“When we lost the local ownership of our breweries, we lost something very dear to our community. I’ve been striving to bring back that heritage.”
– Greg Hardman, Cincinnati native seeking to reclaim the city’s brewing past
This strikes me as a far better way to spend your time than standing in line for the latest rare beer.
In this video Steve Hampton, president of the preservationist Brewery District Community Urban Redevelopment Corp., walks through a tunnel beneath East McMicken Street in Over-the-Rhine. The tunnel is part of the old Schmidt Brothers Brewery.
Cincinnati’s 18th annual Bockfest begins Friday, with plenty of beer and tours of the city’s historic breweries. Around 40 buildings remain standing in Over-the-Rhine and West End that were used in the operations of about a dozen nineteenth century breweries.
(For the record, the weekend activities don’t list tours of the tunnels — “We really have no idea how many of these cellars and tunnels may still exist,” Hampton said — but there’s still plenty going on. The schedule.)
Wow.. never wanted to visit Cincinnati until this very moment.
So cool. I want to become a beer archaeologist.
I will be there this Saturday. Went to Bockfest last year too and toured a few of the old breweries that were being turned into lofts and such. Pretty fun town if you know where to go. I have met Greg Hardman a couple of times. Very cool guy and makes some great beers through Christian Moerlein Brewing.