New exhibit highlights Cincinnati’s role in U.S. brewing history

CINCINNATI, Ohio — Cincinnati’s brewing roots are back on tap with a new pop-up exhibit that explores how immigrant labor and innovation helped turn the city into a 19th-century beer powerhouse.

The exhibit, titled “Tapping into Tradition: How Immigrant Labor & Innovation Created a Brewing Boomtown,” was launched by the Brewery District Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (CURC). It’s part of the group’s larger vision to establish the first-ever American Museum of Brewing.

“Cincinnati has a really robust brewing history, going back to the early 19th century,” said Aaron Deininger, executive director of the Brewery District CURC. “This exhibit focuses on the labor movement and immigration in the 19th century, and how those forces really developed the type of beer that was produced here.”

The pop-up is an extension of the CURC’s year-round Heritage Brewing Trail, which offers guided tours of historic brewery sites and underground lagering cellars throughout the city. Deininger said Cincinnati may have the largest known collection of 19th-century underground lager cellars in the United States.

Board member and longtime brewery district tour guide Lisa French said the goal is not only to celebrate Cincinnati’s past but to involve the city’s more than 70 active breweries in shaping its future.

“We’re going to hopefully have a small batch system for them to do specialty brewing, where they can either teach people or explain how it goes,” French said. “That will give them visibility to their breweries and help keep that industry going.”

The nonprofit expected the exhibit to draw more than 500 visitors. While admission was free, attendees were encouraged to fill out a short survey to help guide the museum’s planning process.

“We’re in the process of raising funds for a feasibility study to look at the development of the museum,” Deininger said. “Where is the best place to put it, whether it’s this neighborhood or specific places within it.”

From lager cellars to future-forward brewing education, organizers said the pop-up is just the first pour of what they hope becomes a permanent part of Cincinnati’s cultural identity.