Before Canvitational, get to know, West Sixth Brewing

We are getting excited for the upcoming Canvitational event happening later this month.  The lineup is very impressive again this year with Canvitational the only place you can get many of these beers due to their distribution. We wanted to get to know each of the participating breweries a little bit better. So, we've sent out a six pack questionnaire to each of them and we wanted to share them with you.

West Sixth Brewing from Lexington, Kentucky is up next.  You can look forward to sampling:

West Sixth IPA
West Sixth Amber
Lemongrass American Wheat
Pay it Forward Cocoa Porter
Barrel aged Sorghum Brown


Ben Self is one of the founding members behind West Sixth Brewing.

 1. What music is usually playing on the brew deck?

 Right now they're rockin some John Prine.

 2. What's your brewing mission? What are you trying to accomplish with your beer?

 Our goal is to make great beer, and deliver it as fresh as possible throughout Kentucky. We want to provide the state with the best and freshest beer out there, while also making a positive impact on the communities we're a part of.

 3. How many beards can be found in the brewery on any given day?

 We're up to 4 or 5 beards at the brewery, but Robin, our head brewer and co-founder is facial hair free!

 4. Which beers outside of your own do you enjoy? What beer do you wish you came up with? Why? 

There's so many great beers out there, it's hard to pick just one. I'm always a sucker for some Firestone Walker, and also loving the Evil Twin / Westbrook nomader weisse these days.

 5. What's your go-to shift beer after a long day brewing? My go to is either our current ISA offering or the Lemongrass American Wheat, especially when it's this hot!

 6. Is there anything else you would like us to know about you and/or your company? Our production brewery and taproom is located in the Bread Box, which is a hundred + year old bread factory in the heart of Lexington, KY. We're home to not only the brewery, but a tilapia farm / aquaponics system called FoodChain, Smithtown Seafood (a fish and chips place), the Bread Box Studio Artists, a microdistillery, a coffee roaster (Magic Beans), the Plantory (a multi-tenant non-profit center) and the local roller derby team! 


What is Canvitational? The 2nd Annual Sun King CANvitational will take place in the heart of Midwest – Indianapolis, IN. Located on Georgia Street, known for Super Bowl XLVI festivities and Pan Am Plaza, the CANvitational is set to showcase 40+ craft breweries from all over America who CAN. On Saturday, September 20th, 2014, the 2nd Annual CANvitational will enlighten patrons to sampling craft beer from award winning breweries from across the USA, enjoy local eats provided by local food trucks and music that will be sure to get you dancing in the streets, in an urban downtown atmosphere.

Before Canvitational, Get To Know - West Sixth

We are getting pretty excited for the upcoming Canvitational event happening later this month and we are VERY impressed with the brewery lineup.  We want to get to know each of the participating breweries a little bit better.  So, we've sent out a six pack questionnaire to each of them and we wanted to share them with you. 

Next up is Ben Self, owner and brewer at West Sixth Brewing in Lexington, KY.

West Sixth opened in Lexington at the site of the old Rainbo Bread Factory in 2012.  The building now houses the brewery, along with other community minded organizations including a coffee roaster, a bike shop, a roller derby team among others. That's pretty cool.

Look for them and the following beers at the event.

West Sixth IPA - There’s a lot going on here, with citrus as the obvious star.  Over the backbone of bready malt and pine stickiness you will find notes of peaches, lemon zest, dank grassiness, pine needles, and tangerines..

West Sixth Amber - Stunning in color, the West Sixth Amber (also known at the Deliberation Amber in our taproom) is perhaps our most beautiful looking beer.

Now, without further ado, here's Ben - 

1. What music do you hear most often on the brew deck?  

Most frequent music?  Maybe some good 70s rock 

2. What's your brewing mission? What are you trying to accomplish with your beer?

Our mission as a brewery is to produce top notch beers while also being a brewery that measures its success not only by the beer, but also by how we can help our community.

3. How many beards can be found in the brewery on any given day?

We're pretty beard-scarce.  There are usually 3 or 4 in the brewery and taproom, which is about 1/3 of the folks around here.

4. Which beers outside of your own do you enjoy? What beer do you wish you came up with? Why?

I love the beers that some of our other local breweries are doing -- like Country Boy Brewing.

5. What's your go-to shift beer after a long day brewing?

I always love enjoying whatever we have that is new, but for me I always end up back at our IPA.

6. What do you drink when you aren't drinking beer?  Are you on #teamradler?

We're in the heart of bourbon country, so if I'm not drinking a beer, I'm drinking a bourbon.  You can also find some Noah's Mill in my cabinet, along with some of the other small batch bourbons.

Thanks, Ben!  We look forward to having your beer at the event!  

What is the Canvitational?

On Saturday, September 28th, 2013, the inaugural CANvitational will enlighten patrons to sample craft beer from award winning breweries from across the USA, enjoy local Indy eats provided by food trucks and music (DJ Helicon and DJ Action Jackson), in an urban downtown atmosphere.

Tickets are available and the event will feature some familiar breweries, as well as many out of state.  You can find more information about them and the event at http://canvitational.com/.