Blank Slate Brewing Company

Pro: Family Friendly, Knowledgeable and Friendly bartenders, Variety of Beers, Price, etc. I could go on and on…
Con: Limited Seating and Parking
To regain some sense of normalcy since becoming parents, my husband and I decided we’d start going to breweries given they are the closest thing to going to a bar with a child.
We decided to give Blank Slate a try on a Saturday night in Feb ’15. Since it was a first time visiting and a Saturday night, we were nervous bringing our child. When we arrived, the tasting room was crowded but I immediatley noticed other children and instantly felt at ease and welcomed. They had 8 beers on tap and we decided to share four samples. All of the beers had a good flavor, some better than others due to preference, but we were both impressed with Fork in the Road.
Given our great first experience at Blank Slate, we decided to go back. We visited on a Saturday evening in October ’15. The tasting room was not as crowded as our first visit, but just as welcoming. They had a nice variety of beers on tap. Since we had our babe in tow, my husband and I took turns talking to the bartender to decide on what we might like to sample. The bartender was more than helpful and as nice as she could be. We settled on 4 samples each. After 10 minutes or so, the bartender came to our table to make sure we were happy with our selection. (She also interacted and played with our babe, which was huge for me) Again, all of the beers were tasty, but we were drawn to Fork in the Road. We both decided to order a pint and enjoy the College football game that was on the TV.
If you are looking for a laid back place with good beer and friendly staff, this is it!

I love this place and the amazing variety of unique beers the brewery has to offer. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, and mine is that this is by far my most favorite underrated brewery in Cincinnati.
This place is tiny and hard to find, but doesn’t have that pretentious aesthetic like other local breweries *cough* Rhinegeist *cough*. They have a tiny outdoor seating area, indoor bar, and a few tables, but I love it. They have plenty of board games, just ask! I actually enjoy the fact that this place is small and a little unpopular, because it makes it easier to come here for any date time with my boyfriend. Much more intimate feeling than those big guy breweries.
Coming from someone who primarily drinks dark beers; porters, browns, stouts, etc, I find that every beer I try here is amazing. Last night I had the rye peppercorn saison, rye session stout, cranberry stout, and the shiitake brown. Every single one was amazing, had the perfect balance of flavors, and left me wanting to try even more! I strongly recommend getting the Coffee Opera Crème Stout while it’s still on nitro! It’s like a beautiful beer milkshake.
Keep up the good work, and keep making great beer!

Okay, let me be completely honest. Blank Slate does not possess the most gorgeous interior design, nor does it boast impressively large equipment that’s fun to look at. It does however, offer a ton of different beers given their facility size, and it is all good beer.
If you only buy one thing from Blank Slate, buy a growler and fill it with their Opera Cream Stout, nitro or otherwise. This is probably the best stout I’ve had in my life. Granted, as I write this as I’ve only been 21 for about five months. Statement still stands, given I’m incredibly particular about beer. They also have a mushroom-​y beer (that I can’t recall the name of) that was a little heavy and bitter but still pretty spectacular.
There’s also a stack of board games and card games behind the bar, which is kinda cute. While it might not have the same energy as a notorious OTR based brewery, I’d argue that the beer is better and that it lends itself to more intimate and less pretentious gatherings.

We were here for the tap room anniversary party, and while I’ve had Blank Slate beers at various places around town, this was my first visit to the actual tap room. I was really surprised/​impressed with how large the facility was. Even though there were a ton of people for the special event, there was plenty of room for all. I really didn’t even see much line for the bathroom! The event was really well put on — some beers (including my beloved Bonbonerie Opera Cream Stout) were available from the moment the event started, while other beers were tapped at special times throughout the night. All the beers I tried were really well executed. I will definitely be back again for a «normal» night here at the tap room.

We lucked into an excellent day to make our first visit to Blank Slate, as they were celebrating their one year anniversary of their PourHouse taproom. This included hourly special tappings and way more selections available than they normally have.
Despite this being our first visit to the PourHouse, I have enjoyed Blank Slate’s beer since their opening in 2011 and consider them to be one of my favorite breweries in town. Their Fork in the Road is outstanding and the Shroominous, brewed with shiitake mushrooms, is a must try. During this event they had their hugely popular Opera Cream Stout on and it did not disappoint! I look forward to many return visits and can’t wait to see what the brewery looks like after another year.

