When we stopped by the new Mt. Carmel Tap Room in late March, someone there had brought in the following growler to be filled (and let us take a picture):
So how many of you remember having beer at this former better beer location? And how many of you still have a growler too?
Any other former Cincinnati beer growlers, pint glasses or other memorabilia you have tucked away? We would love to see your photos!
A frequent question we get when we wear our Hoperatives apparel to local beer events is whether the items are available for registered Hoperatives to purchase. Well, they are! In fact, you can choose between silk screened or embroidered clothing.
Cafe Press
We recently added a series of “I Believe in Better Beer” items to the Hoperatives Store on Cafe Press. Where the product design allows, it has the graphic you see in the image on the front with our motto “Believers in Better Beer (in Cincinnati and Beyond)” on the back. Not only will it reflect your good taste in both beer and fashion, it’ll help defray some of the costs of running Hoperatives.com (web hosting isn’t cheap). If you’re familiar with Cafe Press, you know they have a jillion things they can put custom logos on. We’ve picked a collection we think shows our stuff off best, but if there’s an item you ‘d like to see that we haven’t chosen, let us know!
Clothing and more from Cafe Press features a silk screened Hoperatives logo and sometimes our tag line or the “I Believe in Better Beer” logo mentioned above. There are many types of t-shirts, tank tops, hoodies and caps. Non-clothing items include tote bag, mugs, steins, mouse pads, journals, aprons and buttons.
http://www.cafepress.com/hoperatives
Lands End
Clothing from Lands End features an embroidered Hoperatives logo (usually on the left side of the chest of the item). Items for women include cardigans, polo shirts (both short sleeve and long sleeve), t-shirts (with two different neck types), broadcloth blouses (both short sleeve and long sleeve) and fleece jackets. Items for men include polo shirts (both short sleeve and long sleeve), t-shirts (with and without a pocket), twill shirts (both short sleeve and long sleeve) and fleece jackets.
http://ces.landsend.com/Hoperatives
Don’t see something you were hoping for? Let us know and we’ll see what we can do!
Cheers and here’s to better beer!
–Carla and Tom
Every once in a while, we declare a day a Hoperatives research day and we spend the day checking out new Better Beer locations in the Cincinnati area. We recently popped in at three new local restaurants that happen to serve better beer.
1) Holler Hops and Grill – Facebook Page
We first heard about this one from Jon of the NKY Homebrewers Guild. It’s located near us at 7500 Oakbrook Dr in Florence, KY so we started our day here. Trent Riley, the owner, was behind the bar and walked us through their beer list that day which included on draft Cumberland Nitro Porter, Great Lakes Burning River, Guinness, Hudy Amber Lager, Magner’s Irish Cider, Rivertown Oatmeal Stout, Schlafy American IPA, Southern Tier 2x, Stella Artois and Bell’s Oberon. Lots more beers with an emphasis on local and craft beers are available in bottles. The food includes nice variations on traditional food with some of our favorites being the beer brined wings, Kentucky Egg (think Scotch egg with goetta) and meatloaf cupcakes. We’ve already been back once and have a third visit planned for later this week.
2) Wunderbar! – Facebook page
Wunderbar! has been getting lots of buzz on local social media lately and it was literally a “hey, we’re close by!” addition to our research trip. Though their address is officially 1132 Lee St in Covington, they are located at the corner of Lee and the newly widened 12th Street. The bar previously was the type of corner neighborhood bar your grandfather would visit. Now imagine an updated, very German version of that same bar. There are Tudor touches, German flags and even the front of an old VW van that kids can pose inside. Both the beer and food menus are on a large blackboard behind the bar. Draft beers come in “girly” and “manly man” sizes. Not surprisingly, the beers lean towards those from Germany though local brews are featured too. Tomm, the bartender, told us that they are in the process of adding more taps so they can offer more draft beer. The food offerings include homemade currywurst or tarragon wurst plus brats, metts and veggie sausage (served with roasted brussel sprouts). Be sure to try their homemade mustards. When we were there, they had reisling, sweet, black pepper and horsey.
