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| Photo via City Beat |
When Cincinnati native Jim Koch started the Boston Beer Co. in the 1980s, the world of craft beer was completely different. For one, “craft beer” wasn’t even a household term, rather smaller breweries were either referred to as “brewpubs” or “microbreweries.” Taprooms weren’t really a thing, as brewpubs were essentially restaurants that brewed and served their own beer on-site.
Now, though, having a taproom associated with your brewery is a necessity, giving your customers a direct line to the freshest beer right in your facility.
“We never wanted to open a brew pub,” Koch said at the taproom grand opening. “We know how to brew beer, but running a restaurant looked hard,” he said.
Samuel Adams has been a part of the Cincinnati beer scene for well over 25 years, first contract brewing at the former Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewery in OTR and then purchasing the brewery in the late 1990s. But something always felt off about the second-biggest craft brewery in the U.S. having a presence in the city, but nowhere for Sam Adams fans to go enjoy a pint a la the 50-plus other brewery locations in Cincinnati.
Enter the Samuel Adams Cincinnati Taproom. When it was announced earlier this year, the Queen City embraced the idea despite the fact that it was well overdue. The taproom opened in the middle of November on the ground floor of the Film Center redevelopment in the shadow of the company’s large brewery across the street.
Upon entering the taproom a few things are evident. First, it’s a little smaller than what most people would expect, with a large u-shaped bar as the centerpiece. The bar top features glass bottle pieces and bottle caps, and the rest of the taproom has couches, swings, and some low- and high-top tables. There are also barrels and an overall cozy feeling of the place. Outside there’s a large patio that will be perfect in the nicer months, giving Sam Adams perhaps one of the best indoor/outdoor taprooms in the city.
The beer on tap is of course mostly familiar, including Boston Lager, the Cincinnati-specific 513, and other favorites like Winter Lager and Cream Stout. The brewery also hired Chris Siegman formerly of Mt. Carmel and 50 West, so we should start to see some taproom exclusives start to make their way out very soon.