Cincinnati’s Aspiring Beer Baron
Meet Greg Hardman, aspiring beer baron. In recent years, Hardman has acquired the rights to such iconic Cincinnati brands as Christian Moerlein, Hudepohl, Burger, and Little Kings, not to mention dozens of others.
Scooping up these brands is part of Hardman’s multi-pronged effort to build his business, the Christian Moerlein Brewing Company. Early next year, he’ll start brewing Christian Moerlein and Hudepohl in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, where dozens of breweries operated a century ago.
Sometime next fall, Hardman will open the Moerlein Lager House, a pub and microbrewery with an enviable location: next door to Great American Ball Park, home of the Cincinnati Reds. He also has plans for a Beer Barons Hall of Fame, whose first inductees are likely to be Christian Moerlein and Ludwig Hudepohl.
Hardman’s ultimate goal is to capture one percent of the nation’s beer market, which would put him in a class with Boston Beer Company and the Yuengling Beer Company. And, perhaps, earn him a place in the Beer Barons Hall of Fame.
Reviving Cincy’s Brewing Heritage
Cincinnati is known for its German heritage. During the late 19th century, the city’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood was home to hundreds of saloons that catered to lager-drinking German Americans. Those establishments are gone, and most of the 30 or so breweries that supplied beer to them are in ruins.
However, preservationists are trying to save what remains of the breweries. The ruins are considered the largest collection of its kind in the nation.
There’s more good news. Greg Hardman, who bought the Christian Moerlein brand in 2004, plans to plans to build a Moerlein Lager House–consisting of a restaurant and outdoor beer garden–at the upcoming Cincinnati Riverfront Park. He is also working on plans to open a brewery in Over-the-Rhine.
Hat tip: Tim Hynds of the Sioux Falls (SD) Journal’s Sioux Brew column. The original Associated Press story appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer.