David Berger and his wife Nancy were at a distillery stop along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail when the smell of fermentation brought David back to an early memory. David is the sixth-generation in a Cincinnati family-owned cigar business dating back to 1845.
“The fermentation of the bourbon reminded me of the fermentation of the pipe tobacco that linked me back to the history of growing up and being in the cigar factories,” he says.
The nostalgia-induced visit sparked the idea to start a brewing and distilling company out of a historic pre-Prohibition building David had purchased in Over-the-Rhine more than 15 years ago. Now David, his wife and their business partners, Joe and Robin Maas, are opening Northern Row Brewery & Distillery, located on West McMicken Avenue.
The building was originally constructed in 1895 as Christian Moerlein’s icehouse and storage space. Its vast 25-foot-deep basement and 39-inch-thick walls are made of insulated tile and brick, specially designed to keep the beer cellar cold. Moerlein capitalized on this refrigeration system early on and separated himself as one of the few brewers at the time who sold cold beer year-round — not just during winter months. (The original slide used to drop ice into the basement is still there and can be seen on the Queen City Underground tour offered by American Legacy Tours.)
Northern Row is paying homage to its historic roots by preserving as much of the original building as possible and housing other repurposed Cincinnati pieces that may have otherwise been forgotten or lost to time.
“The floor isn’t even sanded down to look new, because every scratch tells a story,” David says.
At a young age, David was taught metal work and how to fix and repurpose old furniture by his father. The trade and passion later translated into the thoughtful curation of items contained within the bar.
The grandiose Carnegie Steel support beams are decorative elements in and of themselves — look closely enough and you can find the original stamps dating back to the 1800s. The steel matches the drinking table legs taken from the light-gauge rail system that ran from downtown to Westwood. Above the tables is a 61-foot suspended row boat. The boat is the sister and backup to the exact one that won the American gold medal for rowing in the 1936 Olympics held in Berlin.
Perhaps the most prominent taproom feature is the massive Brunswick back bar built in 1809.
Brunswick was the original bar manufacturer in Cincinnati (and across the United States) selling everything one needed to open a saloon at the start of the 20th century. The owner of local Wooden Nickel Antiques found the Brunswick piece in Golden, Colorado and brought it back to Cincinnati, where David purchased it for Northern Row. All of the wood on top of the bar is from David’s grandfather’s family farm and the tin ceiling tiles wrapped around the bar are from an old Cincinnati building on Reading Road.
The owners of Northern Row drenched the bar in as many antique pieces gathered from throughout the city as possible, including lights above the bar that harken back to the original Cincinnati Gardens; small tables from White Oak’s Riester’s Tavern, which was built in 1856; and bathroom doors that were repurposed from the Sandusky Courthouse.
The production area is the only element in the building that was redesigned for construction purposes. However, the hardwood that was lifted for concrete replacement was repurposed to make the wooden shutters throughout the taproom.
The name Northern Row is even a pre-Prohibition nod to the area once called “The Lawless Land Above Liberty.” In the early 1900s, Liberty Street was the northern boundary of Cincinnati’s city limits. North of that street was the area known as Northern Row and the heart of Cincinnati’s brewing industry; “It’s where all the ‘fun stuff’ happened,” adds David — at least prior to the passing of the 18th Amendment (aka Prohibition) in 1919.
“This brewery is so deep-rooted in Cincinnati history and we want to honor that,” he says. “Cincinnati is special to us for a lot of reasons and not all cities have the uniqueness we’ve got here. We want to be intentional about what we brew, intentional about our food and, historically, we want to pay tribute to the city in everything we’re doing.”
Their business model of mixing the old with the new is consistent with their beer lineup, reinforcing the clean taste of traditional-style lagers and ales with reinvented flavor notes for a modern twist. Their beers can already be found on tap at many local establishments including HalfCut, Queen City Radio, The Lackman, Quan Hapa, Lucius Q, the Bay Horse Café and more, and feature several German and seasonal varieties. In the taproom, you’ll be able to find specialty beers and barrel-aged beers that have been aging for over a year.
As a distillery and brewery, Northern Row will not only feature beer, but also a variety of wine and spirits. From grain to glass, they’re currently mashing, fermenting and distilling special variations of rums, gins and bourbons using traditional pre-Prohibition mash builds and recipes.
Northern Row’s spirits will be marketed under their sub brand Five Stories, paying homage to the five stories of the building. Their food menu, still being finalized, is suggested to include traditional beer pairing options as well as healthy selections.
“The heart of our place is that we took extra time and effort to build something special and unique in the city. The space celebrates and respects the durability of the old as it has been integrated with the new,” Nancy says.
Their opening date is yet to be confirmed but keep an eye out this summer by checking their website. In the meantime, you can find them at the Oxford Wine & Craft Beer Festival, as well as the Lebanon BrewHaHa Craft Beer Festival & Tasting, both held on June 1.
Northern Row Brewery & Distillery, 111 W. McMicken Ave., Over-the-Rhine, northernrow.com