The Bar Towel

Hi,

I'm going to be in Cincinnati this week-end for 2 fencing tournaments. I have to behave myself Thursday and Friday nights as I have tournaments the following afternoons, although a little beer will be involved.

Saturday night, I get to really explore the town. I do not want to cab anywhere and am staying downtown by the Duke Energy convention centre. I am going to check out Rock Bottom Brewery but wonder if anyone else has been to downtown Cinci and has a place for me to try.

Thanks!
Gord

Hey Gord,

Check out my map of Cincinnati here

I've been there a number of times for work. Here are some beer and food highlights:

Dilly Deli
- Nice place to grab a pint (good tap selection) and do some beer shopping. Have one or two casks available. Snacks are also good. A little bit of a trek from the highway.

Hyde Park
- Friendly knowledgeable staff and great but not big selection. Right off 71.

The Party Source in KY
- They had Three Floyds last time I was there. A big cooler section with single bottles. Selection and prices very good and it's easy to get to. Might not find alll the latest one-offs and special seasonals.

The Pub at Rockwood Mews
- not a great tap selection but they had Brewdog Paradox on cask

Nicholsons
- part of same chain as Rockwood Mews and also had a couple Brewdogs on tap/cask

The Comet
- I've heard good things but never went.

Jim Dandy's
- no beer but great BBQ.

Cheers!

Jungle Jim's is by far the best store.

Not as consistently high quality as Dilly Deli Wines, but roughly 1000 kinds of ber with constent stock of Bells, Goose, Founders, Alesmith.

Three floyds no longer delivers in Ohio though.

iguenard wrote:Jungle Jim's is by far the best store.

Not as consistently high quality as Dilly Deli Wines, but roughly 1000 kinds of ber with constent stock of Bells, Goose, Founders, Alesmith.

Three floyds no longer delivers in Ohio though.

I heard of Jungle Jim's but it was too far of a trek out to Fairfield. I'll have to check it out next time. Also, the Party Source is in KY so they carried Three Floyds at the time (Behemoth, Dreadnaught, Black Sun). That was back in April.

Thanks for the advice. I was limited in time so could not get out of the downtown core, but ate at Rock Bottom all three days. Food is great and the beer is decent.
Nicholsons was quite nice and had a couple of pints there. Wish I could have made it back there a couple of more times.
FB's was across the street from the Milinium Hotel with free wifi and $3 Smaual Adams. That made me happy as the hotel charged for WIFI

Digging up this prehistoric thread (no one's been here in 13 years?) to seek up-to-date recommendations for Cincy. My wife and I wanted a quick, affordable, and low-key getaway for the Civic Weekend, so Cincinnati it is.

Looking for suggestions on must-visit beer destinations - breweries, beer bars, and beer-focused restaurants - in the city proper. We are staying in the Over The Rhine area very close to Washington Park.

Our plan is to arrive early afternoon Friday and leave after breakfast/brunch on Tuesday, which means time will be limited.

Also up for any suggestions on worthwhile tourist attractions/things to do, and safety tips if needed. Any help is much appreciated.

I also put the following guide together, based on combined BA and RB place ratings, to help guide us on our trip. Wondering which of these are must-visits, which ones are overrated, etc. Cheers!

Breweries, Brewpubs & Taprooms:

Taft's Ale House - 1429 Race Street, Cincinnati - RB: 95 / BA: 83 / CS: 89
Fifty West Brewing - 7668 Wooster Pike, Cincinnati - RB: 95 / BA: 83 / CS: 89
Rhinegeist Brewery - 1910 Elm Street, Cincinnati - RB: 88 / BA: 84 / CS: 86
Nine Giant Brewing - 6095 Montgomery Road, Cincinnati - RB: 88 / BA: 83 / CS: 85.5
Listermann Brewing - 1621 Dana Avenue, Cincinnati - RB: 84 / BA: 87 / CS: 85.5
MadTree Brewing - 3301 Madison Road, Cincinnati - RB: 84 / BA: 87 / CS: 85.5
Moerlein Lager House - 115 Joe Nuxhall Way, Cincinnati - RB: 83 / BA: 85 / CS: 84
BrewDog Cincinnati - 316 Reading Road, Cincinnati - RB: 86 / BA: 80 / CS: 83
Urban Artifact - 1660 Blue Rock Street, Cincinnati - RB: 84 / BA: 81 / CS: 82.5
Woodburn Brewing - 2800 Woodburn Avenue, Cincinnati - RB: 82 / BA: 83 / CS: 82.5
Brink Brewing - 5905 Hamilton Avenue, Cincinnati - RB: 80 / BA: 85 / CS: 82.5
Northern Row Brewery - 111 West McMicken Ave, Cincinnati - RB: 76 / BA: 84 / CS: 80
Samuel Adams Cincinnati - 1727 Logan Street, Cincinnati - RB: 79 / BA: 79 / CS: 79

Bars & Eateries:

Standard Beer - 112 West 15th Street, Cincinnati - RB: 86 / BA: 96 / CS: 91
Higher Gravity Northside - 4106 Hamilton Avenue, Cincinnati - RB: 84 / BA: 90 / CS: 87
The Lackman - 1237 Vine Street, Cincinnati - RB: 87 / BA: 86 / CS: 86.5
Liberty's Bar & Bottle - 1427 Main Street, Cincinnati - RB: 81 / BA: 91 / CS: 86
Hoppin’ Vines – 8150 Montgomery Road, Cincinnati- RB: 83 / BA: N/A / CS: 83
The Comet - 4579 Hamilton Avenue, Cincinnati - RB: 83 / BA: 83 / CS: 83
Mecklenburg Gardens - 302 East University Ave, Cincinnati - RB: 82 / BA: 83 / CS: 82.5
Incline Public House - 2601 West 8th Street, Cincinnati - RB: 82 / BA: N/A / CS: 82
Nicholson's Tavern & Pub - 625 Walnut St, Cincinnati - RB: 80 / BA: 84 / CS: 82
Arnold’s Bar & Grill - 210 East 8th St, Cincinnati - RB: 84 / BA: 80 / CS: 82
Allyn’s Cafe - 3538 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati - RB: 80 / BA: 79 / CS: 79.5
The Eagle - 1342 Vine Street, Cincinnati - RB: 76 / BA: 82 / CS: 79
Marty’s Hops & Vines – 6110 Hamilton Ave, Cincinnati - RB: 80 / BA: 76 / CS: 78
Dewey’s Pizza Oakley - 3014 Madison Road, Cincinnati - RB: 70 / BA: 84 / CS: 77
The Loon Wine Bar - 4124 Hamilton Ave, Cincinnati- RB: 70 / BA: 93 / CS: 76.5

Stores:

Jungle Jim’s Eastgate - 4450 Eastgate Drive, Cincinnati - RB: 90 / BA: 87 / CS: 88.5
Country Fresh Market - 8315 Beechmont Avenue, Cincinnati - RB: 73 / BA: 100 / CS: 86.5
Country Fresh Market - 8425 Vine Street, Cincinnati - RB: 74 / BA: 90 / CS: 82

cratez wrote: ↑Wed Jul 26, 2023 11:00 pm Digging up this prehistoric thread (no one's been here in 13 years?) to seek up-to-date recommendations for Cincy. My wife and I wanted a quick, affordable, and low-key getaway for the Civic Weekend, so Cincinnati it is.

Excellent! Cincinnati has been on my list for potential A Quick Beer visits.

I actually was just there a week ago, but it was only a one-night stop on the way down to Nashville. I didn't get out to explore, but we did go to a Reds game which was a lot of fun. It's a nice ballpark and with what seemed like a really lively nightlife area around it. If the Reds are in town and you're a baseball fan, I'd recommend seeing a game. The beer was pretty good too - there's a craft beer zone and a dedicated stall for Taft's, which is a local brewery - so they might be worth checking out separately. I see that's on the list from BR/RB, so I'd peg that one as worthwhile.

