Get ready to add another Kentucky brewery destination to your list. Sig Luscher Brewery plans to open its Frankfort taproom before the new year, though co-founder Tim Luscher wouldn’t consider it a craft brewery in the traditional sense. “We’re a heritage brewery,” Luscher said.
That’s because Luscher, along with co-owner Nathan Cryder, are revitalizing a brewery that is 150 years old. In 1866, one of Tim Luscher’s relatives, Sigmund Luscher, came to Frankfort from Switzerland and started a brewery while also selling yeast to bourbon distiller E.H. Taylor. Sigmund’s brewery was across the road from 221 Mero St. in Frankfort, where the rebranded brewery resides.
Tim Luscher (pictured), and co-owner Nathan Cryder, are revitalizing a Frankfort brewery founded by one of Luscher’s relatives in 1866.
Unlike most craft breweries, Sig Luscher will focus solely on lagers, the same style Sigmund sold back in his day. More specifically, their flagship will be a pilsner called Sig Luscher, or known simply as a “Sig”. Dylan Greenwood, formerly of Falls City Brewing, is the head brewer. Greenwood went through several iterations before a final recipe was decided upon.
“A beer is about a brand,” Luscher said. “Craft brewing is about the exploration; what we’re about is storytelling. We’re getting back to the roots of what beer is, and so that’s why we picked a pilsner. Our brewery is as much about the story of Sig—that heritage—than anything else.”
Other lager variations, such as marzens and dunkels, will occasionally pop up at the taproom, but the pilsner will be top priority when it comes to distribution. The taproom will hold just 10 people, while a screened-in porch and brew house will each hold another 25. In the spring and summer, the capacity will double or triple with a beer-garden concept surrounding the property.
Cryder has high hopes for their location in Frankfort. They are across the street from 1,800 state employees, who can stop by for lunch. The taproom will also serve hot dogs and pretzels, and the owners have plans to host food trucks.
Frankfort has a rich bourbon history and tourism is currently thriving with Buffalo Trace and the newly opened Castle & Key distillery. Cryder hopes with their brewery, West Sixth’s nearby hops farm, and Goodwood Brewing’s Frankfort taproom in the works down the street, the beer culture will grow and see similar success in the city.
“To be able to bring a forgotten piece of history back to Kentucky’s capital and soon to all of the Commonwealth is not only exciting, it’s something that feels like a responsibility one needs to treat with great care." — Sig Luscher c0-owner Nathan Cryder
Sig Luscher is a Public Benefit Corporation, which means their mission goes beyond just maximizing shareholder value. According to Cryder, their mission is to expand the downtown Frankfort core by revitalizing their neighborhood and functioning with a strong sense of environmental sustainability. Most of the brew house will be powered by solar panels and all of their spent grain will be given to environmentally minded local farmers. The owners have also been speaking with the Kentucky Historical Society, Buffalo Trace and Visit Frankfort about ways they can help make Frankfort one of Kentucky’s top tourism destinations.
“I’m a huge history buff and someone who is extremely Kentucky proud,” said Cryder. “To be able to bring a forgotten piece of history back to Kentucky’s capital and soon to all of the Commonwealth is not only exciting, it’s something that feels like a responsibility one needs to treat with great care to do it justice. Like so many of the pioneers of the bourbon industry,
Sigmund Luscher was such a colorful character, so we can’t wait to share some of the stories about him and about his links to the early days of beer-making and bourbon-making in Kentucky.”