Blue Stallion Brewery/Dad's Favorites Deli

As long-time residents of Lexington will tell you, our city has grown in a plethora of ways in the past 10 years: there’s more commerce, more activities, more opportunities, etc. But one of the biggest booms in the past few years has been with craft beer breweries. They all have delicious beer, big tv’s, and a great atmosphere, so the question remains: how do you decide which brewery to try? Finding a place that not only offers good beer but also good food is key in our opinion.  There are several different breweries around town to choose from, and all of them have something for everyone; from the beer novice to the brewing aficionado, you’re sure to find the perfect drink for your taste buds! We recently spent the afternoon hanging out with some of the fine folks from Blue Stallion Brewing, one of Lexington’s first craft beer breweries, as well as their resident food partner Dad’s Favorites Deli, to hear about both of their histories and what that have in store for us down the road. We were pretty stoked to meet three of the people who work really hard to bring us all some tasty beers and deli delights day-in and day-out here at Blue Stallion/Dad’s Favorites Deli: Kore Donnelly, head brewer and co-owner of the brewery; Anna Mitchell, General Manager of the brewery; and James Caudill, owner of Dad’s.
 

Blue Stallion was founded in 2013 by Kore and his brothers, Zac and Xavier, as well as Nico Schulz and Jim Cllemons, after meeting at an Alltech brewing event a couple of years before. It took awhile for the guys to find a spot that would make a great brewery and taproom, while also meeting the zoning requirements (a problem that appears to be pretty common), but they finally found the perfect place near the corner of Newtown Pike and Third Street. If you’ve never been to Blue Stallion before then you’re in for a really awesome experience; they have beer and food, of course, but they also offer several different activities. They have a variety of games you can play, from darts and shuffleboard to pool and pinball (they have what some may call a “vintage” South Park pinball machine that’s pretty sweet!). Ever wonder how Blue Stallion got its name? Blue represents the connection everyone has to Kentucky (the Bluegrass state), while Stallion pays homage to Lexington, the horse capital of the world. Pretty cool, huh? We think so!
 

The brewery offers over 20 different brews to choose from at any given time, and some of them have really fun names. The staff usually throw out some pretty “punny” names for new beers and the funniest ones tend to stick; for example, Anna came up with the name for a spruce flavored beer called Spruce Bigelow, a play on the movie Deuce Bigelow: Male Gigelow. They also have Test Batch Tuesday, where each week the brewers release an experimental beer that uses different strains of yeast and different types of hops to get an unexpected flavor. Several of these test batch beers have become fan favorites, including Kamasumatra and Ya Damn Skippy (which I personally enjoy). Top sellers for Blue Stallion beers include the following: Dunkel, Hefe, smoked Lager, and a kettle-soured Lager (made with lactose and fermented in a large kettle). They also offer a Helles beer that has been through the same process, which has been another of their must-haves. Kore’s favorite brew is the Sour Patch Lager, while James loves them all! Blue Stallion hosts an annual home brew competition, where they invite amateurs to come in and showcase their most inventive ideas for the brewers to judge. This year’s winner was the GnT Pilsner, while last year’s winner was the Natasha Fatale, which is still on tap in the taproom! They also provide the yeast for brewers who participate in the BOCK (Brewers of Central Kentucky) home brew competition, furthering the cause for home brewers all over the Bluegrass state. On top of what they already do for the home brew community, Blue Stallion also has Mission Monday; every Monday, they donate 10% of their gross earnings for the day to a different charity. Over the past 2 and a half years the brewery has raised between $20,000 and $30,000 for charities and non-profits throughout the Lexington area! In addition to all of the stuff Blue Stallion has to offer on a regular basis, they also like to do special events throughout the year; they offered several special tappings during Lexington Craft Beer Week, including a collaboration with Ethereal Brewing featuring a pomegranate hibiscus lime goose, a special Maybach lager, and two barrel aged beers (a doppelbach and Belgian golden strong). In the past, they’ve also brewed a limited series of beers based on the different bosses from popular 80s video games, which feels like people of all ages can enjoy!
 

Blue Stallion used to employ a wide array of food trucks when they first opened, but due to inconsistency amongst vendors they decided to go out and find someone to fulfill their food needs on a full-time basis. When Kore found himself running downtown to Dad’s Favorites Deli between 3-4 days a week, he had an idea: what if they converted a small keg room into a kitchen and had another Dad’s location inside the brewery? James, owner of Dad’s (and Dad himself), loved the idea! He had been contemplating a move from their downtown location and thought this would be a great fit. Starting in February of 2017 Dad’s opened a small kitchen at Blue Stallion, and by March the downtown location was officially closed. Dad’s still has a larger location in the Garden Springs area off of Lane Allen Rd, which is open for lunch; however, the location inside the brewery is open for lunch AND dinner - game changer? You better believe it! Dad’s has a small menu of sandwiches that they serve every day while also having a daily special, and let me tell you - those specials are something else! Tuesday and Friday are their busiest days as far as specials go; Tuesday’s special is a taco platter (of course), while Fridays bring BBQ pulled pork and beer cheese Mac n’ Cheese. We know people who run out of the office for lunch on Fridays just to get this Mac n’ Cheese because it’s so good! They even make a honey lime sour cream to put on the tacos for Taco Tuesday that James says is a hit as well!
 

