Good to hear Big Ash will still be in business and brewing the beer.

This could be a win/win here.

I have no love for "influencers" but figured I'd at least post about a new release. Love that Sam Adams taproom.

Not going to be my jam (prefer standard German/Czech pils myself) but another quaffable low ABV entry is nice.

Not much to go off of- it just says it's a "Germany style light beer" which...is very ambiguous. A proper German pilsner? That'd be nice but no idea.

Apologies as this is a little late and we are already having some things going on (or nearly here.)

I'm going to be a little lazy and copy/paste from last year some.

When and where is Bockfest?

• Bockfest is from March 6-8 this year (Friday-Sunday)
• Bockfest is celebrated at Bockfest Hall(s) (this year we have five- Moerlein Lager House, Northern Row, Rhinegeist, Rosedale bar, and new hall but the oldest bar in Cincinnati- Arnold's which as many of you know always has THE BEST bock lineup) but also at bars and venues all throughout Over the Rhine
  • Note- there are a lot of places not listed that still put Bock on tap so be sure to wander throughout OTR and find a place that suits you and serves delicious bock beer

What is there to do at Bockfest?

• Drink Bock beer!
• Watch the always eclectic parade on Friday night
• Crown the new Sausage Queen (yes this is a thing) on Saturday
• Bring the kids down on Sunday to pet goats, bunnies, etc. and participate in the Little Links pageant (kids wear either lederhosen or dirndl)
• Take a tour through some of Cincinnati's oldest breweries and their lagering cellars/tunnels
• Do a .5K fun run on Sunday followed by a Bock beer
• Drink more beer!

Ok, but what's with the goats?

• Walk on down history lane with us-
  • Bock beer originated out of Einbeck, Deutschland (Germany)

  • Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced "Einbeck" as "ein Bock" ("a billy goat"), and thus the beer became known as "Bock".

• Also, everyone just likes goats

Great, I'm in! Is there more info?

• Sure- https://www.bockfest.com/

Events

We're already getting into it so here is a sum up.

• Parade registration- **due February 27 **so get your group registered very, very soon.
• Precipitation Retaliation- Bockfest veterans know this is where a snowman is burned in effigy to ward off bad weather for Bockfest. This is at Northern Row on February 27 at 8pm.
• Homebrew judging- takes place February 28 to be eligible for your beer to be brewed at next Bockfest (2027) as the Schoenling Bock.
• Arnold's and Rosedale start early- Thursday March 5 both venues will tap their bocks. Arnold's will likely have far more but Rosedale has at least 4-5 from what I remember.

Other than that, the parade is on Friday at 6pm per usual and the party goes all the way through Sunday.

I don't really have info on the Sausage Queen contests at the moment so will add if I find them.

Edited the title to fit better FYI.

Haven't seen it around yet but a successor to the infamous Nutcase would be nice now that Listermann is gone.

Kind of sums up my feelings on NA beers. I think more casual drinkers are probably fine with them but I can always taste how they are "off" in a sense. I've only found maybe 2-3 that are close but even then you can still tell.

Can't get the URL to work on my browser but in any case, there is a "Maul Fest" this weekend at High Grain (Silverton location.)

Join us in Silverton this Saturday & Sunday for the release of our annual MAUL Series. Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, aged in Augusta Distillery bourbon barrels for 1 year.

If interested I would kind of recommend Saturday...given the snow coming.

Jim Tarbell is a treasure and Greg Hand is a wonderful researcher. Should be a good book and good event.

I'll be putting out more details later in a megathread. But it's a start.