Dropping A Truth Bomb – A New Piece To A Rhinegeist Brand Family?

By: The Gnarly Gnome

10/26/2024

I’ve had this conversation a few times with different folks… and I love having it. What would you put on it if you were to create a “Mount Rushmore of Cincinnati Beer”? Some beers are almost universally on that mountain, and it’s hard to argue that they don’t belong there. Rhinegeist’s Truth is one of those beers.

Truth has become part of Rhinegeist’s soul. It’s part of why they’ve grown to become the 22nd-largest craft brewery in the United States (as of 2023). You can’t deny a beer like this.

The Splintering Of IPA

Beer categories can evolve over time, but I don’t think that any of them have changed in the ways that IPA has. We now live in a world where IPA can mean West Coast, East Coast, Midwest, Double, Imperial, Session, LowCal, Hazy, Fruited, Black, White, Red, Cold, Brut—really, the list can go on and on.

The style has splintered, changed, evolved, and become a family of beer styles.

These styles drift in and out of popularity, and we’ve seen plenty of breweries twist their core styles to match the trends. That’s okay if it works for them… but Rhinegeist has made it very clear that one thing they don’t want to twist is Truth. (note: that doesn’t mean that Truth doesn’t see small changes from time to time; as the brewery grows, there will always be recipe and process tweaks to attempt to keep it as close to what it’s always been.)

The Family Grows

If you remember, back to when I sat down with Tracey and Mike on Cincy Brewcast (go back and listen to Volume 8, Episode 35 if you don’t remember that), we talked in depth about the launch of Juicy Truth.

Back in 2023, Rhinegeist introduced a beer very carefully and slowly, starting a family of brands. Juicy Truth let a different side of IPA come forward (Juicy, Hazy, NE IPAs) without allowing it to water down the Truth itself. The decision to release a beer that waves that flag wasn’t taken lightly, and it most definitely wasn’t rushed into.

Wild Speculation

What we didn’t discuss in that episode are some of my eccentric hobbies— including watching some of the trademarks that our local breweries register. Back in 2022, Rhinegeist first registered a trademark for Juicy Truth… but alongside it came a few other trademarks that I made a note of:

• “Cold Hard Truth”
• “Truth Bomb”
• “Half Truth”

And earlier this year, a couple more trademarks were made that could be relevant to this conversation:

• “Truth Or Dare”
• “Dare”

Usually, not a lot comes of it when I watch these things. There are a lot of beer names that pop up, get released, and go away. It’s not usually all that exciting. But this group. This group could show us the potential for a bigger brand family around Truth. When I look at this list, I see Cold IPA, Imperial IPA, Session IPA, and maybe some kind of mystery “Anti-IPA”… who knows?!

You Never Know What’s Going To Be On Tap

Over the last year or so, I haven’t given much thought to this possible Truth brand family. It hasn’t been at the top of my mind. That was until this summer, one afternoon when, while hanging out in the Rhinegeist taproom, I ran into a smiling face (she was actually wearing goat horns… but I think that was because of the RenFair… I think).

After a quick conversation about all the fun stuff happening at Rhinegeist, she asked if she could buy me a beer. I’m not one to ever turn down a free drink, and I told her she could surprise me with whatever she was excited about.

The big, delicious Imperial IPA that she put into my hand was not even close to what I would have typically ordered (I was on a lager kick that weekend). She also shared a little secret that that beer was the last of a line of fun experimental batches of an IPA that would soon be joining a particular brand family.

Truth. It brought me right back to that list that had been hanging out in my notes for a year and a half.

Truth Bomb

A couple of months ago, this label came rolling through the state’s label approval process, and I immediately got excited about it: Truth Bomb.

A 9.5% Imperial IPA… as the label reads:
The Hop Hero we deserve. Unapologetically bold, fearlessly hopped, incredibly honest. This Imperial IPA emerges from the shadows to bring righteous flavor back to the streets. A super group of hops join forces for a profile bounding with stone fruit, pine and ripe melon. Have no fear, Truth Bomb is here to save the day! Hop-Pow!

From what I’m hearing, we’ll see this release very soon—within the next few weeks. Keep your eyes peeled on the tap list at the Rhinegeist taproom, your favorite bars, and the stores around you.

What About These Other Mysterious Beers?

My speculation means little of anything. There are trademarks, and they don’t mean much other than it’s something they’re thinking about. As I see new labels come through, I usually talk about all of them on Monday nights during ‘The Weekly Pint’ (Live on Facebook and YouTube around 9:30), but beyond that, we’re at the mercy of just making fun guesses.

The real way to find out what is happening is to keep your eyes on Rhinegeist’s social media. Follow them on Facebook, and follow them on Instagram. When they tell us something is happening, it’s the only real way to know it’s coming.