Thursday, January 31, 2008

Christian Moerlein

So tonight at the Pavilion in Mt. Adams, the Christian Moerlein Brewing Company will be tapping its new Emancipator Doppelbock. Can't wait.
Formerly brewed/owned by the Hudepohl Brewing Company, the Moerlein series of super-premium German lagers are quite a local historical delicacy. Viewed by some as local swill, it was named after a local pre-Prohibition brewer/blacksmith. The Moerlein family immigrated to the US in 1841 during one of the largest immigrations in US history that brought many rich, well-educated Germans. Christian opened the Christian Moerlein Brewing Company of Cincinnati, Ohio in 1853, and it became one of the most successful in the US, pre-Prohibition. Once that 20th century Dark Age was over, the brewery did not survive. Hudepohl brought the name back in 1981. After a few more ownership changes, it's finally owned by a Cincinnatian again, Gregory Hardman, and it's known as the Christian Moerlein Brewing Company.
Another interesting tidbit - the house that is known as Christy's in Clifton was a wedding present for Christian's daughter and is known as the Moerlein Mansion.
Now, I'm not a fan of most of their beers, but I still want to support local breweries. And I do love me some doppelbock. My favorite is Leinenkugel's Big Butt, though not the perfect example of the style.
My doppel (Galactic Senator) is about ready for secondary.Once I do that, I'll be lagering both the Spaz Back and the Senator for about a month.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I just stumbled upon your blog, and really enjoyed it. I am actually related to Christian Moerlein, I believe he is a VERY great grandfather of mine, not sure how far back. I have some of the ORIGINAL beer bottles which has been passed down through generations. I love reading about family history and like I said, enjoyed reading this! thank you!