3-years ago Bryan Roth from This Is Why I’m Drunk reached out to local bloggers across the country to each build a 6-pack that represents their state. You can read that list here. About a year before that post I wrote another article on the Cincinnati Six-Pack.

Both of those lists are now hilariously out of date. The best example of this is that Rhinegeist isn’t on either list as they weren’t open yet. I initially sat down to write an update for Ohio’s part in the Six-Pack Project but remembered the difficulty in narrowing an entire state down into six beers. So, I decided to settle down to just a Cincinnati Six-pack, plus a few from Dayton. I also reached out to Pat at Pat’s Pints in Columbus and Rick Armon at The Ohio Beer Blog in Akron/Cleveland. They’ll both be doing similar posts covering their parts of Ohio in the next few weeks.

Rules

Must pick a six-pack of beers that you feel best to represent your state area and state’s area’s beer culture

area and area’s beer culture Beer must be made in your state, but “gypsy” brewers are acceptable, so long as that beer is brewed with an in-state brewery and sold in your state

Any size bottle/can is acceptable to include

Current seasonal offerings are fine but try to keep selections to year-round brews as much as possible. No out-of-season brews preferred.

The Ohio Six-Pack (2013)

Here are the six beers I picked for Ohio the first time around three years ago.

Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Fat Heads Head Hunter Hoppin’ Frog B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher Rockmill Cask Tripel Triple Digit Chickow! MadTree PsycHOPathy

Looking at that list now I’m glad I scaled down to just the Cincinnati-Dayton area for this year’s version. I’d replace Head Hunter with White Rajah, and the Cask Tripel with something, maybe swap Thirsty Dog Siberian Night for B.O.R.I.S., but the rest would stand.

Now onto what I would pick today.

The Cincinnati Six-Pack (2016)

Rhinegeist Peach Dodo Yellow Springs Captain Stardust Warped Wing Trotwood MadTree PSA Cellar Dweller Eye Opener Rivertown Old Sour Cherry Porter Old Firehouse Flash Point IPA

I don’t want to imply these are the “best” in the area, though they are all amazing beers. Instead, they show what a wide range of local beer is available. You’ve got a peach gose, a saison, a lager, a pale ale, a hazelnut coffee stout, and a sour cherry porter. Some of these styles are relatively common like lagers and pale ales. I’ve run across a few hazelnut coffee stouts, but not many. I can’t recall ever encountering a sour cherry porter before.

A friend reminded me that Old Sour Cherry Porter isn’t technically year round, even though you can usually find it on shelves year round. So I’ve replaced it with Old Firehouse Flash Point IPA. It’s not special or unique like some of the other beers listed, but it does have great citrus and grapefruit notes to it.

Popular Opinion

I ran a quick poll on the Greater Cincinnati Craft Beer Society Facebook group, here is what they picked.

Rhinegeist Truth (85 votes) Triple Digit Chickow! (68 votes) MadTree PsycHOPathy (63 votes) MadTree PSA (49 votes) Rhinegeist Peach Dodo (25 votes) Yellow Springs Captain Stardust (17 votes)

Pick Your Six

Let me have it Internet, what crucial Cincinnati-Dayton area beer did I miss that made my list completely invalid and useless? What’s your favorite local beer that everyone must try?