Cincinnati doesn’t want for much in the beer department, but there are certainly breweries that stand out among the rest. I think of it like French fries: they’re all good, but some are simply better than others. Blank Slate is one of those standouts. Of the 25 I’ve had (rough estimate according to Untappd check-​ins), I have never met a bad Blank Slate beer.
The PourHouse recently celebrated its one-​year anniversary — what was once a one-​man operation expanded and opened the brewery to the public in late 2014 — and it is one of my favorite taprooms in the city. The small, unassuming space recently expanded, which will fare well for imbibing in the future. The bartenders have always been personable, flights are super reasonable (four tasters for $ 5), there is seating outside, there are chalkboard walls in the bathrooms (that part gets pretty immature in the witching hours post-​flights), and they even have food once in a while (think food trucks and hot dogs).
Blank Slate features many wonderful beers that vary pretty widely in the land of brew. Always go for a flight, as there are four+ great beers on tap at all times. Some of my favorites include Opera Cream (milk stout), Fork in the Road (India amber ale), RYEsing Up (rye saison), Shroominous (brown ale brewed with shiitake), Orchid’s Bloom (farmhouse ale collaboration with Orchid’s), and Lesser Path (white IPA) brewed with pineapple and habanero.

Have loved their beer for sometime so was glad to finally be able to visit their taproom to celebrate the release of Opera Cream! Not much parking right outside but plenty a little ways up the street in the public parking lot. Small place with a recent huge expansion still awaiting its finishing touches. They had plenty of beer servers at the small bar out front as well as extra at a back bar for the event. Bring your own food or take advantage of food trucks they may host. On this particular night they also had live music. Had a great time and enjoyed sampling many of their tasty beers, especially the Opera Cream Coffee Stout!

Love Blank Slate. We’ve been coming here since they first opened and it just keeps getting better. They’ve added some outdoor seating, a tv, and they have food trucks on a regular schedule. They have about 8 beers on tap at any given time with lots of variety. You’ll certainly find something you’ll like. The employees are always very friendly and helpful as well.

My rating seems to be the minority but I feel the beer at Blank Slate is far from 5 stars. I tasted 4 different beers and not one of them was great. I visited the brewery last night. My guess is it was 78 degrees inside. The building was humid and smelled like a urinal. My friend and I sat at the bar. The bartender was friendly at first but ignored us after we received our samples. Their Facebook page said the music starts at 7:30p. My friend and I arrived a little before 8 and shortly after we arrived the musician took an extremely long break (30+ minutes). The ambiance was off. Bright lights and no entertainment. All around my experience was disappointing.

I had long awaited the opening of the Blank Slate Brewing Company tap room. The beer from this brewery had long been at the top of my list for Cincinnati beer but it was only available at bars or restaurants and not at the brewery itself (and still not canned or bottled). Since they have opened I have stopped in multiple times and the best time to stop in is the summer. The tap room is nice, not big, but clean with bar seating, café tables, and larger tables with a tv at one end showing sports and a view of the brewery. The large garage door opens up when it’s warm out to let the air in and it’s fully covered with a screen so no bugs can get in. There is also outdoor seating with about four tables outside by the parking area (just needs some umbrellas to block the sun) that is great on a nice day.
I have tried a number of the beers and have liked everything I have tried. My absolute favorite is the Out and About Gose which is just a perfect beer in every way in my opinion, great nose, enough body for great taste, and light enough to be really refreshing. I also recently tried a one-​time special brew that I really liked a lot. This was the grapefruit habanero version of the Lesser Path, an India white ale, which had a nice bit of spice to it and was also quite refreshing. Fume which is a cherrywood smoked porter is another great brew in my opinion because I love a good smoked beer. I also have a memory of really liking Ryesing Up, a rye saison that was very tasty. I feel like I could go on to name all of the beers and comment how much I enjoy each on but I will stop here with my four favorites.
The reason I think this place is so great in the summer (other than the beer) is because it’s located right by Lunken Airport which has a nice bike trail that loops around the airport and connects to the Otto Armleder Memorial Park bike trail. You can park at a public parking lot a block from the brewery and when you finish riding just head over to Blank Slate and cool down with a beer. Or park at Otto Armleder park and the beer break is halfway through to cool you down before you ride the second half back to the car. Absolutely best unofficial addition to the bike trail I could have ever imagined.
This is definitely one of my favorite breweries in Cincinnati and I recommend everybody stop in and try a few beers.

The Lesser Path (Habanero/​Grapefruit) is the perfect summer beer with a little bit of spice ;). Just completed a 10 mile bike ride and this beer was exactly what I needed for rejuvenation. Don’t get me started on the Out and About Gose! Hits the spot. Light, hydrating and easy on the palette with just a little bit of salt. Thank you Blank Slate Brewing Company for bringing me back to life and I’ll be back as there will be many more bike rides at Lunken Airport!

