MadTree Brewing (Cincinnati, OH)
It’s day 3 of our Ohio Trip and on the schedule we have 9 breweries and one tour. So we got off to an early start with MadTree Brewing which opened promptly at 10 am. Inside this overwhelmingly large brewpub was seating for an army, a huge beer garden with more seating, a private party room, a fun dollar toss charity game and a scenic overview of their production floor. MadTree also has their own food truck for the street meat fans.
The scale of the facility was equally matched by the scale of their draft system; 32 taps which included their house brews and sodas. As it was our first brewery of the day, we went with a flight of 6: Boysen the Hood, RADicalize IT, Rubus Cacao, Entropic Theory, Dreamsicle and Yes! Cuban B!
Boysen the Hood was a beautiful purple color but the berry infused witbier didn’t really provide much flavor. The RADicalize IT shandy was described as a apricot, plum and peach flavored beer, but like Boysen, there wasn’t a whole lot of fruity flavor to detect. We started to increase up the fruit quality chain when we hit Rubus Cacao, a raspberry tart stout. Rich chocolate flavor, and a hearty burst of raspberry; the fruity quality we felt was missing from the witbier and shandy.
It’s hard for me to go anywhere without trying at least one (or several) IPAs, but with the wide assortment of styles available, we limited our IPA selection to just 1; Entropic Theory, the bartenders favorite. Entropy is the measure of the disorder or randomness in a closed system. The MadTree Entropic Theory is therefore the measure of the disorder or randomness in a closed beer keg. In this case, the randomness is certainly calculated because this 7.5% crushable IPA could only be crafted by skillful hands.
The last two beers, Dreamsicle and Yes! Cuban B! Shared our number one spot. Melissa voted the Dreamsicle orange and vanilla kolsch beer which smelled and tasted like those classic creamsicle ice pops from elementary school. I voted for Yes! Cuban B! which is a hearty lacto, molasses and Cuban Espresso imperial stout sitting at a rich 9.2%. Your number one will depend on if you’re looking for a ‘hot afternoon on the beach’ drink, or a wake up call with an explosion of espresso.
MadTree Brewing beers seemed to be a strong hit or a miss in our opinion; but with 32 lines and a full kitchen there is something for everyone here. The powerful flavor barrage of the hits (Dreamsicle + Cuban B!) outweighs the disappointing misses (Boysen + RadiCalize) and we’re certain that this brewery will satisfy even the snobbiest of your friends. Something gone a bit awry in the Keebler Elf tree, but the increase in entropy produced tangible and tasteful results. MadTree earns a solid 4.25 out of 5.
Listermann Brewing Company (Cincinnati, OH)
Listermann Brewing Company was originally a homebrew supplies shop ran by a German engineer. The passion for beer blossomed from a modest hobby to a full scale occupation in 2008 and quickly became one of the most well known breweries in the state of Ohio. Fans of the Cincinnati zoo, or zoos in general, may recognize the name from their famous Zoo-Babies beer series and commemorative t-shirts.
We met one of the brewers at Listermann, got talking about our adventures and then we went a little hard with samples rolling across the bar faster than we could count.
- Cookies for Breakfast: Milk stout with cookies and chocolate. Only thing missing was an actual plate of cookies. Mann on Weyer: In collaboration with Weyerbacher (one of our local favorites!) this Imp Stout was light with salty, chocolate, pomegranate goodness.
- Team Fiona: Fiona 1k: Brewed in honor of Cincinnati’s favorite hippo, Fiona. She just hit her 1,000 lbs day! Big baby, great NEIPA.
- Pfirsich Und Creme: A creamy peach Berliner Weisse. Didn’t taste a whole lot of peach, but it was smoother than the next Berliner below. Assuming that’s the cream part.
- Cherry Vanilla Berliner Weisse: One of Melissa’s favorites. It was a cherry + vanilla enriched Berliner. It wasn’t overly tart, but certainly well rounded in the cherry + vanilla department. A must try.
- Zoo Babies: The better of the two NEIPAs in our opinion. This Citra + Amarillo juice bomb was blended in honor of the Cincinnati Zoos babies. I think it’s always the same beer, but a different baby every can. The Works: Our favorite of the seven. The works is a milk stout with peanut butter, cinnamon, marshmallows and heaps of chocolate.
Listermann Brewing Company is one of those breweries that you have to hit if you’re in Cincinnati. It doesn’t feel like a traditional hipster hangout, which is becoming a bonus these days, and the level of snobbery is extremely low from both the patrons and the staff. Unlike several hype train beers and breweries we’ve experienced over the years, the hype train surrounding Listermann is well founded and well earned through it’s grandiose liquid creations. There was no con to a long list of pros at Listermann, and this brewery earns a resounding 5 out of 5 bottle caps.
Sound Mind + Sound Body
In our travels we’ve noted an ever increasing trend of brewtivities. From video and board games, to corn-hole, shuffleboard, giant jenga and the like. Pretty lock and stock at this point in the brew scene. In the past two years or so, there has been a larger drive to brewtivities that require physical exertion. Run clubs and cycling clubs are no longer ending at the brewery for a well earned pint, but are solely (or in part) owned, operated or sponsored by the brewery and are comprised of brewers, staff and patrons. We’ve also seen a large push by Yoga studios to get their classes in the brewery; because who doesn’t want to Warrior with a beer in hand? Listermann is home to one such run club, and the more runs you participate on, the more free swag you can earn! Promoting a healthy lifestyle, one pint at a time.
