Cincy Brewcast

This episode was a little…uh… experiment. I wanted to record this week’s episode live at the Clear Mountain Food Park in Batavia, and while – I did – it wasn’t very smooth. As always seems to be the case it turned into an experiment that didn’t function the way I wanted it too. Some technical issues bounced around for the first live stream. I got it all fixed, but you’re left with a little shorter episode today than you’re used to.

With my apologies – give it a listen, and get yourself out to the Food Park to see for yourself what they’re doing out there. Not only is it a fantastic addition to the area, it’s an incredible beer garden for this city, too.

Huge thanks to Tony from the Queen City Mobile Food Truck Organization for hanging out with me over a few beers and talking about the park!

This one is a special show. I gathered a great panel of the biggest and most geeky lager brewers across Cincinnati to do a live version of the show. We talked lager. We got super nerdy, and we knocked back a few incredible beers along the way. From touching on some history, some hopes for the future, and even some talk about what makes lager so… special – we covered it all.

There was a lot to unpack, and I’m not done talking lager… I love it for so many different reasons, and look forward to sharing that love even more as this community keeps growing!

Huge thanks to everyone who was able to make some time to help make this show happen, and a massive shoutout to Fretboard for hosting. I have a lot of other “roundtable” shows that I’m planning, so stay tuned! For all you local breweries – if you want to host something like this – shoot me a message and let’s make it happen!

There were so many beers being passed around that table… It’s impossible for me to remember what all was there. Hahahaha.

If you like what I do here – or anywhere you like to consume my content, know that it all happens because of folks like you.  If you want to support The Gnome, you can always go to https://thegnarlygnome.com/Support and do just that.

Also – if you want to make your drinking experiences better, or at least more fun, you can hit up some of the links below that I’ve put together – note: these are affiliate links, which means that when you click and purchase I get a paid a tiny little bit.  That doesn’t mean it costs more to you – just that it helps me!

There’s been quite a few things that have happened in the craft beer world since we last sat down with Firehouse Grill and Brewery in Blue Ash. We needed to sit down and have a conversation, that’s for sure. Head Brewer Justin Chaney (you might know him as Pee Paw) took a few minutes on a quiet night while the brewery was closed last week to sit down and have a chat about what they’ve been up to.

We (of course) dove into a few of their beers (as well as a bottle of one of Justin’s favorite beers…) to see first hand how things are evolving and what they’ve been brewing.

It’s a good show, and hopefully gives you a nice picture of who they are, and what their spot in the Cincinnati beer community is!

If you like what I do here – or anywhere you like to consume my content, know that it all happens because of folks like you.  If you want to support The Gnome, you can always go to https://thegnarlygnome.com/Support and do just that.

Also – if you want to make your drinking experiences better, or at least more fun, you can hit up some of the links below that I’ve put together – note: these are affiliate links, which means that when you click and purchase I get a paid a tiny little bit.  That doesn’t mean it costs more to you – just that it helps me!

I have to admit to you, I wasn’t going to have a show for you this week. It’s been hardcore family time this weekend, and last week had quite the schedule, too. Holiday weeks, you know? I couldn’t do it, though. Not only was I wanting to try some fun technology things out to see how “basic” I could produce a whole episode – but I just can’t stand when there isn’t something to upload on a Monday morning.

So… it’s a short show, a little abbreviated to say the least – and I don’t really give you much fun conversation – but at least I got to say hi and have a quick beer with you, right? We’ll be back to normal next week – along with a live episode of The Weekly Pint on Monday Night, and an episode of Prost over on YouTube on Thursday!

I am falling deeper in love with the city of Hamilton every time I get a chance to hang out there. This underrated northern suburb has more going for it than I think a lot of folks understand, and I’m glad to have two episodes in a row dedicated to businesses that are located there. This week I sat down for my first show at the Casual Pint in Hamilton, though owner Ann Marie has been on the show before to speak about what they’re doing over there. Somehow, they’ve taken a concept that seems very simple and managed to put an incredible, local spin on it that is hard to put into words.

We drank a beer or two, and we talked about how in the world they’ve managed to do what they’ve done, and how big of a role the city itself plays into that. We also explored a little bit what might be in store for ‘The Pint’ in the near future… It’s a heck of a show!

If you like what I do here – or anywhere you like to consume my content, know that it all happens because of folks like you.  If you want to support The Gnome, you can always go to https://thegnarlygnome.com/Support and do just that.

Also – if you want to make your drinking experiences better, or at least more fun, you can hit up some of the links below that I’ve put together – note: these are affiliate links, which means that when you click and purchase I get a paid a tiny little bit.  That doesn’t mean it costs more to you – just that it helps me!

