First came the move to a new facility. Now, for Rivertown Brewing is a new look. The Cincinnati-area brewery recently opened its new facility in Monroe, Ohio and co-owner Lindsay Roeper said after the move and seeing the space in reality made her and husband and fellow co-owner Jason Roeper along with their staff to see a new vision for the brewery that opened in 2009 in Lockland, Ohio.
“We knew that we had a great opportunity to evolve our packaging [after the move],” Lindsay Roeper said. “We wanted to share our story and liquid to our new and existing consumers and guests in a manner consistent with our overall look and vibe.”
Rivertown will debut three new beers featuring an updated look in a few weeks, planned for July. The new packaging, crafted by Cincinnati designer Tommy Sheehan of TOMMYINK, will appear on No. 3984 Lager, a clean, crisp American lager; Rivertown IPA, a medium-bodied tropical IPA; and Ember, a limited release dark German-style lager.
“We met with quite a few different designers and our connection with Tommy was immediate,” Roeper said. “Jason and I spent quite a bit of time with him sharing stories, our vision, our inspirations, our likes and dislikes, and of course — beer. We were really amazed at how well Tommy got “us” — after our initial info and story exchanges, the first concept he shared with us a couple weeks later totally blew us away and is what [consumers] will be seeing on the shelves starting mid-July.”
Evolution for the remaining lineup is set for completion by the end of 2017 with a refreshed look for Roebling Porter next in line. The design refresh represents the Rivertown’s own evolution, starting out as homebrewers and growing into a regional brewery of more than 12,000 barrels.
The new styles will round out Rivertown’s lineup, which includes the retirement of two brands: Lil Sipa IPA and Jeanneke Belgian Blonde.
Lil Sipa was released in 2012 and was one of the first session IPAs out in the market before session IPAs really became a thing Roeper explained.
“He was unique in the sense that you truly got the hop punch of a double IPA without the alcohol,” she said. “As more Session IPAs flooded onto the shelf and consumers became more adventurous, we just saw an opportunity for a change. Lil Sipa is an amazing session IPA, however, our new IPA…wow!”
Jeanneke was previously a seasonal for Rivertown that they brought into full time status two years ago due to high demand.
“At festivals, tastings and our tap room, everyone fell in love with her,” Roeper said. “She was our crossover: for guests who enjoyed domestics but were interested in exploring a more flavorful option.”
On the shelves, that love just didn’t resonate at the same level year round she said.
“We miss her already, but our new 3984 Lager we have coming out to replace the crossover option in our portfolio is so refreshing.”
Roeper said the brewery has always aimed to have beers in its portfolio that could speak to a variety of palates and that could fulfill the needs of consumers no matter where they are on their beer flavor journey.
“Once we identified that Sipa and Jeanneke would be retired, we spent a lot of time researching and talking as a team as to what we wanted to bring to the thirsty masses,” Roeper said. “We knew we wanted an IPA, it continues to be the top selling category in craft, we knew we wanted this IPA to appeal to the hop heads, hop curious and straight up lovers of IPAs, we knew the color, the flavor profile and mouthfeel that we were targeting. After many small batches and feedback, Rivertown IPA was born and he is darn amazing — medium bodied, tropical, vibrant, effervescent and bold.”
The 3984 Lager was named after the first two numbers of the latitude and longitude of both the Lockland and Monroe facilities.
“We knew we wanted something drinkable, for those consumers that love domestics, but are craft curious,” Roeper said. “We also wanted something for the craft consumers who were looking for something super refreshing and that they can be proud of and keep in their fridge for all occasions. We explored a variety of options, and then, upon looking at the [top] selling beers at our Barrel Houses, we were like…oh yes, our Lager.
“We’ve always wanted to share this outside of our establishments. It also fit our want to share the journey, in liquid form, of where we were and where we are today. We crafted 3984 to be a clean, crisp American lager that provides the perfect amount of refreshment for every occasion.”
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