By Angie Saunders
The feedback we received after the initial post of our Cincinnati craft beer tour was really positive, but a lot of people couldn’t believe that we weren’t fans of Nine Giant. We decided Nine Giant would be the first brewery that we would give another chance.
We stopped in on a Saturday evening and the place was pretty crowded. We grabbed one of the last available tables, glanced around and realized we were one of the only couples in the whole place without kids.
The beer list seemed pretty straight forward and included the Nineteen 75 American Wheat, Instant Crush Dry-hopped Saison (I’m kicking myself a little for not trying this one) the Gold Soundz IPA, Adrock American Pale Ale and a Black IPA called Faithless, The Wonder Boy.
We both ordered the Crooked Rain New England IPA. It was good, but nothing too stellar and wasn’t nearly as hazy as I would expect from a New England IPA. We did order food this time, and I have to say it was much more impressive than the beer. The menu was small but there were several choices that sounded delicious. We split the Heirloom Tomato & Arugula Pesto BLT and Pommes Frites. The bacon on that sandwich was worth the drive.
The service was much better than our first experience, but I honestly feel that Nine Giant doesn’t stand out in the crowd for me. If it was located closer to us I can see how it would become a pretty regular spot. There’s just too many excellent breweries closer to home that I would rather frequent.