With more than 60 breweries in Cincinnati, it’s becoming more and more difficult to stand out.
One of the city’s newest breweries is doing its best to differentiate itself, and it’s doing so with beer – namely, lagers.
Located in the Central Business District just off of the Historic West Fourth rejuvenation, Rebel Mettle Brewery had eight lagers out of the nine beers that they offered during their grand opening (the ninth was an IPA).
Notably, they decided that their three core beers would all be lagers:
- Stubentiger – a 4.2% ABV session lager
- Mettle Mayhem – a 5.0% India Pale Lager
- Volume – an 8.5% juniper schwarzbier
While lagers may seem to be the most classic styles, they’re more difficult to brew, and take longer. And Rebel Mettle has shown that they have the patience to produce quality beer that stands out on merit alone.
I really enjoyed Volume, a higher ABV schwarzbier with just a touch of juniper in the aftertaste. The brewery also nailed some styles you rare see – including a smoky rauchbier named Smoky Stardust.
The taproom feels like an underground lagering tunnel, with concrete all around (it gets a little loud if busy) a big bar that’s the centerpiece. The shiny and new brewhouse is open behind the bar, and they also have some outdoor space.
To throw in another unique touch, Rebel Mettle also has some arcade games and pinball machines on their second floor, and skee-ball on the first floor.
Owner Michael Brown decided that after years of homebrewing he wanted to open his own brewery, and co-founders Greg Goeke and Duane Donohoo joined in. The trio originally planned to renovate the 1800s era Clyffside Brewery in OTR, but pulled the plug on that project last year and relocated their brewery to is current space just steps from Paul Brown Stadium and the Duke Energy Convention Center.