Local breweries collaborate to create special beer to support tool lending program

Municipal Brew Works in Hamilton is one of breweries that are creating Nailed It, a blueberry hefeweizen beer to be unveiled next month.

Six Greater Cincinnati area breweries have teamed up to create something that hasn’t been done in about seven years.

Municipal Brew Works, Narrow Path, Third Eye, Mad Tree, Brink Brewing and Moerlein Brewing, all previous recipients of the Cincinnati ToolBank’s Brewers Philanthropy Award, have collaborated to craft a special beer called Nailed It, a blueberry hefeweizen. The limited-production beer will be unveiled at the ToolBank’s annual fundraiser, Hammers and Ales on Oct. 3 at the Fowling Warehouse in Cincinnati neighborhood of Pleasant Ridge.

The Cincinnati ToolBank is a nonprofit tool lending program that provides fellow nonprofit organizations and community groups with access to an inventory of tools for use in large-scale volunteer projects, special events, facility repairs, grounds maintenance and more. The tools are provided to enhance the charitable sector’s capacity to serve, facilitating hands-on volunteerism in the greater Cincinnati area.

The Cincinnati ToolBank has been recognizing breweries philanthropic efforts for 10 years now for “all the good work that they do for other nonprofits, and just for their neighborhoods,” said Julie Italiano, director of marketing and outreach for ToolBank USA, the national organization for the affiliate ToolBanks around the country. “They do so much to give back to their communities and we love to recognize them for all the good work that they do.”

Municipal Brew Works won the group’s Brewers Philanthropy Award in 2023 and co-owner Jim Goodman said he reached out to the other breweries that have won this honor about the collaboration beer.

“It was probably one of the easiest things ever,” Goodman said about gathering the other breweries, “because one of the most fun things to do in brewing is to do a collaboration with another brewery. These breweries have all shown themselves to give back to the community at levels that are insane. The opportunity to give back to the community and create awareness for Cincinnati ToolBank, no one is going to pass up that chance.”

Municipal’s philanthropic initiatives which include, among others include the annual brewing of Woltermelon Blonde Ale, a tribute to fallen Hamilton Firefighter Patrick Wolterman and where a portion of proceeds are donated to Companions on a Journey Grief Support, and helping find forever homes for pets with their Ales for Tails fundraiser.

“Most breweries out there are a gathering place, it’s a place where people can commune, enjoy life and help each other out when they need help,” said Goodman. “You’ve got some of the most talented brewers in the Greater Cincinnati area have all come together, so you’re going to get knowledge out of that, you’re going to get some fun out of that, and it just makes you better.”

Nailed It came after several in-person and Zoom meetups among the six breweries, and they felt the hefeweizen, a German wheat beer, was a simple recipe they can play around with. The hefeweizen yeast have banana esters, so the group felt a blueberry-banana beer would “be kind of fun.”

They will produce about 30 barrels of the beer, which is about 46 kegs that will be divided among the breweries and the Cincinnati ToolBank fundraiser.

About 46 kegs of the beer will be produced.


More details

For more information on the Cincinnati ToolBank and how to get involved, visit cincinnattoolbank.org.

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