Big Cis is a big undertaking every year. Don’t get me wrong, it’s one of the most fun things I get involved with, but it is a heavy weight to make sure that we give this collaboration beer the justice it deserves. I might be getting ahead of myself already, though. I recognize that some of you might not know what I’m talking about right now. I suppose that we should take a minute to lay some groundwork before we get too involved.

What Is ‘Big Cis’?

The simple answer to What Big Cis is – is that it’s a collaboration beer. To date, there have been 17 breweries that have come together to make this beer year after year with proceeds going to charity. It’s a beer designed to showcase the things that made us all fall in love with craft beer, to begin with. Community, Fun, Giving Back, and of course real, great beer…. they’re all things that are easy to forget when life gets a little chaotic – but that form the backbone to what makes craft – well… craft. And they are what makes Big Cis, Big Cis.

That’s only on the surface, though. Digging a little deeper, Big Cis is about a lot more than that.

Mike Cisneros started Cincy Brewcast with me… he was a friend, definitely a constant inspiration, and a reminder of what it means to not only be a great guy – but to personify what craft beer is all about. When he passed away, we knew that we wanted to do something to keep his memory alive. Big Cis is that reminder every year.

The beer is about him, it’s about craft beer, it’s about friendship… it’s about a lot of things – and it’s more important today than it ever has been before.

This Year’s Beer

Coming out of a couple of years of Covid, where events (and the industry as a whole) were a little strange. We wanted to take things back to the roots. Part of that is the very beer itself. 7 breweries came together at Braxton in Covington to brew up a lager that isn’t just reminiscent of the original batch of Big Cis that we brewed back in 2016 – it’s the same beer.

Evan Rouse dug through old brew sheets to make sure that we could replicate the beer exactly. It was brewed on the same brewhouse, in the same building, to the exact same recipe that we did back then… and I can’t wait to try it with you guys to share the beer style that Mike loved – and that kicked this whole collaboration off.

it’s a Czech Pilsner. The perfect balance of all the ingredients that go into beer – water, malt, hops, and yeast. I have fallen in love with the style over the years, and I hope that this beer will help you do it too!

None of this would have been possible without the support of local breweries, though. The support of places like this year’s group (Braxton, Alexandria, Darkness, Sonder, Third Eye, Urban Artifact, and Municipal Brew Works) this couldn’t keep happening each year… and I owe them a massive debt of gratitude.

The Event

Every year, not only does the brewing community come together to make this beer – but in an even bigger way – it comes together to help make the event something special. There are a lot of breweries that may not be available to help brew up the beer – but they still show up each year to help make the event something really special.

We do a live podcast (of course) – we hang out and drink a bunch of beer (of course) – there is usually live music and tons of folks meeting each other and talking about what they love about craft beer – but then there are the gift baskets.

Breweries spend months trying to make sure that I am able to get donations from them together into a whole table of amazing baskets for you to win. We sell raffle tickets (with all proceeds going to charity – this year being Brewhaus Dog Bones) and you get a shot at winning a bunch of prize packs from the breweries.

It’s really the biggest win/win that I can imagine – not only are you able to meet a bunch of folks who make some of your favorite beers – but you get a chance to win a bunch of great swag from breweries that you love – and it’s all for a good cause.

The Details

This event is free to attend – you can hang out as long as you want and just enjoy the company of others. It kicks off at noon at Braxton Brewing Company in Covington – and it’s going to keep rolling all night long. I encourage you to grab a few friends and make a day of it!

For more details, you can check out the event on Braxton’s facebook page – but it’s safe to say that if you’re on this website because you love beer, you’re going to love this event!

It all happens on 10/1 in the Braxton Covington taproom from 11am until well into the evening. We’re going to do it BIG this year!