A pair of breweries in Lexington, Ky., are collaborating to brew a new beer in honor of the move of former Chesapeake & Ohio steam locomotive 2716, and the new brew will help contribute to restoration project for the locomotive.
Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp. says that Ethereal Brewing and Mirror Twin Brewing, both of Lexington, have agreed to collaborate on the “Back On Track Steam Beer” to honor 2716’s move from the Kentucky Railway Museum in New Haven to its new home at the Kentucky Steam Heritage Center at the former CSX Transportation Ravenna Yard in Irvine, Ky. The new beer will debut on Saturday, July 27 — the second day of 2716’s three-day move — when 2716 arrives in Lexington on its trip across Central Kentucky to its new home. The engine’s display and the beer’s debut will be part of an event in Lexington’s Brewery District which will also include a fire truck display and other events.
Mr. Larson, prior to Prohibition just about every neighborhood in major metropolitan areas had their own breweries. For a good example check that James Cagney film “The Public Enemy.” Cagney’s character (as a boy) has a job delivering beer to local saloons and other businesses.
Prohibition killed those local breweries. The big ones, Anheuser-Busch for example, had the capital to convert to other things like soft drinks. The little guys were out of luck.
Somewhere in the “Great Beyond” I’m sure those old brewery owners are smiling to see the small locals coming back!
Anyway, I hope “Back on Track” makes it here to Virginia!
Curtis, Speedrail, aka the last remnant of the TMER&L interurban system, went out of business in 1951, before County Stadium was built.
I better drink some of that beer so Jay Eaton can get the 2716 cab ride he won at the Trains magazine 75th anniversary party at the Harley Davidson museum a few years back.
So, some off-topic trivia….back in pre-craft beer days, every Wisc. town had, depending on size, one or more breweries and butcher shops making proprietary brews and brats (pronounced braughts, not braats.) One could attend, riding either streetcar or the TMER&L Speedrail, a Milw. Braves game at County Stadium and hear the beer butchers call out ” Schlitz, Plabst, Blatz & Miller.” Miller then was known as “The Champagne of Bottled Beers” and was sold exclusively in clear glass 12oz bottles, from which real men did not drink.
As the ballpark was cheek by jowl to the Milw. Rd. main, there was the added train symphonic encore.
Beer, brats, cheese & trains. Life is good. (Brats=Bratwurst for you non-Wisconsin people)
Too bad a Brewing Company can’t do something like this to help get the AT&SF 2926 in New Mexico up and running on the rails finally along with other Steam Engine projects. That will probably drive some people to drinking just hopefully not to much.