Cincinnati's brewing renaissance is expanding with the quick and early success of Lockland-based
Rivertown Brewing Company.
Founded
by home brewing enthusiast Jason Roeper and his business partner Randy
Schiltz, the craft brewery has gone from a two-person startup to an
emerging local brand in less than two years. Their traditional
German-style lagers and ales can be found in 65 Ohio and Kentucky Kroger
stores, and in local Meijer and Biggs Rempke stores. It can also be
found on tap in more than 100 local restaurants and bars, including
Parkers Blue Ash Tavern and
Dilly Café in Mariemont.
Roeper
and Schiltz met through mutual friends in the local home brewing
community. Coincidentally, they're both former car manufacturing
professionals who left their jobs after steady job cutbacks in the
industry.
Roeper had been home brewing for more than a decade, and says he became "obsessed" with the brewing process. He joined the
American Homebrewers Association to improve his finished products.
"I
started entering competitions across the country to get feedback about
what I was doing right and what I was doing wrong," he says. "Then I
started winning awards and gold medals."
A major victory came shortly after being laid off. In 2008, he was named a finalist out of 13,000 entries in the
Sam Adams' homebrew contest
for amateur beer makers. Soon afterward, he decided to start his own
brewing company. During that time, he met Schiltz, who was looking to
start a brewpub in Northern Kentucky. The timing was right; they teamed
up and started Rivertown Brewing.
"He was
looking for the same thing," Roeper says of his partner. "We knew we
could make it happen. In a matter of months, we had our SBA loans
approved and we found a location."
They also pulled together financing from private investors.
Rivertown
now has five full-time employees and the brewery runs seven days a
week. Thirst for its beers have far outweighed products. In their first
year, they expected to produce 500 barrels; instead they rolled out
1,400. This year they are on pace to produce 3,000.
Roeper
attributes their success with quickly partnering with local
distributors in Ohio and Kentucky, as well as their own extraordinary
drive. Home brewers are known for the plans to start companies; but
often don't follow that with action, he says.
"We
have drive and motivation and learned from others' mistakes," he says.
"And local distributors have helped us get into these outlets."
Rivertown plans to expand, including opening a tasting room at their Lockland location.
By Feoshia Henderson You can follow Feoshia on Twitter @feoshiawrites