3) Adriatico’s new location – Facebook page
While Adriatico’s has been around for a long time, the new location 113 West McMillan in Cincinnati (near UC’s campus) has only been opened a short while. We had heard it wasn’t a large location so we followed our usual pattern and stopped in on Sunday afternoon. It was a mild day so the front windows were pushed open. We sat at the bar and looked over the tap list. They have about 40 taps and three or four of them are nitro. One of the beers was Boulder Brewing’s Mojo Rising on nitro. We hadn’t seen that since we stopped by Bodega in Columbus so that was an easy choice. The menu is typical pizza parlor fare and we split an order of pepperoni rolls. Since the off street parking for this location is actually down the street a bit and there are just a few spots in the lot, we’ll probably visit here mainly when UC students are off from classes.
What new better beer locations have you tried out? Or has an existing establishment raised the bar on their beer offerings? Let us know and we’ll add them to a future Hoperatives research trip!
–Tom and Carla
Rivertown Brewing Company collected a pair of medals at the International Beer Fest held over the weekend at the I-X center in Cleveland. The brewery’s Roebling Porter won a Gold Medal in the Specialty and Experimental Beers category while its Lambic was awarded a Bronze Medal in the Wild and Sour Ales category. The latter is notable in that it was the only winner from an American brewery in that category. The Gold Medal winner, Kreik from Brouwerij Oud Beersel, was also awarded the Gold Medal in the Best in Show category.
“There was very stiff competition,” said brewer and co-founder Jason Roeper, “There were over twenty-five sours entered this year. This is our second year entering the I-X Beer Festival. We were ecstatic to be a part of it and humbled that we were able to take two medals.” In last year’s event, the Lambic won the Gold Medal and was the Silver Medal winner in the Best of Show Category.
Roebling Porter has turned into Rivertown’s Little-Beer-that-Could. Originally brewed as a one-off for Roeblingfest in 2010, local demand has put it in the brewery’s year-round line-up. It features Ugandan vanilla, cold-pressed organic Peruvian espresso and raw cane sugar. It’s readily available in bottles around town and typically available on tap at area locations offering better beer. The brewery’s tap room and Nicholson’s downtown is currently serving the beer on nitro.
The full list of medal winner’s from this year’s International Beer Fest can be found here.
AMERICAN CRAFT BEER WEEK – MAY 14-20
Don’t forget the events scheduled at Arnold’s for this week.
Monday, May 14th – Beer of the Day Special at Rock Bottom Brewery
Each Monday, Mitch the brew master at Rock Bottom highlights a beer and you can enjoy it for just $3.25 all day.
Tuesday, May 1st starting at 5:00 pm – Stone Brewing Co. Pint Night at Arthur’s Café
Tuesday, May 15th – Pint Night at Rock Bottom Brewery
Purchase a logo pint glass filled with your favorite Rock Bottom beer for just $5.95, refills are only $3.00 and you keep the glass.
Wednesday, May 16th – Pint Night at UC’s Catskeller
Wednesday, May 16th from 5:00 to 8:00 pm – Take Home the Glass Night at Taste of Belgium
This week’s beer is Tripel Karmeliet.
Wednesday, May 16th from 5:30 to 8:00 pm – $3 Drafts at Marty’s Hops and Vines
Wednesday, May 16th at 6:00 pm – Great Crescent Beer Tasting at Cock & Bull Hyde Park
Thursday, May 17th at 6:00-10:00 pm – Pint Night Thursdays at Cock & Bull (all three locations)
The beers for this week’s Pint Night Thursdays are: Covington – Southern Tier 2XIPA, Hyde Park – Rivertown Wit, and Glendale – Rivertown Wit.
Thursday, May 17th at 6:30 pm – Tapping of Belgian IPA at Rock Bottom Brewery
Friday, May 18th from 4:00-7:00 pm – Flowing Fridays Beer Tasting at Cork ‘N Bottle (Covington and Buttermilk Pike-Crescent Springs)
Friday, May 18th from 6:00-7:00 pm – Friday Night Flights Beer Tasting at Party Town in Florence
Friday, May 18th – Firkin Friday at Cock & Bull Hyde Park
Saturday, May 19th starting at 4:00 pm – Third Annual Brews, Do’s and Tattoos at Mayday
Check out their Facebook event page for more information.
