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.
Beer Goggles - September 3, 2009 6:22 PM
Just wanted to know did Christian Moerlein get bought by Sam Adams? If you go to www.moerlein.com it redirects you to Sam Adams. BTW on that note you would think that a company that is gonna open up a brewery restaurant on a river could have a website. All of this together makes me think they have been purchased.
Beeroodie - September 3, 2009 7:18 PM
The great Greg Hardman's scorched earth campaign looks like it may produce an actual location in Cincinnati that brews beer. After burning through multiple small creative groups that worked for nothing and getting caught trying to pull a fast one over local investor/restauranteur Martin Wade. If you think his business dealings with the Wades went well ask them why they just dropped Moerlein off of all of their taps at their restaurants....Hmmm? It looks like he will try and throw another "Hail Marry" to land a big eyed sucker to provide financing or invest in this river front location. If he succeeds, his deceptive marketing that he has spewed the last few years about being a Cincinnati Craft Brewer may actually have an ounce of truth. However if he is only going to brew 5000 barrels that means for the most part he is still going to be brewing his beer out of state. He should name his next beer "Smoke and Mirrors, Copperfield Ale" after all of the illusions he has tried to pull off at the expense of unsuspecting people he has taken advatage of to get to where he is not to mention the consumers trying to buy a local Cincinnati beer!!!! This is a man more interested in building a business and selling it to a giant like Miller SAB or Inbev, rather than brewing a good beer. I hope Cincinnati gets a real craft brewer and forces Hardman to worry about flavor and taste more than getting more facings at Kroger. It's one thing to say it on a bottle and its another thing to actually hand craft a beer. It wouldn't surprise me if he ends up brewing most of his beer out of state and ships it to his brew pub like Gordon Biersch does, another illusion to complete his show. It is all pretty sad and lame to me in a town that is so ready to support a local brewer, they are left with this pathetic excuse for a craft brewer that received his experience at the amazing Warsteiner. When people wander why the beer just tastes OK its because Greg Hardman only cares about growing the business like he did at Warsteiner.
patsy king - October 7, 2009 11:21 PM
I was given a old crock christain moerlein beer bottle from my grandparents back in the 60"s would like to see if I could get some history on the bottle. Is there any place in Cincinnati I can go to get that information? I would greatly appreciate it. Because now my grandparents and parent are both gone.Would like to have some history for my grandchildren about there great grandparents.If not possible would you please reply anyway. I would appreciate it.
Thank You Patsy King