Rhinegeist Brewery

When Shannon Went: August 4, 2020

Where: 1910 Elm Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202

Rheingeist Brewery is easily the most high profile brewery in Cincinnati since opening only seven years ago as a small start-up company in 2013. At home in the former Christian Moerlein Brewing Company packaging hall, circa 1853, Rheingeist has upheld the locations German roots as a humble nod to the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood once known for its German character and plethora of breweries. They have brewed countless new beers, wracking up a few awards for some of their best creations. The expansive taproom has skyscraper tall ceilings with overhead natural light streaming through, but what really makes this brewery stunning is their rooftop beer garden. The rooftop overlooks a mix of rolling hills, the Queen City’s skyline and the historic Over-the-Rhine district. It’s truly the best view to have when sipping on one of Rhinegesit’s house brewed beer or cider.

Shannon: Rhinegeist Brewery has easily become my favorite Ohio-based brewery. When visiting the brewery, you’ll be asked to climb two flights of stairs before you are greeted by their enormous, industrial taproom. I chose to climb an additional two stories to reach their luxurious rooftop beer garden. The physical pain of climbing four flights of stairs was completely and totally worth it once I laid eyes on the beautiful surrounding view of the Queen City herself. Even more beautiful was the tap list of nearly 20 different house made beer and ciders on draft. Of the three beers I tried, my favorite was their fruit beer Zango. No joke, this beer tasted like magic! Coming in at a low 5% ABV, Zango is a combination of apple, mango, and tangerine flavors. Incredibly crisp, with just a little bit of tartness, this sparkling fruit beer is one of the best beers I’ve had in a really long time – dare I even say, it might be one of my new all time favorites!

Other Cool Stuff:

  • They distribute beers in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts
  • You can book a VIP tasting, a specialty tasting, a public tour, and even a historical tour of the brewery!
  • Why brew just beer when you can brew cider too? Cidergeist, anyone?
  • Rhinegeist is a regional and national powerhouse!!
  • In 2019, Rhinegeist ranked 26th on the Brewers Association’s Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies and 36th on the Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies in the U.S.
  • Rooftop beer garden with an awesome view of Over-the-Rhine!!
  • Rhinegeist supports non-profit organizations that help alleviate violence, addiction, disease and poverty in the Greater Cincinnati area through their Charitable Suds program!

What Shannon Drank:

Shannon: Bubbles (Fruit Beer) 6.2% – 4.5 out of 5

Shannon: Zango (Fruit Beer) 5% – 5 out of 5

Shannon: Werk It (Altbier) 5.6% – 4 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion: 5 out of 5

Feeling persuaded yet?

Reverie Brewing Company

When We Went: July 25, 2020

Where: 57B Church Hill Road, Newtown, CT 06470

Reverie Brewing Company opened up in 2019 and it fits into the craft brewery mold in multiple ways. The taproom is located in a fixed up old abandoned industrial building, tucked behind run-down buildings. Reverie Brewing was founded by people who dreamed of brewing beer instead of crunching numbers. This fits into a strangely common but attractive brewery story. In fact, this dream gives Reverie it’s name, as reverie basically means daydreaming, and they take this word to heart. When you finally find the taproom you will see that Reverie has gone for a nice minimalist look while still looking clean and welcoming.

Chris: Shannon and I haven’t been to a lot of breweries in Fairfield County and so we wanted to try a new place on our way back from Pennsylvania. We picked Reverie because they were next to the highway, but we really enjoyed our experience there. It was a nice evening outside, and since Shannon was driving, I decided to get a few beers. I started with a Scotch ale, which might make you think I went out of my comfort zone but I didn’t as this was made with peanut butter. Then I moved onto their chocolate stout. Both beers were heavy in taste and alcohol content, which were perfect for me.

Shannon: Reverie Brewing is a nice place to go if you’re looking for a new, safe place to grab a drink. They have a huge, spacious outdoor seating area, right next to what looks like a rock quarry? It was kind of hard to tell exactly what it is, but it’s roped off, so don’t worry about falling into the giant hole in the ground. You should be sitting at your table drinking a beer instead of walking around anyways. Reverie seems like they’re always brewing new stuff. They had a pretty large tap list when Chris and I visited their location. I only tried their brown ale, so eventually I’d like to go back and give some of their other styles a try. Overall, I definitely recommend giving Reverie a try! As they say there, “don’t quit your daydream.”

Other Cool Stuff:

  • Doggo friendly!
  • Food trucks
  • Reverie makes seltzer because that’s a thing breweries do now?
  • They have a charitable donation tab on their website that lets you suggest organizations the brewery should donate to!
  • Cans-to-go and curbside pickup available

What We Drank:

Shannon: Borough Brown (Brown Ale) 4.7% – 3 out of 5

Chris: Holy Stout Chocolate (Stout) 7% – 4 out of 5

Chris: Flexural Strength (Peanut Butter Scotch Ale) 7.7% – 4 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion – 3.5 out of 5

Feeling persuaded yet?

Broad Brook Brewing Company

When We Went: July 26, 2020

Where: 915 South Street, Suffield, CT 06078

You know that feeling when you drive past a brewery you’ve never heard of before? Total joy and excitement thinking about what it’s like inside and what beers will become your new favorites? Well, that was Shannon just a few weeks ago after leaving work and stumbling upon Broad Brook Brewing in Suffield. Broad Brook opened at their original location in East Windsor in 2013 but closed in 2018 after deciding to relocate to Suffield to build a newer, bigger brewery. They were completely closed between 2018 and 2020 while they built their new taproom, which had its grand opening on June 26, 2020! The new taproom boats a huge indoor seating section with a fairly large side patio area. Our favorite part was the glass windows that give an awesome birds eye view of their brewing capacity! We also really like their logo, which reflects the areas tobacco farming past and present aviation industry.

Shannon: I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Broad Brook after mistakenly driving past it earlier this month. It’s easy to see that a lot of work went into their new taproom, they do a really good job of making you feel at home there. Their beer was pretty good too! They had 10 or so beers on tap, covering all the traditional styles – IPA, Ale, Sour, Porter, all that good stuff. I went out of my comfort zone and gave their ESB (extra special bitter) a try. The Broad Brook Ale was a rich caramel ESB with a subtle toffee after taste before the bitter kicks in.

Chris: The outside of Broad Brook makes it look like you are stepping into an old tobacco barn that has been turned into a restaurant. Once inside you still get that restaurant feel, or maybe that’s just because with Covid every brewery is having wait service. Either way the inside and outside of this brewery gives a comfortable feel and they had some pretty good beer. I am still on my sour kick so I got their Raspberry, Blackberry, Lemon Drop Hops Berliner Weisse, it is a mouthful to drink and to say. While a little bit on the lighter side, only 4.5%, it was quite refreshing without being too sweet.

Other Cool Stuff:

  • Right next to Bradley International Airport and the New England Air Museum
  • Food trucks! Their in-house kitchen is still under construction
  • Wine, cider, and Hosmer’s Soda available at the brewery
  • Mug club
  • Merch corner for all your Broad Brook Brewing needs
  • Shiny brand new taproom!

What We Drank:

Shannon: Broad Brook Ale (ESB) 5.7% – 3 out of 5

Chris: Raspberry, Blackberry, Lemon Drop Hops (Berliner Weisse) 4.5% – 4 out of 5

Brewing Persuasion: 3 out of 5

Feeling persuaded yet?