Saturday, May 19th from 5:00-8:00pm – Beer Tasting at Ludlow Wines
● The new growler station at Rivertown Brewing’s tasting room has their Helles, Dunkel, Hop Bomber, Unit 6, Hop Baron, Blueberry Lager, Roebling, Oatmeal Stout, Wit and Jenneke (Belgian Blonde). Refills are $7.99 for everything but Hop Baron and Roebling, which are $11.99. If you need a growler, it’s $4 extra.
● The growler station at Mt. Carmel’s new tap room has Nut Brown Ale, Summer Wheat, IPA and Third Shift Imperial Coffee Stout will be available for growlers. The cost is $8.00 for Nut Brown or Summer and $18.00 for Third Shift. It’s $3.50 for the purchase of a growler.
● The new growler station at Listermann Brewing Company has added their Experimental batch series Double Black IPA along with Listermann Friar Bacon Smoked Bock, Listermann Enter the Beagle IPA, Triple Digit Aftermath and Listermann Pre-Prohibition Lager. The cost is $13 for new growler and fill, $10 for a refill.
● For tonight’s Friday Night Flights at Party Town in Florence, they will be sampling all imported beers. The cost for the regular tasting is $2 for a full flight of beers and it goes from 6:00 – 7:00 pm.
● On the Growler Station at Party Town in Florence: Against the Grain London Balling Barleywine ($10.99), Anderson Valley Boontlinger Weiss Wheat Ale ($7.99), Boulder Old Chicago Red Ale ($6.99), Brooklyn Mary’s Maple Porter ($6.99), Great Lakes Doppelrock ($11.99), Green Flash Double Stout ($9.99), Green Flash Imperial IPA ($9.99), Green Flash West Coast IPA ($11.99), Goose Island Pere Jacques ($12.99), Founders Red’s Rye ($10.99), Leinenkugel Summer Shandy ($6.99), New Holland Dragon’s Milk ($12.99), Rivertown Oatmeal Stout ($6.99), Sixpoint Bengali Tiger IPA ($9.99), Sixpoint Sweet Action Cream Ale ($9.99), Southern Tier Oak Aged Unearthly Imperial IPA ($14.99), Stone Arrogant Bastard ($10.99), Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard ($12.99). All prices are for a refill. For a new half gallon (64 oz) growler, add $2.00. Pint (16 oz), quart (32 oz) and gallon size (128 oz) growlers are also available. $3 for a new gallon growler.
● On the growler station at Party Source in Bellevue: Breckenridge Imperial 72 ($15.99 – 64oz and $9.00 32oz), New Holland Brown Ale ($9.99 64oz and $5.00 32oz), Sixpoint Resin ($13.99 64oz and $7.00 32oz), St. Somewhere Lectio Divina ($25.99 64oz and $13.00 32oz), North Coast Le Merle ($25.99 64oz and $13.00 32oz), Kasteel Tripel ($15.99 64oz and $8.00 32oz), Mikkeller Weizenbock ($22.00 64oz and $11.00 32oz) and Brooklyn Pennant Ale ’55 ($7.99 64oz and $4.00 32oz). All prices are for a refill. For a new growler, add $2.00.
● On the growler station at One Stop Liquors (10 Donnermeyer Dr., Bellevue, KY), they currently have Leinenkugel Summer Shandy ($6.99), Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale ($10.99) and Batch 19 ($7.99 growler included). All prices are for a refill. For a new growler, add $2.99. Also, receive $5 off your 6th refill.
● Main Street Wine and Spirits will be having a beer tasting tonight from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. The beers available are Green Flash Palate Wrecker, Breckenridge Batch 471 IPA, Two Brothers Dog Days and Hofbräu Maibock. All tastes are fifty cents each.
