Goat races, beer to headline NuLu festival
This Saturday, while basketball fans nationwide cheer on teams in the Elite Eight, people lining the streets of NuLu will cheer for an entirely different sport - goat racing.
Starting at noon, divisions of adult and baby goats will run between Nanny Goat Strut and Billy Goat Strut alleys as part of the NuLu Bock Fest - an event that plans to celebrate local businesses while reviving a mid-19th Century tradition involving bock beer.
The brew - which takes its name from the German word for goat - is generally a malt-forward lager that was first introduced by German monks who used it as sustenance during Lenten fasts.
Unlike other beers, bock beers could be stored through the winter without spoiling. And through the years, the beer's release became a massive celebration for the start of spring.
After making its way to the states, the tradition all but died off with the start of Prohibition. But the NuLu Neighborhood Association hopes to restart it with this weekend's festival, taking place from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday on the 600 and 700 blocks of East Market Street.
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The event will kick off with a ceremonial blessing of the goats and will include seven races throughout the day.
Food will be provided by local vendors and restaurants, and 10 Kentucky breweries will offer their versions of bock beer, including downtown breweries Against the Grain, Akasha Brewing Company, Falls City Beer, Goodwood Brewing and Gordon Biersch.
The day's schedule is planned as follows:
Noon - Blessing of the goats and beer
1 p.m. - Kentucky Guild of Brewers Goat Race (each goat will represent a KGB brewery)
2 p.m. - Kid goat race, winner advances
3 p.m. - Adult goat race, winner advances
4 p.m. - Kid race No. 2, winner advances
5 p.m. - Adult race No. 2, winner advances
6 p.m. Kid race final, winner crowned
7 p.m. - Adult race final, winner crowned
WHAT IS BOCK BEER?
"Although most people are familiar with bock beer, comparatively few know what it is," according to a Courier-Journal article from 1910. "It is merely a special brew of lager beer, with a larger amount of malt, caramel and alcohol than are contained in ordinary lager. It contains between 7 and 8 percent of alcohol, not more than hard cider, but enough to make an excessive indulgence a trifle dangerous to those who are not accustomed to malt beverages."
According to BeerAdvocate.com, the style dates back to medieval days, when German monasteries would brew a strong beer as sustenance during their Lenten fasts. The beer was typically brewed and aged during the winter months and released in March, signifying the start of the beer season.
Modern bock beers are lagers that typically take extra weeks or months of cold storage to smooth out the taste. Examples include Samuel Adams Winter Lager and Shiner Bock.
Remember to drink smart, drink safe. Reach reporter Bailey Loosemore at 502-582-4646 or bloosemore@courier-journal.com.