CINCINNATI -- Arnold's Bar and Grill plans to ring in the holidays on Black Friday with local music, charitable giving and seasonal craft beer.
The bar, located at 208 E. Eighth St., will host its 12 Beers of Christmas tapping at 5 p.m. Friday, followed by a "Holly Jolly Hangover" album release party at 9 p.m.
"It's the best Christmas beers you can possibly get your hands on," said Arnold's general manager Chris Breeden.
Arnold's actually will tap 14 beers; twelve just sounded more festive, Breeden said.
Six of those holiday brews will be high-alcohol beers the bar has aged over the past year in its keg cooler. Those beers include Thirsty Dog's Bourbon Barrel 12 Dogs of Christmas, Braxton's Rum Barrel Snow Shovel, Jolly Pumpkin's Noel De Calabaza, Brouwerij Huyghe's Delirium Noel, Southern Tier's 2Xmas and Schlafly's Christmas Ale.
"You might want to show up a little earlier for the beers," Breeden said.
The bar also will start selling "Holly Jolly Hangover," its third and possibly final vinyl record produced in collaboration with local musicians and Northern Kentucky-based Neltner's Small Batch Records. All profits from record sales will be donated to UpSpring, a Cincinnati nonprofit dedicated to serving the educational needs of homeless children.
Neltner's pressed 350 copies of the 10-track holiday album on clear vinyl with red, white and green splatter for sale at Arnold's. Another 100 pink covers of the album will be available at local record stores. The record will retail between $20 to $25.
Tracks are available for preview and sale as a digital download at www.arnoldshollyjollyhangover.com. Digital versions of the album are $10.
Arnold's and Neltner previously released “Bootleggers and Hustlers" volumes one and two on National Record Store Day in 2015 and 2016 respectively.
"It was a labor of love for a long time," Breeden said of making the albums. "The problem with vinyl records is you don't make very much money off of it. You do make profits, but it doesn't back up how much you have to pay me and everyone else. So, we decided if we were going to make any money off of it this time, we should donate it to a nonprofit."
UpSpring was a logical partnership for Arnold's, since the nonprofit's executive director is a regular at the bar and a musician, Breeden said.
"This collaboration is sort of the greatest hits of all time for me personally and professionally," said UpSpring executive director Mike Moroski. "I'm a record collector. They know that childhood poverty is something that I have worked to combat for 15 years of my life. The partnership just made sense."
Moroski also said he was humbled that so many creative people donated their time and effort to make the record for free.
"They aren't going to make any money," he said. "As a matter of fact, they spent money."
For the full list of holiday beers being tapped at Arnold's visit its Facebook page or check out the embedded post below.
