Tales of ales from the heart of Ohio to the ends of the Earth
The first annual Columbus Craft Beer Week (CCBW) is just around the corner. Among the 18,000 events planned for the nine days of CCBW the collaboration beers are arguably the most interesting aspect of the event. Things kickoff this Friday, May 1 at Market District Grandview Yard where all of the collaboration beers will be pouring. They culminate on... Continue Reading →
This is the second installment in my three part series featuring Central Ohio brewers talking about hops. In part 1 of this series we looked at the supply and demand angle. In this post I asked the brewers one simple question, what is your favorite aroma hop? If IPAs were rock bands, malts and bittering hops would be... Continue Reading →
With the weather finally coming around this is my last post in the Sunday Stout Soliloquy series. I was planning to review Goose Island's Bourbon County Brand Stout, going so far as drinking a bottle that I had stashed away and taking tasting notes. I can summarize my thoughts on BCBS by saying of all the barrel... Continue Reading →
Of the basic ingredients in beer no component is changing faster than hops. Hop breeders are continually pushing the envelope to develop new strains of hops that express exotic aromas and flavors that range from tropical fruits to blueberries to cat shelters in pine forests. It's hard to get noticed sticking to the grapefruit and pine... Continue Reading →
Those of you keeping track will have noticed that I missed a couple of weeks in the Sunday Stout Soliloquy series. Perhaps you thought it was over because the series was only supposed to run until the end of winter, and the optimist in me would like to think that winter is behind us. In... Continue Reading →
As a long time resident of the Clintonville neighborhood of Columbus I was excited when I learned that we were going to get our own brewery, Lineage Brewing. No longer would I have to endure the taunts of my friends from Grandview, Victorian and Italian Villages, Delaware, or Marengo for living in a brewery-free backwater. It... Continue Reading →
Relatively speaking the United States is a newcomer to the worldwide brewing scene. Prohibition was a major blow to the brewing industry in this country, and in the decades that followed mergers and acquisitions consolidated the brewing capacity of our nation. By the 1970s all that was left was a handful of industrialized megabreweries intent... Continue Reading →
As we approach St. Patrick's Day many a pint of Irish dry stouts like Guinness and Murphy's will be hoisted. I'll admit that I have a soft spot for a good pint of Guinness served on nitro, particularly when looking for something sessionable. It may surprise you to learn that Guinness has the same alcohol content as a... Continue Reading →
Do you ever wonder how your favorite local beer stacks up against the most sought after beers in the land? Is Massive Malt Assault by Local Boyz Brewing really as good as Founders Breakfast Stout? It's hard to know for sure because on the one extreme we can all be guilty of a little nepotism... Continue Reading →
Time for another installment of Sunday Stout Soliloquies and for the first time my ritual of drinking strong dark beer every Sunday seems to be unnerving old man winter just a little. Cracks of spring are starting to show through, but I have a feeling that winter still has a few tricks up his sleeve.... Continue Reading →
Looking out my window today I see that winter is still fully entrenched in Central Ohio, which means it's time for the second installment of Sunday Stout Soliloquies. Today we take a closer look at Plead the 5th Imperial Stout by Dark Horse Brewing. Not content with making one or two different stouts, Dark Horse releases... Continue Reading →
Lately the steady stream of news and events that I've come to expect from Central Ohio breweries has swelled to a torrent. It seems like every time I check social media I come across a new piece of significant news about a local brewery. So while I normally I leave coverage of the goings on in Ohio... Continue Reading →
Recently I posted the results of an Imperial Stout blind taste test that was wildly popular. If my readers want to get up close and personal with this dark and burly style of beer who am I to argue. Lord knows the weather is wintry enough to make you turn to a beer that can warm... Continue Reading →
It’s time for another Pat’s Pints blind taste test, and what better style for surviving the cold days of winter than an Imperial Stout. This style originated in 18th century England and was given the moniker Russian Imperial Stout because it was brewed with an unusually high amount of malts, alcohol, and hops to weather... Continue Reading →
Of the Central Ohio breweries that distribute in big bottle format (22-25 oz) those from Seventh Son are generally the most expensive, retailing at $10.99 for a 750 mL bottle. Yet they disappear so fast that if you don't pay attention you it's not hard to miss the release altogether, a powerful testament to the quality... Continue Reading →
The latest offering from Actual Brewing Company is an abbey ale called Temporal. A bottle of Actual beer is almost worth the asking price just for the label artwork and this one is no exception (yes I do have a collection), a faceless woman is holding back the hands of a clock about to strike... Continue Reading →
Looking to expand your exposure to the ever growing selection of hops that are coming out? Smokehouse Brewing is here to help. Starting today they are going to be serving MacLenny's Scottish Ale, dry hopped with rather exotic single hop varieties, as the featured beer on Firkin Fridays. If a beer made by caramelizing the... Continue Reading →
Delaware, Ohio (pop ~35,000) is a charming little city located about 30 miles northwest of Columbus. History buffs know Delaware as the birthplace of Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th President of the United States, and people who follow harness racing (I’m told such people do exist) know Delaware as the home of the Little Brown Jug.... Continue Reading →
In the Midwest Winter seems to be the designated season for highly anticipated Imperial IPA releases—Bell’s Hopslam, Great Lakes Chillwave, and Tröegs Nugget Nectar (this year released in cans) all come out in January and February. While those are all excellent beers I’m here to tell you about a very special Imperial IPA that is... Continue Reading →
Fourteen months after initially breaking ground the taproom at Wolf's Ridge, a topic of several posts on this blog, finally opened to the public last night. I was fortunate enough to be invited to a sneak peek of the taproom on Thursday night. So Mark Richards, who does most of the photography for the brewery... Continue Reading →
Pat's Pints 