● The growler station at Market Wines in Findlay Market has Coronado Islander IPA ($4.00/glass $12.00/growler), Southern Tier Mokah ($6.00/glass $18.00/growler), Avery Karma ($4.00/glass $12.00/growler) and Rogue Chipotle Ale ($5.00/glass $14.00/growler). Add $3 if you need to purchase a growler.
● UPDATED: Whole Foods Market Mason growler station offerings are Brooklyn Lager, Stone IPA, Breckenriidge Vanilla Porter, Sam Adams Griffin’s Bow Barleywine, Southern Tier Pale Wheat Ale 422 and North Peak Dark Angel. They feature $4.25 pints as well as 32 oz. and 64 oz. growler fills ($8.99 / $16.99). They also have Happy Hour every Monday through Thursday from 2:00 – 5:00 pm. You can get $2.99 select pints, $1 off 32oz growler fill and $2 off 64oz growler fill. For a new growler, add $3.99.
● Whole Foods Market Cincinnati growler station offerings (as of May 8th) are North Peak Nomad Dry Hard Cider, Green Flash Hop Head Red Ale, Ft. Collins Major Tom’s Pomegranate Wheat, Founders All Day IPA and Breckenridge SummerBright Ale. Regular fill prices are $7.49 for the 32 oz growler and $14.99 for the 64 oz growler. They also have Happy Hour pricing on Monday through Thursday from 3:00 to 6:00 pm with $4.99 for the 32 oz growler and $9.99 for the 64 oz growler. For a new growler, add $3.99. [Thanks again to Ed Paff for the update.]
● As of April 12th, the growler station at the Liquor Cabinet (1990 N Bend Rd # A Hebron, KY) has Anderson Valley Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout, New Holland Cabin Fever, Sierra Nevada Hoptimum and Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA. For a new growler, add $2.00.
● As of March 30th, the growler stations at DEP’s Fine Wine and Spirits in Covington have Stone Smoked Porter ($8.99), Kentucky Coffee Stout ($7.99), Schlafly Extra Irish Stout ($6.99) and Great Lakes Commodore Perry ($5.99). The DEP’s in Fort Thomas has Left Hand Sawtooth Ale ($6.99), Kentucky Coffee Stout ($7.99), Dogfish Head Chicory Stout ($8.99), Green Flash West Coast IPA ($7.99), Leinenkugel Wee Heavy Scotch Ale ($8.99) and Rogue Double Mocha ($9.99).
So, yesterday at about 4:00 pm, we got an urgent e-mail message from Patrick Clark, Mt. Carmel Brewing’s Assistant Brewer and Brand Coordinator, inviting us to be at the brewery for Governor John Kasich and Ohio Department of Commerce Director David Goodman’s in honor of the passage of HB 243 which made all of the new local tasting rooms possible.
As Patrick put it in his email,
Before the signing of HB 243 in December 2011, state law required brewers to buy one permit to make their product and another to introduce it to their customers, which proved too costly for some small artisan brewers. Now, for no additional fee, these Ohio craftsmen can make their products more available to consumers.
After signing HB 243 into law, Governor Kasich’s office got a message from the Mt, Carmel Brewing Company that read in part, “… our thanks to all … who have helped see that each of Ohio’s 48 breweries be able to share their craft. Governor Kasich didn’t just sign a bill yesterday – he signed paychecks from across Ohio…”
Now that a new tasting room has been completed, the Deweys have invited the Governor and the Director of Commerce who heads Liquor Control to see what this common sense change means for Mt. Carmel Brewery. They will be joined by other craft brewers from the area whose heart is driving this growing industry.
Governor Kasich and Dir. Goodman toured both the new tasting room and the brewery before sitting down for a brief interview session with Mike and Kathleen Dewey. The governor tried the Mt. Carmel Amber and bought a six pack to take home. Reportedly, he said he couldn’t drink much now because he has to work out tonight.
After the more formal session, Mike and Kathleen answered more questions from the press. Reporters and photographers from Local12, Fox19, WCPO, WVXU (including Howard Wilkinson) and the Enquirer were in attendance.
Commerce Director Goodman bought one of the Mt. Carmel Porch Packs. City Council member Yvette Simpson and several others bought one too. All in all, lots of Mt. Carmel beers were purchased.
