The Cincinnati area’s newest brewery is now open, as Moeller Brew Barn opened their doors this week in the Monroe space formerly occupied by Rivertown Brewing Company. They’ll host a grand opening on Friday, September 16 beginning at 11am.
Moeller Brew Barn, which is based out of Maria Stein in Northern Ohio, announced in May that they had purchased the closed Rivertown brewery and would reopen by fall.
Monroe is the fourth location for Moeller, as they also have locations in Troy and Dayton in addition to their original location. They also plan to open in Plain City northwest of Columbus sometime in the near future.
Moeller Brew Barn did minimal changes to the location that Rivertown built ground-up in 2017, but they still ended up investing more than $4 million in the space. They added a garage door to create an indoor-outdoor feel, added new kitchen equipment, and changed the branding.
The brewing capacity is very large with a 50 barrel brewhouse, and Rivertown was doing contract brewing in addition to brewing their own beers. It’s unknown if Moeller Brew Barn will do the same, but they plan to keep the food program in place.
While Rivertown focused on BBQ, the food program at MBB is similar to their other locations, with brick oven pizzas, sandwiches, and crock dishes like chili and mac-and-cheese.
They’ve also said that there are nods to the closed LeSourdsville Lake Amusement Park inside the taproom, which features 54 taps and outdoor patio seating.
Moeller Brew Barn is known for core beers like Blackberry Prairie Wheat, Wally Post American Red Ale, and Honewagon American IPA, and they distribute throughout the entire western part of Ohio.
Rivertown originally opened in Lockland in 2009, before expanding to the larger Monroe location in 2017. They were sued by multiple vendors seeking $1.5 million, and eventually closed their doors in 2022 after a rocky run through the pandemic where rumors had swirled about the future of the brewery for years.