This week on the Brewcast we make our way into downtown Hamilton, Ohio for a show that showcases something I’ve been wanting to for a while now. Pinball Garage. This bar/pinball arcade has a wall of taps loaded up with craft beer and more than 30 tables for you to test your skills. It also just so happens that right now they have an exclusive collaboration beer on tap from their friends over at Sonder Brewing Company. This beer, called Wizard Mode, is what prompted the episode… and definitely what we found ourselves drinking out in the sunshine while recording.

It seems to be the summer of collaborations for Sonder, and we dive into that, as well as some of the history and future plans for Pinball Garage. It’s a great one!

To Help Support Cincy Brewcast:

If you like what I do here – or anywhere you like to consume my content, know that it all happens because of folks like you.  If you want to support The Gnome, you can always go to https://thegnarlygnome.com/Support and do just that.

Also – if you want to make your drinking experiences better, or at least more fun, you can hit up some of the links below that I’ve put together – note: these are affiliate links, which means that when you click and purchase I get a paid a tiny little bit.  That doesn’t mean it costs more to you – just that it helps me!

It’s a little crazy to think about when you talk to beer geeks here in Cincinnati – but if you’re going to count Brew Dog, Platform or North High as local craft beer spots… local taprooms, or whatever you might classify them as, you can’t also leave off BJ’s. Yes… it’s a chain. No, they aren’t cranking out groundbreaking beer that will get you lining up for a release. But they’re doing something that few places like them have managed to do – survive.

I made a quick phone call to Marco (you know him from Cellar Dweller) and we grabbed a flight of beer to talk about what makes BJ’s who they are. We explored how they’ve managed to survive when others like them haven’t. We just talked over a few beers, and it was a blast!

I won’t ever claim that BJ’s is my favorite taproom, or that they’re a “local brewery” – but I’ll definitely shout from the rooftops that you should pay a little more attention to them than you probably do!

If you like what I do here – or anywhere you like to consume my content, know that it all happens because of folks like you.  If you want to support The Gnome, you can always go to https://thegnarlygnome.com/Support and do just that.

This idea is a little strange, yet, that’s a big reason why I love it as much as I do! Urban Artifact discovered a little bit of living brewers yeast, deep underground in a lagering tunnel where the F &JA Linck brewery used to exist more than a hundred years ago. They took that yeast, named it, and made a beer with it. That idea has birthed an entire festival called Missing Linck Fest, in which the team invites breweries from all over to try their hand at it, create a beer using this yeast and to see what happens.

It’s literally a way for every brewery to try their hand at tapping into the past.

We talked about Missing Linck a couple of years ago on the show – back when they thought they were launching the festival… but because of the “stuff” last year – it didn’t quite happen as planned. This year still isn’t back to normal, yet, but the festival has arrived.

On this episode we drink the beer, and talk about what it means and what the festival is all about. Of course – we head right down a couple rabbit holes, as I’ve learned it’s pretty easy to get myself distracted when a great beer is in my hand. Great time? Yeah… it was a great time.

Thank you for being a listener of Cincy Brewcast – I hope you know how much it means to me that you can take part in this show, and what is growing to be an archive of Cincinnati Beer history. Your continued support is worth a lot to me! If you want to know how to support this whole thing even more, you can always head over here and show your love that way – it comes with a few fun perks and I’m always working on more!

I use the tagline ‘The Voice of Cincy Craft’ in Cincy Brewcast a lot. When I say it, though, I don’t necessarily mean that I am the voice of Cincy craft. You are. Every one of you who contributes to the show, the blog, all of it are part of the voice of Cincy craft. If you have ever sat next to me or stood across a bar from me and had a conversation you’re definitely part of the voice of Cincy craft, too.

And this episode? Well… it features two more folks who I think are a big part of the voice of Cincy craft.

I sat down with Diamon Bell (Beer is not for boys) and Matt DeMaris (the Brews Traveller, from Hustle and Brews) to talk about what role Cincy craft plays in their life and what role they play in the evolution of this community, too.

We drank a few beers (we were on location at BCs Bottle Lodge in Montgomery for this episode, talked about how they got their start, and where they are going in their own content and platforms. This show is a great one, and if you’re not already following them – make sure you do it as soon as possible!

Covid has been tough, and there are lots of places that we craft beer drinkers were worried about. The small, neighborhood places were hit hard, and at the start of the pandemic we were preparing ourselves for the worst. As we find ourselves close to the hopeful end of it all, it’s an amazing feeling to sit down in the beer garden of one of those places knowing that not only did they make it through – they are seemingly better than ever.

It’s been far too long – but it’s as good as always to sit down with owners Mark and Amy Lortz of the Common Beer Company to talk about what they’re working on. We drank a few beers, enjoyed the sunshine and hopefully give you a little sneak peek into why so many folks have fallen in love with them, their space, and of course their beers!

Guests This Episode

From The Beer Fridge

This episode and all the episodes of Cincy Brewcast wouldn’t be possible without the support of people like you. I appreciate those of you who support my projects, and what you to know that you are what makes this all what it is! If you want to help support, you can always do just that by going here – and know that it makes a huge difference!