Ever wonder what attributes define a perfect Pilsner beer? Do you prefer the complex malt character of a Czech Pilsner, or the hoppy bite and crisp finish of a German Pils? Maybe more recent iterations like the New Zealand Pilsner an Italian Pilsner are more to your liking. In this episode we explore the nuances... Continue Reading →
Hop Combinations that Emulate Fruit Flavors
There was a time when the appearance of a new hop variety was a big deal. I can remember how excited I was to try a beer with exotic Nelson Sauvin hops, and such beers were not easy to track down in Central Ohio. A sighting of Three Floyd’s Zombie Dust, one of the earliest... Continue Reading →
All Things Beer Episode 37 – Ohio and the 2022 World Beer Cup
Held every two years in conjunction with the Craft Brewers Conference, the World Beer Cup is arguably the most prestigious and competitive beer competition on the planet. In 2022, breweries from the Buckeye state took home a total of 14 medals, up four from their medal count in 2018. In this episode we drink and... Continue Reading →
All Things Beer Episode 36 – Brown Ales
Brown ales are a style near and dear to our hearts, but one whose popularity has been waning in recent decades. In this episode we are joined by homebrewer, Jim Sudduth, whose English Brown Ale won the 2019 Barley's Homebrewing Competition, for a in depth look at this underappreciated style. Join us for a voyage... Continue Reading →
All Things Beer Episode 35 – The Columbus Six Pack (American IPAs)
The invention and rise of the American IPA is one of those rare moments in the history of brewing that forever changes the rules of making beer. In this episode we turn our attention to this ubiquitous and hugely influential style by sampling six year-round American IPAs from our home base here in Columbus. We... Continue Reading →
Beer Review – Guinness Foreign Extra Stout
With St. Patrick’s Day upon us the popularity of Irish stouts reaches a zenith. An estimated 13,000,000 pints of Guinness are sold worldwide every St. Patty’s Day. Anyone reading a beer blog will be very familiar with Ireland's most popular export, but what you may not know is that Guinness Draught, the beer that is... Continue Reading →
All Things Beer Episode 34 – Irish Stouts
In celebration of St. Patrick's Day we welcome special guest Madeleine Bogard for an exploration of stouts from the Emerald Isle. Irish stouts are synonymous with Guinness Draught, so we start our journey with this iconic beer. We explore it's evolution through the past two centuries, and see how it stacks up against it's Cork-based... Continue Reading →
All Things Beer Episode 33 – MOO! Milk, Oatmeal and Oyster Stouts
Living as we do in the time of pastry stouts and milkshake IPAs the notion of adding food to beer seems like a 21st Century construct, but adding food to your beer goes back (at least) to 19th century Britain. In a bid to make stouts even more nourishing brewers added ingredients ranging from milk... Continue Reading →
All Things Beer Episode 32 – Imperial Stouts
Dark days call for dark beers, and in that spirit we kick off a series of three podcasts on stouts with an episode on Imperial Stouts. We start by reaching out to our friend Nick Smith, co-founder and head brewer at Steam Machine Brewing in the UK, for a fascinating discussion on the historical origins... Continue Reading →
All Things Beer Episode 31 – A White Christmas with Jason McKibben
Just in time for the holidays we offer up a conversation with Jason McKibben of North High Brewing. Central Ohio listeners know Jason as the brewmaster and co-owner of North High Brewing, a position he’s held since 2014, but his career in the brewing industry also includes stops at Anchor Brewing, the San Francisco brewery... Continue Reading →
Understanding Wet Hop Ales Part 2 – Growing Hops in the Midwest
There’s a certain satisfaction that comes with making a beer that incorporates homegrown ingredients. Growing or foraging adjunct ingredients like fruits, peppers, herbs, nuts, various tree parts, and the like is one thing, but incorporating homegrown versions of one or more of the base ingredients takes more planning (water excluded). For most of us growing... Continue Reading →
Understanding Wet Hop Ales Part 1 – Essential Oils
Lately I’ve been a little obsessed with wet hop ales, beers brewed with freshly picked hops that go straight from hop bine to brew kettle. My curiosity was piqued back in late July when I visited Zachrich Hop Farm near Mechanicsburg, Ohio. They were having an open house and had invited members of the SODZ... Continue Reading →
All Things Beer Episode 30 – Halloween at Jackie O’s on 4th
In this special Halloween-themed episode we are joined by Johnny Clift, General Manager of Jackie O’s on 4th. Johnny shares stories of his years working at one of Ohio’s most beloved breweries, and we take a closer look at his vision for their new Columbus outpost, Jackie O’s on 4th. Along the way we enjoy... Continue Reading →
Wet Hop Season at Columbus Brewing Company Nearing its Finale
Despite the recent trend toward an ever-rotating line of one-off hazy IPAs, seasonal beers still exist. Autumn used to be the season of pumpkin ales, spice laden beers that are a curious confectionary treat at their best and an abomination at their worst [1]. Although the marketing folks would like you to believe these beers... Continue Reading →
All Things Beer Episode 29 – Summer Homebrews
After a summer break the All Things Beer podcast is back with an episode devoted to homebrews. We welcome back recurring guests Hans Gorsuch and Chris Mercerhill to discuss and dissect the fruits of our labor, including a hefeweizen, two different saisons, a biere de garde, and a wet hop harvest ale. Our conversation touches... Continue Reading →
Ohio Breweries Receive 13 medals at the 2021 GABF
While brewing the morning coffee my phone gave a familiar ping. It was a text message from my old friend Rick Armon. His message reminded me that the Great American Beer Festival had announced its 2021 winners last night: So the real Ohio story out of the GABF? This year was the first year Fat... Continue Reading →
All Things Beer Episode 28 – All Things Bock
In this episode we take a deep dive on strong German lagers from the bock family - doppelbock, maibock, weizenbock, eisbock. We trace the history of this style back through the mists of time to the city of Einbeck, then follow it's reinvention as a lager in 17th century Munich, and the development of the... Continue Reading →
Wiping the Slate Clean, An argument for Quiet Beer
Recently a group of friends started a beer book club. The basic idea is to read books about beer, and then talk about those books while drinking beer, because after all there’s nothing like broadening your horizons. At least that’s how I assume the club will operate, because we’re still working on our first book,... Continue Reading →
All Things Beer Episode 27 – Fruit Lambics with Dan Reeve
The Lambic brewers have been conditioning their complex sours on fruits for a very long time, using cherries (kriek) and raspberries (framboise) to accentuate the fruity esters created during the complex mixed fermentation process. In this episode, recorded remotely last summer during quarantine, Dan Reeve joins us for a closer look at these complex, elegant... Continue Reading →
Flanders Red Blind Taste Test
One can make a good argument that the sour beers of Belgium—Flanders reds, oud bruins, lambics—are the most sophisticated expressions of what can be accomplished by fermenting grains. While Flanders reds and oud bruins lack the romantic allure of spontaneous fermentation used to produce lambics, they make up for it with a more substantial malt character and a curious combination of sweet and sour.