CINCINNATI — It’s a birthday that’s been brewing for a decade at Rhinegeist Brewery in Cincinnati’s Over-The-Rhine neighborhood.
This weekend, they’re celebrating big.
What You Need To Know
- Rhinegeist Brewery turns 10 this year
- To celebrate, the brewery is hosting a Now and Ten celebration on Saturday, June 17
- For employees, this is also a day to remember all they've done to create this space and community
- The birthday bash will include new and rare beers, commemorative items and many interactive elements inside the brewery to celebrate its history
Tracey Ireland and her marketing team at the brewery have been hard at work designing all sorts of special things for the big day.
“It’s just meant to give a new fun experience that we don’t have every day at Rhinegeist,"said Ireland, the director of marketing for the brewery.
And of course, some special beers.
“I think we have 12 or 13 different rarity offerings at this bar," she said.
The taproom won’t look the same come Saturday, with a pop-up beer garden, activation areas and Rhinegeist's history on display.
For Ireland, she says it will be a time of reflection for her and the other 300 employees
“It’s just a time I think for us, especially for employees, to just really pause and really be proud of what we’ve created," she said. "And we certainly want to invite the city and the community that’s supported us so well.”
Ireland has been with the Cincinnati brewery for eight of their ten years- and has seen how the landscape around local breweries has changed. When they opened in 2013, there were only about a dozen breweries in the Queen City. Now, there are over 60, with 400 across the state.
“When you talk about the landscape and what’s changed, I just use these numbers because I think it tells the story," Ireland said.
Ireland said even what consumers are drinking has changed a lot in ten years.
“Even if you think about consumer tastes and what’s changes as well," she said. "There was no seltzer, there was no High Noon. Craft early on was more IPAs.”
And as they gear up for their Now and Ten celebration, Ireland remembers her first days at a place she now considers home.
“There was a lot of excitement," she said. "A lot of people taking on a lot of work. We didn’t always know exactly how to do that.”
The Now and Ten Celebration at Rhinegeist will start on Saturday morning at 11 and will include rare beers, a look back at Rhinegeist history, and commemorative items like specially brewed beers, and sours and even a Rookwood Pottery beer stein.