Cincy Brewcast

It’s not enough just being a brewery in Cincinnati these days… and as Jason Brewer from the upcoming Wandering Monsters Brewery points out, it’s not enough to do that and also to have a great food program, either. His new project is designed from the ground up with that one more needed thing; for him, it’s duckpin bowling. If you don’t know Jason Brewer, do yourself a favor and start searching through this website to learn a little more about his history here in Cincinnati, because I promise it will get you even more excited about this project!

We sat down in the space that this year will become the new brewery to talk about it and hopefully get you a little more excited about seeing it come to life.

I hope that you get the same warm fuzzy feelings from this as I do. Fifty West is celebrating its tenth year in business by returning to its roots. The brewpub is reopening its doors, and that’s about the best reason I can think of to show up and sit down for an episode with them.

I sat down with Bobby and Max to talk about it all… the brewery’s journey to get here, how they fit into craft beer today, the return of the brewpub (and how that fits in with who they are, too). It’s an extensive conversation that could have really stretched out even longer if we had the time.

I love what this does for them, for Cincy beer, and if I’m being honest – for me as a craft beer drinker, too!

DogBerry is a fascinating example of what a Cincinnati brewery can be, they aren’t the biggest or the smallest in town. They do things differently than many newer places seem to do – and that’s one of the biggest things that I love about them.

But as craft beer (and craft beer drinkers) keep evolving, so does DogBerry. They are prepping to add a food partner into an expanded space and a menu that will include canned cocktails and wine for those folks who want the taproom experience but aren’t beer drinkers. I’m fascinated by a place like this that has to not only know who they are but know how to use their personality to drive growth like this.

I sat down with owner Tony Meyer to drink a couple of beers, and talk about it all. I’m excited to see what the next stage in the evolution of DogBerry looks like!

For full disclosure, I want to let you know that at the time of recording this, I have a working relationship with DogBerry Brewing Company through my business – Gnome Creative. That doesn’t change any of my thoughts or opinions that I express during the show, but you should still know about it!

As soon as I heard the news I was pretty freaking excited to share it with you… Cincinnati’s OG beer blog is coming back! Hoperatives will look a little bit different (with a much bigger scope than before) – and I can’t even tell you how pumped I am to see what they have up their sleeves!

I sat down with Tom and Carla to talk about what they’re planning and why it’s relevant today, too. We explored a little bit about what we love about the current industry, and what we’re excited about… and even drank a couple of beers (of course).

Huge thanks to Wooden Cask for hosting us this week (although they didn’t know we were coming, I always like surprising folks like that). Go there… drink the beer.

A brewery like Brink gets a lot of its identity from its taproom, which makes growth a little trickier than it might be for other breweries. As they move into the next phase of their life, they have to figure out exactly what that means – which is much of what we discussed in this episode.

Who are they?

Do they hang their hat in their neighborhood, alone? Do medals mean anything? What role does packaging play in their story? It’s all pretty complicated, but I’m excited to watch how they learn how to adjust to growing up!

The show this week was built on chaos – isn’t it always? Coming off of a busy week, there’s always a ton to talk about, though – from Dark Charge Day to Beervent and a big brewery being bought this week, I could sit and talk about it all day!

Join me this week in the studio as I crack open a beer and share my thoughts on what’s been going on!

I’m a massive fan of Braxton Brewing Company. I think they are kicking out some really tasty beers – and the center of that universe might be their annual Dark Charge release that is quickly approaching. I sat down with founders Evan and Jake Rouse to talk about not only Dark Charge, but how you manage a craft brewery’s growth in 2022 and beyond.

It’s a really, really fun conversation that not only gives us a sneak peek at what we can expect from this year’s release… but from the brewery in the coming years.

Strap in!

I had full intentions to sporadically make this episode over a whole day at Beer, Booze, and Bonks – but forgot how chaotic a day like that could actually be. That’s not to say that I didn’t try, in fact, half of the episode was recorded live at the festival. The other half, though, I had to record once I got back home in studio.

While we were at Beer, Booze, and Bonks I managed to get Del Hall from 16 Lots to sit down with me for a few minutes to talk about what’s been going on with their big new taproom down at Newport on the Levee – and it’s such a big topic that I fully recognize that he needs an entire episode to talk about it all.

The festival was an absolute blast, but if you missed it, this might give you a sneak peek at what it was all about!

Sometimes there’s an idea that someone has that is just absolutely perfect. Vets And Brews is one of those ideas. Matt DeMaris is no stranger to good ideas, though, and that’s why he’s always a blast to sit down and talk to, whether it’s on or off the show. Luckily for all of us, he made a few minutes for us this week to sit down on the Brewcast and talk not only about Vets And Brews (and their honor bus that happened this weekend) – but a little bit about what makes it all work for him.

This is one of those episodes that I hope inspires you a little bit. It certainly does me!

This episode was recorded on location at Grainworks Brewing Company in West Chester Ohio… while it’s not really a “Grainworks” show – we still hung out there and drank their beer!

There’s been a long history for the Cincinnati Beverage Company here in Cincy (That’s the parent company that owns a lot of the historical brands around town, Moerlein, Schoenling/Little Kings, Burger, Red Top, Clyffside… the list is very long). There are a lot of folks like me that have over time developed a very deep love and appreciation for the history of beer in this city, and this is the company that waves the flag for that history.

When new owners came in early this year and took things over, there was a lot of concern about what that meant. In the months that have passed, we’ve seen a ton of construction on some really old historical brewery buildings in town, followed by the news that CinBev was planning something big for it all.

It sets us up for a great time to sit down with Elliot Culter. Elliot is the guy manning the helm of the CinBev “ship” and lays it all out for us. We dive in deep to figure out what we can expect as beer fans from the company, both very, very soon – and in the coming years.

This is a wonderful episode – and get’s me really excited about what’s coming up!

If you like Cincy Brewcast – and want to support the show – make sure you head over to TheGnarlyGnome.com/Support to do just that!