Missing Linck Is BACK!
Written By: The Gnarly Gnome
6/2/26
I know that I wasn’t the only one that got conflicting information last year… Missing Linck lost one of their founding breweries when Humble Monk closed down, and it made it a little tough to plan and execute. I get it. It was cancelled, but that message didn’t really get out to everyone the way it should have, and it created a day full of a little confusion for a lot of folks.
The great news? It’s back. Officially. For sure. I promise.
What’s Missing Linck?
Missing Linck goes down this year on Saturday, June 6 at Northside’s Urban Artifact – and if its your first time visiting this summer festival, you’ve got a lot to soak in. To start to understand it all, though – you’ve gotta start back in time, when OTR was dominated by beer, and specifically one called the FJ Linck Brewery (read more about them here).
This brewery isn’t super notable in the long history of beer here in Cincinnati, except that when their previously sealed up lagering tunnels were uncovered during the construction of a building it was discovered that they housed a wooden fermentation vessel, of mysterious origins.
The brewing team at Urban Artifact, weird in their own right, couldn’t resist the urge and accompanied by historian Mike Morgan swabbed the vessel to see if they could recover anything fun, and uncovered a brand new, historic brewers yeast. This yeast strain was propagated, given to the city of Cincinnati and around it was born a festival celebrating the past, the present and all the weirdness that ties it all together.
That yeast was called Missing Linck.
The Festival
With the yeast now available to any brewery that wants to experiment with it, and create fun new beers, this festival takes on a life unlike any other festival. Unlike celebrations such as Oktoberfest, where the beers don’t drift very far from each other stylistically… you really have no idea what a Missing Linck beer will end up tasting like. Brewers continue to push the boundaries of this yeast that can do a whole lot of fun things, especially when copitched with other yeast strains.
Every year, a bunch of breweries all brew up their respective Missing Linck experiments and they’re all tapped at the same time at the festival. We, as drinkers, then get to benefit in their experimentation with a bevy of things to showcase not just the yeast – but the spirit of craft beer past and present.
What Else To Do While You’re There
There are a ton of events during the festival. Some of them pretty typical for a beer festival, and others living a little more on the fringe side of things.
The Fungus And Mold Tasting
Beer and cheese are one of my favorite underrated pairings, and during the festival you’ll get the chance to see exactly why. Chris Anderson, host of Science Around Cincy and OutSCIder Classroom will lead folks through a tasting of five artisnal cheeses, expertly paired with five finely crafted beers. A panel including Stephanie Webster, Mary Ellen Finnegan, Dr. Senu Apewokin and Roxanne Westendorf will provide fun, approachable explanations for why you enjoy certain flavors, and why these beers and cheeses go so well together. Don’t miss this! It’s from 1-2 pm and you can get your tickets here!
The Brew Skies Guided Beer Tasting
If you aren’t already listening to the ‘Brew Skies Happy Hour Podcast’, and the spinoff ‘Barstool Perspective’ YouTube show – let this be the day you remedy that… and a guided beer tasting from hosts Bret Kollmann Baker and Mike Morgan will show you exactly why you should. These two have no shortage of opinions, and aren’t afraid to share them. You can guarantee lots of laughs, and a look behind the scenes of the industry all while trying some great beers. Your ticket includes four or five beers and can be purchased right here. 2-3 pm.
Bruckmann Brewery Tour
I’m a little partial to this one, with the recent video project that I wrapped up about the space (stay tuned for more on that, soon) – the historic brewery complex formerly occupied by The Bruckmann Brewery is one of a kind. It’s the most intact complex of its kind in the area (and probably the country) and has to be seen to believed. A tour bus will take you from the brewery over to Bruckmann where you’ll venture through several buildings, including the underground lagering tunnels. THIS IS A MUST DO EVENT. They have times available all day long, get your tickets here!
There’s a Homebrew competition that takes place, there’s a stein hoisting competition, a free Sasquatch-calling competition (it’s as much fun as it sounds) and plenty of good “old fashioned” craft beer fun for everyone!
The Real Secret
Missing Linck takes all the fun of a beer festival, mixes it with the personality of places like Urban Artifact and sprinkles on the top a little dose of Cincinnati history to create something that actually feels good. That’s a rarity in today’s alcohol industry.
In a world full of far too much doom and gloom, I’m obsessed with events like this.
The real secret of all of this: Beer, wine, spirits… the entire industry, it’s supposed to be fun. You’re supposed to enjoy what you’re drinking and the folks that you’re drinking with. We’re supposed to be connecting with each other, having real conversations, telling jokes, and smiling. That can get hard when the world around us is difficult – but I am a firm believer that it only becomes more important in those times.
Do all of us a favor this weekend, get out, grab a Missing Linck and high five a friend.
For more information, you can always visit MissingLinck.com, too!