Bluejacket Brewery Releases Modern Take on Kentucky Common Beer

The Washington, D.C. brewery collaborated with DC Beer to create a sessionable, malt-forward ale inspired by a historic regional style.

Jan. 28, 2026 at 9:15pm

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Bluejacket Brewery in Washington, D.C. has released a new beer called "Common People" in collaboration with the local beer website DC Beer. The beer is a modern interpretation of the historic Kentucky common style, featuring a malt-forward profile and higher hop bitterness than traditional versions of the style.

Why it matters

Kentucky common beer was once a popular working-class style brewed primarily in Louisville, Kentucky, but has largely fallen out of favor over the past century. This collaboration between Bluejacket and DC Beer aims to revive interest in the style and introduce it to a new generation of beer drinkers.

The details

The beer was brewed with a grist primarily composed of malts from Valley Malt in Massachusetts, along with a portion of malted corn. Bluejacket used significantly more late-addition hops than would have been typical for historical Kentucky common beers, resulting in an IBU level of 17. The beer has an ABV of 4.7%.

  • Bluejacket brewed the beer in early January 2026.
  • The beer was tapped and released in late January 2026, coinciding with a live recording of the DC Beer Show podcast at Bluejacket's brewery.

The players

Bluejacket

A brewery located in Washington, D.C. that collaborated with DC Beer to create the "Common People" Kentucky common-style beer.

DC Beer

A website that has been covering the Washington, D.C. beer scene for more than a decade and collaborated with Bluejacket on the "Common People" beer.

Ro Guenzel

The director of brewing operations at Bluejacket in Washington, D.C. and Brewery Saint X in New Orleans, who proposed brewing a Kentucky common-style beer for the collaboration.

Jacob Berg

The editor of DC Beer, who initially proposed a cream ale collaboration with Bluejacket before Guenzel countered with the idea of a Kentucky common.

Valley Malt

The malt supplier in Holyoke, Massachusetts that provided the majority of the malts used in the "Common People" recipe.

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What they’re saying

“Also of note, we used way more late-addition hops then would have been historically utilized.”

— Ro Guenzel, Director of Brewing Operations, Bluejacket (beerandbrewing.com)

The takeaway

This collaboration between Bluejacket and DC Beer showcases how modern brewers can revive and reinterpret historic regional beer styles like the Kentucky common to introduce them to contemporary audiences, while still maintaining the core characteristics that defined the original style.