Looking back on West Sixth Brewing’s first decade, cofounder Ben Self said his initial business plan was far more modest than how the company has grown. Granted, he didn’t mind being proven wrong and has incorporated those early lessons into West Sixth’s current operations.
“I wrote a business plan that showed if we sold about 200 beers a day and five to six six-packs, we would make enough to cover the loan payments,” he said. “In the first six months, we added capacity three times. Since then, we’ve been on a wild ride — we’ve learned to plan nothing concrete more than six months or a year out, so that we can respond quickly to the right opportunities or changing times.”
This approach has included strategically growing and adding new locations, beer varieties, and means of selling that beer while supporting regional nonprofits and prioritizing environmental responsibility.
Along with Self, cofounders include Brady Barlow, Joe Kuosman and head brewer Robin Sither. From the start, the founders pledged to not only make good beer but also to have a positive impact in the community, vowing to donate at least 6 percent of annual proceeds to local nonprofits.
Overachieving yet again, a recent tally revealed a more significant percentage has been given over the past decade — more than $1 million to Kentucky-based nonprofits.
West Sixth recently kicked o. its 10th anniversary week with an event to announce the formation of its West Sixth for a Cause Foundation. In partnership with Blue Grass Community Foundation, the new organization helps formalize and streamline West Sixth’s giving platforms while increasing its impact.
Giving platforms include West Sixth’s Pay It Forward Cocoa Porter, Pedaling for a Purpose and the Wooden Nickel Program, said creative and marketing director Kelly Hieronymus.
The Pay it Forward program is powered by sales of West Sixth’s porter beer, with 50 cents of every six-pack sold going to a community nonprofit. Through the foundation, money can now be given directly to those organizations. People can also nominate recipients online, with a committee deciding biannual selections.
Through its Wooden Nickel Program, the brewery donates $1 from every beer flight sold to its nonprofit of the month.
West Sixth Brewing’s Wooden Nickel program, in which $1 from every flight of beer sold is donated to a local nonprofit, is one of several giving initiatives at the brewery.
Pedaling With a Purpose operates in partnership with Bluegrass Cycling Club. During Sixth for a Cause, held on Saturdays, 6 percent of proceeds for that day are donated to a nonprofit.
The company also sells beer at many events around the state — almost 400 events last year alone — including farmer’s markets, festivals, concerts and fairs. A majority of those events also include a give-back component based on a percentage of proceeds from the day.
West Sixth Brewing is set to hit 100 employees this year for the first time, Hieronymus said. As the company grows, it’s important to be strategic in its giving programs, forge new partnerships, and seek input from employees and the community about what they’re passionate about, she said.
The past decade has also seen West Sixth expand its original brewery and taproom on West Sixth Street. It opened the 125-acre West Sixth Farm in Frankfort in 2016, where people gather to hear live music, attend special events, hike or bike on trails, try the latest offerings in the taproom, and dine from a rotating cast of food trucks — all in full view of lush rows of hops and orchards the company uses in its beer varieties. Cider apples will be ready this year, headed for the company’s first estate cider batch, Hieronymus said.
West Sixth opened a taproom in Louisville’s NuLu neighborhood and another in the Bridgeview Box Park development in Newport on the Levee in recent years.
With chef Randy Boden at the helm, a new food truck, West Sixth Cantina, is set to launch at the Frankfort farm site this spring, with preview days in Lexington at the main taproom and West Sixth Nulu in Louisville.
In partnership with the Frankfort Disc Golf Association, a disc golf course also debuts this year at the farm, Hieronymus said, and a new kids’ trail is being added close to the taproom. More shaded private event structures have also been added.
With a January launch goal, there’s also a new scholarship program in the works with Kentucky-based colleges. The initiative is designed to educate typically underrepresented people, including women and persons of color, about careers in the craft beer industry, Hieronymus said.
With each year, West Sixth learns more about operating efficiently and impactfully, Hieronymus said, whether it’s what position to hire for next, what to name its next beer or where to plant the next seed.
“Making connections in your community strengthens your identity,” she said.
A decade from now, Self said, he hopes to continue to see many of the people, both employees and fans, who have supported West Sixth over the past 10 years.
“So many of the folks have been here from nearly day one, and they are as much a part of this story as we are,” he said. “Of course, I also hope that we’ll still be making the same great beer that we’re making now and having even more of a positive impact in the communities we’re a part of.”