BB RIVERBOATS: BEER & BBQ CRUISE

The spectacular sightseeing tour of BB Riverboats has partnered with local brewery Christian Moerlein to offer a Beer & BBQ Cruise every Friday during the summer. The evening features a tasting of Moerlein beers led by a representative from the brewery team, who also discusses the history of beer and how their ales are created. In the dining room, a vast buffet of BBQ including brisket, chicken, and pulled pork is served along with several sides and dessert.

Each week features a different local band to compliment the event. Eight Days A Week, a Beatles tribute band, performed during my visit. Of course, the main draw of any BB Riverboats event is sailing down the Ohio River with the breeze in your hair, taking in all the sights along the riverfront towns. The summertime tour is timed perfectly with the sunset so that you can take in the view right after dinner. The cruise is leisurely enough to catch some stars in the night sky as well.

BB Riverboats Beer & BBQ Cruise runs through Labor Day and costs $55.00 per person. Want to take a cruise without a meal? You can book a ticket for $26.00.

STREETCAR SOCIAL - JULY

An outpouring of support for the Cincinnati Streetcar gathered at Rhinegeist Brewery in Over The Rhine for July's Streetcar Social, hosted by Cincinnatians For Progress. The group organized a monthly meetup for transit advocates to mingle and discuss current events happening in the city. The success of last month's meeting garnered the attention of Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory, who reached out to be the featured speaker for the latest Streetcar Social.

“We’ve decided to name the maintenance facility the Center of Advanced Streetcar Technology, or COAST for short,” Mallory quipped to an amused audience, as he commented about the anti-streetcar group with the same acronym.

 

The Mayor's presentation was complimented by visuals of progress, including utility relocation along the route, the interior design of a CAF-manufactured streetcar, and facility renderings. He explained how Cincinnait's streetcar will have state-of-the-art technology that will be the first of its kind to operate in North America. With the construction contract officially signed with Messer, citizens can expect rail to be laid in city streets starting this fall. 

Rendering of the streetcar maintenance facility to be built on Henry Street.

 
Among the crowd of over 200 streetcar supporters in attendance were City Councilmembers Chris Seelbach, Wendell Young, and Laure Quinlivan, as well as representatives for Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls and City Council Candidate Mike Moroski.

Cincinnatians For Progress selected Rhinegeist for their July meeting, as it is one of the latest businesses to open along the streetcar route. Formerly the Christian Moerlein brewery, this location is one of many abandoned historic structures to be rehabilitated due to the promise of the rail transportation.

A crowd gathers at Rhinegeist for the Streetcar Social

Cincinnatians For Progress Co-Chair Derek Bauman greets guests at Rhinegeist

Prior to his presentation,  Mayor Mallory sat down with guests to answer questions about the streetcar

City Councilmember Chris Seelbach chats with
Michael Moore from Cincinnati's Dept. of Transportation & Engineering

UrbanCincy technologist, Travis Estell, and City Councilmember Laure Quinlivan
listen to The Mayor's presentation at the Streetcar Social

 

City Councilmember Wendell Young waves hello at the Streetcar Social

Streetcar supporters mingle before Mayor Mallory's presentation

Copies of City Beat's Top 10 Misrepresentations of the Cincinnati Streetcar Project were distributed at the meeting.

RIVERTOWN BREWING COMPANY

As the celebration of Cincinnati Beer Week continues, check out our visit to Rivertown Brewing Company located in Lockland.

These handcrafted ales and lagers are cranked out in sets of 1,500 bottles per hour. With seven regular brews, six seasonal varieties, and six limited releases, Rivertown is quenching the thirst of all Cincinnati beer lovers.

Tour Rivertown's tap room for $5.00, plus get a free pint glass filled with beer. And yes, you get to keep the glass! Their tap room is open Thursday and Friday evenings, and from noon to 10:00PM on Saturdays.

Be sure to check out Rivertown Brewing at Cincy Beer Fest this weekend at the Duke Energy Convention Center.

TAP ROOM TROLLEY

Kicking off the prequel to Beerfest, organizers of Cincinnati Beer Week hosted the Tap Room Trolley, in which guests spent Saturday afternoon sampling some of the best craft beers in town. Participants were divided into groups and shuttled around to six local breweries in charter buses. Each brewery had six to twelve of their beers on tap, offered tastes or pints, and some served us food upon arrival. Several of the breweries also gave tours of their facilities.

Patrick of Mt. Carmel Brewing Company leads a tour of the facility.

Our group was Bus #1, led by Chris Nascimento of Brew Monkeys, a homebrew supply store in Bridgetown. Patient and fun, Chris did a fabulous job of wrangling the group and making sure we hit each brewery on time (which probably grew to be a challenge as they day went on.)

Chris chatting with those of us who boarded early.

En route to brewery #3!
Photo by Chris Nascimento

The tour began at Moerlein Lager House, where guests checked in and had time to grab a quick bite before boarding the Tap Room Trolley. Then for the next six hours, our bus transported us around to the following breweries: 50 West, Mt. Carmel, Listermann, Rivertown, and Rock Bottom.

50 West

Mt. Carmel

Listermann

Rivertown

In addition to being toted around on the buses, our admission snagged us a stylish Tap Room Trolley tee shirt and sampling glass. Later on, we picked up a Rivertown Brewery Pumpkin Ale glass filled with the beer of our choice, plus an exclusive tour of the Rivertown brewing room, all courtesy of Hoperatives.

With over 250 people in attendance, Tap Room Trolley definitely built the excitement for all of the Cincinnati beer festivities taking place in February.