Homebrewing is close to many craft brewers’ hearts. For many, that is where they got their start. The relationship is poetic even. But when they go pro, craft brewers don’t have the time to homebrew. That’s why Rivertown Brewing Co. announced that the brewers will be taking over the taps with homebrew offerings during Cincinnati Beer Week, general manager Tom Strycker Hull explained on Facebook.
“Yesterday afternoon and evening, each of the brewery employees came in on an off day, and brewed 5 gallons of the best, most creative, or just favorite homebrews they could come up with,” he wrote on the brewery’s Facebook wall. “It’s all sitting in small fermenters, right outside my office, bubbling away. We didn’t give any restrictions. If someone wanted a hard to find hop variety, they got it. If someone wanted to make something that doesn’t even have a style guideline, so be it. And if someone wanted to make something that was just perfect in its simplicity and elegance, that was great too. The point wasn’t just to make waves in the brewing community, it was to make your own personal wave and ride it all the way to the tap room!”
Hull said on Wed., Feb. 13, there will be no full production beers on their taps. Instead each Rivertown brewer is going to be showing off their crafty and creative brews. Cincinnati Beer Week runs Feb. 7 – 14 and offers a variety of events, including a sold out Taproom Trolly that will shuttle attendees to six of the area’s best taprooms. It’s a good time for Rivertown brewers to revive their love affair with homebrewing and celebrate the brew.
“Most of us here at Rivertown started off as homebrewers, and we like to think that passion is what makes our beer so good! But what many people don’t realize, is that once you’re spending the time brewing professionally, you don’t have time to brew at home very often,” Hull explained to the brewery’s Facebook followers. “Don’t get me wrong, we love that you’re all so thirsty, and that you choose our beer to quench that thirst! But, sometimes, it can be nice to get back to your roots.”
