Later this month, the Bowling Green Mellow Mushroom will be holding its 15th Brews and Tunes event. September 21 will be a day to look forward to and mark on your calendars for anyone who enjoys brews and/or tunes. Aside from having 30+ beers on tap inside, there will also be over a dozen additional beers available outside to choose from. The selection isn’t 100 percent locked down as of the release of this article, but there are still quite a few we do know, and we’ll have some surprises on the day of.
The way it works inside is that the restaurant will be open normal business hours from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. that Saturday. Before opening that day, all of these special high gravity, limited release, and barrel-aged version beers will be put on tap and available all day. There will be something for almost any palette, from stouts to pale ales to sours, and while there are going to be some crowd favorites, there will also be many newcomers stepping up to the plate this year.
Some of the classic contenders will be making their return, such as 3 Floyds with their Topless Wytch and Wigsplitter, which are a porter and an oatmeal stout, respectively, as well as one of the top dogs at these events, Zombie Dust. Zombie Dust is a pale ale which people have called in about in the past, and last time I saw it in bottles, a customer purchased the remaining stock because he couldn’t find it anywhere else. Worry not though, Mellow Mushroom wouldn’t let one customer purchase the keg to wheel it home for themselves, but who knows how long any of these beers will last, so I’d suggest coming in on the day of to avoid the risk. If you want to avoid the crowds, and don’t have any specific beers you’d really regret missing out on, most of them should last beyond the one day and will be kept on tap until the keg is blown, so you’re welcome to stop by after the actual day of Brews and Tunes and you should still be able to get your hands on some of these awesome brews. Boulevard will have their Love Child #10, Rye On Rye #6, and Smooth Fuzz, all sour style beers. Country Boy will be bringing their Infinite Sadness and Living Proof Smoke and Spice, and Founders will have Mas Agave, which is a Tequila Barrel Aged Sour. Some of the other breweries throwing their names into the ring are Grimm, Against the Grain, Anderson Valley, Sweetwater, and even some new players like Aslin and Hoof Hearted.
Ideally, the weather will behave and people will want to sit outside and try some of the beers available near the patio as well. If it’s rainy or cold or any of that, the patio will just get covered and the extra beers will still be out there, rain or shine. Rhinegeist will, as usual, provide a van with a few different beers to try in a selection of styles. Monnik out of Louisville will also be bringing a van down with some beer. Blue Stallion Hefe and Dunkel, Sweetwater, West 6th Cerveza and Southlandia, and 2 Roads Road Jam will be some of the brews out back. There will be other beers and breweries making appearances as well, but I can’t say for certain which ones yet. You’ll have to check it out yourself, I guess. 2 Roads will also be the Pint Night on Thursday September 12, so you may be able to get a sneak peek at some of their stuff ahead of time.
Last but not least, the other half of the Brews and Tunes festivities – the tunes! The restaurant opens at 11 a.m., but the music will begin at 4 p.m. and the bands will jam until 11 p.m. at closing time. As with the outside beer situation, weather permitting the music will take place outside on stage, but even if the weather is poor, there is a small stage inside, so either way there’s no stopping the jams. First up at 4 p.m. is Bullfrog Revue, followed by Andy & The Rockers, and closing it down that night will be Sugadaisy.
– by Josh Helton
