Bockfest 2008

For details on the Prohibition Resistance Tour and other Brewery District events the weekend of April 11-13, please check here for details.

Thanks to everyone for making Bockfest 2008 a snowy good time! Next year will be bigger and better than ever, and we "guarantee" NO snow!

Cincinnati is the home to the world's oldest Bock festival, but many Cincinnatians are unaware of this tradition. If you are one of the unfortunate who have never attended a Bockfest (or who have but can't really remember that weekend) here's a quick primer. In the 1800s, Cincinnati was one of America's most prolific brewing cities. Cincinnatians drank more beer per capita than any city in the country, and Over-the-Rhine was at one point home to more than 40 breweries. A tradition developed among the breweries to release all of their bock beer on the same day. Bock beer is a rich, complex, robust lager that marks the end of the Winter brewing season and the beginning of Spring.

Here’s our idea of the perfect BOCKFEST WEEKEND…

Friday March 7th

Start after work at Arnold’s and socialize with the eclectic Bockfest Parade Participants while having a Moerlein Emancipator Doppelbock or Hudepohl Bock (yes, Hudepohl Bock is back!!!). At 6PM, get a space along Main Street to watch the Bockfest Parade - Cincinnati’s most Bohemian Parade (after you watch it you’ll know what we mean). At the end of the parade around 6:30PM, watch the Blessing of the Bock Beer in front of Bockfest Hall with the Bier Band and Germania’s Jadghorn Group. At 7PM, enter Bockfest Hall to watch the Bockfest Parade Grand Prize given out and then party with the Bier Band, eat some Bockwurst and have a Bock Beer…

From 7PM until 11PM, hop on the continuous FREE shuttle bus and visit other participating Bockfest Bars like Kaldi’s, Mr. Pitifuls, Milton’s, Grammer’s, Below Zero, Courtyard Café, Cue and Arnold’s (Yes, you can leave your car parked by Arnold’s or at any other bar along the route and grab the shuttle bus back to your originating point). Rock on throughout the night at all other participating bars…check out the schedule for entertainment details.

Saturday March 8th

Start the day by reliving Cincinnati’s grand brewing history by booking a reservation for one of the “Prohibition Resistance Tours”. Tour starts at Cincinnati Museum Center, last around 2 1/2 hours and can drop you off right at Bockfest Hall.

From 2PM until 11PM, the continuous FREE shuttle bus will take you back to the Museum Center as well as all the other participating Bockfest Bars like Kaldi’s, Mr. Pitifuls, Milton’s, Grammer’s, Below Zero, Courtyard Café, Cue and Arnold’s. Make sure to check out schedule for hours of operation at participating venues.

All afternoon, visit Bockfest Hall for free to “Meet the Home Brewer”, learn about “German-Americans in OTR’, and see the “Beer Stein and Breweriana Exhibit”. Brats and Bock beer will be available all day. At 6:30, attend the Moerlein-Rookwood 2008 VIP Stein Unveiling at Bockfest Hall. This private party within Bockfest Hall benefits the OTR Foundation, and will include Bock Beer and Montgomery Inn hors d’oeuvres and feature a short presentation by Rookwood Pottery president Chris Rose. Meet and mingle with Rookwood artist, master sculptor and owner of Christian Moerlein Brewing Co. Greg Hardman. Each $95 VIP Stein Unveiling ticket is good for entrance of two into the party and gives each purchaser of a ticket the opportunity to purchase in advance the 2008 Limited Edition Moerlein-Rookwood Barbarossa Stein. After the Stein unveiling, everyone is invited to watch Jake Speed and the Freddies at 8:30PM and Lagniappe at 10:30PM

Sunday March 9th

If you missed it on Saturday, you can still book a reservation for one of the “Prohibition Resistance Tours”. Tours start at the Cincinnati Museum Center, last around 2 1/2 hours and can drop you off right at Bockfest Hall.

You can also start you Sunday with the German Mass at Old St. Mary's, to be followed by a German Reception at Bockfest Hall. All day long at Bockfest Hall, there will be many ways to experience today’s German-American culture with dancers, Steins and Breweriana Exhibits, Don Heinrich Tolzmann book signing and discussion on German American Culture in OTR, and other German cultural events. This is also the kickoff of the OTR Memory Project.

For those of you looking for a little more Bluegrass, Arnold’s will feature “Brunch, Bock & Bluegrass" with special Bock Bloody Marys and live Bluegrass music.

The word "bock" means goat in German. The connection to beer comes from a legendary Renaissance-era drinking contest between two beer-brewing monks. The bock beer's high alcohol content is said to have caused the loser of this competition to fall over, which he blamed on an errant goat that had entered the saloon. The winner chided his prostrate friend and told him that the only goat that knocked him down was in the beer. Today, that goat is still in the beer and prominently featured in Bock Fest themes.

The modern resurrection of Bockfest occurred 15 years ago when residents and proponents of Over-the-Rhine resurrected one of this city's great traditions. Every year, Cincinnati's coolest, underground festival celebrating bock beer, the Renaissance era, Over-the-Rhine, and the coming of Spring begins with this city's funkiest parade.

For Bockfest information or questions please contact Michael Morgan at the OTR Foundation (513) 721-1317 or at otrfoundation@aol.com