New Hamilton restaurant, microbrewery opens this week: Here’s what it offers

A new restaurant and microbrewery that will serve “upscale pub fare with a twist” is set to make its debut this week in Hamilton.

Fretboard Brewing & Public House will open at 11 a.m. Wednesday at 103 Main St. It will be the second location for the Blue Ash-based brewery, replacing the former Quarter Barrel Brewery + Pub, which closed Jan. 3. Besides food and beverages, the new restaurant will offer live music and panoramic rooftop views of the Great Miami River and Hamilton’s downtown.

A Fretboard menu features shareables, greens, mains, sides, desserts and a kids menu. Some dishes are vegetarian or gluten free while others may be made that way upon request.

MORE: New Hamilton pub will be ‘upscale’ but with a few ‘twists’

Fretboard will offer 14 on-tap selections of its award-winning beer via 16-ounce pints for $6 with a $1 charge for cups used as part of Hamilton's outdoor drinking area. All beers above 7.3 ABV (alcohol by volume) are served as 10 ounce pours for $7. Tasting flights are available for $8 and include a choice of any four pours. A 32-ounce crowler costs $10 and customers who bring their own 64-ounce crowler pay $15. A six-pack of cans costs $9.99.

There’s also a selection of craft cocktails, wine by the glass and wine by the bottle. Happy Hour is 3 to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, when beer costs $5 for all 16-ounce pints, wine costs $5 for all glass pours and all premium well drinks cost $5.

All three floors of the business feature full-service dining. The first floor offers first-come, first-served seating, as does the rooftop when weather permits. Reservations are for the second floor dining room.

Fretboard Brewing & Public House is owned by Looking Glass Hospitality Group, the owner of Clyborne’s in Mason and TAHONA Kitchen+Bar in Blue Ash.

MORE: Casual Pint becomes Hamilton’s newest restaurant option: What to know

Happy Hour appetizers include Fried Pickles & Friends (pickles, jalapeños, banana peppers, onions) for $5, Buffalo Chicken Taco (pulled chicken, buffalo sauce, lettuce, Monterey jack, blue cheese dressing) for $2.50, Charred Onion Dip (chips, celery, carrots) for $5 and Blue Cheese Chips (house chips, cheese sauce, blue cheese, green onion) for $3.

Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.

Hamilton is generally dry for alcohol sales on Sundays, so Fretboard, like other establishments before it, will have to ask voters in its precinct this March for permission to serve beer that day of the week. Until then, the restaurant part of the operation will not be open because, “Nobody wants to be in a brewpub and not be able to drink,” Scott Schmidt of Looking Glass Hospitality Group, which is partnering with Fretboard Brewing Co. on the establishment, told this media outlet previously.

For more information, including how to make reservations, click here.

MORE: Why this vacant Hamilton building will become the city’s latest new restaurant

About the Author