I love both of these organizations and love seeing them come together, especially for an event like they’re planning for this coming weekend (Veteran’s Day weekend if you don’t own a calendar). They still have some chances for you to get involved and help out, too – so I wanted to make sure I brought it to your attention this week.
Before we get too far into that, though – let’s talk about both Vets and Brews as well as Cincy Brew Bus and why you should be as in love with them as I am.
Cincy Brew Bus
Cincy Brew Bus is one of the OG pieces of the Cincinnati craft beer puzzle. Back in 2013, Cincinnati’s beer scene looked vastly different than it does today – and Mike Stokes started the Brew Bus as not just a tour company, but a way to tie the pieces of a very young (and very spread out) craft beer community that he was really, really excited about.
Over time things have definitely grown, not just for Cincy Brew Bus, but for the beer scene as a whole. It’s been crazy to watch – and really fun to see how the Brew Bus has found an important role as things keep evolving in the community.
The concept is simple. They offer tours where you and your friends, family, or even strangers all load up on one of their buses. They drive you around town to several breweries for a fun-filled day of trivia, education, tours (and beer, of course). Even as someone who spends a lot of time in taprooms and doesn’t really need someone to show me a new place, or introduce me to a new beer – I love every chance I get to take one of the Brew Bus tours, I have a blast.
Vets and Brews
Vets and Brews is a different organization entirely from the Brew Bus. It was founded in 2019 by a local beer fan and all-around great guy, Matt Demaris. The fundraising organization is designed to raise money to support local Veterans – but they do it in a really fun way.
Here’s how it works: when you find yourself in a taproom that supports Vets and Brews, you can drop money into their collection box. That money goes to buy beer for veterans at various events – and whatever is left over is donated to Operation Honor.
It’s built to show gratitude, appreciation, and love to those who have served – and does it in a way that if you have found yourself on this website – I know you can appreciate – beers.
The Team Up – Honor Bus
That all brings us back to this week. Veteran’s Day quickly approaches, and it’s the perfect time for these two folks to team up to do something spectacular. The event is going down on Saturday, and they’re going to load up a Cincy Brew Bus with a bunch of Veterans and show them a heck of a great time.
It all starts at Listermann, where the brewery is hosting its ‘Operation Flintlock’ beer release. It’s an incredibly delicious stout with coffee, vanilla, and lactose. They’re releasing the base beer, along with variants like: Peanut Butter, Coconut S’Mores, and a Coffee Blonde variant that I’m really, really curious to try. (Read more about the release here)
From there, the bus will make its way down to Rhinegeist, in OTR for their Veterans Day event. They’re going to have a restored A7 cockpit on display in the taproom. They have specials running for Vets, are giving proceeds from their ‘Valor’ lager to the Joseph House, are hosting Top Gun trivia, and even have flight simulations going on in the parking lot. It’s going to be a blast! (Check out the event here)
After that, the bus will bring everyone back to the starting point.
All along the way they’ll be buying beers and showing their guests an all-around great time. It’s going to be freaking awesome.
Here’s How You Can Help
There are still some slots open for you to sponsor the bus. They’re looking to raise a little more money to help make this happen in as big of a way as possible. You can do anything from a full-on sponsorship to just donating a few bucks to buy a Vet a beer over at their website.
This week is a great chance to do something that we should all be doing a lot more often. Finding ways to appreciate and thank the folks that have served our country.