For more information on the Mt. Carmel Brewing Tasting room, check out our earlier post. Oh, and the new Third Shift Imperial Coffee Stout is very nice… You should stop be and check it out.
If you’ve been to the Moerlein Lager House, you probably already know that they have two loyalty programs. The Moerlein Hogs Head Union is similar to most loyalty programs with a nominal yearly fee and perks for its members like a larger sized mug for their beer when they come in to the Lager House.
The second loyalty program is a bit different. The Old Jug Society is limited to 200 members for one thing. And it costs $400 a year. The annual membership fee includes:
•Yearly collector Moerlein Lager House Beer Stein. (Retail Value: $349. Current edition produced by Rookwood Pottery Co.)
•Personalized Beer Storage Locker. (Retail Value $120)
•Membership into the Hogshead Union Beer Club. (Specially sized 23 oz. drinking vessel for use)
•Personalized beer tracking portal of beer styles members have tried.
•Exclusive monthly Beer Barons Dinners sign up available for member and a guest. (Additional fee required per dinner. Prices vary.)
•Exclusive Social Media Contact with the Moerlein Lager House advance notification of new beers and all events before the public.
•Membership card and framed welcome certificate signed by Master Brewer Richard Dubé.
•20% discounts on all Moerlein Store merchandise and apparel. (Does not include Beer Tokens or discounted merchandise.)
•Special membership signature charge privileges by interested members
The first Old Jug Society event is scheduled for next Wednesday at 6:00 pm (May 16th). In addition to kicking off the Old Jug Society program, this event will also celebrate American Craft Beer Week (May 14-20, 2012) and look ahead to Ohio Brew Week (June 22-30, 2012). For this Beer Barons dinner, the food will be paired with both Moerlein and other Ohio brewed beers. Speakers will include Greg Hardman (Managing Partner of the Moerlein Lager House), Moerlein Lager House Brewmaster Richard Dubé and Ohio Brew Week Executive Director Dan Gates.
Anyone wishing to preview the Old Jug Society monthly Beer Barons Dinner can do so during this first event only for $50. Contact Casey Gilmore at cgilmore@moerleinlh.com or by phone at (513) 378-1735 to make reservations. You can also call the Lager House at (513) 421-BEER. More information on both Lager House loyalty programs is suppose to be coming to their web site very soon.
Monday May 14 – 6pm Tapping – Bell’s Third Coast Old Ale – We have one of two 1/5 barrels that are available in the whole city.
Tuesday May 15 – 6pm Tapping – Listermann Brewing Co’s Experimental Batch Series – Double Black IPA 1st release of the beer, which is a pre-production prototype. They are testing it at Arnold’s to see what the response is before they go in to major production with. Live music from Brian Keith Wallen
Wednesday May 16 – 6pm Tapping – Rivertown Brewing Co’s Jenneke Belgian style blonde ale. This brew doesn’t come out until June and we have it a full two weeks before everyone else. Live music from Todd Hepburn.
Thursday May 17 – 6pm Tapping – Cask conditioned, local maple syrup infused Triple Digit Brewing Co’s Aftermath. This special batch of the popular Aftermath is not only cask conditioned but also infused with maple syrup made by local farmers. Live music from Dottie Warner and Wayne Shanon
Friday May 18 – 6pm Tapping – Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster and Conway’s Irish Ale. Not only will Arnold’s be the first place in Cincinnati that you can get Lake Erie Monster, we have one of the five 1/5 barrels of Conway’s Irish Ale that are available in the state of Ohio. Live music from Jeremy Pinnell and the 55’s
Saturday May 19 – Noon Tapping – Cask Conditioned Christian Moerlein’s Exposition Vienna Lager. To go along with our Grand Opening of our Saturday Lunches and the kickoff of Queen City History’s “Saloons, Cellars and Sin” tours leaving from here at 1 o’clock every Saturday. Christian Moerlein is releasing a special Cask conditioned version of their Exposition Vienna Lager. Live music from Todd Hepburn.
