Unique Cincinnati Holidays, Part 1

Bockfest

Beer and Cincinnati have had a romance since 1812, when the first brewery was built here just 25 years after the first settlers arrived.  Germans started arriving in record numbers soon afterward, and they settled north of downtown, beyond the Miami & Erie Canal, in the neighborhood that became known as Over-the-Rhine. With them came their German brewing traditions, and the neighborhood became a brewing center. In 1889, 23 breweries in Cincinnati produced nearly 36 million gallons of beer a year.  Some of it was exported around the world local citizenry drank a lot of it, too, as much as 40 gallons per person per year (including men, women, and children).

Carry Nation came here in 1902 with her axe to closed down our saloons, but couldn’t do it.  Vine Street alone had 136 of those “dens of iniquity” and there was no way she could succeed.

Cincinnati’s long brewing heritage was interrupted from 1920 to 1933 by the 18^th Amendment to the US Constitution.  At its repeal, old brewing names like Christian Moerlein, Kaufmann, Weidemann, and many others were lost.  Only Hudepohl survived, but it closed in 1999.

Some breweries were re-established after Prohibition ended, but they couldn’t compete with the bigger national companies like Anheuser-Busch and Miller, and one by one, they went out of business.  By the mid-90’s only Schoenling remained, and it was sold to Boston Brewing (it makes Sam Adams beer here now).

Things started to move again around the turn of the century, and the trade names of Hudepohl, Moerlein, Little Kings, Hudepohl, and bunch of others were acquired by Greg Handman and things started to pop.

Other brewers followed, and now Cincinnati is home to a burgeoning craft beer industry, with places like Rhinegeist, 50 West, MadTree, Braxton, Listermann, Rivertown, Taft’s, Urban Artifact, and many, many others.  (Check out this website to find a more exhaustive list: http://www.cincyweekend.com/full-list-of-cincinnati-breweries/)

In 1992, the release of a new beer by Hudepohl inspired local beer lovers to celebrate the release with the first BockFest, three days of beer and general wonderfulness.  With the exception of 2008, when a snowstorm got in the way of the full festivities (although many people marched anyway), the first weekend in March has been the setting for a parade celebrating Spring, beer, Over-the-Rhine, and general good times.  Since 2008 there has been an annual burning-in-effigy of a snowman, the Precipitation Retaliation, which purports to ensure good weather for the festival.

The parade features many goats (“Bock” is German for goat, but the connection with beer is a long story – you can look it up), people dressed in ridiculous costumes, marching ensembles, Franciscan friars from the neighborhood == just about anyone who wants to participate.

A big part of the festivities is the election of a Sausage Queen.

For the past five years, there has been an associated 5K race (run by the same folks that produce the Flying Pig Marathon every spring).

As with all of Cincinnati’s holidays, at Bockfest, a good time is had by all.  Many consider Bockfest to be a warmup for Cincinnati’s Oktoberfest, the largest Oktoberfest outside of Germany, held every September.

While both Bockfest and Oktoberfest will be long over when you come to Cincinnati in October 2019, you can still get into the spirit by visiting some of the many breweries and tap rooms across the region.  And for even more fun, you can take a tour that will show you a lot about Cincinnati’s long relationship with beer.

Check out this link to learn about the possibilities:

https://cincinnatiusa.com/things-to-do/attractions/brewing-heritage-trail-tours


Photos from the Bockfest Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Bockfest/