Brewery Preview: Fretboard Brewing Pairs Craft Beer With Music

Craft Beer Joe

7 years ago

Fretboard Brewing – Craft Beer And Local Music

Every time I hear a new brewery is opening, I get excited. I start to wonder what the beer will taste like and what the taproom will feel like. But I also wonder how this brewery will be unique. So when I got the chance to check out Fretboard Brewing, I walked in wondering how they were going to stand out among the 40+ breweries already in the Cincinnati area.

It didn’t take long to realize that their passion for craft beer is nearly matched by their passion for music. These combined passions is how they will make a name for themselves in the craft beer world.

Make sure you check out the entire article as this is the first place you’ll hear about all 9 of the craft beers they will have at their grand opening.

Origin Story: Who Is Fretboard Brewing

There’s a few things you must know about Fretboard Brewing and the owners.

First, a fretboard is the part of a guitar just under the strings.
Second, the owners, Jim Klosterman, Joe Sierra and Brad Plank, are long term friends. And they all play music.
Third, these guys love craft beer and music.

Your entire experience at Fretboard Brewing will be music themed. They’ve taken the time to ensure that you’ll be full immersed in beer and music the entire time you are there.

While you will get a high quality experience, they also want you to feel like part of the process. That is why the taproom, brewery and music are all in the same area.

“For us the brewery is built to embrace the creative journey. We believe that the journey to this finished product is worth exposing, both in beer & in the arts.” – Joe Sierra, co-founder of Fretboard Brewing

They will even have creative spaces available for artists to give music lessons, rehearse or find other creative uses. These spaces will have high definition sound and video feeds into the taproom where customers will actually be able to listen in. If that isn’t embracing the creative journey then I don’t know what is.

Fretboard Brewing is throwing their first “Jam Session” (aka Grand Opening) on November 4, 2017.

Keep an eye on my social media accounts and I’ll keep you up to date on all of the happenings as this great new spot opens.

What To Expect

While the final touches were still being put on the brewery and taproom, I was able to get a sneak peak recently. And I have to say that this is going to be a great spot to hang out and enjoy a pint.

Located at 5800 Creek Road in an area of Cincinnati called Blue Ash, Fretboard Brewing is well situated in a light industrial area that is just minutes from the highway and thousands of residents. The building is 17,000 sqft of which the brewery occupies about 6,500 leaving 3,500 for an ample taproom. The rest of the building will be used for a private event space as well as creative spaces that I mentioned earlier.

The taproom includes one of the most beautiful bars I’ve seen. Keeping with the music theme, the top of the bar is designed to look like a fretboard. The front of the bar resembles an amp to keep the theme going. And if you look above, there are wires running across the ceiling that look like the strings of a guitar.

The far end of the taproom will feature a stage where they will have live music on a regular basis. Joe Sierra, co-founder, spoke about the need to balance the music with the taproom experience. He doesn’t want the music to be a disruption to the conversations happening. So expect the music to intensify as day turns into night.

The Brewery

The guys at Fretboard Brewing are not messing around when it comes to brewing. Brad Plank, co-founder and head brewer, will be working with an impressive system right out of the gate.

They’ve got a beautiful 20 bbl brewhouse and six 40 bbl fermenters with room to add more as production increases.

Their target is 2,500 bbls of beer in their first year which is a big number for a new brewery. They will accomplish this by aggressively self distributing to local bars and restaurants as well as packing out their taproom.

In addition to the brewing equipment, Fretboard Brewing will have a quality lab to ensure that you get high quality, great tasting craft beer every time.

And they see packaging in their future but don’t expect to see that until after they’ve gotten a handle on taproom and keg sales.

The Beer

When I took a tour of the space and met some of the team, they were not brewing yet and didn’t have any beer available to try. So I can’t speak to the beer just yet.

However, they did give me a rundown of the 9 beers they are targeting for their grand opening.

The last four were previously unannounced until now making this the first place to get the complete list:

Lyric: Hoppy Wheat Ale – 4.4%
Rider: Blonde Ale – 4.3%
S23: Session IPA – 4.9%
Improv: American IPA – 7.1%
Jazz: American Stout – 6.75%
El Jefe: Hefeweizen – 4.9%
Vlad The Impaler: Czech Pilsner – 5.25%
Trey: Amber Ale – 4.6%
Simple: Double IPA – 8.8%

I am really impressed with the wide range of beer styles they will have at opening. And if their passion tells me anything, every beer on their list will be great.

What To Eat When You Visit

The guys opening Fretboard Brewing know that craft beer and music pair well. But they also know that food takes it to the next level.

In the taproom, just to the right of the stage, they’ve leased a small portion of the taproom to Smoked Out, barbecue and smoked meats.

Check Out Their Full Menu Here (Updated Dec 2017)

Having onsite food is something that I wish more breweries offered so this is a huge positive in my opinion. I can’t wait to enjoy my first meal there.

Location

5800 Creek Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242

(513) 914-HOPS (4677)

Connect With Fretboard Brewing

Website Facebook Twitter Instagram

Final Thoughts

There’s always a lot of buzz surrounding a new brewery. In many ways, it’s a sign that the craft beer community is strong.

But it’s also a sign that there are still many people that are willing to invest their time, money and resources into growing our community.

Fretboard Brewing aims to make harmony with their beer and local music. This could be the factor that helps set them apart from the other breweries in the area and gets more customers into their taproom . . . and drinking their beer.

Make sure to subscribe to Craft Beer Joe and keep an eye on my social media accounts to stay up to date on Fretboard Brewing.

It won’t be long until we are all sitting in their taproom listening to music and drinking a pint or two.

Mark you calendars for November 4th, 2017 and be ready for a great craft beer experience at Fretboard Brewing.