A group of Cincinnatians plans on opening a brewery on the city's West Side by early summer.
Three cousins and a friend with 50 years of combined homebrewing experience plan to open 13 Below Brewery at 7391 Forbes Road in Sayler Park by late May or early June.
The brewery is being opened by brothers Dick and Ray Busche and their wives Lyn and Monique, their cousin Bob Luebbering and his wife, Cindy, and Doug and Anne Menkedick.
"They've been homebrewing for many, many years and over the years as the recipes got better and better, we decided it was time to do something more commercial and share our passion with family, friends and the community," Doug Menkedick told me.
The group purchased the former Mariner's Inn reception hall to house the brewery. They have a 10-barrel brew house and estimate their first-year production will be 800 to 850 barrels.
The brewery will initially focus on traditional ales: west coast IPA, Belgian white ale, blonde ale, porter, amber ale, stout and Scotch ale. The brewery will open with five flagship beers with rotating taps for seasonal or brew master's specials.
Menkedick said the brewery's taproom will have a family-friendly feel with a rustic and industrial decor. The 20-seat bar will be topped by maple wood and there will be wood accents and decorations throughout. The bar will have 13 taps, all of which will pour 13 Below's own brews.
The group chose the West Side for its brewery because the Busches and Luebberings hail from that part of town and there is a relative dearth of breweries there. Menkedick calls himself an honorary West Sider, living just across the border in Indiana.
The name 13 Below comes from a term to identify the location of the brewery. Locations along a river can be identified as being so far "above" or "below" a well-known point. The brewery is 13 miles below downtown Cincinnati.
The brewery will have seating for 200 split between indoors and outdoors as well as a growler fill station. The initial hours of operation will be Thursdays 5-10 p.m., Fridays 4-11 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays 11 a.m.-10 p.m.