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Nick Baehl and Nicole Oatman do the chicken dance at Cincinnati's Oktoberfest, the second largest in the world.
One Hoppy Playground Cincinnati celebrates its German brewing heritage
eer is to Cincinnati as bourbon is to Kentucky. In the 19th century and well into the 20th, the Queen City was one of the largest beer-drinking and beer-brewing cities in the U.S. One of Cincinnati’s first breweries opened in 1812 on the banks of the Ohio River, just a few years after Ohio became a state, and another 250 opened and closed in the period that ended in the 1970s and 1980s.
In 1893, the average annual beer consumption per person in the city was 40 gallons, more than twice the national average, in part because of the belief that beer was safer to drink than the local unpurified water. Cincinnati’s brewing industry would have made a present-day American politician weep with jealousy: From hops dealers to barrel makers, 40,000 jobs were created. Even during the 13 long, dry years of Prohibition when alcohol was illegal
MEG VOGEL /THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER; GETTY IMAGES
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BY ADRIENNE JORDAN
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MAKE A WEEKEND OF IT Cincinnati’s Oktoberfest: Happening Sept. 15-17, Oktoberfest Zinzinnati attracts more than 600,000 people during a weekend-long festival that features German food and music, the world’s largest chicken dance, the annual Running of the Wieners, and of course, beer. oktoberfestzinzinnati.com In addition to the gigantic party — which has become so large that last year it was moved to a more accommodating part of downtown — the Cincinnati Reds have a homestand the same weekend against division rival Pittsburgh. It will include a game featuring Oktoberfest-themed swag and drinks. reds.com
Chef Daniel Wright has a playful take on pub food at Senate, including a menu featuring eight different hot dogs, such as the Croque Madame (with Black Forest ham, poached egg and béchamel), and a rotating celebrity-themed option like the Lindsey Lohan (goat cheese, caramelized onions, bacon, arugula, balsamic vinegar and “tons of drama”). 1212 Vine St.; 513-421-2020; senatepub.com
OVER-THE-RHINE HISTORIC DISTRICT Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine, a predominantly low-income and working-class transitional neighborhood just north of downtown, is one of the largest, most intact urban historic districts in the U.S. — it often stands in for old New York City in movies, including 2015’s Carol and Miles Ahead. Even in its slightly dilapidated condition, it has a distinctive architectural splendor heralded by the National Trust for Historic Preservation for its Italianate design the nation’s largest contiguous
▲ Historic Findlay Market is Ohio’s oldest continuously operated public market, in business since 1855. Its merchants include butchers, produce vendors, retailers and street performers, and it often hosts special events on weekends. Local favorites include Taste of Belgium for authentic Belgian waffles, Maverick Chocolate, Eli’s BBQ and Churchill’s Fine Teas. 1801 Race St.; 513-665-4839; findlaymarket.org
LIZ DUFOUR/THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER; KAREEM ELGAZZAR/THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER
Over-the-Rhine’s nationwide, the beer classic Italianate continued to flow. Cincinnati was the architecture has third “wettest” city in the U.S. after gotten a facelife in New York and Chicago, with more than recent years as the 3,000 speakeasies during Prohibition. neighborhood has In fact, one of the country’s richest and been revitalized. most successful bootleggers, George Remus — an attorney who knew all the Prohibition law loopholes and was said to have inspired famed fictional bootlegger Jay Gatsby — was based in Cincinnati. Today, following a period during which many of the bestknown local breweries were sold, merged, moved or went out of business, Cincinnati is again home to dozens of breweries, each offering something mouthwatering for beer lovers.
Open since fall 2016, the boutique Hotel Covington sits on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River, within walking distance of the scenic and walkable Roebling Suspension Bridge. Housed in its state’s first skyscraper and high-end department store, the Covington makes nods to its history with details such as brass garbage cans shaped like shopping bags. 638 Madison Ave., Covington, Ky.; 859-905-6600; hotelcovington. com
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Taft’s Ale House
collection); many of the more than 500 threatened buildings that dot the neighborhood are being restored. In addition to the trendy shops and restaurants that have appeared in this neighborhood in the last 15 years, a wealth of craft breweries have joined the landscape. At the historic preProhibition Malt House Tap Room, Franciscan friars from nearby St. Francis Seraph parish bless every new batch of beer coming off the line. Owned by the
Christian Moerlein Brewing Company, pioneering makers
Rhinegeist Brewery
of Cincinnati’s first craft-style beer, the tap room features signature beers like the Moerlein Over-the-Rhine pale ale. u1620 Moore St.; 513-8276025; christianmoerlein.com Taft’s Ale House, set in an old Protestant church and named for the Cincinnati-born president, has one-of-a-kind brews, including Nellie’s Key Lime Caribbean Ale, a wheat beer brewed with Key lime juice; Cherrywood, an American amber ale; and Maverick Chocolate Porter, a dark beer brewed with cacao nibs and husks. When it comes to food, don’t miss the Big Billy sandwich made with thin-sliced tri-tip steak. u1429 Race St.; 513-334-1393; taftsalehouse.com Stop in Rhinegeist, a brewery built within the skeleton of an 1890s-era Moerlein bottling plant and reopened in 2013. Choose from dozens of tasty beers, including a few brewed to commemorate local events or institutions (Glow pale ale, for example, is linked to Lumenocity, a popular summer music and light show in Over-the-Rhine).
Rhinegeist's tasting room features a giant indoor adult playground with ping pong and cornhole — the popular bean-bag toss game that got its modern start in Cincinnati. u1910 Elm St., 513-381-1367; rhinegeist.com
BREWING HERITAGE TRAIL Following in the footsteps of Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail and Boston’s Freedom Trail, the first part of Cincinnati’s own historic trail is scheduled to open in September. The
Cincinnati Brewing Heritage Trail (brewingheritagetrail.org) is the first dedicated beer history trail in America — a three-year, $5.2 million project that will wind 2.3 miles through Over-the-Rhine and parts of downtown Cincinnati. “The trail tells more than just how much beer we made and how much we drank. It is the story of American immigration, ingenuity, ethnic conflict, industrialization, the labor struggle and 19thcentury living conditions,” says Steve Hampton, executive director of the Brewery District Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation. Visitors can follow the trail using the Brewing Heritage Trail app (available on the trail’s website) or take an existing guided tour, such as a walking tour sponsored by American Legacy Tours
(americanlegacytours.com) that focuses on Over-theRhine history. The tour takes participants below the city streets to explore underground lagering tunnels before ending with a visit to the Christian Moerlein bottling plant and tap room. For those who prefer wheeled transport, the Cincy
Brew Bus (cincybrewbus.com) travels to historic breweries for tastings. l
PROVIDED BY THE BREWERIES
Christian Moerlein Brewing Company tap room
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