We stayed just over the river in Covington, KY and walked over the bridge to the ballpark. Felt totally safe wandering around that area but there were lots of people around due to the game.

Sorry I can't be of more help - I would have liked to explore more but only had limited time there.

My general rule of thumb when mapping out U.S. cities is to look for the breweries/bars that are where people actually live, which isn't always right downtown. From a quick glance on Google Maps it looks like they have a pretty dense downtown with a lot of stuff, which is good.

Please report back what you find!

Cass wrote: ↑Thu Jul 27, 2023 10:05 am

cratez wrote: ↑Wed Jul 26, 2023 11:00 pm Digging up this prehistoric thread (no one's been here in 13 years?) to seek up-to-date recommendations for Cincy. My wife and I wanted a quick, affordable, and low-key getaway for the Civic Weekend, so Cincinnati it is.

Excellent! Cincinnati has been on my list for potential A Quick Beer visits.

I actually was just there a week ago, but it was only a one-night stop on the way down to Nashville. I didn't get out to explore, but we did go to a Reds game which was a lot of fun. It's a nice ballpark and with what seemed like a really lively nightlife area around it. If the Reds are in town and you're a baseball fan, I'd recommend seeing a game. The beer was pretty good too - there's a craft beer zone and a dedicated stall for Taft's, which is a local brewery - so they might be worth checking out separately. I see that's on the list from BR/RB, so I'd peg that one as worthwhile.

We stayed just over the river in Covington, KY and walked over the bridge to the ballpark. Felt totally safe wandering around that area but there were lots of people around due to the game.

Sorry I can't be of more help - I would have liked to explore more but only had limited time there.

My general rule of thumb when mapping out U.S. cities is to look for the breweries/bars that are where people actually live, which isn't always right downtown. From a quick glance on Google Maps it looks like they have a pretty dense downtown with a lot of stuff, which is good.

Please report back what you find!

Thanks Cass! We now have a Reds game booked for Friday night. Thrilled to hear there are solid beer options at the ball park. Also good to know about Covington, Roebling Bridge and the surrounding area. Along those lines, we are eying the Riverwalk and lunch at Incline Public House for Saturday afternoon. It's right by the river and apparently has awesome views of the city, in addition to great beer and food (so we're told). We will definitely be making a special visit to Taft's as it's the top-rated brewery/beer bar and I've read that the church-like atmosphere is a real sight to see.

RE: downtown. That is our sense as well. When I looked for beer spots that are close to our airbnb, I noticed that Taft's, The Eagle, Sam Adam's, BrewDog, Braxton Brewing, and a MadTree satellite location are all close by. A nice crawl shouldn't be too hard to put together, but I still like to fish for recommendations anyway. Thanks for all of your helpful advice.

cratez wrote: ↑Sat Jul 29, 2023 6:09 pm Thanks Cass! We now have a Reds game booked for Friday night. Thrilled to hear there are solid beer options at the ball park. Also good to know about Covington, Roebling Bridge and the surrounding area. Along those lines, we are eying the Riverwalk and lunch at Incline Public House for Saturday afternoon. It's right by the river and apparently has awesome views of the city, in addition to great beer and food (so we're told). We will definitely be making a special visit to Taft's as it's the top-rated brewery/beer bar and I've read that the church-like atmosphere is a real sight to see.

RE: downtown. That is our sense as well. When I looked for beer spots that are close to our airbnb, I noticed that Taft's, The Eagle, Sam Adam's, BrewDog, Braxton Brewing, and a MadTree satellite location are all close by. A nice crawl shouldn't be too hard to put together, but I still like to fish for recommendations anyway. Thanks for all of your helpful advice.

Awesome! I forgot to mention that when I went to the Taft's stall at the ballpark they gave me a coupon to use at the city location. I think it was $5 or $10. So see if you can get that at the game!

