I have had the pleasure of visiting Urban Artifact twice now on two separate trips to Cincinnati, and let me just say that both nights were awesome. Not only does Urban Artifact produce some of the best sour beers but they also have live music almost every single night which makes this a perfect stop for any evening. Urban Artifact is located in the basement of an old church, however, their taproom is more than adequate to handle craft beer lovers along with some live music lovers all in the same venue. However, should the inside get a little too crowded for your tastes, there is an outside patio that is perfect for that spending an evening under the stars. Even though the beer here has a heavy focus on the sour side, they still have almost something for everyone. During my first visit, I tried their Warmug, which is a Golden Fruited Coffee Sour Ale which has hints pf peaches, passion fruits, plums and of course coffee. While I am usually not a coffee fan I can tell you that I was tempted by this beer. I also went with their Sliderule, which is a Sour Raspberry Dark Sour, which was just as tasty as the Warmug. When I returned I knew that I had to branch out so I went with a flight, which consisted of four 5oz tasters, and sampled a variety of their beers, not a bad one in the mix. Overall Urban Artifact is right up there as one of my favorite sour breweries, and a certainly a must for anyone living in or visiting Cincinnati. read more

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Urban Artifact is a great hidden brewery in Northside. I literally drove by Urban Artifact so many times without realizing that it was a brewery. I decided I had to give it a shot, especially because I need to check out more things in the neighborhood before I move there in a week. I was surprised, it's in an old church basement, which is interesting, it has a large area to sit outside, and has sour beers that I like. The only reason why I'm giving it a four star review is because I'm not a sour beer person... with this stop me from going back? Absolutely not, what makes it even better is that I can tell my grandparents I'm going to "mass", but really just Sunday Funday-ing. read more

Sour beers galore! If you are into sours then this place is for you! The venue is neat - it's located in the bottom of an old church in the Northside area which is quite up and coming. In addition to the sour beers, they also serve homemade sodas (tonight's selection was an orange soda and ginger ale). The only food is whatever outside venue wants to come and serve so don't bring an appetite just yet. Rumor has it that Meatball Kitchen is moving in next door... This is definitely a place to keep an eye on for future visits! read more

Yuck...yuck......yuck.....gag....spew They have a very cool location and a great music venue but they also have bar none the most disgusting beer that I've had in my 42 years. I simply do not know how anybody can drink this recycled sock sweat and vomit that they call beer read more

Amazing selection of sour beer and the customer service is great! Awesome bartenders!

Beautiful building. Old church turned into a brewery. Who does not appreciate that. They make great sours. Some of the best in the country. They have food trucks for food. On Saturdays they might have a band for live entertainment. Would recommend as a go to if brewery hopping in Cincinnati. read more

We came up from Tennessee for a bearcat college visit. However I had already heard of Urban Artifact. The setting in the Catholic Church is beautiful and their beers are uniquely good. We tried some great beers. We did walk out with the classic Finn beer in a growler. Why not a souvenir read more

Urban Artifact - I'm glad we stopped!!! - Breweries Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Hands-down the best sour brewery in Cincinnati. Kind staff, fun flavors, great outdoor patio

Very neat atmosphere and plenty of beers on tap to choose from- lots of sours and fruit.

This place is all types of funky (in a good way). First off, it's in an old church. Second, the taproom is in what appears to be the basement. Third, their beer is typically sour, tart, wild or funky. I am a huge fan of their beer and their beer only seems to get better and better. While much of their beer is on the fringe of what some may like; I will recommend you check out their fruit beers. They use a ton of fresh fruit in these and you can tell. And if you are a music fan; they have live music 7 nights a week. read more

This place is a little hidden gem in Northside. I say hidden because being in a church with the entrance on the right side, you may not notice it at first. Once you go inside, you feel like you've stumbled into something very special as you see a mix of the old church, trendy bar, and jazz club seating. They have a whole schedule of different bands most of the week so check before to see what you get to hear! The beers are mostly sours. Lots of unique flavors. If you are a little nervous, I would start with "Finn"- it's a great starter towards sour beers! read more

