They’ve been soft opening a little bit, so some of you might have already had a chance to sneak into Taft’s massive production facility for a little peek at what they’ve been up to lately – the rest of you have hopefully at least heard about it’s existence. Either way… it’s big news, not just for Taft’s, but for the Cincinnati Beer Scene – this place is impressive.
What’s It Like?
There are some details about the new space that definitely remind me of Taft’s in OTR, but yet at the same time, this is most certainly it’s own place, with a new personality to go along with it. The taproom feels big, while still being “cozy”. A lot of industrial accents make sure you remember that you’re in a craft brewery, while that can sometimes get lost in the “swankier” brewpub atmosphere of the Ale House in OTR.
The actual brewing facility lies behind closed doors – and it’s massive (we’ll get to that shortly). When you are at the taproom having a pint, it’s about just that – the beer and hanging out with your friends and drinking it. They have plenty of games for you to play, like shuffleboard and soon to be cornhole as well.
The Geeky Details
I mentioned that the brewery is massive – it’s because they’ve got a huge 50bbl BrauKon brewhouse tucked away back there. The space is wide open, and feels massive and like it’s got a TON of room for growth even with somewhere in the neighborhood of just shy of 1000bbls of fermenting capacity already in place.
They have a new canning line in place, a really fancy keg washer that I won’t even pretend to understand (there’s lasers and sensors and all kinds of fancy stuff going on)
The Food
With The Brewpourium comes a new food program too, because if Taft’s understands one thing about beer drinking, it’s that food makes for a much better experience. The new facility features pizza, more specifically New Haven style a-pizza, made in house in their big wood fired ovens… it’s fantastic.