Falls City
Overview
Located at the corner of Campbell and Liberty in the Phoenix Hill neighborhood, the current iteration of our taproom opened in 2018. Louisville craft beer has a rich history. While we are not the first Louisville brewery, we are certainly the oldest still in operation.It all begins with a purpose. The Louisville beer scene in 1905: local breweries in Louisville, KY were being bought up by large beer conglomerates. Enter Falls City.
1900s-1910s
Founded in 1905 by Ben Schrader and a group of local tavern owners and grocers, the original Falls City was formed to fight a big beer takeover in Louisville.
In 1906, Otto Doerr was hired as our first brewmaster and our beer soon began appearing in local taverns. Shortly thereafter, a bottling plant was added and Falls City became one of the most popular breweries in Louisville, KY.
1920s-1930s
When most breweries shut their doors at the onset of Prohibition, Falls City was able to not only remain open, but actually turn a profit by selling near beer, soda, and ice.
In 1933, the brewing equipment was fired back up and beer was flowing once again!
1940s-1950s
The ‘40s and ‘50s saw Falls City become a dominant regional brewery in Louisville and throughout the southeast. As distribution opened up to seven states, we soon hit a peak 750,000 barrels of beer per year.
1960s-1970s
Sales began to decline as big beer (Budweiser, Miller, etc.) gained immense popularity. We cut corners on ingredients and failed with “Billy Beer” as well as other last-ditch marketing efforts. Finally, we closed our doors in 1978.
Present Day
When Louisville craft beer began its’ most recent resurgence in the late 2000s, the Falls City brand was revived with the same fighting spirit and passion for quality craft beer as our founders. We proudly hold space as a premier Louisville brewery.
As the times change, we learn and adapt. Please join us for a pint and celebrate our city’s rich history of independent beer with us. Cheers!