Braxton Brewing Company

When Shannon Went: September 12, 2020

Where: 27 W 7th St, Covington, KY 41011

What began in a garage has turned into an entrepreneurial brewing empire. Braxton Brewing Co., a local Northern Kentucky brewery with national recognition, is known as one of the fastest growing craft breweries in the United States. Braxton operates four different locations in Covington, KY, Newport, KY, Fort Mitchell, KY, and Cincinnati, OH. Their newest location, Braxton – Cincinnati, opened this September in the Queen City’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, finally “crossing the river so you don’t have to.” Braxton owes much of their success to their hard seltzer brand, VIVE, which quickly grew into a top regional hard seltzer after its launch.

Shannon: One hot September afternoon, I ventured across the Ohio River to Covington, Kentucky, to visit the rooftop bar at Braxton Brewing Co. After riding the elevator up three stories, I walked into an open lawn space, with a massive living plant wall, and stunning views of Covington and downtown Cincinnati. Most important was the draft list of nearly 20 beers, hard seltzer, and specialty cocktails. I enjoyed a really delicious blood orange shandy that I fell in love with instantly. I crushed that beer realllll fast. Brewed with freshly cut, rip blood oranges, this low 4% ABV beer is a smooth and juicy infusion of citrus and sweet perfection. It was the perfect beer to enjoy on a green, socially distant, rooftop bar.

Other Cool Things:

  • Braxton has a private barrel program you can take part in!
  • Lots of merch for sale
  • Cans to-go and curb side pick up
  • VIVE Hard Seltzer is their original brand!
  • Braxton has an indoor taproom and rooftop bar at their original Kentucky location – for the winter months they turned their rooftop bar into an igloo bar!
  • Braxton Labs is a second location where they experiment with styles, flavors and ingredients
  • The Braxton Barrel House is a third location you can visit!
  • Braxton finally crossed the Ohio River into Cincinnati with their newest (fourth) location!

What Shannon Drank:

Shannon: Garage Beer (Lager) 4% – 3 out of 5

Shannon: Scooter Blood Orange Radler ( Shandy) 4% – 4.5 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion: 4.5 out of 5

Feeling persuaded yet?

City Steam Brewery

When Chris Went: October 24th, 2020

Where: 942 Main Street, Hartford CT 06103

City Steam opened in 1997, making it one of Connecticut’s oldest breweries. Their flagship beer series, Naughty Nurse, is a Connecticut staple. The brewery’s name comes from their method of brewing, with steam. The Hartford Steam Company has engineered a way to run steam pipes into City Steam, and the brewery uses the steam to power their 23-barrel brewery. City Steam is located in the historic Cheney building, built in 1875 by the Cheney brothers who produced silk in Manchester. The structure later housed part of the historic G. Fox Department Store, and the brewery’s iron railings and millwork are salvaged from it. Needless to say, there is a lot of history behind both City Steam and the Cheney building. When you walk inside, the first thing you will notice is how the brewery has kept their historic look. Almost every surface is covered in dark expensive looking wood. City Steam is a restaurant as well as a brewery, and their main dining room feels like a miniature Gatsby mansion with a grand chandler and multileveled seating area. City Steam brewery is an exceptionally unique location.

Chris: I have been to City Steam a bunch, not just for their beer but also for their food. Their food is self described as, “upscale casual” and I would say that is a fitting description. You will find your typical pub food, but much fancier and tastier. My personal favorite is their Naughty Nurse beer-battered fish and chips. They also have some great desserts as you can see. For their beer, City Steam has a pretty large selection, although they usually only have one dark beer on tap. When I went last I got their Blueberry Guava Twist Sour which tasted exactly how it sounds. Overall I would say that City Steam has an amazing location, amazing food, with some pretty good beer and definitely deserves your visit.

Shannon: It seems surprising but I’ve only had the pleasure of visiting City Steam once. I’m not quite sure why I never visited more while I was still living in Hartford. City Steam truly is a one of a kind place. From my one visit way back in 2018 I had two beers – their flagship beer Naughty Nurse Red Ale and a Pink and White Grapefruit Wit (thank god for Untappd, right?) Naughty Nurse is truly a home run, I’ve had this beer many times outside the taproom and every time I love it. City Steams Pink and White Grapefruit Wit is a low percentage traditional Belgian Witbier that’s brewed with pink grapefruit peels instead of the usual orange peel. The result is a aromatic, sweet, and juicy brew that goes down easy. Seriously, if you haven’t visited City Steam, I highly recommend that you do! You’ll find something here for everyone – tasty food, great beer, a variety of events, and a gorgeous historic building. What more could you ask for?

Other Cool Things:

  • Mug club with your own personal mug
  • Brew Ha Ha Comedy Club (plus specially brewed beers just for Comedy Club members)
  • Pool table game room
  • Private space available to rent
  • Outdoor covered seating
  • Bar section (order cocktails, wine, or beer)

What Chris Drank:

Chris: Blueberry Guava Twist (Sour) 4.3% – 4 out of 5

Chris: Steampunk (Porter) 5.5% – 3.5 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion: 4 out of 5

Feeling persuaded yet?

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?