Dad’s Favorites Deli wasn’t something that James (or Dad, as he’s known in most circles) had intentionally set out to open; I guess you could call it a happy accident. He started out making cheese spreads as a side hobby to his day job selling insurance. When the insurance gig didn’t pan out, James started shopping around his cheese spreads to local companies; before he knew it, his spreads were being sold at several local places, including both Kroger and Liquor Barn! Once he started to mass-produce his cheeses, he realized he needed a larger space, so he rented out a kitchen and decided that maybe he could start up his own deli. Needless to say it’s been a successful venture so far; not only are both of his deli locations very popular, but he’s also won several awards for his creations. Dad’s cheese spread won the God’s Pantry Taste of the Bluegrass Best Kentucky Proud Food Product Award in 2010, the Kentucky Beer Cheese Festival’s 2nd place trophy in 2014, their People’s Choice Award in 2015, and the Taste of the Bluegrass Best Side Dish award in 2016 (I’m positive I’m leaving some out, but you guys get it - this is some good stuff!). Dad has modeled his business after a little dive restaurant he and his partner Susan visited in Virginia Beach; it was a little seafood joint that they ate at several times on their trip, and what they loved so much about it was that this place had communal seating - that way you got to meet some new people and maybe make a new friend or two!
 

Dad tries to use as many locally-sourced ingredients as possible when it comes to making his menu, including the chutney used in the chicken salad, which comes from Ward’s Kentucky Specialty Sauces here in Lexington. He has also used a Pilsner from Blue Stallion to make his beer cheese. Although a lot of his sandwiches are very popular, it seems like one stands out as the best-seller; the Farmhouse sandwich. This may be his favorite mistake (to quote the great Sheryl Crow); a #1 (the pimento BLT) was coming down the line, and someone accidentally dropped a scoop of chicken salad on top without paying attention. The crew didn’t want to just throw the sandwich away, so they ended up giving it to a local firefighter who had stopped in for lunch. The fireman loved it so much that they started to offer it on their menu and call it the Farmhouse, since it boasts most of the things you would find around the farm. This sandwich never makes it past lunch so we didn’t get to try it, but I definitely want to go back and give it a go soon!
 

Since we were at the brewery during the middle of the day, we had to sit down and try both the beers and sandwiches from Dad’s. We brought Renee’s husband Richard along for the ride again, so he and I enjoyed a couple of beers; I had the Patch Kids sour lager, while Richard had the Pilsner (I actually went back after Lexington Craft Beer Week to try the aforementioned collaboration with Ethereal Brewing, the Lexipolitan Gose, and it was definitely worth the wait!). One of the things I really like about this brewery is that they make beers that are legitimately really good and easy to drink - I’ve personally loved every beer I’ve ever had here! We each got a sandwich as well; I had the pimento BLT with BBQ chips, Renee had the Pepper Jack Club sandwich (sans ham) with a side of tomato soup, and Richard had the Chipotle Cheddar Roast Beef sandwich with potato chips, as well as the beer cheese nachos (only available at the brewery, by the way). I’m not at all exaggerating when I say that we all loved what we got to eat; I tried some of the tomato soup that Renee had ordered, and it was the real deal! The pimento cheese spread is pretty awesome, and the beer cheese on those nachos was right up my alley as well! It’s definitely got some spice to it, so diner beware - if spicy cheese isn’t your thing then maybe steer clear of this dish (I’ll take a tub of it to keep at my house though!). You really can’t go wrong with anything on the menu; there’s something for everyone, and the sandwiches are the perfect size for the price. You can get a really good lunch for under $10 and know that you’re helping to support an amazing local business.
 

If you’re looking to bring a big group of family or friends (or both!) to a cool place in town, then look no further: Blue Stallion has not one, but two event areas that you can rent for any special occasion. Their loft area holds between 19-30 people, and if you’re looking for a bigger space then check out their larger event space, which holds up to 50 people. You can bring in whatever food you want, or you can have Dad’s cater your event; they’ll make your order at their main restaurant and deliver it to you at the brewery so you don’t have to worry about setting up or dealing with all kinds of hassles. Check out both of their websites for that information if this is something you’d be interested in - www.bluestallionbrewing.com and www.dadsfavorites.com, respectively. Also, feel free to bring your dog out to Blue Stallion anytime; all they ask is that you take your furry friends outside if they start to act up. This is a side of town that’s starting to become the cool place to be, so make sure you get over here ASAP and try these beers and sandwiches - and tell them that we sent ya!