If you place a legion of bikers under one roof with an endless supply of beer from noon until midnight, some people might guess you would end up with a big old brawl before the day is done. However, the Garage Brewed Moto Show in Cincinnati, Ohio, is proof to the contrary. I’ve been to the show for the past three years and find it to be a peaceful and pleasant biker happening.
Garage Brewed, held this year on Feb. 3, takes place at the Rhinegeist Brewery in the historic OTR neighborhood of Cincinnati. OTR stands for “Over the Rhine,” a name dating back to when the neighborhood was mostly inhabited by German immigrants who nicknamed a local canal “the River Rhine” after the one in their home country.
Find more moto-events at American Rider‘s Events Calendar
Those Germans are responsible for the large breweries that are still running strong in the area, as well as the many impressive examples of fine architecture that have survived the test of time. Even the buildings in the bad sections of town, though often covered in graffiti and sometimes missing windows, still retain much of their former splendor.
The bikes at this year’s glorious biker gathering ranged from a heavily modified 1970 Honda Z50 to a highly customized 1948 Harley flathead with a bad-ass flame paint job. If you can’t find something you like here, you just aren’t into bikes. A Garage Brewed rule states that once a bike is in the show, it can’t come back for another one, keeping things fresh and interesting year after year.
Admission to the show is free, so price is not a barrier for anyone wanting to attend. The beer, food, shirts, bike raffle tickets, knives, jewelry, and those sorts of things are going to cost you, but there is no charge for entrance into the brewery.
When we arrived shortly before the show opened at noon, the line going down the street was already of substantial size. Although the facility is spacious, most of the real estate is taken up by bikes and patrons during the festivities. Those who were feeling a little crowded and needed some elbow room could head to the third floor, which was more sparsely populated. I credit the lack of a crowd on that level to a lack of American bikes there, but perhaps that’s just my bias talking.
By the time midnight rolled around, more than 8,000 motorcycle enthusiasts had passed through the doors of the Rhinegeist Brewery to gaze at some beautiful bikes, including many fine examples of American-made motorcycles to drool over.
One of the things I appreciate about the Garage Brewed extravaganza is the fact that most of the bikes entered in the contest have been built by their owners. To me, there’s nothing impressive about a dude with deep pockets buying a nice bike. It’s the skill it takes – as well as the blood, sweat, and tears – to turn iron and steel into a beautiful piece of running, rolling, functioning, and bad-to-the-bone custom or restored motorcycle that’s truly worthy of praise.
Bill Devore, founder of the Garage Brewed Moto Show, is also worthy of praise. His day job is all about saving lives and protecting property as a paramedic/firefighter for Liberty Township in Butler County, Ohio, just north of Cincinnati.
Devore spends a lot of his spare time as president of the Cincinnati Cafe Racers, a recreational club that works with Operation Charlie Bravo Veteran Impact Services (formerly known as Operation Combat Bikesaver) and Operation Battle Buddies. OCBVIS has a program helping U.S. military veterans suffering from PTSD, TBT, and depression build bikes and hot rods, which they get to keep when the project is finished at no cost to themselves. Operation Battle Buddies supplies support animals and service dogs to veterans at no charge.
I have seen many self-profiting motorcycle promoters bring themselves decent revenues by putting on lesser-quality shows than what Devore and the CCR put on, but Devore and CCR don’t take a dime from it. This year, each veterans group they support received about $3,000 from the bike show profits.
I highly recommend you get yourselves to the Garage Brewed Moto Show next winter. No need to pack your own mug, as the Rhinegeist Brewery has plenty of clean glasses. If you would like to enter your bike for next year’s show, do it early, as there are limited spots.
Find more photos form the Garage Brewed Moto Show below the sidebar
SIDEBAR: American Sign Museum
What true biker doesn’t like a good neon sign? Especially neon signs that advertise gas stations, diners, pool halls, bars, oil, tires, and bike shops.
If you’re in Cincinnati, check out the American Sign Museum for a little side trip. It’s just a few miles from the Rhinegeist Brewery and comprises 40,000 square feet jam-packed with wood, metal, plastic, and neon signs.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t a bike shop or motorcycle company sign in the joint when I visited, but the museum is always on the hunt for new ones.
Garage Brewed Moto Show Photo Gallery
