Cincinnati is home to so many breweries, but unfortunately sometimes breweries are forced to closed for any number of reasons. I decided to put together a list of closed Cincinnati breweries with notes on some of them below.
Oldenberg Brewing Co. (closed 2001)
Watson Brothers Brewery (closed 2006)
Watson Brothers opened in 1996 and closed in 2006, and Firehouse Grill added a brewery to their restaurant on the same site in 2020.
BarrelHouse Brewing Co. (closed 2010)
Blank Slate Brewing Co. (closed 2017)
Ei8ht Ball Brewing (closed 2017)
Tap & Screw Brewery (closed 2018)
Old Firehouse Brewery (closed 2019)
Old Firehouse was located in Williamsburg about 25 miles east of Cincinnati, and the brewery closed in 2019. The building has a second life, however, an Anderson Township’s Paradise Brewing purchased the building and reopened the space as Paradise East.
Quarter Barrel Brewery (closed 2019)
Quarter Barrel had been a mainstay in Oxford on the campus of Miami University since 2010, and they expanded to a second location in Hamilton in 2019. People were very surprised when they closed suddenly in 2019. Co-owner and brewer Brandon Ney landed on his feet, though, as he became the head brewer at The Common Beer Company in Mason and has won multiple awards for beer in recent years.
Both former QB locations have found new life as well. The Oxford location was taken over by a couple and first became a Books & Brews franchise before rebranding as Church Street Social (they hold a brewing license but don’t brew on site). Fretboard purchased the Hamilton location and renamed it the Public House in 2019.
The Queen City Brewery of Cincinnati (closed 2019)
Located in Blue Ash, the Queen City Brewery of Cincinnati closed in 2019 after opening in 2016.
Christian Moerlein Malt House (closed 2020)
Christian Moerlein closed their OTR taproom in 2020 when new owners Cincinnati Beverage decided to start contract brewing Moerlein beer.
The Christian Moerlein brand lives on, however. The Moerlein Lager House still sells Moerlein brand beers, and the new owner of CinBev relaunched the brand and is currently renovating the historic Felsenbrau Brewery to provide a new home for Moerlein, Little Kings, and Hudepohl.
3 Points Urban Brewery (closed 2020)
3 Points opened in 2018 by the Hickory Wald Group, but the brewery closed in March 2020 when restaurants were shut down by the state due to Covid-19. The owners decided to pull out of the location, instead focusing on their other locations including Nation Kitchen & Bar, Rhinehaus, and The Hannaford. Covington’s Braxton Brewing Company moved into the spot a few months later, marking their entry into Ohio.
Rock Bottom Brewery (closed 2020)
Rock Bottom was one of the longest-running Cincinnati breweries until it closed in 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The company that owned Rock Bottom – which was a chain brewery – filed for bankruptcy in 2020 and also eventually closed all of their Gordon Biersch locations, including one in Columbus.
The building still lives on as a brewery, as March First opened up in the location on Fountain Square in 2023.
Wooden Cask Brewing Company at Bridgeview Box Park (closed 2021)
Newport’s Wooden Cask opened a shipping container space alongside Second Sight Sprits at the Bridgeview Box Park at the renewed Newport on the Levee in 2020, but the space closed when they moved to a more permanent location inside at the Levee in 2021.
LOCOBA by Platform Beer Co. (closed 2021)
LOCOBA was a coffee shop and barrel-aging concept taproom from Cleveland’s Platform Beer Co. that opened in Over-the-Rhine in 2019 (LOCOBA stood for “local coffee barrels”). Just a few months later, Platform was sold to Anheuser Busch-InBev. The taproom eventually closed in 2021, with a note on the door saying they were reevaluating the concept. Reports surfaced in 2022 that AB had decided to close all of the Platform locations while still producing a few of their IPA brands at other breweries.
Bardwell Brewery (closed 2021)
Located inside Bardwell Winery in Mt. Orab, Bardwell Brewery was a tiny operation that closed in 2021 when the owners decided to retire.
