Mellotone Beer Project
1429 Race St
Mellotone Beer Project opened in Over the Rhine in November 2024. The brewery is headed by former Rhinegeist Brewery Director of Distribution and Le Soupe COO Dennis Kramer-Wine and veteran brewer Alexandra Nowell. Nowell was the founding brewmaster at California’s Three Weavers Brewing, and she also spent time at Kinetic Brewing, Drake’s Brewing, and Moylan’s Brewing.
They opened in the former Taft’s Ale House, located at 1429 Race St. The building originally housed the St. Paul’s German Evangelical Protestant Church and was built in 1850.
3CDC purchased and originally renovated the building prior to Taft’s opening in 2015. Taft’s closed the location in November 2023, with all operations now at their Taft’s Brewpourium location in Spring Grove.
Kramer-Wine and Nowell had been searching for the perfect spot to open a brewery in Cincinnati for two years. They decided that the former church would be the perfect space for their brewery and restaurant.
The entire layout is more than 12,000 square feet. There are two distinct spaces in the overall concept. The downstairs features a bar called the Undertone, while the main floor is the restaurant and brewhouse. The upstairs mezzanine level was transformed into an indoor beer garden concept.
The downstairs bar features a mid-century modern feel with a small stage. Their food program features modern American fare (think sandwiches, handhelds, smashburgers, and hot dogs) that pairs with uncomplicated beers. They also brought on Brendan Martin, who spent the past decade and a half at Boca.
The name for Mellotone Beer Project comes from a Duke Ellington album.