Urban Artifact Brewing

When Shannon Went: September 11, 2020

Where: 1660 Blue Rock St, Cincinnati, OH 45223

Urban Artifact made their home in the historic 140 year old St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Cincinnati’s Northside neighborhood back in 2014. By 2015, they opened their doors and began pouring pints and hosting live music events almost nightly. Standing out among the Queen City’s craft beer scene, Urban Artifact specializes in tart and sour ales, especially balanced, heavily fruited ales. Brewing a number of different sour beers, from the standard Germanic style Goses, to fermented barrel aged sours, there is always something new and exciting to drink in their taproom. Urban Artifact is currently on pace to use over 1,000,000 lbs of real fruit just this year!

Shannon: The best way to describe Urban Artifact and their style is eclectic. There are no conventional IPAs, stouts, or lagers in sight on their draft list. Their brewing range of sours, fruited and funky beers is impressive. While I’m not a huge sour beer fan, I knew I had to give them a try. Urban Artifact reigns supreme as Cincinnati’s resident sour king. At the taproom I tried one of their classic original sours, The Gadget. This was the first beer in their Midwest Fruit Tart series. When The Gadget is brewed, each batch is done with 1,280 lbs of blackberries, 1,280 lbs or raspberries, and 30 grams of vanilla beans. The outcome is a beautiful, hazy purple beer with puckering tastes of tart blackberries and raspberries.

Other Cool Things:

  • Radio Artifact is their very own FM music station created to feature local music!!
  • Outdoor patio
  • Wildfire Pizza Kitchen in the taproom
  • Their former church spent some time as a cookie factory before being a brewery!
  • Lots of cool merch including handcrafted dice sets inspired by different Urban Artifact beers!!
  • Urban Artifact uses their space really well! The taproom is in the church basement, the upstairs sanctuary is used for special events. The rectory building is office space for their FM music station, and the church gym holds the production and packaging operation.
  • Beer delivery offered to Ohio, Vermont, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Nebraska, Connecticut, Oregon, Nevada, and Washington D.C.

What Shannon Drank:

Shannon: The Gadget (Blackberry & Raspberry Sour) 7.9% ABV – 3.5 out of 5

Shannon: Polygraph (Cherry Sour) 8.1% ABV – 4 out of 5

Shannon: Peanut Butter & Raspberry Jelly (Spiced Beer) 8.5% ABV – 3.5 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion: 4 out of 5

Feeling persuaded yet?

Thimble Island Brewing Company

When Chris Went: October 10th, 2020

Where: 16 Business Park Drive, Branford, CT 06405

If you live in Branford you probably know where Thimble Island Brewing Company gets its name, but if you are like me and didn’t grow up near the Long Island Sound then you might not know that it is named after a series of islands right off of the Connecticut coast. The next piece of information you need to know is that the brewery is 4 or 5 miles inland from the islands where it gets its name. Despite not being able to see the ocean, the brewery sticks to the nautical theme with tentacles painted on the walls and their logo being a square knot. The idea for Thimble Island brewing began as an interest in homebrewing which eventually led them to sell their beer to local bars. In 2013 they ended up at their current location and have been going strong there for seven years. In fact, they recently reopened after some indoor renovation of their taproom and rentable event space. The taproom has polished concrete and hardwood floors, plenty of tables and high tops, and a very bright area with a nice mural of tentacles opening a beer can. Outside they have added a ton of picnic tables accompanied by JJ’s Food Truck.

Chris: My brother and I went to Thimble Island right after they reopened in what would normally be peak Oktoberfest season. It was also peak pumpkin-flavored-everything season so I got their Dark Pumpkin Porter. I am not usually a pumpkin person, but this beer was pretty good. It was not an overpowering pumpkin flavor so that really complemented the roasted malts taste. My favorite beer is still their Vanilla Coffee Stout which is available at almost any package store. My roommates and I can find it even though we are no where near Branford. The brewery was busy when we went but we felt pretty comfortable with all the safety measures that were in place. The indoor and outdoor tables were safely spread apart, and the servers came to each table to avoid crowds at the bar. Now that it has gotten colder, they have added heaters to their outdoor picnic tables. P.S. their urinals are old kegs, just thought everyone should know.