I'm not sure how I didn't manage to write a review for this place when I visited six months ago because I loved it and I also bought a shirt. I feel like becoming a walking billboard for a place without reviewing it is just backwards. The bar is unfortunately not in the best of areas of town, although I felt quite safe in the immediate vicinity. There's tons of street parking, so you don't have to worry about having to walk in the surrounding neighborhood. The bar is in the BASEMENT of a church, so skip the trek up the front steps and find the door around the side of the church. I may or may not know from personal experience. My fiance and I LURVE sours and wilds, so this place was right up our alley. They specialize in all sorts of funk; other than the guest tap, everything was fermented. Considering we feel lucky to find one sour on a menu, having a whole board of them was almost overwhelming in its awesomeness. All of the beers were high quality and I would reorder any of them again. The fruit flavored ones hit the top of my list. There's live music almost every night and while it was too loud for talking at the stage, the bar room works perfectly for hearing the band while holding a conversation. I loved the old basketball court wall treatment at the bar, although it took me a lot of staring to figure out that's what it was. Bathrooms were plentiful and clean. I truly hope this place gets big enough to distribute to Louisville because having their beer only on my annual trip up there is not going to do it for me. If you're a beer lover, please hit this place up! read more

The downstairs is nice. Went to a show in the Sanctuary (upstairs) and it is totally unfit to be a venue at this point. There's no AC or even windows that open. And it was so freaking hot as to deem it just miserable. Super uncomfortable for the audience and I have no idea how the band could take it. The water was frequently empty and the bar staff was grumpy with patrons for asking when there would be more water. Aside from the people working the bar and door there was no one discernible as staff. Paint peeling and tools and rags lying around. It just doesn't seem ready for shows. read more

I typically dislike beer, but I really like the beer at Urban Architect. It's very fruity, sweet, which is perfect for those of us who dislike the typical taste of beer. Con: SO. LOUD. Gosh, I'm trying to have a nice conversation or play a card game with friends and no one can hear each other! Band that played the night I was there wasn't good from what I can hear, even then all I can hear are just noise. No one wants that. read more

This venue is quite unique since it's got a very hipster feel while also being located in the bottom of a church. We missed the live music but apparently they have lots of music shows. I was surprised that I found one of the best craft beers I've ever had at this particular brewery. First of all, I was thrilled to find out they specialize in sour beers as that is already hard to find. The key lime gose was delicious but what really stole my heart is called the "Spicy Chariot" which is a tart cherry gose infused with jalapeños. Wow! It's so good... I have tried a lot of sour beers and a lot of beers that include jalapeño but I have never had one this good. The Spicy Chariot is the perfect blend where the flavors perfectly complement each other and neither is overpowering. It's also the perfect spiciness with only a slight sweetness and so smooth. I was sad they didn't have any bottles or cans for sale! read more

Urban Artifact - Breweries Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

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If you like sour beer or Goze... goze here. Staff is friendly and helpful. Beer is tasty A.F. Your welcome

Funky, cool setting. Most of the beers were fruits or sours - not my style. No thanks

If you like sours this is the place for you! Everything reminded me of a tart ale and they were all delicious! They offer a flight so you can taste several of their beers without being a little to drunk. The atmosphere was very chill and even good place for kids during the day, not to mention the church it is in is just absolutely beautiful! It would be nice if they had a wider variety of beers (other than sours). read more

Great variety of experimental beers and awesome service and guests. We ordered 2 flight so we could try a little bit of everything. Absolutely loved the DIPI, keypunch, chocolate raspberry Gose, and the Glimmer IPA. Our bartender was awesome, when we told them we wanted the "Dealer's Choice". Great recommendations. Definitely recommend. read more

Urban Artifact - Breweries Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

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Urban Artifact is a cool venue for sour beers and live music acts. Treat yourself to the Blue Wisp Jazz Band every Wednesday night. The only complaint that I have is that, sweet Jesus, the men's bathroom is nasty dirty. Six foot long puddle of I-don't-know-what, and enough urine odor to make your eyes water. Clean the bathroom regularly, Urban Artifact! It's gross!!! read more

The atmosphere of this place is insanely cool! It is literally in the basement of a church, and the seats at the booths are old church pews. They have a small food selection, but their pizza is awesome! My main complaint is that their beer selection is very small and they don't have a large variety - they mainly have bitters and sours, which I am not a fan of at all. I wanted to like so many of them because of their fruity flavors, but when I tested them, they were almost puckering-sour. Aside from this, the environment is great, the bartenders and service is great, and there was no problem with street parking at all! read more

