The folks at Northern Row Brewery are used to waiting. After waiting for years to get their taproom open, they had to wait a few extra months due to the Covid-19 pandemic. After originally planning to open on St. Patrick’s Day this year, they finally opened their doors to the public in June.
While they lacked a taproom, Northern Row’s beer has been available at select locations for a few years now. I had already tried their Small Pail Mosaic Pale Ale and Preacher apricot ale, but they feature traditional German styles on their taplist as well.
In fact, their beers are categorized into one of four groups: light, hoppy, dark, and special outcasts. We tried the Barrister kolsch from the light section, the Heckler Juicy IPA from the hoppy selection, and Baker Dunkelweizen from the outcasts. All three were true to style and very refreshing – perfect for summer.
Where Northern Row really stands out is their setting. Housed in an 1890s building that once served as a lagering icehouse for Christian Moerlein prior to Prohibition, the space is absolutely gorgeous and well-restored by the ownership. There’s a large vintage bar as the centerpiece, with plenty of high-top tables surrounding plenty of steel support beams and wooden accents. The restored wood floor shows scratches from years of use and tell a story of what the building has seen.
Northern Row also features a curated food menu, with sandwiches, salads, appetizers, select entrees, and side dishes. We tried the Mama’s Macaroni & Dad’s Beer Cheese, which is infused with beer and topped with Grippo’s barbecue potato chips. If the quality of that dish is reminiscent of the full menu, then their food is a must-get when visiting.
Northern Row also operates a distillery (in fact – the idea for the distillery came before the brewery was added on), but for now they’ve pivoted to producing hand sanitizer to help combat the virus situation. They feature a pet-friendly patio outside for those who want to enjoy their beer in the natural elements.
We visited on a Sunday afternoon, and there was a live band playing laid-back music perfect for a Sunday Funday. Northern Row is a special addition to the Cincinnati brewery scene that offers a mix of amenities we haven’t seen in the city as of yet.