BrewRiver

Brew Me A River

 

There lies a place, a seemingly humble place, on the banks of the Ohio River which serves as a moat protecting the beer treasure that lies within.  In this place, this magical place where culinary artistry meets brewing brilliance, you’ll find just what you’ve been looking for your whole life. This place is BrewRiver GastroPub.

BrewRiver, as deemed by this reviewer, is the only true GastroPub in Cincinnati.  Surrounded by bike paths that fend off would be customers' autos, the Innkeepers of this fine establishment, Jobi/Michael/Christian are, as these stories often reveal, the magic behind the place formerly known as the Dew Drop Inn.    

In interest of full disclosure, I am by any definition (including my kids) obsessed with BrewRiver.  If this place did not serve food, I would be just as attracted because of the great atmosphere, beer collection and the incredible bar.  With that said, if there was no bar or beer, I still would be anchored to this place because of Chef Michael’s ability to weave culinary poetry.  But back to the bar itself… If you are an admirer of fine bars, this bar, both the top as well as the back of the bar is simply a work of art wrapped in hand carved wood and copper. I have a special relationship with copper bars, there….I said it.  Now everyone knows. 

 

The raison d'etre of this blog is to create an online community (a gathering place of sorts) of local Cincinnati beer enthusiasts.  Why then would I review BrewRiver here? Because they are moral enthusiasts and emboldened champions of not only great craft beer but also of great local Cincinnati beer.  At any time, they have 6-10 local Cincinnati beers on tap.  They sponsor countless local Cincinnati beer events at their digs.  I am also choosing to cover BrewRiver at this time because it’s their anniversary; they are one year old this week!  Go here and queue up the Happy Anniversary Song from Fred Flintstone and his boys. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knp9-GY6fHE

Last night the Listermann’s Boys were there in force with their Cask Conditioned American Pale Ale dry hopped with Amarillo Hops, and the Intergalactic IPA single hopped with Galaxy Hops.  What a beer journey last night!  I have to admit (I know that this will cause a few raised eyebrows) that I like my cask conditioned on the colder side which is how they served it up yesterday.  This beer was crazy good.  Tomorrow is a pig roast which I can only imagine what Chef Michael will be able to do with that! See below for Kevin from Listermann’s on the tapping.

 

On to the goods on the grub.  There is a definite New Orleans flare to Chef Michael’s pub fare.  I can honestly say that I have NEVER had anything that I wasn’t simply out of my mind about.  With that said, I do have some favorites. Also, all the food is locally sourced whenever possible.   First, the Amish Chicken is at the top of the list. The honey sprinkled on the perfectly completed chicken is like no other.  This comes adorned with a slaw that will baffle your taste buds and tickle your belly!  Recently Chef Michael’s hamburger was anointed best in the city. I also am a huge fan of the mussels as well as the fried oyster po-boy!  The mac-n-cheese is downright, in an unadulerated way, truffleicious!  On the appetizer side of the house, the lobster hush puppies are crazy good and the chicken liver pate is insane!  If you have an opportunity to come in for Sunday Brunch, the bacon infused doughnuts are crazy good.  His biscuits are a stand-alone meal all on their own.  If you are there for Sunday brunch (and also Tuesday nights) you can have your hearing senses hugged by Todd Hepburn as he brings a little Tom Waits into your life. For the record, everybody needs a little Tom Waits in their life. 
 

Every once in a while, you will see the proud papa of the joint, Art, with his Moses stick in tow bellied up to the bar.  Absolutely hands down the finest gentleman you will ever meet.  One of the other great things about this place is the bar staff.  The Beer-keeps here really know their beer; James, Aaron and Joe.  Their lead server Colin also works part time with Scott at Blank Slate.  If you’re lucky you might have Alec or Colin as your server.  With all the great local Cincinnati beer coming on board it is awesome to watch these guys take the time to share some of their beer wisdom and help educate people new to the beer. 

See below a paparazzi- like photo of the local Cincinnati brewers Vulcan mind meld in progress.  Kevin and the Listermann Boys talking beer and what not with Scott from Blank Slate.  I really wanted to jump in on the conversation, but that would be “brewer-stalking” wouldn’t it?

