Louisville Squatchers and beer lovers take heed! A new expedition called the “Jeffersonville Craft Crawl” is heading out from the Big Four Bridge in search of the legendary Red Yeti!
Ahoy, my landlocked Louisville friends, it’s the Phantom of the Ville calling out from the Big Four Bridge overlooking the murky depths of the Ohio River. In case you hadn’t heard, the Jeffersonville ramp is now open, allowing all us ghouls and ghosts in the Ville to creep right on over and haunt the unsuspecting streets of Jeffersonville.
This weekend I made the journey across the river in search of a legendary beast that Native Americans called Red Sasquatch, known today by the locals as Red Yeti. Back here in the Ville, we have our own mythological creature known as the Pope Lick Monster that lurks near the Pope Lick railroad trestle in Jeffersontown. In Jeffersonville, IN they also have a woolly crypto-creature that lurks near the former six-span railroad truss bridge known as the Big Four Bridge.
The Red Yeti is real. I found him, and he goes by the name of Paul Ronau. Ronau is the owner of the Red Yeti Brewing Company located at 256 Spring Street in Jeffersonville, IN. Red Yeti is a brand new restaurant and brewpub located less than a block from where the Big Four Bridge exits into Jeffersonville. Just look for the furry red Bigfoot logo wearing sunglasses.
“I am the Red Yeti,” says Ronau. “It’s a nickname that came from my time in the army that just stuck. When the drill sergeant would make me do pushups, my face would turn blood red and that, along with my red hair, earned me the name Red Yeti.”
“I’ve always been called Red,” he continues. “My Dad, who was a little guy by the way, was Big Red. I was Little Red. Later, when I used to play a lot of online videogames, I always used Red Yeti as my call sign.”
Originally from Sacramento, CA, Ronau has worked in the IT department for UPS since 2003, during which time he has developed a passion for microbrews that has finally led him to create his own microbrewery. “I’ve got five three-barrel fermenters with which I can make up to five different brews at any given time,” he says.
“I’m just waiting for the TTB (The Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) to sort out my paperwork before I can start brewing and selling my own brand of Red Yeti brews,” admits Ronau. Right now, you can choose from as many as 10 different microbrews on tap every day while you enjoy lunch and/or dinner in the dining area or outside on the patio.
“My wife is the fulltime manger here and we’ve hired an excellent chef, Michael Bowe, to make everything we serve from scratch,” says Ronau. “Michael is formerly of Z’s Oyster Bar and Steakhouse, and he has already created an amazing menu that includes our brisket sandwich, buttermilk fried chicken and smoked pork belly.”
“I’d also like to mention our head bartender, Tabby Hurst, who is the secret weapon that makes everything work around here,” says Ronau. “She’s like a ball of energy. I don’t know what we would do without her!”
“This is an amazing little area for beer lovers,” says Ronau about the several blocks of businesses surrounding Spring Street. “I call it the Jeffersonville Craft Crawl. You can get 50 different craft brews within just a two block area surrounding the Red Yeti.”
So what is the Red Yeti’s favorite beer? “Well, you can’t get it here. It’s from a microbrewery in California called Bear Republic. It’s called Racer 5 IPA. That’s maybe the best beer I’ve ever had.”
Right next door to the Red Yeti, you’ll find one of our favorite places in the Kentuckiana area, Horner Novelty (http://www.louisvillehalloween.com/the-haunted-history-of-horner-novelty/), where you can get a taste of Halloween any time of year in their Dark Room! Just down the street you’ll also find the best candy store in the region, Schimpff’s Confectionary (http://www.louisvillehalloween.com/schimpffs-the-best-halloween-candy-in-the-region/). When I passed Schimpff’s this weekend the shop was already closed, but a crowd had gathered by the store’s kitchen window to watch Warren and Jill Schimpff making their famous Red Hots.
So head out across the Big Four Bridge on the “Jeffersonville Craft Crawl” on your own Red Yeti expedition, and don’t forget to post here about your experience.
