Falls City Beer

About Falls City – Back in 1905, a ragtag group of local grocers and tavern owners teamed up in Louisville, KY to start a brewery and fight a big beer monopoly. With that, Falls City Beer was born! We’ve had our ups and downs since 1905, but that rebellious spirit lives on today as we encourage folks to come together, stand up and drink good beer!

Today, you can find our beer throughout Kentucky, Indiana and parts of Tennessee. We offer a variety of beers in package and draft including our Classic Pilsner, Hipster Repellant IPA, English-Style Pale Ale, Streetlamp Porter and a group of rotating seasonals and small batch items available at our taproom.

To dive deeper into the history of Falls City Brewing Co. follow the timeline below!

The Founding 1905 – Falls City Brewing Co. was founded in 1905 in Louisville by Ben Schrader and a group of ragtag local tavern owners and grocers, who banded together to fight a big beer monopoly.

Brewing Beer & Making Money 1900s-1910s – Otto Doerr was hired as our first brewmaster and our beer was first tapped in Louisville taverns in 1906. Soon after, a bottling plant was added and our brews were served throughout Louisville. In 1912, we turned a profit and successfully fought off a takeover bid from a rival beer company.

Surviving Prohibition 1920s-1930s – When Prohibition hit, most breweries were forced to close their doors. However, we were able to not only stay open, but actually turn a profit during Prohibition by selling “near” beer, soft drinks and ice. Finally, in 1933 the brewing equipment was fired back up and beer was brewing once again!

Booming Business 1940s-1950s – Soon our distribution footprint expanded to 7 states (KY, IN, OH, TN, WV, VA & IL) and we became a dominant southern brewery. We quickly became Louisville’s most popular beer and production was cranking out over 750,000 barrels of beer per year during this time!

Competition, Gimmicks & Decline 1960s-1970s – As the years went by, sales declined and we couldn’t keep up with big beer companies (Budweiser, Miller, etc.). We skimped on ingredients, earning us some unfortunate nicknames, and failed with “Billy Beer” and other last-ditch marketing efforts. Finally, we closed our doors in Louisville in 1978.

The Comeback 2010-Present – Falls City re-opened in Louisville in 2010 with the release of our English-Style Pale Ale. We now operate as a regional craft brewery with distribution throughout Kentucky, Indiana and parts of Tennessee. We carry the attitude of our original founders with us today as we remain passionate about making great beer, celebrating the rich brewing history of our hometown and toasting to the good times!