It has been a fast year for Blue Stallion Brewing. Established in 2012, the Lexington brewery opened its production and tasting room on July 17, 2013. Within six months it was already undergoing a brewery expansion to add enough cooler storage capacity to begin distribution of beer to the surrounding region.

Demand continued to outpace supply, so in late spring they added two 60-barrel tanks, which at 31 gallons a barrel almost doubled Blue Stallion’s brew capacity.

To celebrate its first birthday the brewery offered a retrospective Thursday of its craft beers from the previous year. Sixteen beers in total were on tap. There was one selection they couldn’t find, but made up for that omission in spades Friday by tapping its dopplebock that won a gold medal in February at the Dublin Cup in Ireland.

It was aging in some bourbon barrels till it was just right. Reportedly the barrels were previously home to a popular wheat bourbon from Buffalo Trace over in Frankfort. The name rhymes with “happy.”

Blue Stallion was founded by five co-owners: brothers Kore, Xavier and Zac Donnelly, along with Jim Clemons and head-brewer Nico Schulz. They specialize in traditional German style lagers and British style ales, which tend to be lighter and less hop-heavy than some American style craft beers.

Last week they brewed Munich dunkel (a German amber lager) and Hefeweizen (a German-style wheat medium-bodied ale), and in four to eight weeks those will be on tap.

View of the brewery from Blue Stallion’s bar.

Located at 610 W. Third Street, in downtown Lexington, Blue Stallion includes a tasting room, with a bar and lounge, complete with pool table, mezzanine, dart boards and patio. Looking at their event calendar, it seems a food truck is often hanging around to assist with eats, and occasionally live music is also on tap.

The brewery currently only distributes around Central Kentucky, but with its new storage capacity they are looking to expand into Eastern Kentucky, Louisville and Northern Kentucky – with bottling perhaps beginning next year.

Blue Stallion Brewing | 610 W. Third Street | Lexington, KY 40508 | 877-928-2337