 

 

On to the beer.  (that could be a bumper sticker).  See below for the now famous beer list which they are constantly editing (a sign of a great beer list is one that changes all the time).  In addition to the great local Cincinnati beers; they leverage their relationships with distributors to find the next up and coming brew or a rare and “out of reach for most places” kegs.  This is something that Peanut used to do when he was at the Dilly Deli but they just didn’t serve the food to back it up.  BTW…three cheers to Peanut and his new adventure at the Party Source! Another great aspect to the beer list is the variety of types of beers. On any given day at BrewRiver, you’ll find almost every type of beer brewed. 

BrewRiver Gastro Pub is a place where good people quench their thirst for great beer while filling their bellies with out of this world chow!

Rhinegeist - Spikelet

Rheingeist - Spikelet...wow!

Hands down, the coolest location & building to date housing a local Cincinnati brewery is Rhinegeist.  If you haven’t had the opportunity to check out their brew digs, do so as quickly as you can.  I was fortunate enough to have been at BrewRiver one night when Bryant came by a couple of weeks ago to let the folks at BrewRiver determine what beers from Rhinegeist they wanted to  first have on tap.  Yep, that really did happen….how cool am I?  OK…I’m not really cool…just right place at right time. 

 

 

I have to admit; out of the gate I am always a bit skeptical about how well a beer presents itself in a growler. As it turned out, a few of the beers had fallen a bit because they had been in the growler a tad too long. However, that was NOT a reflection on the beers at all, because after having them on tap in person at their launch of their Imperial IPA SaberTooth Tiger on site, they all stood out as great beers!

The beer that took front stage for me was their Spikelet beer. This is an American Wheat ale that is dry hopped with Bravo and Centennial hops.  The color on this beer is more amber than golden.  The nose is immediately refreshing, presenting a zesty hopped whiff.  What’s most interesting about the taste on this beer is how the hops build on the aftertaste that is also slight grassy.  The wheat is not very present nor is the zest in the taste.  It finishes with a very dry and clean finish.  This is a fantastically sessionable American Wheat that is an absolutely perfect summer beer.  It is unfiltered with great head retention and is 40% wheat.  This beer is going to pair well with anything from the grill, particularly grilled seafood. 

Session Warning: Spikelet will NOT be denied!  This beer will lock you in into a session.  You might try to fight it, or you might try to ignore it.  However you will not be able to escape the lock this beer will put on you.  Nor should you deny yourself a session with this beer.  Just accept going into it, if you are out already have your “ride” set up. You will tumble, willingly or unwillingly, knowingly or not into a session tango with this delectable dance of a brew. Spikelet will toy with you, it’s that simple.  Spikelet will taunt you, mock you, mislead you, tempt you and ultimately be your best friend.  Just when you think that you’ve have your last pint, that little “Spikelet -session-devil” will pop up on your shoulder and whisper in your ear; “come on-just one more, nobody’s counting!”

The brew digs at Rhinegeist are unparalleled.  Located at 1910 Elm St., just about a block north of Findlay Market, the building used to be part of the original Christian Moerlein brewery. This space is impressively cavernous.  The only downside for the brew digs is that it can get a bit balmy.  They could use a few more “big-ass fans”.  (That’s really the name of a fan…look it up).  Not surprisingly, one can also find cornhole here like many other Cincinnati Breweries.   Now I understand that Cincinnatians like their cornhole (why do I feel like I need to whisper that?).  But why can’t we just have only dart boards in the local Cincinnati breweries???? Can’t we make that a “beer-law”?  Now, I’m not “hating” on corn-hole…but….could you imagine our Irish Brethren darting over the pond to partake in the brewing magic beginning to unfold here in Cincinnati?  We must prepare ourselves, lest they return to Ireland and tell stories, fables and tales of the bean bag riddled breweries in Cincinnati with nary a dart to be found!  (uh, oh, sorry…now stepping down of my soap box).  Now horse-shoes…that’s a completely different story….that would be an admirable undertaking for a brewery! Horse-shoes for everyone!

I have heard a few people comment that the folks at Rhinegeist must be rolling around in funding because of the size of their brew-digs.  Granted its huge…but don’t let the size of their facility fool you.  This brewery, like many others, has tall tales that are boot strapped adventures that were necessary to launch their dream.  In fact, they located much of their equipment used at a closed brew facility in Mexico and were purchased on the cheap.  Just smart people making smart business decisions.

