United Kingdom this fall, to attend one of the newest and most exciting brewery invitational events known as Indy Man Beer Con, at which we will be one of a handful of representative breweries from the United States (and most notably…Kentucky).

Most importantly, for 2014, expect to see us continue to strive for excellence in all that we do. We are grateful to you for believing in us enough to try the new and crazy beers we brew, as well as the classics that you would come to expect. We are also grateful for you taking the time to talk to us, rate us, and help us better understand the world of beer. We are grateful that you would take this excellent journey with us in moving Against The Grain! Cheers!

-Sam Cruz

Co-Owner & One of the many important ‘cogs’ that make up Against The Grain Brewery.