I know that you’ve been hearing things about this beer fest by now, right?  In a city with as many successful beer festivals as ours has, why do we need another one anyways?  What’s so “Bad Ass” about this one that makes it your ‘must visit’ event for that weekend?

Before we get to all that, we need to cover the details so you know why you’re headed to the festival in the first place.

The Details

I’m sure it’s already on your calendar by now, right?  If not, the 2016 Bad Ass Beer Fest presented by Bad Tom Smith Brewing is being held both Friday and Saturday July 15th-16th at French Park in Blue Ash. (3012 Section Rd)  It will be running from 4-11pm on both days.

The event is going to benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Ohio Valley Chapter, so you can feel good about attending, knowing that the proceeds will be going to a good cause.

Dog Friendly, Kid Friendly… This is a beer fest full of great breweries and some excellent music to top it all off (including headlining act Halfway to Hazard a country rock band that fits Bad Tom Smith perfectly).

Tickets… This is easier.  There is only a $2 cover charge to get in the event.  After entry, the beer is all priced by the pour, 12 ounces will run you $5 and a 5 ounce pour is $2 – making this a really cheap way to spend an afternoon enjoying yourself.

But look… If you know me, you know that I’m looking at this from a bigger angle that just another beer festival.

It’s Not About The Beer Fest

I mean, don’t get me wrong, this is going to be a hell of an event.  There is still a much bigger picture at work here, though, and it all revolves around the rebuilding of Bad Tom Smith Brewing.

If you’ve been following along, the brewery has been rebuilding who they are for the last year.  It started with them improving the quality and consistency of their beer, then to the taproom experience of Bad Tom Smith.

To me, they’ve now moved into a third phase of rebuilding Bad Tom Smith – and that’s the brewery’s relationship with all of us.

The brewery has always had a core group of fans that hit the taproom on a regular basis, and have known what the brewery was capable of.  But there is still a large segment of us drinkers, breweries and just casual beer fans who have turned a blind eye to it all.  If you’re someone who might have written Bad Tom Smith off because of a bad experience, bad press or just because some buddy of yours said he didn’t like what they were doing, this beer festival is for you.

This is a party to say to Cincinnati’s craft beer community – “Hey, we’re here, we’re different than we were.”  It’s a celebration of the future of Bad Tom’s relationship with drinkers and the craft beer community in Cincinnati as a whole.

So, what’s so Bad Ass?  The fact that this is even possible is bad ass.  Every drinker that will be present at the festival…that’s pretty bad ass.  But the revival of Bad Tom Smith – that’s the really Bad Ass part of all this.

What’s Next For Bad Tom?

Continued improvements.  That’s the biggest thing that you’re going to see.  They’ve got new fermenters coming in very soon, and a new brewhouse that will be installed later this year.  Quality – Consistency.  Anyone who has ever talked about what makes a brewery fail these two things are usually the center of the conversation, and they understand that very well at Bad Tom Smith.

Bad Tom Smith will not fail.

As long as the current ownership keeps moving in the right direction of improving everything as they rebuild what this brand is here in Cincinnati, you’ll be able to snag a pint of the Outlaw of Cincinnati for a very long time.

As for you, go to the Bad Ass Beer Fest, give Bad Tom’s beer a try if you haven’t for a while.  Talk to the owners.  Understand what they’re trying to do with this whole thing.  Then make some time to get back down to the taproom and experience it again with an open mind.