Cincinnati Museum Center and Rhinegeist partner on prehistoric beer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 10, 2023
MEDIA CONTACT: Cody Hefner (513) 608-5777, chefner@cincymuseum.org

Cincinnati Museum Center announces prehistoric beer in partnership with Rhinegeist Brewery

Tiktaalik Cold Double IPA celebrates upcoming exhibit and region's fossil-forward significance; available Sept. 4

CINCINNATI – Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) and Rhinegeist Brewery are preparing to debut a beer 375 million years in the making. The two Cincinnati staples teamed up for a new beer to be released September 4, with a portion of the beer’s sales being donated to the museum. Tiktaalik, Rhinegeist’s new Cold Double IPA, is a nod to CMC’s upcoming Ancient Worlds Hiding in Plain Sight exhibit, which will feature the beer’s 375 million-year-old namesake. The permanent addition to CMC’s exhibit offerings will showcase its robust Late Ordovician fossil collection, considered one of the finest in the world, and will walk guests through roughly 150 million years of evolutionary history. As the two organizations worked together to find the right inspiration for the beer, Tiktaalik rose to the top. The prehistoric fish, first discovered in the Canadian Arctic, lived during the Devonian Period and has features that define it as a critical transition fossil in the evolution from swimming fish to four-legged vertebrates, including those who moved onto land.

“Cincinnati’s prehistoric past and its brewing legacy have made it a destination for researchers and revelers. Now, we’re bringing those two together once again,” said Dr. Brenda Hunda, curator of invertebrate paleontology at Cincinnati Museum Center. “Our partnership with Rhinegeist allows us to pique the interest of amateur paleontologists and gives us something to toast with as we open a new gallery dedicated to telling Cincinnati’s prehistoric story.” Limited quantities of Tiktaalik will be available at Rhinegeist beginning in early September, including at their September 13 Beer for Humans Pint Night in the taproom. During the event, patrons will receive a token with every pint purchase which they can then use to vote for their nonprofit of choice, including Cincinnati Museum Center. Those votes correlate to a donation from Rhinegeist to support those organizations’ missions. Taproom guests can also see a peek of CMC’s invertebrate fossil collection in a 250-square-foot mini exhibition opening in the Rhinegeist taproom at the end of the month. Tiktaalik will also be available at exclusive CMC events, including the opening of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology’s annual meeting on October 18. Over 1500 scientists from around the world are expected to meet in Cincinnati for the international conference and CMC will greet each with a can of Tiktaalik at the welcome reception at Union Terminal. The beer will also be available at CMC’s Layers of Discovery event, presented by Atomic Data, on November 3. The adults-only event is an after-hours romp across each of CMC’s museums plus its OMNIMAX® Theater, with food and bars on every level. Rhinegeist will fittingly be serving Tiktaalik and a selection of its other beers in the Dinosaur Hall at the event. All-inclusive early bird tickets for CMC’s Layers of Discovery are available now.
Tiktaalik is a clever choice for Rhinegeist’s Cold Double IPA. It was, after all, discovered in the Arctic. The Cold Double IPA delves deep into Simcoe, Citra, Mosaic and Talus hops to uncover layer upon layer of bright citrus and vibrant tropical notes. The newest beer is the latest collaboration between CMC and Rhinegeist and the third since 2018. The two first partnered on Brittlebrain, a Belgian style golden ale, which was a play on the thin, fragile skull of Galeamopus, a 60-foot dinosaur CMC first displayed in Rhinegeist’s taproom in the spring of 2018 before moving it to its permanent home in the museum’s Dinosaur Hall. In 2022, the two partnered on a draft-only lager inspired by the German name for Cincinnati’s fossil-rich sediment layer Lagerstatte, from which many of the fossils in Ancient Worlds Hiding in Plain Sight come. The partnership leverages the strengths of both organizations to help tell Cincinnati’s unique prehistoric story. “Rhinegeist has teamed up with Cincinnati Museum Center several times in the past, and we are always excited to work with such a beloved Cincinnati institution. We strive to add as much value to Cincinnati’s brewing history as Cincinnati Museum Center does to the fossil record in the area, and we believe there are many parallels – although geologic time runs a lot longer,” said Beth Boswell, community engagement and partnership coordinator at Rhinegeist Brewery. “Turns out paleontologists love to share a beer, and we will always be happy to dig up a cold one with Cincinnati Museum Center!”