CINCINNATI — Bikes and beer will create a special brew from 5 p.m. to midnight Saturday when Cincinnati Cafe Racer Inc. hosts the second annual Garage Brewed Moto Show in Rhinegeist Brewery’s cavernous Tap Room.
About 1,000 people – from children to grandparents, bikers to regular Joes and Joans – attended the inaugural event, a show designed by Hyde Park resident and Cincinnati Cafe Racer owner Tim Burke to bring together motorcycle builders and restorers and share Cincinnati’s brewing heritage at the same time.
On display in spoke-shaped clusters will be 50 classic American, European and Japanese motorcycles, ranging from one-of-a-kinds built by professionals worth $75,000 or more to six-figure vintage bikes lovingly restored by hobbyists in their garages.
Blend that garage vibe with the crafted brews of Rhinegeist and you get the scene Burke has created along with Rhinegeist and volunteers from the Cincinnati Cafe Racer vintage motorcycle club.
Rocky Corsmeier won the “grophy” – a growler-shaped trophy – in the “classic” category at the inaugural Garage Brewed Moto Show in 2015. This year, Corsmeier will show a 1948 Indian Chief that he restored. Photo provided by Bill DeVore
“Bikes brewed up in garages: It’s a play on both terms,” Burke said of the show's name.
“It was absolutely spectacular. What a concept,” said Cincinnatian Beverly Corsmeier about the 2015 show. The 1938 Indian four-cylinder bike her husband Rocky restored won best of show in the “classic” category and earned them a treasured “grophy,” a term the show’s emcee, local comedian Billy DeVore, made up for the beer growler-shaped trophy.
Corsmeier said the crowd that packed Rhinegeist for the first Garage Brewed Moto Show was impressive. “There definitely was a very diverse crowd, diverse income levels and diverse tastes in machines,” she said.
The Corsmeiers will shoot for back-to-back wins in the classic category Saturday when they show the 1948 Indian Chief he restored. “Grophies” will be awarded in “pro custom,” “garage custom,” “racer” and “people’s choice” categories as well.
Burke, who has hosted motorcycle shows in summers past, said he launched Garage Brewed to fill a gap in the average biker’s touring calendar. By mid-winter, many bikers have begun to feel cooped up by its cold and wet days.
“Part of our special sauce is cabin fever and beer, and the third piece is that we intentionally chose (to hold the show) this weekend because there’s a motorcycle industry show, the V-Twin Expo, in town at the convention center,” Burke said.
He said he expects people from that industry-only show will view Garage Brewed as an after-party that starts right as their expo ends. And he expects riders of all kinds of bikes, from dirt to chopper, will want to check out its inventory – as well as Rhinegeist if they’ve never seen it.
Rhinegeist welcomed the Garage Brewed Moto Show, in part, because it adds variety to the numerous events it holds, said Tap Room general manager Jon Colasurd. The brewery opened a 7,000-foot hall in September for corporate meetings and private wedding receptions, and its Tap Room – with 120-year-old, 20-foot cement columns, 26-plus-foot-high ceilings and 20,000 square feet of space – has proved to be widely popular among everyday customers and special event producers.
“We needed a big space, and theirs is obviously ideal and very impactful,” Burke said.
The Garage Brewed Moto Show is free and begins at 5 p.m. Children are allowed in until 8 p.m. Doors close at midnight. For more information, visit http://garagebrewed.com.