I love Blank Slate Brewing Company’s tap room! Just the right size room to see the operations of this great local brewery, catch up with friends and enjoy some amazing handcrafted local ingredient sourced beer.
Scott the owner started the business in 2011 and has done everything by hand here at this local jem, he recently hired another associate to help with brewing and has few helping in the taproom.
You can’t go wrong with a flight of 4 for $ 5 with just the right size tasting glass. I tried Shroominous, which is made with local mushrooms — yes mushrooms used in a beer; Out & About, Gose style beer; Fork in the Road, their classic take on Amber/​Red ale and the star of the flight was Opera Cream Stout which used ingredients from local bakery Bonbonerie — yes a liquid version of their classic cake — mmm so good.
Thanks Scott for the amazing jem you’ve created in the Cincinnati Craft Brewing scene!

Nice little place, a bit hard to find in the dark but once there it is clean and small on the inside with a small bar and several tables plus a TV. The beer is the star here as they have a bit more variety than most of the other places which their selection consists of IPA, IPA, IPA and a Buttwiper clone. The staff here was also nicer than most of the places I’ve been and that makes the whole experience more comfortable

The Good: Wide variety of beer styles to choose from, knowledgeable staff, affordable pricing, friendly atmosphere.
The Bad: Limited seating
My wife and I went to Blank Slate early on a Saturday evening around 6:30. As we entered, the tables and area around the bar were crowded but the seating on the other side of the taproom had availability. We sat down with another couple who was just finishing up their flights. After exchanging some friendly conversation, I made my way up to the bar. There were roughly 8 beers on tap that evening. Tasting flights were available for $ 1.25 each or 4 for $ 5. We decided on the set of 4 to start off with. The two bartenders were very helpful in giving the background for each style of beer and their personal recommendations based on my taste. The flights were served on square boards with four holes making it easy to carry the flights back to our table. My wife and I enjoyed all four flights but chose the Fork in the Road India Amber to get a follow up pint of. Most of the pints are priced at $ 5 and they offer Growlers as well. Blank Slate also offers «fizzy water» which is great to cleanse your palate after tasting each flight. Our visit there lasted a little over an hour. There was a steady crowd in and out during that time and when we left, most of the seating was occupied with others waiting to sit down.
We really enjoyed our experience at Blank Slate. It offers a variety of beer styles for affordable prices. They have a knowledgeable staff and even the brewmaster was making his rounds and answering questions. We look forward to returning there in the near future.

Blank Slate has been making great beers in the Cincinnati area for a few years now. I’d always be super happy to go into a bar and see one or more of their beers on tap. Now that they have their own taproom, I can do that anytime I want! They have eight of their beers on tap at any given time, and all of them are fantastic. If you don’t know what to try, the sampler is good. You get 4 small pours for $ 5, which may be the best sampler deal in town. The space is pretty small, but there was plenty of space to sit both weekends that I went. Now I hear they are starting to get much busier, so it may be harder to find a spot now. Last week, they even had to close a day because they didn’t have enough beer. That sounds like a good problem to have! Be sure to check them out soon, you won’t regret it.

Spartan taproom but an incredible selection of delicious and unique craft beers served by the mad geniuses who brew them. Come for the beer, stay for the ever evolving restroom chalk art.

Blank Slate’s newly opened tap room is fairly small, but more than adequate. Parking might become an issue if/​when this place gets more attention. I love Blank Slate’s beers. I’ve tasted most of them over the last couple years they’ve been producing them. This is my kind of tap room, pretty much no-​frills, concrete floor, barrel-​top tables, appropriate glassware, industrial feel, and view of some of the magic machines that make really good brews. A large garage door will make good weather a good thing with it open. I’m a Blank Slate fan, so I’m glad they got their tap room going!

A nice new tasting room and brewery. This is a smaller place but they have pretty good beer. The owner/​brew master is nice and was tending bar. It’s a fairly simple place but good beer. There are 8 beers on tap and the offer $ ⁵⁄₄ tastings. Beers range from $ 5 – 7 depending on the brew. They also offer growler fills. There are probably 25 seats in the tasting room. There is limited parking probably 10 spots or so but street parking is available. Easy to get to and find. Another great addition to the tap room scene in Cincinnati.

I’ve been a fan of Blank State’s white IPA for a while and I’m stoked their tasting room is finally open!
We stopped by today for a flight and was impressed with the atmosphere including the bourbon barrel table tops. I’m a kentucky girl, I can appreciate the bourbon décor. The tasting room is on the small side but a great starting point for this local gem.