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Brewery Spotlight: Streetside Brewery Builds Community In First Year

Craft Beer Joe

The idea that craft beer is more than just beer is an ideology I believe in. It’s so much more than the liquid in our glass. It’s the community that makes it all worthwhile and I am constantly finding more breweries that embody that mentality. Streetside Brewery is one of those breweries.

They even put it in their tagline; “The Intersection of Community And Craft Beer”. It is evident in the way they designed their taproom, how they treat guests and how they plan events.

And what’s even more amazing is this brewery has only been around for a year. During that time, they’ve accomplished quite a few feats. Let’s take a look at this brewery and learn more about them.

Make Sure You Read To The End To Learn About Their Upcoming One Year Anniversary Party

Origin Story: Who Is Streetside Brewery

For those that do not know, Streetside Brewery is one of the many new breweries to open in Cincinnati. They are located in an area called Columbia-Tusculum which is just east of downtown.

Streetside Brewery is the culmination of the dreams of four people. Three of which are family and are the founders: Brian (Father), Kathie (Mother) and Garrett (Son) Hickey.

Brian and Garrett have been homebrewing for years and opening their own taproom was a goal. After graduating from Brewlab in Sunderland, England, Garrett worked as a professional brewer at a few different breweries including Rivertown Brewing.

Kathie is heavily involved as the President of the Columbia-Tusculum Community Council. She volunteers to help see positive change in their neighborhood and the brewery is helping her reach those goals.

The fourth member of the team is Luke Shropshire; Lead Brewer and Certified Cicerone. He is an avid homebrewer that got his professional career started at Mt. Carmel Brewing. He’s also a BJCP judge and has already won a few awards for his beers; Keylime Gose and Raspberry Berliner.

These four all had a desire to provide great beer and have a positive impact on the neighborhood.

What To Expect

Streetside Brewery sits right along the side of the street (clever, right?). Parking is on the left side of the building and there’s also plenty of street parking available.

The first thing you’ll notice is the huge mural on the side of their building. It’s eye catching and helps you know something great is on the other side.

The front of the building has a great patio that faces the street; again embracing the streetside name. Once inside, you’ll see tables, booths and a couple bar-height community tables. On the left side is the bar with 20 taps. The taproom is a really good size to allow people to spread out a little but also feel connected.

My favorite feature of the taproom is that it overlooks the brewing area. That’s right, you can see the entire brewing area from the back of the taproom. It’s a great way for their customers to feel connected to where the beer comes from.

This is a true neighborhood brewery and embraces the idea that people want to gather at the taproom to get to know each other and build relationships.

Related Post: Building Community At The Neighborhood Brewery

The Brewery

As mentioned, you get a great view of the brewing area from the back of the taproom. Here’s what they are working with:

In their first year, they will produce about 500 bbls of craft beer and I have a feeling that number will grow quite a bit in their second year.

The Beer

As a young brewery, they’ve done a great job of providing a wide range of beer; approachable, award-winning and trendy. Providing this range has been a critical piece to their success since you are bound to find something you like on the tap list.

In fact, when they opened, one of their beers had already one an award. Raspberry Beret won best sour and best in show at the King of Ohio Beer competition right before they opened up Streetside. This raspberry berliner weisse helped put them on the map. Here are a few of their flagship beers that are on tap most days:

In addition, they have a some barrel-aged beers sitting and waiting for the right time to be released. In all, they have over 30 barrels holding a variety of different beers: Blondes, saisons, spontaineous project, dark belgians, stouts and others. I think we are in store for some great barrel-aged beers from them really soon.

One of these barrel-aged beers will be released at the anniversary event – more on that later. 

What To Eat When You Visit

If you want something to eat while you drink their craft beer, they’ve got you covered. “Steamed Str(eats)” are available for lunch and dinner. The menu was created by Brad Gilpin and features a variety of steamed sandwiches and other offerings. Check it out here.

You can also bring in your own food or order from a local spot like: Taglio, Tusculum Grille, or Buz Restaurant which are all close by and will deliver.

Location

4003 Eastern Ave, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226

(513) 615-5877

Hours

Monday          8 am – 10 pm    Tuesday        Closed

Wednesday    8 am – 10 pm    Thursday       8 am – 11 pm

Friday             8 am – 11 pm     Saturday      10 am – 11 pm        Sunday      10 am – 9 pm

Connect With Streetside Brewery

Website      Facebook      Twitter      Instagram      Untappd

One Year Anniversary Party – September 30th

It’s exciting to see a brewery open and then navigate their first year. Streetside Brewery has done a great job attracting customers into the taproom and growing their business.

Bottle Release: 10 AM

Party Starts: 12 PM

Streetside Brewery’s vision for this event is a day long festival where they can celebrate their first year, provide a great atmosphere for the community and recognize some of the other breweries that they have collaborated with in the past 12 months.

Bottle Release – Demogorgon

There’s a lot to be excited about but I’ll start with the 10 AM bottle release.

Last year, they released an Imperial Stout with cherries called Where’s Barb. This was a great beer already but then they put it into bourbon barrels for 6 1/2 months. The 12.1% Imperial picked up some additional alcohol and came out at 13.1% so expect huge flavor out of this one. This beast of a beer is called The Demogorgon.

Where’s Barb and Demogorgon are both Stranger Things references. In this Netflix series, a character named Barb is killed by the Demogorgon. Sorry for the spoiler! Bottom line, if you are a craft beer fan or a pop culture fan, this beer is a must try.

Special Beers On Draft

Also look for beer from some of their collaborations; including Urban Artifact, Dogberry and The Lackman as well as some other specialty kegs.

So yes, there will be amazing craft beer flowing all day long but there’s also going to be entertainment, food and more:

Be prepared for a huge event that will last all day, Plan on showing up early (before 8am) to get in line for The Demogorgon and then stay for the rest of the festivities.

There are so many great beers planned that I anticipate timed tappings so look for them to release a schedule as the event gets closer. I also think that many of these beers will sell out as fast as they tap them.

Check Out The Official Facebook Event Page

Final Thoughts

I’ve said quite a bit already so I’ll keep this simple.

If you want even more from them then check out the second release of Suh’ Brah New England IPA. This beer received a lot of praise when it was canned earlier this year. Be there on Sept 23rd to pick up your four pack.

Streetside Brewery is a place that I think you’ll want to visit over and over again. Personally, I can’t wait to see where they got in the coming years after such a great first year.

Have You Checked Out Streetside Brewery?

Or Do You Have A Local Brewery Similar To Streetside?

 

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