Celebrate Cincinnati Zoo’s 150th anniversary with Braxton Brewing at CVG

In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Cincinnati Zoo, Braxton Brewing Company has released a new line of specialty beer: the Safari Lemongrass Lager.

“We just rolled it out last Saturday, so it’s brand new,” said Dennis Chastang, the general manager of Braxton’s CVG location. “That’s why we’re doing all this. It’s kind of a push to to get people excited about it.”

The zoo and Braxton held a special event at the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky International Airport on Wednesday to get the word out about the new beer. Braxton’s CVG location is the final taproom to get Safari, and six pack cans will be available for purchase at local Krogers within the week.

The lemongrass used in brewing the beer is cultivated at the zoo, having first been used as a food source for the Asian elephant exhibit. A portion of all Safari sales are given to the zoo to help its operations.

Wednesday’s event wasn’t just about the beer, though. The zoo brought special visitors as well: Robert the tortoise, Clay the snake and Opal the possum for travelers to interact with as they moved through the terminal.

All of the animals had been socialized to interact with humans, so travelers could approach them and even touch some of them. In time, a crowd of people had gathered around the animals. Meanwhile, Braxton employees handed out samples of Safari to passersby.

The first animal was Opal, a female Virginia possum. Possums are the only marsupials native to North America, and Opal’s story is somewhat tragic. When she was young, her mother was hit by a car, so she’s an orphan. As a result, said Cincinnati Zoo Manager of Wild Encounters Shae Burns, “she doesn’t know how to be a possum.”

“Opal actually was an orphan that was found outside Toledo,” Burns said. “And then, since she was so close to humans being rehabilitated, that’s how she ended up as an ambassador.”

The next animal was Clay, a male Dumeril’s ground boa constrictor.

“It’s a rare species of snake found in Madagascar,” Burns said. “They’re actually one of the largest predators in Madagascar because there’s not a lot of scary stuff over there. There are a lot of lemurs, a lot of small birds and things like that.”

Finally, there was Robert, a red-footed tortoise. Zoo staff allowed Robert to move around on his own on the floor. Kids and other travelers came up to stroke his shell.

Tortoises can live to be as old as 60, although most of the red in Robert’s species’ namesake fades as they age. Red-footed tortoises are native to South America.

“He has a little bit of red left on him,” Burns said. “When they’re young, they have a lot of red on their feet and their necks. As they get older, it kind of fades to brown.”

Mindy Kershner, a spokesperson with CVG, said she was excited at how engaged everyone was with the event.

“It’s all about the passenger experience for us,” Kershner said. “And this kind of adds to it, so it’s really a win-win.”

You can purchase Safari Lemongrass Lager at any of Braxton’s taprooms, and look for it on Kroger shelves within the coming week.

Check out some more photos of the event below.