Tales of ales from the heart of Ohio to the ends of the Earth
If you frequent the beer aisles of local stores like I do, you are bound to encounter the colorful bottles from Sideswipe Brewing on an increasingly frequent basis. It's been a phenomenal first year for owner, head brewer, bartender, hop cultivator, and martial arts guru Craig O'Herron. This coming Saturday, January 24, Sideswipe is throwing a party at the... Continue Reading →
As many people know the folks at Wolf's Ridge (215 N. 4th Street) have been working on a taproom for just about as long as it takes Founders to make a batch of KBS. Lest you think I'm exaggerating check out this story by Columbus Underground from last February announcing the taproom and it's expected... Continue Reading →
I think we can all agree that it's pretty frigging cold out there right now. Time to drink dark, strong beers to stave off the bite of winter. That normally means malt forward styles like imperial stouts and barleywines, which can leave the hop heads among us with a moderate to severe case of seasonal affective... Continue Reading →
Before Thanksgiving I promised a series of posts from my October visit to Oregon, but aside from a post on the Bend Ale Trail I haven’t followed up on that promise. Better late than never here is the second installment in this series, a visit to one of the most unique breweries in the country –... Continue Reading →
What a year 2014 was for beer in Central Ohio. Three completely new breweries, Zaftig, Land Grant, and Temperance Row, opened up shop. Zauber and North High Brewing significantly expanded their capacity by purchasing new brewing systems. Cans of Four String and Seventh Son beers started showing up on the shelves. Sideswipe opened their brewery to... Continue Reading →
One of my goals for the holiday season is to reduce the inventory of my beer fridge and cellar. It's a little like those year end sales that stores put on, out with the old to make room for the new. The holidays provide an opportunity to open up some of the bigger beers that... Continue Reading →
Did you have any beer-related items on your Christmas list, perhaps something from my list of gifts for the 12 days of Christmas? If so did Samichlaus come through as hoped? I’m not sure how I ended up on the nice list, but I received more than my share of Christmas booty including a set... Continue Reading →
Christmas is almost upon us and I've saved a special seasonal beer for my last beer review before the big day—Christmas Ale by St. Bernardus Brewery in Watou, Belgium. As beer geeks will know St. Bernardus brewed the beers of the Trappist monastery of St. Sixtus in Westvleteren from 1946 to 1992, using the recipes... Continue Reading →
Looking for a new recipe for the holidays? May I suggest a modern twist on a dish that is centuries old with this delicious take on bread pudding. I would go so far as to say it is the best dessert I’ve ever made. Admittedly I don't make dessert very often, so that's a little... Continue Reading →
At this time of year holiday beers are all the rage, particularly here in Ohio where the popularity of Great Lakes Christmas Ale has spawned such a multitude of winter warmers that I would not be surprised if our beer consumption put a strain on the world supply of cinnamon. For my first holiday beer... Continue Reading →
The winter solstice is almost upon us. The daylight will only last for 9 hours and 20 minutes this coming Sunday. Appropriately Zauber Brewing is celebrating the darkness by releasing their biggest beer they've brewed since upgrading the brewing system in late summer. Ominous (9.0% abv, 52 IBU) is an imperial stout made with Belgian... Continue Reading →
As many of you know Cincinnati’s MadTree Brewing very recently expanded their distribution to reach the Columbus market. So when buying beer for a party I was hosting this past weekend I decided to pick up a 6-pack of their Kölsch, Lift. I figured it would be an easy drinking beer that anyone could enjoy. ... Continue Reading →
One of the best things about a subscription to Draft magazine are the recipes that come in each issue, all involving beer as an ingredient. As I was looking through the dessert recipes in the holiday issue, two caught my eye—the Belgian ale bread pudding and the smoked porter bacon brownies. A batch of brownies never lasts... Continue Reading →
With only two weeks to go until the big day it’s about time to start thinking about Christmas shopping. I know there are probably some type A personalities out there who have already started Christmas shopping, but even the most organized probably have some stocking stuffers left to pick up. So if you have a... Continue Reading →
Most of my travel destinations are dictated by work or family commitments. The beer excursions that you read about on the pages of this blog must be creatively worked into the itinerary of those trips. This explains why my first report from Europe since starting this blog is not from Brussels or Munich, but from... Continue Reading →
Last year at Thanksgiving I celebrated with a bottle of Seizoen Bretta from Logsdon Farmhouse Ales and absolutely loved it. It's still the only beer I've reviewed on this site that has received a perfect 10. So I thought why not make it a tradition and drink a Brett ale every Thanksgiving. The tricky part of that... Continue Reading →
This coming Saturday, December 6, the crew at Zaftig Brewing are throwing a holiday party. The theme is an ugly sweater party, because what pairs with high abv beers better than a wool sweater depicting baby Jesus riding a reindeer who is kicking a soccer ball past a diving Santa Claus? Possibly a gyro, because the Pitabilities Food... Continue Reading →
Have you ever felt overshadowed by the success of a sibling, a teammate, a predecessor? What would it be like to walk a mile in the shoes of Scottie Pippen, Kenny Guiton, Ron Wood, or the new CEO of Apple, whatever his name is? In a small way that must be what it feels like... Continue Reading →
Every month Studio 35 Cinema and Drafthouse hosts a beer tasting coupled with the screening of a classic movie, and by classic I mean a movie too old to be showing anywhere else. The beer tasting precedes the movie and is usually accompanied by someone from the brewery talking about the beers, interspersed with comedy... Continue Reading →
Here is the first of five posts about the eleven days I spent in Oregon this past October. After arriving in Portland the plan was to drive down to Corvallis and meet up with my friends Michelle and Andy before heading over to Bend where we had rented a house for the weekend. As I... Continue Reading →
Pat's Pints 