Press Release:

(Cincinnati, OH) – February marks a time when sugar maple trees across the state are tapped to begin collecting their sap. This year, we’ll be tapping something different.

What started with a hike has lead to our latest collaboration. Mt. Carmel Brewing is teaming up with the Cincinnati Nature Center to brew a first for Ohio. The Nature Center is home to some of the state’s last remaining acreage of Old Growth Forest, with sugar maple trees as old as 250 years. We’ve tapped into those trees to brew the Maple Doppelbock – MCBC’s first lager crafted with the maple syrup from our friends at Cincinnati Nature Center.

“In our backyard is something uniquely Ohio,” said Mike Dewey, Mt. Carmel’s Director of Brewing and Co-Founder. “We’ve wanted to work with the Cincinnati Nature Center for a long time and with the expansion of our brewery the timing felt right.”

Mt. Carmel Brewing and the Cincinnati Nature Center have enjoyed a long relationship working together since the brewery’s founding in 2005. Mike and Kathleen Dewey have poured beer at weddings held at CNC’s Krippendorf Lodge in the early years of the brewery’s history. Most recently, Mt. Carmel collaborated closely with CNC last summer to host their inaugural “Hoots and Hops” – an event that brought beer to the trails of the nature center.

Saturday, February 8, Mt. Carmel and CNC will host one of Cincinnati Beer Week’s premier events – “Tap Into Maple” where the brewery will officially release the Maple Doppelbock. MCBC and the folks from CNC will host guided maple hikes to collect sap and learn about the process of making maple syrup from their trees.

Guests will have the opportunity to sample syrup straight from the evaporator and make their way to the Krippendorf Lodge where MCBC will show just how maple syrup was used in the brewing process. Guests will end the tour with a taste of the collaboration doppelbock. “Tap Into Maple” will also feature pairings with “maple-bites” created by local culinary talent and the opportunity to enjoy pints of other Mt. Carmel beer, all with the backdrop of the forest that inspired it all.

Following the official release, the beer will be available to Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky with limited availability in Columbus, Dayton, Lorain, Toledo, Youngstown and Cleveland. Mt. Carmel Brewing’s Public House will have the offering on tap with pints and growlers available.