Two new breweries to watch

With more than 50 craft breweries currently operating in the region, and more on the horizon, it's getting harder to keep track of them all. Here are two breweries worth watching that are planning to open in 2019.

Founders Brian Jackson and Marvin Abrinica hope to open Esoteric Brewing Co. inside the historic Paramount building in Walnut Hills sometime during the first half of the new year.

Renovation of the 1930s art deco building that sits at the corner of East McMillan Street and Gilbert Avenue is well underway. Esoteric will anchor a $15 million-plus mixed-use re-development of the Paramount and be the first minority-owned and operated brewery in Greater Cincinnati.

In June, Kyle Hackbarth announced plans to open the Cartridge Brewing Co. inside the former Peterson Cartridge Factory at 1415 Grandin Road in Maineville, Ohio. The 102-year-old facility near the Little Miami Trail north of Loveland has sat empty for years after the Environmental Protection Agency called for extensive cleanup of the site in 2009. The site's owners, Bloomfield/Schon, spent more than $5 million in 2015 to remove lead and other ground contaminants that resulted from the factory's days as a munitions manufacturer.

Hackbarth said he's ready to start renovations of 10,000 square feet of the facility as soon as government agencies give final approval for work to begin. He hopes to open Cartridge Brewing sometime in 2019. The brewery also will be part of a mix-use development that includes upscale condos and retail.

