Esoteric Brewing Co. will become the newest craft brewery in Cincinnati when it officially opens its doors to the public today.
The Walnut Hills brewery will hold a grand opening celebration during Labor Day weekend.
The project, which is located inside the Paramount Building redevelopment in Walnut Hills, has 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 expected to be something special. They promise to only brew their beer with “pure ingredients, sourced locally, and grown organically.” Upon opening, they have four 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
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.
Esoteric also announced that their food partner will be in the form of a food truck from Taste of Belgium. The partnership makes a lot of sense with the synergies between the two brands, and Taste of Belgium is also relocating their offices and commissary to the Paramount Building.
Check out a sneak peak of the brewery from CityBeat.