Shannon: I’ve always had a sweet spot for Thimble Island since visiting the taproom for the first time a few years ago. I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing their new renovation, but from the pictures that tentacle mural is everything! While Chris’s favorite Thimble Island brew is the Vanilla Coffee Stout, my personal favorite is a little beauty who goes by the name Bon Voyage. Coming in at a cool 5.5%, this beer is the perfect brunch choice. A take on their super dry Brut IPA, Bon Voyage is packed with fresh oranges and champagne, giving it a strong tangy flavor. A second variant of this beer is the Bon Voyage – Rosé Brut which is brewed with strawberries and hibiscus. Sadly though Bon Voyage is no longer in production, so you’ll have to be on the look out for a beermosa elsewhere.

Other Cool Things:

  • Annual seafood and brew festival
  • They offer mini kegs, growlers, and crowlers
  • Cool taproom art and even cooler can art!
  • Merch available online and in the taproom
  • Event space available
  • Dog friends allowed!
  • Socially distanced indoor and outdoor seating

What Chris Drank:

Chris: Dark Pumpkin (Porter) 5% – 4 out of 5

Chris: Olivia (Sour) 5% – 3 out of 5

Chris: Vanilla Coffee (Stout) 7% – 4.5 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion: 4 out of 5

Feeling persuaded yet?

Humble Monk Brewing Co.

When Shannon Went: September 11, 2020

Where: 1641 Blue Rock St, Cincinnati, OH 45223

Humble Monk Brewing Company is one of the newer breweries to grace the Queen City beer scene recently. Specializing in Belgian-style beers, this Northside taproom pours traditional old world beers with a little taste of experimental ales. When you walk into the taproom a few things are sure to stand out to you. Church pews serve as the primary seating, industrial cable stools are made into tables, fairy lights twinkle up in the ceiling rafters, and the family atmosphere fills in the rest of all that empty space. A family owned and operated brewery, the Kemps are always behind the bar, welcoming and pouring drafts for everyone that walks in. Humble Monk is the kind of brewery that pours you a beer and makes you feel like your getting a warm hug too.

Shannon: I truly adore Humble Monk Brewing Company! I promise I’m not over exaggerating when I say that this is one of the friendliest brewery’s I have ever been to. During my first visit the owners were behind the bar pouring beers and both of them took the time to talk to me about their family business, what brought me to Cincinnati, and how I’m liking the beer scene so far. They even went as far as to suggest beers and let me try some of their newest stuff not even on tap yet. When I came back for a second visit they already remembered who I was, so I mean, yeah, Humble Monk is the friendliest brewery in all of Cincinnati if you ask me! As for their beers, not every one is a rockstar but I still really enjoyed the flight I got. I’ve only have six different beers from them, but so far my favorite is Rapture, a 9.7% ABV chocolate imperial stout. My second favorite would have to be Devoted, a 7% ABV belgian dubble.

Other Cool Things:

  • NYPD Pizza delivers to the taproom
  • Food trucks often
  • Family owned brewery!
  • Right across the street from Urban Artifact Brewing!
  • Was originally going to be named Rabbit Hash Brewing Co.
  • Pet friendly!
  • Tons of different events (pup meet-ups, live music, trivia, comedy, Dungeons and Dragons)

What Shannon Drank: Flight Edition!

Shannon: Abbey (Red Ale) 7.4% – 3.5 out of 5

Shannon: Devoted (Belgian Dubbel) 7% – 4 out of 5

Shannon: Pearly Gates (IPA) 6.5% – 3.5 out of 5

Shannon: Rapture (Imperial Stout) 9.7% – 4 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion: rating 4 out of 5

Feeling persuaded yet?