[6] The business dates to 1987 as a family-owned pizzeria, then known as Sportstime Pizza, and became one of the Louisville area's most popular venues for craft and imported beers with the opening of its public house, originally Rich O's Public House, in 1992.

New Albanian began brewing in October 2002 in an annex to the company's suburban Pizzeria.

[7] Jesse Williams assumed brewing responsibilities when Borchers left in 2005 and was joined by Jared Williamson in 2008.

[14] While the brewery was officially founded in 2002, Rich O's (the public house) and Sportstime Pizza (the pizzeria) have operated prior to its inception.

[7] However, they refuse to serve light beer, deigning that as "unfit for human consumption.

The differences between Sportstime and Rich O's are mainly aesthetic, as the establishments share the same tiny kitchen and offer the same food and drink menus.