A cheerful club of Cincinnatians convened last night at the Christian Moerlein Brewery in the OTR Brewery District. They had to attend to some serious business. The invitation read:
“In the spring of 1896, the Windisch-Muhlhauser Brewery hosted some of the most prominent Cincinnatians. Guests enjoyed an elegant meal with beer pairings in the unlikely ambiance of the brewery. Cincinnati’s political and social elite enjoyed the experience so much that it became a regular occurrence, and the standard guest list called themselves members of the Beefsteak Club.
Bockfest and Arnold’s are proud to announce the resurrection of this tradition, now in its second year. Instead of steak and Lion beer, we will be serving slow roasted pig and goat (with apologies to Schnitzel!), sides of sauces, greens, red beans and rice, yams, potatoes, all paired with Christian Moerlein lagers and ales. Of course, there will be pie, bread pudding, and coffee to end the dinner off. You do not need to hold elected office, wear a bowler hat, or own a monocle to attend, but we do consider the people who join us to help make Bockfest possible to be the finest and most important members of Cincinnati society.”
The 2013 meeting of the Beefsteak Club was sold out. In addition to the roasted pig and goat and Christian Moerlein lagers and ales, attendees were treated to signed copies of this year’s Bockfest poster depicting the Sausage Queen by artist Jim Effler:
2013 Bockfest poster by Jim Effler
One attendee was Lisa Bambach from the group Cincideutsch. Her photos from the event are below. Lisa writes: “Last night, the Beefsteak dinner was held at the Moerlein Brewery as a fundraiser for Bockfest 2013. The evening was filled with great food, music, underground tours into the old Kaufmann Brewery, and the unveiling of this year’s artwork for the Bockfest poster.”
