Photo courtesy Cincy Winter Beerfest
Ongoing construction renovations at the Duke Energy Convention Center have forced a change in venues for the annual Cincy Winter Beerfest. For its 17th year, the event moves to the Cintas Center on Xavier University’s campus and holds two sessions on Saturday, February 1.
Cincy Beerfest features 75 different breweries and distilleries, giving the public the chance to sample beers, seltzers, ciders, and cocktails from across the city and across the U.S. The fest has grown into one of the biggest beer festivals in the country and raised more than $500,000 for the Big Joe Duskin Music Education Foundation, which provides educational music experiences to public elementary school students in Greater Cincinnati.
“We investigated other locations, but our festival needs to be in January or February to truly be a ‘Winter’ Beerfest, so most other venues were full of events, including others relocated from the Duke Convention Center closing,” says Craig Johnson, co-founder of Cincy Beerfest. “Cintas and Xavier then reached out to us, actually, which is awesome to be appreciated. After meeting them and touring the venue, we think it’s going to work out great.”
While the event is moving to a new location, Johnson assures that everything will go on as usual with few new additions. “A new venue brings some fun opportunities,” he says. “We’ll have beer stations all over the facility to be discovered. Most will be on the Concourse, but even the Musketeers playing floor will be packed with them. We are even using the luxury suites as special ‘speakeasy’ tasting rooms for several sponsors.”
Sessions are 1-4:30 p.m. and 7:30-11 p.m. Early admission tickets allow entry to each session an hour earlier. Ticket info is here.
It’s uncertain whether Beerfest will return to the Duke Energy Convention Center next year, as renovations aren’t projected to be completed until January 2026.
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