A Maryland group of beer enthusiasts likes Herbst's vision so much that it picked downtown Cincinnati over 59 cities nationwide.

Establishing the hall in a city that boasts a rich beer-brewing history would effectively "show Cincinnati how to believe in itself," said Herbst, an owner of Kenwood-based Vision Implementation Group LLC.

Herbst said Vision would form a joint venture with Maryland-based Leisure Technician LLC, which owns and operates suds-inspired concepts such as the U.S. Beer Drinking Team, Beer Radio and Beer Television.

Beer Hall of Fame project manager Joe Gardenghi did not return a phone call Wednesday. In a prepared statement, Gardenghi said he found Herbst's idea to be "compelling as well as passionate."

Herbst declined to say how much money Vision and Leisure have raised to pay for the proposed Beer Hall of Fame to be designed by Cincinnati's FRCH Worldwide Design. But he did say he expects the entire project will cost $22.5 million, including a purchase of Fourth Street's Tower Place Mall.

A Hamilton County board last week slashed the county-designated value of the mall and parking garage from $25.6 million to $16.3 million.

The county agreed that the mall has struggled to keep blue-chip tenants in the face of competition from suburban malls.

The mall also disclosed that operating income dropped from $2.5 million in 1999 to $1.3 million in 2003.

Madison Marquette development director Rob Acker, who oversees Tower Place, said the project could be exciting for downtown.

But he added that a lot of questions must be answered before the project becomes a reality.

"There is a lot of work to be done, but we're open to it," Acker said. "We have retail tenants that are operating there. To incorporate this in and amongst the retail that's there, a lot of details needed to be worked out."

If Tower Place owners reject the plan, Herbst said he's ready to scout other, undisclosed Fourth Street locations for a gala September 2006 Beer Hall of Fame opening.

Though details haven't been finalized, he said an initial concept calls for establishing a Nation's Micro Brewery inside the mall that could brew up to 700,000 barrels of beer a year.

The Hall of Fame also would include 75,000 square feet anchored by a food court with five to seven international restaurant and a 35,000-square-feet space for micro brewing, cooking and home-brewing instruction.

All beer brands except Budweiser, Miller and Coors, Molson would be featured at the Hall of Fame, Herbst said.

He added that even the vacant Closson's building at the northwest corner of Fourth and Race may be used, too, possibly for beer distribution.

Herbst stressed that his group would not seek any money or incentives from the city of Cincinnati or Hamilton County, although it might seek money from the state of Ohio.

Downtown stakeholders say the Hall of Fame concept sounds exciting.

"It's an interesting idea," said David Ginsburg, who heads the downtown services group Downtown Cincinnati Inc. "I've seen some ideas about the proposal, but he's (Herbst) kind of a carrying the ball on this."

Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce spokesman Ray Buse said he's held brief talks with Herbst, but he said the chamber is "not officially engaged on this."

The city of Covington and Cincinnati architect Denny Dellinger were among those seeking to land the Beer Hall of Fame. Covington suggested that Leisure build the Hall of Fame at its Old Bavarian Brewery at 12th Street and Interstate 75, but the city dropped the plan because Leisure's proposal was aimed at private developers and required a half-million dollars in up-front capital and marketing dollars.

"The joke was it was probably a couple of guys tapping a keg in some garage somewhere looking for somebody to build a big project," said Robin Cooper, Covington's director of intergovernmental affairs. "I think it's probably a little more than that."

Leisure's U.S. Beer Drinking Team claims 25,000 registered members who pursue "the best beer on the best day at the best place," according to the group's Web site.

The group airs a two-hour radio show called Beer Radio on Sirius satellite radio and an upstart Webcast show called Beer Television with topics such as "Beer Cooking," "Ask the Beer Doctor" and "Beer Babes."

E-mail kalltucker@enquirer.com