I have to write an update because the last time I stopped in I was very happy with every beer I tasted. Urban Artifact has really improved the quality of their beers. I tried seven different beers by having a couple pints, a couple tasting size glasses, and sips from the other three people I was with. We stopped in specifically for the Otso which is a double tart brown ale with coffee with a Finnish name and since I was born in Finland I had to try it. I was somewhat wary of it because I did not really like the Kodiak a previous brown ale from them. However, Otso nailed it with a great malt flavor that blended well with mild tart notes. Everyone at the table liked it. The Palmistry was a refreshing double Berliner pale ale with guava, pineapple, and kumquat and tasted like an awesome summer beer that easily covered up the fact that it had an 8.5 % abv. The Phrenology, which is an IPA, was my favorite. Great citrusy hops notes and awesome aroma. I am so happy to see a great IPA from Urban Artifact! The Orange Phrenology was also pretty good and was the Phrenology with orange zest added to it. For comparison, I tried the Calliope and Shiitake Calliope side by side. The Calliope is a wild fresh hop ale and I always take the opportunity to drink a fresh hop beer if it is offered. More mild than a typical pale ale with more herbal qualities, this was a good beer. But the Shiitake Calliope was better with the notable flavor and earthiness from the mushrooms. The Clothesline is their farmhouse rye and is also quite a satisfying beer to drink. The spicy notes from the rye are there but mild and there are some Belgian yeast notes as well. The beer menu they have now is also a nice touch. It has descriptions of the beers that let you know how they tasted and how sour or funky they are. It was also split in to sections by lactobacillus bacteria and brettanomyces yeast so you know how the beer was brewed and why it has some of the flavors you experience. I really like having this information available. After my most recent visit, I can't wait to go back. read more

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Yesssss it's about time Ohio got a dedicated sour brewery! They just opened about a week ago and already have 7 beers available. 4 of the 5 that we tried out of adorable tiny tulip glasses were very nice. The gose had a pretty high level of green apple flavor. Very cool conversion of use, the music venue is cool as is the outside. It'll be 5 stars when the sanctuary is open and their longer aging sours are ready. read more

UPDATED 11/16/18 to say there is food on site now, the brewer y has partnered with a pizza place. An excellent development. I could write and write and write and write about this brewery. I won't, ain't no one gonna read all that. I'll just give a few bullet points: 1) Cool vibe. In a church. I'd like to explore the place sometime, as I stuck to the bar and the bathroom and back again. 2) Beer. Awesome. Make sure you like sours. If you do not like sours or have never had anything beyond Natty Light, this is probably not the place for you. Nevertheless, the beer is outstanding, stuff no one else is doing. 3) Cool bartenders. It was a busy Saturday evening and all four or five people who were behind the bar (bartenders and a bar back who was hustling all evening) were cool and knowledgeable about their beer without fawning over it. In particular, ask for Darci and tip her heavily. 4) The clientele was not terrific. The brewpub is basically in just a big room so the acoustics are awful, and noise vibrates all over the place. When I was there, a group of ghetto fabulous folks was drunk and loud and caused a lot of drama, including what looked like a lover's quarrel. Several of them seemed to enjoy yelling their beer orders at full volume straight into the ears of people sitting at the bar. I was glad when they left, but the nonchalant way the barkeeps shrugged them off made me think the behavior was fairly typical. I did not like that (or them) at all. 5) No food. I think you can bring in food from outside. Maybe they have food trucks sometimes. 6) They had a band that included a woman with some kind of wild sounding electric cello. They seemed a little avant garde for my taste, and I've seen Marilyn Manson three times. That's really about it. As far as Cincinnati breweries go, I would put Rhinegeist, MadTree and Urban Artifact at the top of the list, with 50 West hot on their heels. If you're on the Northside, go eat at Tickle Pickle and then come here. read more

This place is incredible. For those giving them bad reviews just because you don't like sour fruited beers, shame on you! Just because you don't like what they specialize in, doesn't mean they aren't amazing at what they do. The venue is intimate, the beers are unique and well crafted, and they maintain a number of non-sour/non-fruity beers if those are not your thing. Highest recommendation to Urban Artifact. read more

I will preface this by saying that I love, love, love sour beer. It is my absolute favorite style. There is no way I could not give this place a great review since they only produce sour beer. I have been waiting for a place like this for years. The space is large and nicely adorned (although as others have mentioned it does retain a bit of a church basement feel, stirring memories for those of us who went to catholic school). There is a really cool stage where a psychedelic jam band was playing the Friday I attended. The sound system and stage lighting were impressive and on par with a music venue, rather than the typical bar set-up. I only got to try two beers on my first visit, Finn and Kodiak (on nitro). Both were really tasty. In my opinion, Urban Artifact and Taft's Ale House are the best of the new breweries in the area and both have really hit the ground running with the quality of their initial offerings. read more

I was so excited to try this brewery because it is inside of a church but I was disappointed by the interior as well as the beers. The interior didn't feel anything like being in a church. It looked like the basement of a dingy/cheap reception hall. The beers were all Sours. If I would have known that I would not have come here at all. Sours as all beer drinkers know, are an acquired taste. I mean even the coffee stout was a sour....Eww. read more

