Tag: germany

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The King is back!

Thanks to new owner, Christian Moerleing Brewing Company, the transformation of Little Kings Cream Ale has been fast-tracked.

New will be the introduction of “12 Kings” – a 12 pack design for the classic seven ounce green bottle. There will also be a complete packaging redesign that includes new “classic styling” of the brand image that plays to the heritage of the Schoenling Brewing Company.

The original tagline of “It’s Good To Be King” has also been restored to packaging. Also new will be the return of the Little Kings beer bucket affectionately known as “a bucket of Kings” will serve as a way for bars to serve Little Kings to their customers.

Also of interest to those beer lovers out there is ceremonial keg tapping today at Germania Park hosted by the German-American Citizens League of Greater Cincinnati and Christian Moerlein. The keg tapping is in honor of Cincinnati’s great 19th century beer baron, Christian Moerlein, and all proceeds will go to benefit the German-American Citizens League and the Germania Society.

There will be live music, food and a brief presentation about the contributions and anniversary of Christian Moerlein’s birth and death (5/13/1818 – 5/14/1897) at 7pm. Guests will also get to see the premiere of the first television commercial for the Christian Moerlein brand in over 20 years. The commercial is titled, “A Journey In Every Bottle” and shows Christian Moerlein Brewing Company’s 19th century Cincinnati brewing heritage evolving to today’s 21st century handcrafted beers. Detailed event information can be found here.

Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewing Co. is a division of Cincinnati’s Christian Moerlein Brewing Co. makers of handcrafted Moerlein Lagers & Ales.

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Cincinnati Bockfest 2009

In case you haven’t heard already, the annual Bockfest celebrations are taking place this weekend (3/6 – 3/8) starting with the opening of Bockfest Hall (formerly Jefferson Hall) at 4pm on Friday, followed by the Bockfest Parade at 6pm.

Bockfest started in Cincinnati in the 1800s and is the world’s oldest Bock festival. The celebrations stem from the glory days of Cincinnati’s many brewers (at one time producing more beer per capita than any other city in the U.S.). During that time a tradition developed amongst the brewers to release all of their bock beer on the same day – marking the end of the winter brewing season and the beginning of the spring.

This year’s celebration will include sub-subterranean tours of Cincinnati’s prohibition past (all 13 sold out), subway tours (all 3 sold out), the parade, glass blowing, Sausage Queen competition, book signing, live music, and of course lots of beer drinking at some of the best German bars in the city.

Click image for larger version – Parade Route = Green, Public Parking = Blue, Participating Venues = Red, Free Shuttle Route = Orange

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Oktoberfest Zinzinnati: 2007

Ah…yes, Oktoberfest is back. Everyone’s favorite German festival is about to kick off this weekend. Get ready for bratwurst, bier, wiener schnitzel…oh and did I say bier? This is all part of Cincinnati USA’s larger Zinful Weekend.

But, back to the main event…Oktoberfest. This is the second largest Oktoberfest celebration in the world (outside of the original in Munich). The weekend event will attract around 500,000 people and take place in the core of Downtown Cincinnati. Here are some of the details, and for any other information you can check out the event website.

When: Event: Saturday, Sept. 22, 2007, 11 a.m.-midnight; Sunday, Sept. 23, 2007, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Where: On 6 blocks of Fifth Street; from Race Street to Broadway in Downtown Zinzinnati.

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Zinzinnati’s German heritage

Cincinnati has a one of the richest German histories in all of America. The German history dates back even to the inception of the city in 1788. German immigrants came to America in large numbers due to a variety of reasons from religious freedom to the availability of mechanized manufacturing of goods. As a result they were attracted to America’s heartland and formed what is now called the “German Triangle.” The triangle was formed by St. Louis, Milwaukee and Cincinnati…with Cincinnati being the largest of those cities and also the city containing the largest German influence. So, who cares?

Well what would Cincinnati be like today without the strong German influence of the past? We can attribute that strong influence to the current day butchers, bakeries and ice cream shops that still exist in nearly every neighborhood in the region. Over-the-Rhine was built by those German immigrants and thus the creation of the largest collection of Italianate architecture in America. Cincinnati’s built environment was greatly influenced by those same immigrants. They built a dense urban core with streetcars and all, not to mention they helped build what is considered to be America’s first major boomtown.

Oktoberfest Zinzinnati 2006: Photo from Cincy Images

It is also by no mistake that the largest Oktoberfest celebration exists in Cincinnati (outside of the Munich event). We also have the only Hofbrauhaus outside of Munich, Germany. In addition to that Cincinnati boasts the Fairview German Language School and one of the largest German-American book collections at the University of Cincinnati. In addition to that, roughly 50% of all people in the Cincinnati claim German as their ancestry…again, one of the largest percentages in the nation. A few other notable Cincinnati landmarks created or inspired by German immigrants are: Fountain Square, Roebling Suspension Bridge, Cincinnati Zoo, Spring Grove Cemetery, Music Hall, Findlay Market and the Cincinnati Park System.

Cincinnati’s German heritage has surely shaped the physical environment of our city, and has also shaped the social environment over the years as well. I just don’t think that Cincinnati would be the family-friendly place it is today without those unique Cincinnati features of being able to go to Humbert’s Meats or Servatii’s pastry shop. What do you think and how does Cincinnati’s heritage affect your day to day life? How would Cincinnati be different without this German influence…or is it even relevant today?

I have done a photo thread on Over-the-Rhine over at UrbanOhio, entitled Über-der-Rhein.