USA, OH: Fretboard Brewing Co. to be opened in Blue Ash in the fourth quarter

Three La Salle High School graduates are teaming up to open a new brewery in Blue Ash, the Enquirer reports.

Jim Klosterman, Joe Sierra and Brad Plank will open Fretboard Brewing Co. at 5800 Creek Road in the fourth quarter.

The trio formerly operated Six String Brew Works, which partnered with Rhinegeist in 2015 to create S23 as a tribute to Sierra’s brother Eric, a Cincinnati Police Department sergeant who died of a brain aneurysm. The S23 IPA will be on tap along with a light ale, stout and hoppy wheat beer as well as up to 13 others.

The brewery will have a 20-barrel brewhouse and produce 2,500 to 3,500 barrels in its first year. Packaging could begin later, but the beer will be self-distributed to local bars and restaurants in kegs at the beginning.

The brewery’s 17,000-square-foot space will include three studio rooms that bands can use along with a 3,000-sqaure-foot taproom featuring a stage and sound system to showcase live music and music-related movies multiple times each week. A garage door will be incorporated into the space to provide a mix of indoor and outdoor seating during warm weather.

The brewery’s kitchen will be rented out to barbecue and smoked meat restaurant Smoked Out, which is run by some of the owners of O’Byron’s Bar & Grill.

13 April, 2017