Urban Artifact - Breweries Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

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I have been walking past this brewery for a while now and never went inside. Finally I decided to check it out while waiting on a friend. Glad I did. It's a pretty cool place. Once inside, there's a bar directly in front of you. I guess they specialize more on the sour beers, which I am not a fan of. I got a nice ale, which I can't remember the name of, and it was a pretty good beer. There was also a darker room with a live band that you can check out. Also, there was a cute outdoor area that is more like a picnic style hangout. I feel like everyone will get what they want when coming here because they have a little variety of things going on. Weekends seem to be packed full of people. I will definitely be coming back! read more

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Urban Artifact is a brewery in Northside that I feel is just at a start. This brewery is going to grow into something even more special than it already is and I'm excited to support it. I've been here a handful of times in the last couple months. It's located in an old church, and so far just as tables, the beer and a stage set up in the basement of the church. They are currently working on making the (gorgeous) upstairs into something more for the brewery as well. The beer here is awesome, the people who work here and run the place are nice and friendly. You are able to bring in your own food here if you want to grab some beers and eat. We picked up NYPD pizza once and it was Sunday afternoon/lunch time. It was awkward because there was a church service going on while we sat in the very back and ate our pizza quietly trying not to interrupt. So, I would check their events and timing on Sunday's. I haven't seen a show here before but the stage is small so if you go see a band here it will be intimate. Which is great in my opinion. I love smaller shows. If you want to check out a local brewery and don't want to deal with a large crowd, I would defiantly take a bunch of people here and hang out and get some great local beer. Can't wait to see what they have and become in the future. read more

I am in love with local Brews and unique beers, and this place has both! Not only do they have live jazz music in the basement of an old church, but they serve a range of sour beers that I can honestly say I have never had before. We went to check them out once we heard they would be featuring beers at Clifton Big Night Out in May, and again in July, and we had no trouble finding a place to park on the streets nearby. When you walk down into the basement you are greeted with living edge bars to enjoy your drink and great, live local music. They had several beers on tap, including Nitro, and they all had something different going on. The Harrow is my favorite, after trying all the different ones we had ordered in our group, for its complex taste, sourness and a taste of salt at the end. Now I know people say "I can only have 1 and then I am done" but we had a few throughout the night and never lost its luster. They are open: Monday - Thursday: 4pm - 12am Friday: 4pm - 1:30am Saturday: 12pm - 1:30am Sunday: 12pm - 12am They even offer tours, which I hear are pretty cool, every Saturday and Sunday at 1:00pm and 3:00pm each day. Their website says "Show up at the taproom and let the bartender know you're interested. Limited to 12 persons per trip and we'll have samples to taste during the tour. Call ahead if you want to schedule a larger crowd - we'll gladly accommodate!" This place is just starting out and they plan to turn the main sanctuary into a music venue, which will be a great addition to Northside and our neighborhoods at large. If you like supporting local breweries and want to try something new, check out this new addition to Cincy's long Brew Scene. read more

Urban Artifact - Live Jazz, delicious beer (get the Nitro Finn!!! Grapefruity), what could possibly be better on a Thursday night?? - Breweries Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

What a great addition to the already staggeringly growing Cincinnati Brewery Scene. Not only do they have great live music, including Jazz many nights a week, but their beer is some of the tastiest I have had in Cincinnati. No doubt it has a different product than the other places.... well...anywhere, but it is worthy of exploration. First off, the space is pretty awesome. Their taproom is in the basement under the church (the church will be a live music venue for larger act - Coming SOON!). It is decorated in a way that makes it unique while also paying homage to the roots of the building/property. In the music area, they have padded walls (to help with the sound) covered in random pieces of the old gym floor from the gym. It makes for a brilliant re-use of what probably would have just have been discarded. They have rotating taps that will change as they brew new beer. Their two mainstays the Finn and Harrow are both great. They had the Finn available on Nitro tonight and I think it really opened it up and allowed you to taste all the flavors (which were many). They are both great and are a great place to start for the newbies. You can get a real feel for the unique flavor profile that their beers have. One of my favorites of this night was a bourbon barrel beer that had just a hint of their "sourness". It tasted and smelled to me like a Manhattan (the cocktail). It was the bourbon flavor and smell mixed with the fruity and sour/sweet taste of a single maraschino cherry. I loved it! I found it to be unbelievably complex and drinkable (even at 7% alcohol). As you are tasting the beers, you will find hints (or heaps) of the "sourness". This comes from the yeast that they use to make the beer. I found it absolutely drinkable, and 100% enjoyable. A new taste that you don't get much in Cincinnati (outside of a few brewers who dabble). I was a little worried that the beers would all taste the same, but they really all have unique characteristics that make a flight here something I would definitely consider. I applaud the guys who took a chance because I think with future expansion (and the addition of a restaurant next door), this Northside Brewery will be a hit. I would get there now before people start getting a taste for this unique and wild beer and you won't be able to get a table or chair, which has become typical in Cincinnati breweries. read more

