Everyone has their moment when they find their life’s passion.  And they will always remember it.  Brewmaster Dave Clark’s inspiration came at a time when he was neither looking for, nor expecting it.  In fact, far from it!

In the early part of the 1990’s, Dave Clark and Steve Clinard were members of the Cleveland hard rock band, Dreamer.  Always looking for adventure, Dave and Steve traveled to the other end of the state to check out some bands in Cincinnati.  Avid fans of both music and beer, they found a cool rock club called Annie’s and watched the bands late into the night.  Needless to say, beer was consumed.

The next morning, in search of some grease, caffeine and solid sustenance after a long night of fun, Steve and Dave set out in search of a Waffle House in a suburb of Cincinnati, just over the border in Northern Kentucky.  While driving they saw a sign on the interstate that said “Brewery Tour This Exit.”  Hmmm; brewery or Waffle House?  Without a word being spoken, the look of confirmation followed.  A trip to the brewery it was!  Whether or not this decision was a sound one can be debated.  However, this decision planted the seed that changed Dave’s life.

Still shaking off the effects of a long night, Steve and Dave walked into the palatial Oldenberg Brewery in Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky.  The tall, red brick walls commanded their attention while the ethereal smells of malt and hops captured their souls.  Any afterthoughts about hangovers had dissipated and the only thing that mattered was learning more about this interesting place.  How was beer made?  What made it smell so wonderful? And, of course, when do we get to sample this beer?

Steve and Dave immediately signed up for the beer tour which was going to start in just a few moments.  The tour took guests all around the vast facility; showing off the massive beer can & bottle collection; the breweriana and, of course, the brewhouse where the brewery’s beer was made and the tanks in which it fermented.  The tour guide taught the guests how beer was made; going through the basic process and showing what occurred in each brewing vessel.  School had never seemed so interesting for Dave.  All the while, the aromas got bolder and more enticing.  A mental "civil war" ensued between wanting to learn more about the brewing process versus a yearning to sample this beer immediately!  The tour lasted about an hour and samples were the payoff upon completion of the tour.   And it was on this day that beer took on an entirely new definition for Dave.  No more would he settle for a mass produced, homogenized product with little taste.  From this point forward, Dave was absolutely and entirely “all in” for craft beer.  Cliché or not, you could say this was Dave’s “A Ha” moment that captivated his interest in craft beer.

From this point on, Oldenberg became a destination place for a weekend getaway.  Dave introduced a whole series of friends and his future wife-to-be to this beer and this whole new concept of “microbrewed beer.”  (It was not yet known as craft at the time).  The conversion was on.  One by one, Dave’s friends began to understand what he did; beer could and did have flavor – if you were willing to seek out the right beer.  Subsequent trips began to include both Oldenberg and Barrel House, another Cincinnati brewpub whose pizza was as good as their fine beer. 

From this day on, Dave began to study anything having to do with microbrewed beer.  He discovered and became a regular at two Cleveland area breweries, Great Lakes and Crooked River.  About ten years after the Oldenberg epiphany Dave received a Mr. Beer as a Christmas gift and brewed the worst batch of swill known to man.  The beer was so bad that friends were hesitant to drink it.  That is, except Dave’s old bandmate, drummer Ken Smejkal, who would drink just about anything.  Ken said, “It’s not the greatest, in fact it tastes like Rat Piss.”  That beer became known reverently as Rat Piss Ale and a sole bottle remains from that awful but original batch of beer brewed that spawned all that came after it, culminating in the very concept known today as Rock City Brewing.  If you are ever at the brewery, look for this bottle on display and you can become a personal part of this beer tale.

Dave has come a long way from the primitive days of brewing on the stove.  We're happy to say that the beer has become substantially more drinkable, if not flat out delicious, winning 39 competition medals to date.  The flavors and styles evolve and the quality is always world class.  With help from many key industry professionals, Dave has honed his skills and now brews classic examples of the majority of popular styles known today.