Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co.

Lexington Brewing & Distilling Co. revives a Lexington brewing name that dates to the 1890s. The original brewery stopped during Prohibition and changed hands several times before Pearse Lyons and his son Mark toured the run-down building in 1999. Drawing on a family line of Irish coopers, Pearse brought Lexington Brewing Co. back to life, and in 2006 the brewery filled fresh bourbon barrels with its Kentucky Ale, creating Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, which became one of its most popular beers and made barrel aging a signature of the company. In September 2012 it opened Town Branch Distillery across the street, with two copper pot stills from Scotland, the first new distillery built in Lexington in more than a century. The lineup now includes beers and Town Branch malt whiskey, bourbon and rye. The company remains family-owned under Mark Lyons and offers tours and a bottle club.