N.E.W. Ales has officially started sending their beer out into (very limited) distribution, which means we’ve got a new Cincinnati brewery in town that it’s time you get to know.

Get To Know N.E.W. Ales

New Ales is a project that comes to life from Wes and Nikki Heupel along with their friend Beth O’Harra (her name’s Elizabeth… get it N.E.W?). The trio was spending a lot of time in taprooms, working to figure out what made each one of them special in their own ways before they decided to “bite the bullet” and open up their own brewery in Middletown.

When you read through their blog on their website you get the distinct impression that the trio is interested in creating flavors that tow the line between things that “new craft drinkers” will enjoy along with recipes that will challenge and also please the palates of more “seasoned” craft fans as well.

The Brewery, and Taproom… or Lack Of A Taproom

N.E.W. ales is brewing currently, with their beers being available several places around town already – but they don’t have a taproom quite yet. It’s a new trend that I think you’re going to see more of in the coming years… breweries starting even smaller than what we’ve been used to, and pushing to open up taprooms as they’re able to.

Currently the brewery is located in half of the building that houses ‘All About You Catering’ in Middletown, but they’ve said that they’re discussing some options for the future as things grow. The production space is in a small (150 square foot) room in the back of the building with the 400 square foot basement space being a storage area for raw materials and finished product… like I said, it’s tiny.

What Does That Mean For Them? For Us?

It’s not going to be as easy to grab a beer from these guys as it might be to snag something from Madtree, or Rhinegeist or one of the other bigger places in town – but that doesn’t make them any less of an important part of our beer scene and how it’s developing and growing.

I haven’t tried their beer yet (YET…) but their role in this city’s beer scene transcends just the “how’s their beer” part of things. I’ve talked before about how important I think Middletown is going to be as we attempt to tie together our beer community with Dayton’s or even a little longer-term… Columbus. Building a healthy, multifaceted “mini-scene” in Middletown, and Monroe is important to help bring people down (and send people up) as we build this bridge between beer communities.

Beyond the “bridge” – we need more of these “different” types of places. Different sized operations… different ideas behind what beer means, and different ideas about how you can run a brewery – and this is just another example of how that can be done.

I look forward to watching these folks grow their business (and I look forward to snagging some of their beer as soon as possible) – and I can promise you that they’ll be on an episode of Cincy Brewcast ASAP to help tell their story, and fill some of the gaps that I’ve left.

Stay tuned… follow them on social media, check out their website, you know the drill, right?