Tag: germany

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Business News

Relish Group closes Grammer’s

Grammer’s bar, established in 1872 and a veritable Over-the-Rhine institution, has announced its closure today. The 132-year-old establishment was known for years as a home away from home for Cincinati’s German population, hosting everyone from the Cincinnati Symphony to the Reds.

Grammer’s re-opened in the late winter of 2008, serving beer and a variety of German foods.

Martin Wade, owner of Relish Restaurant Group, purchased Grammer’s from former city councilman and Over-the-Rhine raconteur, Jim Tarbell, who had owned it since 1984. It was the oldest pre-Prohibition German restaurant to remain in Over-the-Rhine. Although tts recent history is one of hipsters and late night dance parties – a decidedly different crowd than the German Singing Baker society to which the space was once home.

Despite the differences, Grammer’s has been beloved by several generations as a unique neighborhood watering hole. Sources say Wade plans to reopen Grammer’s as a restaurant, though there are currently no details as to what type of restaurant and what timeline that would entail. Staff say that the news came as a shock to them after having worked worked throughout Bockfest weekend, serving scores of people and reportedly making a large profit.

“I’m shocked, insulted and disgusted that immediately following one of the most successful weekends in Grammer’s history, this iconic venue was deemed expendable,” said Gavin Richardson, sales and marketing manager for Grammer’s. “This is the end of an era.”

Jim Tarbell at Grammer’s photograph provided by Joe Wessels.

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Business News

Samuel Adams Brewing Company’s surprising Cincinnati roots

While many of Cincinnati’s beer connoisseurs are aware of Samuel Adams‘ Cincinnati roots, most around the world believe that the beer is uniquely Boston. History and current events tell us that quite simply is not true. WCPO reports on the full story about America’s largest beer company’s roots in the Queen City and its current presence in the West End.

Cincinnati beer lovers and historians have seen a resurgance of Cincinnati beer brands like Little Kings, Christian Moerlein, Hudephol and Bürger. These beers have joined a growing collection of craft beer brewers like Listermann, Mt. Carmel, Rivertown and more. On top of all that, the Moerlein Lager House will add another impressive brewhouse to Cincinnati’s collection along with the Bavarian-style brewhouse Hofbräuhaus in Newport and Rock Bottom on Fountain Square, and Christian Moerlein has recently opened a new brewery in historic Over-the-Rhine.

Also, be sure not to forget about the world’s second largest Oktoberfest celebration, the nation’s largest Bockfest celebration and the slew of beer tasting festivals held all throughout the region. There have also been some rumors that Samuel Adams may open a brewhouse in Cincinnati as well. Stay thirsty, and enjoy Cincinnati’s rich beer history and its bright future.

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Arts & Entertainment News

Celebrate German-American Heritage Month with GACL this October

[This op-ed was written for UrbanCincy.com by Don Heinrich Tolzmann, President, German-American Citizens League of Greater Cincinnati.  If you would like to sound off about something for UrbanCincy’s weekly op-ed column, please submit your ideas to urbancincy@gmail.com.]

October is German-American Heritage Month, and this year marks its 21st anniversary. Proclamations have been issued in the past by the governors of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana and it has been recognized by the Ohio historical organizations as well. And since 1989, I am proud to say that the German-American Citizens League of Greater Cincinnati has sponsored the month in the Greater Cincinnati area.

German-American Heritage Month takes place in October as it is centered on German-American Day, the 6th of October, the date on which the first German settlement was established in America at Germantown, Pennsylvania. It was officially declared German-American Day in 1987 by President Reagan.

Feeling that one day was not enough to cover German contributions to the Cincinnati region, the German-American Citizens League founded German-American Heritage Month in 1989 and has encouraged its celebration elsewhere. Since that time, other places have followed suit. For example, this year, New York City celebrated the month as well.

We hope that other cities and states with a strong German heritage will also join in celebrating German-American Heritage Month.

This year programs will be sponsored by Northern Kentucky University, Kenton County Library, Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County, Hamilton County Genealogical Society, and the German Heritage Museum.

