Drinking Craft Beer In Cincinnati: Your Official Guide For All Star Week – Pt. 2: The Breweries

So you’re a true craft beer fan and want to go straight to the source.

Hop head, you lucked out coming to Cincinnati for the 2015 MLB All Star Game. This city may not get a lot of national attention, but it sure holds its own when it comes to brewing good damn beer. There are 24 good damn craft breweries in the Cincinnati area and another 12 just a short drive North in Dayton, Ohio. You just happened to make your way to one of the hop-densest regions on the face of the Earth. And you thought your trip here was only about baseball.

Things you need to know:

• The city’s first brewery opened in 1812.
• Cincinnati was one of the first American cities to brew and popularize lager style beer.
• The Over The Rhine (OTR) neighborhood that is now home to some of Cincy’s most popular restaurants, pubs and breweries – was once Cincinnati’s largest brewery district.
• A series of tunnels run under the OTR that were vital to Cincy’s brewing heritage.
• In 1890, Cincinnati – home to 36 breweries – was dubbed “Beer Capital of the World.”
• The Christian Moerlein Brewing company was established in 1853. It closed during prohibition and was resurrected in 1981.
• Boston Beer Company (Sam Adams) has a brewing facility in Cincy where it at one time brewed 60% its beer.
• Cincinnati has multiple brewery tours. Shauna Steigerwald‘s review of the best ones in town for the Cincinnati Enquirer is all you need here.

The Cincinnati Area Breweries

In alphabetical order and including a link to Ratebeer.com beer ratings

Bad Tom Smith – ratebeer – driving directions

Blank Slate – ratebeer – driving directions

Braxton – ratebeer – driving directions

Cellar Dweller – ratebeer – driving directions

Christian Moerlein – ratebeer – driving directions

DogBerry – ratebeer – driving directions

Ei8ht Ball – ratebeer – driving directions

Fifty West – ratebeer – driving directions

Fibonacci (opens 7/11) – ratebeer – driving directions

Great Crescent – ratebeer – driving directions 

Listermann – ratebeer – driving directions 

MadTree – ratebeer – driving directions

Mt. Carmel – ratebeer – driving directions

Nine Giant (coming 2015) – NO ratebeer

Old Firehouse – ratebeer – driving directions

Quaff Bros (gypsy brewers available at Party Source) – ratebeer – driving directions

Rock Bottom (chain)– ratebeer – driving directions

Rhinegeist – ratebeer – driving directions

Rivertown – ratebeer – driving directions

Tap & Screw – ratebeer – driving directions

Taft’s Ale House – ratebeer – driving directions

Triple Digit – ratebeer – driving directions

Urban Artifact – ratebeer – driving directions

Woodburn – NO ratebeer – driving directions

The Cincy bars and restaurants with the best craft beer selections here