Esoteric Brewing Co. is the Cincinnati’s newest craft brewery, and my wife Angie and I couldn’t wait to try them out, so we visited during the afternoon of their grand opening weekend.
The project, which is located inside the Paramount Building redevelopment in Walnut Hills, had been a long time coming. Longtime MadTree brewer Brian Jackson teamed up with co-owner Marvin Abrinica of Wunderfund to partially crowdfund Esoteric to bring their dream to life.
According to the owners, they raised more than $800,000 to help fund the startup, with 36% of the investors being people of color. That’s important to the owners as they are both minorities as well. Jackson is Black, and Abrinica is Filipino, making them one of the first breweries in the city with minority owners (Cincy Brewing Co. has a Black co-owner, and the now-defunct Queen City Brewery was also minority-owned).
The beer at Esoteric is delicious. They brew their beer with “pure ingredients, sourced locally, and grown organically.” Upon opening, they had five offerings for beer lovers to try:
- Lotus – a juicy west coast IPA with notes of grapefruit, pine and floral
- Mystic – an English pale ale, which is light and sweet and a great “gateway beer”
- Dahlia – an American brown ale, a malty option for dark beer fans
- Ethereal – a Belgian blonde ale with a floral honey sweetness
- Ethereal with Basil – Belgian blonde with basil added
All of the beers were top-notch, but for me the Ethereal and Mytstic especially stood out. They’re two styles that you don’t see every day, and both tasted incredibly fresh and true to style. I’m excited to see what Brian does with Esoteric’s beer in the future.
The 6,000 square foot taproom space is large and open, as the owners went for a more upscale vibe as opposed to the warehouse feeling of many taprooms. Inside, there’s room for socially distant seating for 120, with room for another 70 on their patio. You can also look down into the brewhouse from their event space, a nice touch that reminds you that you’re in a brewery.
We sat on the patio, and I really like that they have a mix of different types of seating – they have picnic tables and Adirondack chairs outside, and inside they offer booths, tables, and casual seating along their perimeter to encourage conversation. In short, it’s a well thought out space that will stand the test of time.
The service was great, which is something that hasn’t always been the case for newer breweries that I’ve visited in the past. Everyone seemed genuinely happy to be there and took pride in working for the company.
Esoteric will eventually have a food truck from Taste of Belgium on their patio, but it’s not open just yet. Guess that’s another reason to make another visit soon!