Craft beer marketing idea of the week: Cincinnati breweries to punch each other

So, we wrote about this the first year it happened, and we will likely tout it every other year it takes place: Fifty West Brewing Co. has released the details for Punch Out: Round 2, an event in which Fifty West Brewing company hosts legit boxing matches between area brewers at its Production Works facility.

This year, the local brewing company promises to not only bring back the one-of-a-kind festival, but to turn things up a notch. With more than 80 unique brews from nearly every local brewery in the Greater Cincinnati area (including some rare releases and heavyweights from all your hometown heroes) and four variants of fan-favorite Punch You in the EyePA, beer lovers of all shapes and sizes are sure to find what they are looking for throughout the night.

“At the heart of it, this event is all about bringing together Cincinnati’s growing beer market in a unique way,” says Bobby Slattery, Fifty West Founder. “We’re beyond excited to present such a robust list of local brews, and we can’t wait for everyone to try out the four Punch You in the EyePA variants we’ll have on draft throughout the day.”

While many of this year’s guests will be trekking out to Fifty West Production Works to try loads of awesome beers, many guests are just as excited about the fights. And, this year’s event promises not to disappoint. With an upgrade from last year’s stadium to a new stadium featuring a video board and lighting enhancements, an addition of 3 more fights, and the addition of Bob Bonder, Co-founder of Rhinegeist, stepping into the ring, it’s hard to downplay the excitement brewing in the local craft beverage industry.

Guests returning from last year’s festivities will also be happy to hear that Punch Out: Round 2 will sport the rematch of the century as Kiri Crawford (Taft’s Ale House) will be stepping into the ring to defend her title over Karenna Brockman (Listermann Brewing Company) in what’s sure to be a physically and emotionally charged face-off.

New to this year’s event, Fifty West has also announced that they will have a live band performing between select fights. The band performing at this year’s event is Ernie Johnson from Detroit, a Cincinnati-based funk group that’s sure to get even the most stoic of guests to put on their dancing shoes and moving to some hometown grooves.