Have a great time and let us know how it goes!

Cass's recommendations worked out well, and we really enjoyed our trip. The Cincinnati Reds game, Taft's Ale House, and the Roebling Suspension Bridge were three of the highlights of the trip. Cass was also correct that Great American Ball Park has excellent craft beer options. We hit the Fifty West Brewing stand and the Reds Brewery District beer bar, and were super impressed with the quality of beers on offer. Prices were reasonable, too.

Besides Taft's and the Fifty West outlet, brewery highlights included Rhinegiest, Mad Tree's Alcove location, and Sam Adams' Cincinnati Taproom in Over-The-Rhine, and Moerlein Lager House in the arena district Downtown. One of the themes of the trip was how early all of the breweries launch their Oktoberfests / Marzens. We were there in early August, and every single brewery had an O-Fest/Marzen on tap. But this was a welcomed change from the summer beers I had been drinking before our visit, and most of the beers ranged from good to outstanding.

Cincinnati also has a fantastic bar scene, with several bars that not only serve awesome craft beer but also solid wine options and respectable cocktail menus. This was appreciated by my wife, who likes tasty beer but is mostly a wine/cocktail drinker. Standouts here were Standard Beer, Liberty's Bar & Bottle (wine bar with dope beer), The Loon (amazing paper planes), and Arnold's Bar & Grill, which claims to be the oldest bar in Cincy.

In addition to beer/wine/cocktail spots, we tried to hit as many choice restaurants as possible, and fared decently given our limited time in the city. Favourites included Bakersfield OTR (taco joint with killer drink menu), The Eagle (fried chicken), Dewey's Pizza, Moxy and Coffee Emporium for morning coffee and breakfast, Graeter's and Dojo Gelato for ice cream/gelato, Incline Public House (described in my post above), Skyline Chill for Cincinnati-style chill and cheese coney dogs, and Taste of Belgium for the most authentic "Euro cafe" experience I've had since visiting Brussels. Most of these places have been featured on the Food Network, the compass we used for navigating.

Beyond the Reds game/GABP and the Riverwalk/Roebling Suspension Bridge, we went to the Cincinnati Zoo, Findlay Market, and a Tripadvisor tour called the "Top 10 Sites + Top 5 Foods of Cincinnati" (https://shorturl.at/ryBWX). All of these attractions were worthwhile and did not disappoint.

Overall, Cincinnati is a city on the rise that has come into its own in the last few years. For anyone wondering "why TF would you visit this place?", it's important to know that Cincy has experienced a major revival following two plus decades of redevelopment. A multi-billion dollar investment from an organization called 3CDC (https://shorturl.at/ejPST), the recent success of the Bengals, Reds, and FC Cincinnati (https://shorturl.at/hmuxS), and a burgeoning restaurant/bar scene (https://shorturl.at/chCXZ) have all contributed to an incredible comeback (https://shorturl.at/rtW29). The longstanding German-American influence has also ensured that stellar beer is a fixture in this Midwestern/Mid-South centre. Lastly, the Kentucky side of the river is really nice if you decide to cross the bridge, and there's an opportunity to explore Kentucky's bourbon scene in nearby Newport if whiskey is your fancy.

I can't say enough good things about the so-called "Queen City," and the fact that it's only a 7.5 hour drive from Toronto makes it an attractive and convenient option for a long weekend getaway.

Thank you @cratez for sharing such a comprehensive review of Cincinnati! Definitely is a place I'd like to get back to and explore more. Sounds like a really fun weekend.

Cincinnati has popped up on my radar whereas until recently I would've fallen into the "why tf would you visit this place" camp. A friend visited recently and did one of the historic beer tours; the old cellars and German brewing history looked especially interesting. I had an idea of the city's brewing history, but never quite grasped the scale. Over-the-Rhine looks beautiful too, incredible work has been done preserving and revitalizing the city as noted.