August 5 is International Beer Day, so to celebrate the occasion, we are filling you up with all the local beer knowledge you need to get out and enjoy all of the wonderful brewery and beer options our great city has to offer.
What makes a brewery great is so much more than just having good beer. Sure, that helps, but there are so many other qualities that go into a taproom to make it stand out. The overall taproom experience includes the ambiance, food options, and other events and “amenities” (like having games and being kid or even dog friendly). The good thing? Cincinnati has an abundance of great craft breweries.
Just check out the comprehensive list below!
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Best Outdoor Seating
We can’t be the only ones who love patio beers. These places around Cincinnati allow you to take in great sights and sips on their rooftops and in their beer gardens.
Braxton Brewing Company (Covington)
Large rooftop with live wall and bar
Fibonacci Brewing Company (Mt. Healthy)
Biergarten with urban farm, animals, stage for live music, and occasional food trucks
Mt. Carmel Brewing Company (Mt. Carmel)
Expansive patio seating options with pond view
OTR StillHouse (OTR)
Biergarten with StillHouse access; order drinks via QR code directly to your table
Rhinegeist (OTR)
Large rooftop bar overlooking downtown and the city basin
Streetside Brewery (Columbia Tusculum)
Brand new updated patio area, complete with a bar and several picnic tables
Woodburn Brewing (East Walnut Hills)
Woodburn Gardens onsite, featuring biergarten-style seating
Best Taprooms for Events and Live Music
From trivia nights and acoustic sets to free workouts and markets, these breweries always have something going on in their taproom.
Bircus Brewing Company (Ludlow, KY)
Circus-inspired microbrewery featuring circus performances and family-friendly events, as well as markets and live music
Esoteric Brewing Company (Walnut Hills)
Drag shows, karaoke, markets, live music, and community events
Fretboard Brewing Company (Blue Ash)
This Blue Ash-based brewery moonlights as a live music venue, showcasing entertainment every Friday and Saturday
Fibonacci Brewing Company (Mt. Healthy)
Live music in the biergarten, urban farm (with farm animals), and onsite Airbnb
West Side Brewing (Westwood)
Open mic night, trivia, pop-ups, markets, workouts, and community events
Best Onsite Food/Menu
A lot of local breweries have food trucks and pop-ups, but not all of them have onsite menus. From elevated bar food to unique menu items, here are some of the best.
Cartridge Brewing (Kings Mills)
Shareables, salads, Detroit-style pizza, sandwiches
Dead Low Brewing (California)
Apps, soup and salad, wings, pizza, handhelds, burgers
Esoteric Brewing Company (Walnut Hills)
Decibel Korean Fried Chicken operates out of a window at Esoteric, serving brunch on Sundays from 10 to 2
Fifty West Burger Bar (Columbia Twp)
Burger bar, hot dogs, shakes, fries, shareables
HighGrain Brewing Co (Silverton)
Elevated bar food menu updated seasonally, including apps, salads, entrees, and brunch on Saturday and Sunday
Nine Giant (Pleasant Ridge)
Scratch-made bar food changing regularly
Sonder Brewing (Mason)
BrewRiver scratch kitchen serving brunch, snacks, burgers and sandwiches, and desserts
Third Eye Brewing Company (Sharonville)
Taco menu offered every Tuesday, and apps, shareables, and sandwiches Wednesday through Sunday
Best Taproom Pizza
Pizza served at a brewery isn’t all that hard to come by and, while they’re all pretty good, here are some that come highly recommended.
16 Lots Brewing Company (Mason)
In-house pizza kitchen serving artisan pizzas, salads, and breadsticks
Little Miami Brewing Company (Milford)
Brick oven scratch pizza kitchen (GF cauliflower crust is available); brunch pizza available on the weekends
MadTree Brewing (Oakley)
Catch-A-Fire wood-fired pizza, including brunch pizza available on Saturdays and Sundays
Taft’s Brewpourium (Spring Grove Village)
Serving up New Haven-style Apizza, a thin-crust, coal-fired Neapolitan-style pizza popular around New Haven, CT
Best Satellite Taprooms
These breweries may have started in another city, state, or even country, but we still treat them as our own here in the Queen City.
BrewDog (Pendleton)
Scotland-based carbon neutral brewery opened its second-largest US brewpub in Pendleton in 2019
Hofbrauhaus (Newport)
Who needs to be in Germany when you’ve got authentic German food, beer, and events right across the river in Newport?
North High Brewing (Hyde Park)
Columbus, based North High brought its brewpub to Hyde Park in 2021
Sam Adams Cincinnati (OTR)
We all know that “Boston-based” Samuel Adams brews a lot of its beer in Cincinnati and we are more than happy to claim it as our own
Best Friends to the Environment
These breweries are committed to sustainability, conservation, and advocating for the environment.
Fibonacci Brewing Company (Mt. Healthy)
The country’s only urban farm brewery features beers brewed with many ingredients procured on the premises. They also offer classes on food waste prevention and native bees and pollinators.
HighGrain Brewing Co (Silverton)
HighGrain is on a journey towards independently achieved carbon neutrality and decreasing their footprint. They are powered by 100% renewable electric, have a native plant garden, use geothermal HVAC, and locally source goods.
MadTree Brewing (Oakley)
MadTree is committed to reducing their environmental impact. They are members of 1% FOR THE PLANET, which donates 1% of their annual sales to nonprofits focused on environmental sustainability.
Most Beautiful Taprooms
The brewing industry is an historic one here in Cincinnati, so it’s no surprise that many taprooms are beautiful and historic, too.
Cartridge Brewing (Kings Mills)
Taproom of windows flooded with natural light in the Peters Cartridge Factory
MadTree Brewing (Oakley)
MadTree’s 50,000-square-foot, $18 million expansion brewing facility was built in 2017, complete with event spaces, beer garden, Catch-A-Fire pizza kitchen.
Taft’s Ale House (OTR)
Three-level brewpub located in the former St. Paul’s German Evangelical Church—an $8 million renovation completed in 2015
Most Kid Friendly
This topic may be controversial in some craft beer circles, but a lot of people don’t want to quit going out and enjoying beer just because they have little ones in their lives. These places aren’t just kid friendly, they are even welcoming to children. (During the day, anyway—probably don’t have the youngins out at the bar past bedtime.)
BrewDog (Pendleton)
A mezzanine chock full of games plus a free photo booth
Fibonacci Brewing Company (Mt. Healthy)
Urban farm with animals and plenty of green space to play
Fifty West Brewing Company (Columbia Twp)
Kid-friendly food from the Burger Bar plus an enormous sandbox (volleyball courts on league nights)
Cincinnati has a rich and robust brewing heritage, so be sure to get out and check out our many great breweries and the excellent beers being brewed by them on International Beer Day and always.
Linsey Kraeling is a woman, wife, and mother about town, proud millennial, and lifelong Cincinnatian with an invested interest in community involvement and having a full plate—literally and figuratively. Follow along with and read more about eating like a sophisticated six-year-old, supporting local, and acting like a tourist in her own city at instagram.com/linsinnati and tourdecincinnati.com.
