I still have not yet expanded my beer travels into Ohio but when I do I am going to check out the beers of Christian Moerlein Co. There is a good story in the Chillicothe Gazette today on the brewery and the revival of its own tradition:
Hardman bought the 1853 Cincinnati beer label four years ago and has been steadily growing sales in the region. This summer he plans to begin the first phase of a national expansion by rolling out his handful of beer brands to Indianapolis, Columbus and Louisville, Ky. At the center of his company's expansion are the hearty beers that are throwbacks to another time and place. Many of the flavors were created in the late 1800s in breweries in the once heavily German Cincinnati neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine whose buildings are still standing.I have always liked the idea of reviving actual brews of the past but have come across (especially when made by people not named Ron Pattinson) too many poor excuses mirroring macro-brews as much as anything, the marketing men having had their way "ye olde tyme" themes while the brewers are asleep at the wheel or, worse, kept in their place. But this one in Cincinnati with their heritage brews may actually be the real thing if the B's and even A's that Moerlein is attracting over at BeerAdvocate are to be trusted. And if their B+ rated Vienna lager is actually $5.99 a six, it seems to be good value, too. You would think a real legacy brewing would be something that would attract the beer fan seeking out the authentic, especially if we are perhaps moving on from "extreme" as a branding theme. And revive the crock bottle look as Beau's has while you are at it, with cherubs and all. Click on the picture - wouldn't you buy that as a refillable growler?
A search via the beer blog search engine for the one word "Moerlein" tells me that not many have been writing about this brewery which has operated since 1853 - though Richard Lyke mentioned their efforts back in 2006. If anyone can advise as to the quality of these beers in the comments it would be greatly appreciated. I may swoop south of Lakes Erie and Ontario this fall on my way back from my pilgrimage to the Ann Arbor Michigan area and snag me some of these brews.
Comments
Jeff in Ann Arbor - June 3, 2008 11:20 am
I used to get down to my hometown Cincinnati fairly often until recently, and back in the 80's and early 90's, Morelein's Original and Dark were two regular beers for me before the micro revolution took hold. They were brewed by Hudepohl-Schoenling, one of the last of the old Cincinnati breweries. Off hand I can think of five or six when I was growing up in the 50's.
I took a tour of Hudepohl in the 80's and found that they were brewing at a small fraction of their capacity, which allowed them to leisurely lager these premium beers. It no doubt also helped that it was an old brewery with many skilled workers and a complete, if outdated, facility. They probably had operations down to a "T", as opposed to the typical micro or brewpub.
At the time, they were contract brewing Sam Adams, and as I recall, when Boston Beer bought the brewery for its own production, they dropped the Moerlein brands.
This new operation reflects the marketing skills and background of the owner. Lots of the story. What I wonder is who is brewing the beer. I rather imagine that it is contracted. But if it is by the typical ale micro, I wonder about their ability to produce a quality lager.
I'll be down in Cincinnati in a few weeks for the National Homebrewers Conference and will check them out.