Off Track Brewing Co. (closed 2021)
Off Track Brewing Co. was a group that brewed out of a garage in OTR and had their beer on tap at Dunlap Cafe around the corner.
Dysfunctional Delights Meadery (closed 2021)
Dysfunctional Delights was the Cincinnati area’s first dedicated meadery, located in Lebanon. The former owner is now making mead at Fabled Brew Works in Kentucky, however.
Braxton Labs (closed 2022)
Braxton Labs became the second brewery located inside Bellevue’s Party Source to close, as they ceased operations at the party store in 2022. Braxton is keeping the “Labs” concept alive, however, using the name for their small batch test beers. Party Source opened a new bar called Merchants Club in the former space in 2023.
Rivertown Brewing Company (closed 2022)
Rivertown had a long journey after originally opening in Lockland in 2009. They were early Cincinnati pioneers, and eventually expanded to a huge space in Monroe in 2017 (their original location reopened as Cincy Brewing Co. in 2019 and then became Cerveceria Ortega in 2023). They faced many challenges in that space, and finally closed in 2022 after years of rumors of their demise. Maria Stein-based Moeller Brew Barn moved into the space in 2022, but they also closed in 2023.
Rebel Mettle Brewery (closed 2022)
After less than two years in business, Rebel Mettle closed in 2022. The brewery faced an uphill battle, opening in the Central Business District in 2020 with many fewer people working downtown.
Listermann Brewing Trail House (closed 2022)
Just over a year after opening, Listermann Brewing Company closed their Trail House taproom. It was located just down the street from their original location and featured more of a restaurant-type experience with coal-fired pizza and more approachable beers.
Rolling Mill Brewing Company (closed 2022)
Rolling Mill was a unique brewery that brewed exclusively gluten-free beer and was located in Middletown. They opened in 2017 and resisted a buyout attempt from the Hollywoodland development in 2021 before ultimately closing in September 2022.
The building and Rolling Mill brand will live on, as Gravel Road Brewing Company launched in the space in 2023 and is expected to serve Rolling Mill’s gluten-free beers, at least in the near future.
Cincy Brewing Co (closed 2023)
Cincy Brewing Co. opened in 2019 in the original Rivertown building in Lockland, but they never quite gained their footing and eventually closed in 2023. The building now houses Cerveceria Ortega.
North High Brewing – Hyde Park & Kenwood (closed 2023)
Columbus-based North High Brewing opened their first Cincinnati taproom in 2021 in Hyde Park in conjunction with coHatch, but that location closed in 2023. They also closed their location at Kenwood Mall in late 2023.
Moeller Brew Barn Monroe (closed 2023)
Just barely a year after opening, Maria Stein-based Moeller Brew Barn closed the Monroe location that they had taken over from Rivertown in 2022.
MadTree 1.0 (closed 2023)
MadTree opened their original location on Kennedy Ave in Oakely in 2013, and it became affectionately known as “MadTree 1.0” after “MadTree 2.0” opened in a much larger location in Oakley in 2016. The original location remained closed to the public after the second location opened, but it was still used for brewing and storage until closing officially in 2023.
Bircus Brewing Covington (closed 2023)
Bircus opened a location in conjunction with North South Baking in Covington in 2021, across from Braxton’s original location. The location closed quietly in 2023, but the original Bircus location in Ludlow remains open.
Fifty West Brewpub (closed 2023)
The original Fifty West Brewpub opened in 2012, and then reopened as a restored location in 2023 after a three-year closure during Covid. The reopening didn’t last long, however, as Fifty West decided to close it to the public in October 2023 and turn it into an event space. The Fifty West Burger Bar/Production Works location across the street remains open, as does their Chillicothe location.
Taft’s Ale House (closed 2023)
Taft’s spent millions to restore a former church in OTR, and Taft’s Ale House opened in 2015 as a centerpiece of the Cincinnati brewery community. Taft’s decided to close the location in 2023, instead focusing on their two Brewpourium locations.