5         Cool Brew Clues:

(Things to talk about and impress with whoever will listen with while partaking…)

1.        IBU: 40   ABV 5.5%

2.       The tables at the brewer were constructed from old discarded lumber left at the facility

3.       The keg washer was also brought over from Mexico and was purchased for $300.  (normally  $20K piece of equipment)

4.       When they started they found a ton of Simcoe cheap, so they were able to leverage the size of their facility to store and keep it cool long enough. 

5.       Brewery was initially built in 1895.

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Thanks!

Clyde Brewtruth

Madtree Brewery: "Pleasant Wheat"

Surrounded by a perpetual state of road construction in a not particularly hip or cool corner of town is a very cool and hip brewery called Madtree.  The industrial warehouse looking structure belies the true brewing artistry that takes place behind these metals walls down a gravely path.

Today’s visit for the testing was met with a musical ensemble from Washington jamming amongst brewing equipment and back-dropped by towering stainless steel beer appliances.  Kind of a cool background for the barley and hops based voyage I was about to embark on.  That’s right, a magically malted carpet ride dancing over clouds of hops and barley.  If you haven’t been to Madtree Brewery ...stop whatever you are doing and go now!  A very cool tasting room that overlooks the brewing  and canning operation equipped with the seemingly mandatory corn-hole apparatus’ that must come as a required part of orders for brewing equipment that is ordered for only Cincinnati breweries. 

BTW, Madtree is the first brewery in Ohio in a very long time to be canning their beer.

I chose to review Madtree’s “Pleasant Wheat”.  Even if you are not a fan of wheat beer, you must not discount this beer.  This is not a traditional wheat beer.  This is a VERY refreshing summer beer that successfully accomplishes a lot simultaneously, yet the beer still comes off has a very focused and simple beer presentation.  The folks at Madtree simple produce great beer consistently.

I am fortunate enough to have been to the English Gardens in Munich and have had the long tall glasses of German wheat beer frothed to  the  point that it often proves impossible to drink without saturating your moustache (if you come so equipped) so that you can enjoy that taste for days to come!  However that type of wheat beer might struggle in the U.S. to find a broad appeal, so some American craft breweries are taking a hybrid approach to their wheats.  The result is a very light and likeable, crisp and calculating, seasonal yet sessionable, drinks fine and lasts a long time, beer.

The color of this beer is a great, bright summer color that beckons to be held up to the sun for review.  The nose on this beer is decidedly but in a tricky way, a zesty whiff.  I picked up both grapefruit and lemon on the nose, more lemon than grapefruit which was interesting.  But don’t confuse this for a fruity beer, much less a lemon beer because it is nothing of the sort. 

Quickly moving from eyes to nose then to mouth it presents a great first drink that beckons for a quick repeat (which I of course chose to oblige gladly).  This beer has a dry and semi -short finish. The zest hits you up front with the first taste then with a slight after taste of an undecidedly tiny yet sweet taste which is undoubtedly from the malted wheat.  

After the first beer, the palate adjusts a bit and the beer presents a different side which is less on the zest and more on the ale side of the house. For this reviewer, this is what I find to be one of the most interesting aspects of this beer.  One can easily lose sight of the fact that they are drinking a wheat beer. 

This beer would be great with any sort of seafood, particularly grilled seafood.  It would also go great with grilled chicken or any sort of breaded entrees like pork chops (schnitzel).

This is not only great summer beer, but also would be a great beer in the winter months after a hard day of skiing!

5 RANDOM COOL BREW CLUES- MadTree: Pleasant Wheat

(Things to talk about and impress with whoever will listen with while partaking…)

1.        Hop haters have no fear, this beer only sports an IBU of 29. 

2.       ABV is only 4.7%

3.       Malts 2-row, wheat, carapils, Munich 10L and Hops : galena, fuggle, falconers flight, zythos

4.       The folks at MadTree source their water for their brewery from their well! Plus they have a water recipe for each beer that they brew. 

5.       Today they took delivery of two 60 barrel which will increase capacity to 210 barrels! Good news for Madtree fans!!!

 

Blank Slate: "Lesser Path"

The Brew Truth

Breweries are beginning to pop up in Cincinnati like uh, uh weeds in my mulch bed, no…knee high corn in July, no…….OK...calling "do over" now

Ehem...