Beautiful structure. Not only it a church bar. It seem like a cool place to hold event. Cozy bar, great draft. Give me the feel of "Neon" in OTR. Pretty spacious, nice ambiance, casual. It's a great local spot if you don't like the crazy over crowed OTR. read more

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If you like sour beers you will love this place. Unfortunately, I learned from this visit that I am not a fan of sour beer. I was also expecting great/unique decor since this is located in a former church. The set up is in the basement which looks and feels like a basement. read more

This place could benefit from some signage or something. What would be the main door to the church was locked, then we walked down the broken crumbling stairs that clearly have needed work for years but owners have done nothing with. Then we found another door into the main building, which was also locked. This one did have a sign on it, but small enough you had to be all the way to the door to see it. We finally found an entrance into a tiny little tap room with a window air conditioner, where I kept wondering where the rest of this place was, and why have this big beautiful building and only have a basement open? After ordering a drink I noticed two different people go over to a door and open it and look in, and then walk away. I figured maybe this was the way to the rest of the building so I eventually opened that same door just to see, where the bartender immediately told me I couldn't go in there, I told her sorry I was just looking and she snottily told me "yeah no". So needless to say I won't be back at this establishment nor wil I be buying any of the beers they sell in the stores. Cincinnati has a lot better options than to go somewhere that is so unprofessional inside and out. read more

Came with my wife and 6 month old and were going to meet friends. We had no idea it was their birthday party, which should not matter. My wife can not walk due to foot surgery and we have a 6month old with a stroller. Staff offered us no way to get up to another level unless we parked somewhere else and he couldn't even explain or go about pet out of his way to help, just the excuse of being an old church. This was a terrible first experience and we left to go to another brewery across the street and get this, they just had a handicap ramp built. This is sad because we really love Urban artifact and would not ever comeback again for this reason. Aren't there state guidelines that prevent this kind of discrimination from happening. read more

This is a fun brewery specializing in sour beers in an old church in Cincy. Church breweries are really turning into "a thing" and my husband loves sours so we figured we'd give it a try. I haven't been able to make myself like sours at all, so I can't speak to their specialty. I can, however, talk up their cherry beer and their seasonal stout, which were both delicious. The cherry beer (Cherry Pie) wasn't too sweet at all, but it did have a really nice pie type flavor to it. Actually pretty refreshing. The seasonal stout was a gorgeous heavy beer with a good amount of spice to it. The space is a re-purposed church gym, and they've kept a lot of the old decor elements while making functional upgrades here and there. The result is a nice mesh of new, warmer wood elements and old church tile which oddly enough ends up working well. They often have live music, and I'd like to go back to check it out some time. read more

Cool brewery in a hip/grungy part of Cincinnati (Northside) with an eclectic crowd and great tasting and non-typical brews Obviously UA is best known for producing great sour beers. But not everyone likes sours (as of yet) and so they have started to produce other beers like IPAs and they now sell other people's beer by the bottle. But my favorite beers as of late are UA's fruit tart ales which are produced with thousands of pounds of fruit per 30 barrel batch. Operation Plowshare, Pocket Watch, etc are names to look out for... read more

Really awesome building. This is in the basement of an old church. Hope they plan to expand to the main part too. They had some very interesting beers. Some were a no for me but some were fantastic. The Gose was my favorite but several others stood out. Will be back to try more! read more

Urban Artifact - Breweries Near Me - Cincinnati, Ohio

Such a great addition to Cincinnati growing craft beer scene. All the beers (or at least all that we tried) were sours - which are my favorite. I will say that sour beers probably aren't for everyone, so if you know you don't like them, it might not be worth trying. Even though this is in the basement of the old church, not the sanctuary itself, they've including really unique design elements that makes it feel modern - think recycled gym floor as the menu board and old pipes and wood for the tables. The upstairs space is supposed to be opening in the fall as a music venue which will be really cool. I've also heard that Meatball Kitchen may be moving in (not sure if it will be part of the space or next door) permanently in the next few months. read more

PHENOMENAL Selection of Sour beer. If you're not a sour beer drinker, this is not the place for you. Wonderful staff, cool location being underneath a church, but cool vibes. Make sure to take some home with you! read more