The Fibonacci sequence causes confusion and fear in a lot of us “less than studious” people.  It immediately brings us back to our high school and junior high days, sitting in a hot math or science class.  I can vividly remember back to the memories of the day’s pop quiz that while I should have been paying attention the previous week I had actually ended up spending my valuable time trying to get the attention of the cute blonde three rows over.  The Fibonacci sequence was the last thing on my mind in those days.

However… I have gained a new love and appreciation for this delicious scientific and mathematic sequence starting last fall when I learned about Fibonacci Brewing Company.  The Brewery is set to open in just a matter of weeks in Mt. Healthy at 1445 Compton Rd, situated in an area that is prime for a few businesses to come in and shake things up, this is exactly what I like to see from a local brewery.  From what I can tell from talking to people in Mt. Healthy (Including Fibonacci owners Bob and Betty Bollas) the town and it’s residents are more than excited for this chance at becoming a piece of Cincinnati’s growing brewery community, and Bob and Betty seem thrilled to have the chance to have their business become part of their home, Mt. Healthy.  This is a small city that get’s glanced over by much of us, but deserves it’s fair shake, and it’s wonderful to see Fibonacci Brewing Company stepping up to help do their part in that.  It goes to note that 2017 will mark the bicentennial of Mt. Healthy, it will be nice to be able to celebrate with them with a nice cold craft beer in hand.

What Will We Be Drinking?

The beers that you will find when they open their doors are tied into the community itself, something that is very important to Fibonacci.  When I first talked about the styles, we didn’t have any ideas on how the naming was going to go.  We now can see that they have decided to go with names who’s origins tie strongly into the fabric of the community.  The community of Mt. Healthy has a rich history that deserves the recognition that Fibonacci is giving it, and I love the detail and time that has been given to deciding on these names. On Tap soon:

The Foundational Series (Core Beers)

• Earth Daisy – Double IPA
  • On first glance, I thought I got this one.  It’s a reference to nature, in which the Fibonacci sequence is abundant.  I was very quickly corrected when Bob Bollas shared the story of Daisy Jones, who was the editor for the Cincinnati Post and Time-Star.  She wrote the column ‘Down to Earth for 30 years.  With her tie-ins to the Mt. Healthy Garden Club it only made sense for the duo to use “Down to Earth” as the name for their Imperial IPA, but with that being used by 21st Amendment brewery in San Francisco the decided to use a mash-up of “Earth Daisy”.
• The Tollhouse – American Stout
  • The Toll House Gang could always be seen around the old toll house, swapping stories, sharing some warm coffee and keeping the past of Mt. Healthy alive.  William Stout was prominent figure of the Toll House Gang, and with his name also referencing the favorite style of beer from Betty Bollas, it only seems natural that the many relatives he still has in and around Mt. Healthy have their past honored by The Tollhouse American Stout.
• Oberhausen – Kolsch
  • A German Kölsch needs a German name.  Between 1841 and 1847 twelve families moved together from the Muhl and Oberhausen areas of Germany into the community of Mt. Healthy.  Oberhausen is named for it’s railway station which took it’s name from the Castle Oberhausen, and they both have now come together to name Fibonacci’s 3rd core beer!
• Dummy Tripel – Belgian Tripel
  • William Ellsworth “Dummy” Hoy played 14 seasons of professional baseball (some for the Reds). He once threw out 3 players at home in one game (hence the name of the beer … 3 ~ triple ~ tripel). Although since matched by others, it is still a record. He was nicknamed “Dummy” because he was deaf and mute. Upon retirement from baseball, Dummy Hoy and his wife Anna Marie operated a dairy farm in Mt Healthy.
    Note: The original meaning of the word “dummy” was simply “one who cannot speak” and did not carry around the negative connotations that it does today. As Bill Wise, author of Silent Star, noted “Today calling a deaf person dumb would be derogatory and offensive, but in Hoy’s day it was acceptable. Hoy carried his nickname with pride. Dummy became the name he preferred, and he often corrected people who called him William.”

Seasonal

• Compton Cream Ale – Strawberry Cream Ale
  • The brewery sits on Compton road running through Mt. Healthy and onward, the name is an homage to not only the road, but to the man who made the road possible.  It’s easy to forget as we speed along day by day that there are countless people who in the past have made today’s conveniences possible!

The Taproom

Before I get to the good stuff (Assuming you haven’t skipped ahed to the information about the grand opening party) let’s talk about what you can expect when they do open their doors.  The taproom can be described as so many different things, but whatever you’re choice of descriptor it comes back to the math and science that revolve around the Fibonacci sequence.  Filled with bright, white walls the taproom fills with a clean, airy sunlight. It features a big wooden bar with a slate “science” table top, and many details that will bring you back to math and science class.  Above the bar are some visually stunning “hop lights” that along with the small plants and terrariums situated around the space do an incredible job of mixing the two ends of what Fibonacci encompasses.

Upon my last visit, there was a thin layer of dust on the floor and a visually stressed Betty opened the door and quickly followed with the remark of “I think we’re going to get most of it all done…”  If anyone thinks that opening a brewery is anything but a ton of hard work, you need to have a chat with this couple, they’ll clue you in (As I’m sure any of our local breweries who haven’t blocked the trauma out of their minds yet will).  Looking around the taproom, though… I can start to see the vision coming together very quickly.  With a quick peek in the basement I could see fermenters bubbling away and the humming cold box packed full of kegs let me know that things were moving along swiftly.  I have faith that this brewery will blow your socks off when you take a step inside, they have managed to not only make it feel polished and extremely well thought out, but it still feels genuine and “home grown”.  This is what I have been hoping for when I first started writing about Fibonacci Brewing Company.  There are tiny details scattered around that encompass the theme, and that you might not notice of your first visit.

The Grand Opening Party

Here’s why you’re here, I assume.  They have hinted at their opening date to be somewhere late spring, early summer and now that we have entered into the summer season, people are getting antsy, so mark your calendar for July 11th, 2015 – Fibonacci will move from the coming soon list, to Cincinnati’s newest craft brewery.

They are celebrating the event with a Grand Opening party that kicks of at noon and will “rage on” until ten that night, so far they are letting us know that there will be a food truck offerings, and some form of live entertainment, but since neither is set in stone yet, they didn’t want to announce anything.  During their opening and for the foreseeable future they will offer very limited growler fills, concentrating on the taproom experience, and you can expect to only see them open one day a week as they get their footing.  Cincinnati is a thirsty city, and they know that.

Stay tuned for more, and as always – Be Gnarly, Drink Local!