Ghost Breweries is a documentary that every beer loving Cincinnatian should be aware of. OK… it’s not a documentary yet but you can help make sure it becomes one! They’re aiming to use Indiegogo (think of it as Kickstarter for charities/documentaries) to raise $35,000 to make dream into a documentary. So far 10 people have kicked in a total of $510 and they need your help to get the rest of your way. I need your help to help them do that so I can watch what is sure to be a sweet documentary.
You may have guessed what it’s about from the name, Ghost Breweries is kind of specific. To be more specific:
4,000 breweries existed prior to 1920, only a handful of these buildings still exist today. This film looks at these landmarks and the effort to preserve them.
For more info check out their YouTube video or head over to The Ohio Beercast for an interview that went live today.
Why should Cincinnati care about this documentary? Because we’re freaking overflowing with ghost breweries! One of the things Bret said to me when I talked to him about this project stood out:
I’m really looking forward to coming out and see these buildings as well as experience Cincinnati! The history is really incredible, and the work done so far is something the city and state should be proud of.
Despite what Cincinnati has left we’ve already felt the damage that Bret and his team at Ghost Breweries is trying to prevent. We were the 3rd largest beer producing city in America in 1890. Now many of our pre-prohibition breweries have already been leveled to make space for… parking lots. Others have been leveled with new buildings going in their place.
According to the Over-The-Rhine Brewery District we have 14 pre-prohibition breweries still standing. 2 of those pre-prohibition breweries have been repopulated with modern-day breweries. Resulting in the somewhat confusing situation of Rhinegeist being in the pre-prohibition Christian Moerlein while Christian Moerlein is in the pre-prohibition Kauffman Brewery.
All that stuff is just what’s on top of the street in Cincinnati. What is under our streets is, to me, far more impressive. I’m sure hundreds of cities across America have old empty breweries, whether that building has been empty for 2 years or 200. I know that a few cities have underground lagering tunnels but none have as many as we do! If you haven’t been into our tunnels yet then you should correct that now with a tour from the OTR Brewery District.
So come on Cincinnati! You can give as little as $5 or shell out the big bucks and become an Associate Producer for pitching in $1,000. This will be a great documentary that will shed a light on our cities, and many others, awesome history. If times are tight then follow them on Facebook and share their page to spread the word!
BrewMinds 