Just think what the Greater Cincinnati area would be like without its German heritage. Without the German heritage, the area would be an entirely different place and look quite different – no Over-the-Rhine, no German brewing heritage, no goetta, no Oktoberfest, no MainStrasse Village in Covington, etc. Many things we accept as part of everyday life in the Greater Cincinnati area would not be here.

Cincinnati’s first Mayor was Major David Ziegler, a veteran of the American Revolution and during the Civil War, German regiments were formed for the Union Army. These and many other facts will be explored during German-American Heritage Month.

German-Americans helped build and make the area what it is today. German-American Heritage Month is the time to not only celebrate this history, but also learn more about it.  A full list of the events taking place during German-American Heritage Month can be found on the German-American Citizens League’s website.

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Arts & Entertainment Business News

Brewery District to host three new Oktoberfest tours next weekend

What does September mean in Cincinnati? Oktoberfest of course! One of the area’s favorite festivals, in all of its German heritage, food and beer splendor, returns downtown September 18-19. In addition to the traditional consumption of bratwurst, märzen lagers, and chicken dances, the Over-the-Rhine Brewery District is teaming, once again, with the Christian Moerlein Brewing Company to host a series of tours focusing on Cincinnati’s rich brewing history. The three separate, but intermingling, tours will be offered at various times on both Saturday and Sunday and all three will begin and end at the future home of Christian Moerlein brewing operations (located at 1621 Moore Street in OTR).

The first is the popular Prohibition Resistance Tour which is run by the Over-the-Rhine Brewery District every year during Bockfest in March, and now during Oktoberfest as well. This two-and-a-half hour tour begins with a historical overview of the brewing in Cincinnati, followed by stops at six different breweries including descending 30 feet underground into abandoned lagering cellars for an authentic glimpse of Cincinnati’s brewing past. This particular tour has typically sold out quickly and OTR Brewery District executive director Steve Hampton says that tickets have been selling just as fast this time around. The tour includes a beer ticket and costs just $30, so make your reservations soon.

A second tour will highlight the release of Mike Morgan’s new book entitled Over-the-Rhine: When Beer Was King. This new tour will take participants along the length of Vine Street through Over-the-Rhine, allowing them to travel through both the Crown and Kauffman breweries while also learning about OTR’s early history and politics from the author himself. Tour organizers say that Morgan’s tour will only be offered at two times this weekend: Saturday at 3:10pm and Sunday at 3:20pm. Each tour will last approximately two-and-a-half hours and include the requisite beer ticket. Tickets cost $35, however $45 gets you a ticket for the tour as well as a signed copy of Over-the-Rhine: When Beer Was King.

The third and final tour is much more informal, free, and included in both of the aforementioned tours. Throughout the weekend people are encouraged to stop by the former Husman Potato Chip plant to check out the future home of Christian Moerlein brewing operations and get a look at the the planned brewery layout, future equipment placement, and renderings of the new Christian Moerlein Lager House taking shape on Cincinnati’s central riverfront. The tour will be offered approximately every 40 minutes.

As a special early kick-off for these tours, please join the OTR Brewery District this coming Thursday, September 9 at 10am, as volunteers Reconnect the Kauffman. During this “open to the public” event a wall, sealed during prohibition and blocking an underground tunnel, will be ceremoniously torn down to reconnect 2 buildings of the Kauffman Brewery, which at its height was the 4th largest in the city.

For those interested in being more involved with the Brewery Districts efforts, or just more involved with beer in general, volunteers are still needed both for the tours, and for serving beer through out the weekend at the future Christian Moerlein Brewery in OTR. Get your tickets soon and please sign up to be part of this great Cincinnati weekend. Cheers!

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Arts & Entertainment News

Cincinnati needs its own version of ‘Little Big Berlin’

These types of videos have become all the rage lately, and rightfully so. They are simply stunning in their production quality and the overall content they capture.

Little Big Berlin does a particularly good job capturing the human element found within cities. The video showcases Berliners functioning within their city. Many of the scenes are playful, but others are just typical day-to-day functions made intriguing by the essence of this videography.

The video utilizes “tilt-shift” to create the miniature effect, and is set to the music of “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2” by Franz Liszt. I do not know how to achieve this kind of product myself, but I do know that someone in Cincinnati needs to do this for our city.