Nestled, or better said, hidden in corner of a parking lot lurking behind a discreetly marked and inconspicuously common front door is an oasis for the connoisseur of fine local brew; otherwise known as The Blank Slate Brewery.  I’ve chosen Blank Slate and their India White Ale, Lesser Path to review as the first brew review simply because I am “out of my mind” crazy about this beer. 

OK…on to the “Brew Truth”…

The first thing that catches your eye is the distinctive summer color of this beer bouncing back and forth between a golden and light amber color that really shines when you hold it up to the sun.  The nose on this beer pulls your face straight into the glass, nose first.  It has a light citrus feel to the smell followed with a concise yet alluring quick whiff of the hops.

If you haven’t been sold yet by the color or the scent of this brew, what comes next is what will grab you and force you to savor this brewed nectar and look for the bottom of the glass only because it gives a reason to fill it back up again. The Lesser Path will take  your mouth on a ride.  Those of you that might be worried about IPAs having “too much of a bite”, shouldn’t give this a second thought with this beer.  It’s smooth; the hops are almost secondary to the crisp “beerness” that encapsulates the taste of this brew.  Like the amber waves of grain themselves, the wheat, oats and honey malts combine for a smooth and dry finish with zero bite from either the abv (Alcohol by volume) or the IBUs (International Bittering Units)

Anything you make on the grill would go great with this beer…anything…

You will, after the first drink want another one and isn’t that what drinking good beer is really about anyways?

The yeast farmer (self-proclaimed) that gave birth to this wonderful creation is Scott LaFollette.  Hands down one of the nicest guys you will ever meet, seriously.  He shares his time and expertise tirelessly with other beer enthusiasts to help spread the gospel of good brew. He is the king of the rumble in the jungle of hops.  But it’s not only his good nature that lends itself to delivering the goods on the brews, Scott is a Siebel graduate, certified beer judge and Cicerone…AND a chemist!  It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyways) Scott has some serious beer chops.

Here is Scott’s digital home:  www.blankslatebeer.com

5 RANDOM COOL BREW CLUES- Blank Slate:  Lesser Path

(Things to talk about and "beer-brag" with whoever will listen while partaking…)

1.        Lesser Path is part of the Traveling IPA Series of Blank Slate.  There are three brews; “Fork in the Road” color coded as an India Amber for Fall, “Long Way home”, which is an India Black for the  cold Winter months and then, fan-fare please………….”Lesser Path”, the white IPA for the summer months.  Note the “traveling theme” of the names…Feel free to interchange the names to tell stories of travel and great brew consumption!

2.       The hops used are: Columbus, Cascade and Nugget hops

3.       Also contained are wheat, oats and honey malts (yes you can have it for breakfast!)

4.       It is an white IPA or India White Ale

5.       Time is Running Out!  Scott just finished his last batch of the year!

6.       Lesser Path was just voted the #1 IPA in Cincinnati by a very cool group of local beer geeks.  http://queencitydrinks.com/2013/08/13/king-of-the-cincinnati-ipa/

7.       One of the most interesting aspects of this beer is the alcohol content at 6.5%.  I would have guessed it to have been much lighter on the ABV than that.  Everything about it drinks like a great summer refreshing beer. 

8.       There is not a tasting room at the Brewery but that is in the works for next year!

9.         On the tap handle of every Blank Slate brew "should" be a QR code that lets you travel across cyper space and beer warp speed to their website to read about said brew.

10.       Yes, I lost count….

I have included a picture of the inside of the Blank Slate Brewery.  Also attached is a picture of one of the fine brews strategically placed on my deck.  You might notice that the glass is not quite full.  The truth is, it was a long walk from the basement kegerator to outside on the deck, and I got thirsty along the way.  That’s right…I have it on tap at home…. Muahahahahaha!!!!!!!

Clyde

The Brew Truth

Recent Lesser Path Sightings:

•Allyn’s

 •Arnolds

 •Bar Louie

•Beer Sellar

 •Dilly Deli

 •Firehouse Grill

•Flip Daddy’s – Mason

 •Liquor Box

 •Mios Blue Ash

 •Northside Tavern

 •Remke Hyde Park

 •The Comet

 •Valley Wine & Spirits

 •Vito’s Cafe

 •Washington Platform Saloon

 •Whole Foods – Mason

 •Yard House