After seeing Superbowl commercials this fact may surprise you -- overall beer sales are down except in one area, craft beer. Those are beers brewed locally. Our city was famous for that in the late 1800's, and now it's making a come back in a huge way.
Local 12 News Reporter Deborah Dixon takes us to a microbrewery that blends a past that includes bootlegging with the future -- making it So Cincinnati.
Many people have memories of the old Heritage Restaurant in Terrace Park. When it closed in 2003 the historic building seemed to die. Now it is very much alive-but it's just not your grandmother's restaurant.
The old heritage is the new Fifty West Microbrewery, owned by three friends-two of them are family, one of them is the brewmaster. Blake Horsburgh talks passionately of the science of brewing and the art of creating recipes using local ingredients such as organic syrup.
The house in which the brewery is located was built in 1827. Some stories connected to it may not be real-like the rumor that President Abe Lincoln slept upstairs. But the brothel upstairs, the speakeasy downstairs, and bootlegger George Remus..those are the real deal. "George Remus supplied the place, supplied the whole Midwest with alcohol. It was all about getting alcohol on fifty and taking it west."
Route 50 runs more than 3000 miles coast to coast. "Our business, our adventure is route fifty, every beer is a different route you would take on Route Fifty."
This adventure has three young on a wildly successful road trip since fifty west opened in November.. The owners like to say-what's old is new, like the old VW bus named Penny Lane. When the new business makes enough money to fix it up, they're going on a road trip coast to coast on Route Fifty.
Next Friday and Saturday is Beer Fest at Duke Energy Center.350 craft beers will be featured during the two night extravaganza.
