Tales of ales from the heart of Ohio to the ends of the Earth
In this review I’m going to compare two of my favorite hop-forward late winter releases: Nugget Nectar by Tröegs in Hershey, PA and Chillwave by Great Lakes out of Cleveland, OH. Since Nugget Nectar is an Imperial Amber Ale while Chillwave is an Imperial IPA this comparison may seem somewhat artificial, but these two beers... Continue Reading →
There are several fantastic Imperial IPAs coming out of Ohio right now (Chillwave, Hop JuJu, …), but until very recently I don’t think any of the Columbus breweries were bottling an Imperial IPA. That’s not to say that no Columbus breweries make an Imperial IPA (CBC’s Bodhi immediately comes to mind), but until now your... Continue Reading →
Actual Brewing is one of many Columbus breweries that have come on the scene over the past year. The brewery is located near the airport (655 N. James Rd.) and their tap room sounds like a cool place to visit, but I’ve not made it out there yet. I picked up a bottle of Orthodox... Continue Reading →
Every year to mark their anniversary Alesmith releases a special beer they call Decadence, and each year the style of the beer is different. Recently (March 2014) I was fortunate enough to visit their brewery in north San Diego, and try the latest incarnation on tap, Decadence 2013, a German Doppelbock. Vitals Brewery: Alesmith (CA)... Continue Reading →
When I started this blog about 6 months ago I have to admit that I knew relatively little about Cincinnati breweries and their beers. Even though Columbus is only about 100 miles away most of the new, up and coming Cincinnati breweries don’t distribute here. I still have a lot to learn, but all of... Continue Reading →
This week brings another highly anticipated special release to Ohio, Bell’s Hopslam, which is a 10% abv, double IPA, brewed with honey and six different varieties of hops. For those of us living in Ohio there are more elusive beers to come by (like Founders KBS or Three Floyds Zombie Dust) but Hopslam is usually... Continue Reading →
Not too long after Thanksgiving I visited Seventh Son Brewery with my wife and our friends Tom and Mary. We ordered a couple of sampler trays and among the beers we tried I thought the most interesting one was Golden Ratio IPA. The brewery doesn’t offer a lot of details about this beer other... Continue Reading →
Sideswipe Brewing is the newcomer to the Columbus brewery scene. Unlike the other new breweries in the capital city, Sideswipe chose to enter the marketplace with bottled beer rather than a taproom or brewpub. Toward the end of last year (2013) 22 oz bottles of three Sideswipe beers started showing up on the shelves around Columbus:... Continue Reading →
I brought back several bottles of beer from my early December trip to Boston. Most of them are gone now except for the darker, less hop forward beers. Tonight I’m reviewing Saint Botolph’s Town by Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project, based in Boston. Pretty Things is brewers Dan and Martha Paquette, who are tenant... Continue Reading →
Green Bullet is a new seasonal release from San Diego brewery Green Flash. Billed as a triple IPA it has been on the shelves since September. Although it has been on my list of beers to try, the price and my continuing struggle to warm up to New Zealand hops have made me hesitant to... Continue Reading →
Piercing Pils is a new seasonal release from Dogfish Head. Ever fond of going against the grain, DFH have released a Czech Pilsner as their winter seasonal. After all when the temperature drops to single digits who doesn't reach for a Pilsner? There are many boring Pilsners out there that give the style a bad... Continue Reading →
Not too long ago when perusing the internet I came across something called the Fantasy Ohio Beer League which pitted beers from 32 different Ohio breweries against each other in a contest hosted by Cincinnati based Ohio Beercast. Somewhat to my surprise the winner was a beer that I was unfamiliar with, Fork in the... Continue Reading →
I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions, but sometimes I make modest ones. Given the explosion of new breweries in Ohio this year (90 and growing) I’m pledging to drink more local beer. It will be a sacrifice, but it’s my small contribution to make the world a better place. I’m starting out on New... Continue Reading →
Wolf’s Ridge is one of the newer breweries in Columbus, opening up about 3 months ago (9/27/13). This past weekend I went there for dinner and some beers and picked up a growler of their English Brown Ale, Knotty Brown, to bring home for a closer look/taste. To the best of my knowledge there are... Continue Reading →
Here is another beer from from my Boston trip. This one is made by Jack’s Abby, a brewery located in Framingham, MA that specializes in lagers (see my earlier review of Kiwi Rising by Jack's Abby). Jabby Brau is made with Pilsner and Munich malts and American hops and dubbed a session lager by Jack’s... Continue Reading →
Cambridge Brewing Company was the brewery I was most looking forward to sampling during my early December trip to Boston. I was able to try 4 different CBC beers on tap while in Boston—Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Soleil d’Hiver, Hop X, and the Audacity of Hops. Here I review of the one bottle of CBC beer that... Continue Reading →
This is another beer I brought home from my early December trip to Boston. A few months back my friend Chris brought me another Maine Beer Company offering, their IPA Mo, which was delicious. So I'm looking forward to this beer. Amber Ale’s span a wide spectrum in the hop/malt balance so one never knows... Continue Reading →
Trailhead Pale Ale is a fresh hopped Pale Ale which is not bottled and according to the Fatheads website is a limited edition batch exclusive to Cleveland. (Editors Note: Fatheads has announced they will begin canning Trailhead sometime in May 2014.) As I reported earlier, this beer won a silver medal at this year’s Great American... Continue Reading →
I just came back from a trip to Boston. While I was there I picked up some local beers to bring home that I’ll be reviewing over the next few weeks. One brewery I was very much looking forward to trying was Jack’s Abby, a brewery located in Framingham, MA that specializes in lagers (for... Continue Reading →
While most people associate Thanksgiving with food, what feast would be complete without great beer. This year I had an incredible beer on Thanksgiving and I wanted to share that with everyone. This post is coming a little late due to the Ohio vs Michigan series, which was followed by an out of town business... Continue Reading →
Pat's Pints 