meetNKY, the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau, and The B-Line, a collection of Bourbon Trail distilleries and bourbon-forward bars and restaurants in Northern Kentucky, have partnered with Braxton Brewing Co. for the brewery’s famous Dark Charge event.
The winter block party will take place from 3–11 p.m. Friday, December 2 and 11 a.m.–11 p.m. Saturday, December 3.
The organizations have partnered on a limited-edition Dark Charge variant, Chocolate Pretzel Bourbon Ball Imperial Stout, which is only available for purchase onsite during the now two-day event. Bourbon aficionados and beer enthusiasts alike can enjoy this rich, imperial stout, aged in bourbon barrels from three distillers along The B-Line – Old Pogue Distillery, New Riff Distilling and Boone County Distillery – finished off with hints of cacao nibs and pretzels.
“This year’s Dark Charge event is a full-on, two-day collision of beer and bourbon,” said co-founder and CEO of Braxton, Jake Rouse. “There’s no surprise that the crossover between bourbon and craft beer is a quickly emerging trend, so when we approached our annual Bourbon Barrel Aged beer release Dark Charge we knew we wanted to play into this crossover. Additionally, partnering with meetNKY and The B-Line on this event allows us to fully showcase all that our region has to offer on a national level.”
Attendees will also be able to enjoy the new B-Line Lounge in the brewery’s loft space during the event. All three distillers will have booths in the lounge where they’ll be pulling bourbon tastings from the barrel and serving them alongside another holiday staple – bourbon balls.
“Nothing speaks to the uniqueness of our region like a fusion of bourbon and beer,” said Jay Erisman, co-founder of New Riff Distilling. “We’re excited to partner with Braxton on this limited-edition B-Line brew and to tap into the beer enthusiasts who are curious to learn more about bourbon.”
2022 Dark Charge Variants:
(Photo from Braxton Brewing Company)
In 2022, Braxton plans to release seven variants of its beloved Dark Charge Imperial Stout. So far, the brewery has announced and released for sale:
• Dark Charge Imperial Stout – The original bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout, serves as the base for the other variants with an 12.6% ABV.
• Dark Charge Triple Vanilla Stout – This variant, selected by the Braxton Builders, features Madagascar bourbon, with Tahitian and Indonesian vanilla with an 12.7% ABV.
• Dark Charge Maple Pecan – This variant features warm, nutty hints of maple syrup and roasted Georgia pecans with an 13.1% ABV.
• Dark Charge Cinnamon Whiskey – Nothing says Happy Holidays like cinnamon whiskey. This double barrel aged in Wild Turkey and cinnamon whiskey barrels, imperial stout has an inviting flavor reminiscent with tastes of the holidays and a 12.9% ABV.
• Dark Charge Chocolate Pretzel Bourbon Ball Imperial Stout – Only available for sale at the event, this bourbon-centric brew was aged in bourbon barrels from three distillers across The B-Line® and finished off with hints of cocoa nibs and pretzels with a 13.3% ABV.
• Dark Charge Really Happy Cook – This variant is a sweet and smirky collaboration with Busken Bakery, celebrating the most iconic cookie in Greater Cincinnati! This smiley stout is bold enough to light a city and boasts delightful notes of creamy vanilla with a deliciously nutty essence. With undeniably sweet similarities to Busken Bakery’s grinning, melt-in-your-mouth, iced sugar cookie – the familiar flavors will undoubtedly put you in a good mood with a 12.5% ABV.
• Dark Charge Roaster’s Reserve Collection – This collection of variants contains one of each of three stouts in one of three alternating limited edition colored coffee bags.
• Coffee Emporium Mackinac Island Fudge Dark Charge variant spent time conditioning on whole bean Mackinac Fudge coffee from Coffee Emporium. Bold flavors of roasted coffee, caramel, and sweet chocolate bolster the familiar caramel and cocoa flavors found in Dark Charge after its 12-month barrel aging period with a 12.4% ABV.
• Urbana: Mexican Coffee is a coffee-forward variant of Dark Charge that sees the addition of coffee specially selected and roasted by Urbana Cafe. This variant contains beautiful new flavors of stone fruit, molasses, and cocoa with a 12.4% ABV.
• Deeper Roots: Bobolink Blend Single Origin is of Braxton brewer’s favorite companies to work with. Deeper Roots provided Braxton with an incredible coffee that elevates Dark Charge. Bobolink Blend is a Brazilian coffee bean Deeper Roots roasts to perfection before Braxton adds it to barrels of Dark Charge to create stout with delicate flavors of stone fruit and cherries, a layer of sweet toffee, and some complementary notes of premium chocolate with a 12.6% ABV.
To celebrate this year’s Dark Charge Winter Block Party expanding into a two-day event, Braxton is going bigger than ever with music and entertainment, pulling both local and nationally touring music artists. Open format DJ, DJ JAY KAY, will be playing on the main stage in a special all-day set, establishing a groove throughout Dark Charge Day.
Additional acts include:
Friday, December 2
MAGIC GIANT
• From 6 – 8 p.m., another well-known “progressive auditory ensemble” will take the stage. The final musical act will be announced on November 23.
• From 9 – 11 p.m. nationally acclaimed MAGIC GIANT will take the main stage. The band has amassed over 60 million streams and was named one of the “10 Artists You Need to Know” by Rolling Stone. In addition, MAGIC GIANT has played festivals such as Coachella, Firefly, BottleRock, Electric Forest, and Lightning in a Bottle. Having shared the stage with the likes of Foster the People, The Lumineers, Vance Joy and Mumford & Sons, MAGIC GIANT has shown they are an alt powerhouse.
Saturday, December 3
The Hot Magnolias
• From 3–5 p.m. Jake Speed & The Freddies will play a mix of traditional and original folk, country blues, and ragtime tunes that muse on Cincinnati’s unique past and present.
• From 6–8 p.m. The Hot Magnolias, Cincinnati’s finest Creole/Cajun shake yo’ tail feather, wave your hanky New Orleans musical act, will take the stage.
• From 9–11 p.m. Juice, a band from Boston blending rock, pop, R&B, and hip-hop will get crowds dancing with the diversity of their signature sound.
To complement the theme of the event, Braxton worked with seven local food vendors to create food that leverages Dark Charge for attendees to enjoy. These include Dewey’s Pizza, Taco Fuerte, Rich’s Proper Food & Drink, The Empanada’s Box, Parts & Labor New School Barbecue, Smoke Justis and Coppin’s.
While the event is free to attend, two VIP experience options are available for purchase in various packages. The Dark Charge VIP Tickets are available as single-day passes or two-day passes ranging from $90 to $175. Dark Charge Winter Block Party Igloobar Experiences are also available for private parties of up to eight ranging from $600-$1,200. For more information on these packages and general information and updates on the event, visit www.darkchargeday.com.
“This event is a true celebration of all things Northern Kentucky,” said meetNKY President and CEO, Julie Kirkpatrick. “It’s been incredible to see how this winter block party has evolved over the years. We can’t wait to welcome music, bourbon and beer fans from across the country for this exciting two-day event in the Commonwealth and show off some of the southern hospitality we’re known for.”
For more information on The B-Line visit thebline.com. To learn more about meetNKY, visit meetnky.com.
Braxton Brewing Company
