Tales of ales from the heart of Ohio to the ends of the Earth
IPAs are the poster child of the American craft beer movement, to argue otherwise is like pinning your hopes on a Martin O'Malley presidency. The American-style IPA category is the most competitive style at the GABF (336 entries in 2015). Sales wise IPAs are far and away the most popular style of craft beer accounting for... Continue Reading →
What’s your favorite Central Ohio brewery? With the number of choices rapidly approaching 30 it’s a daunting, subjective task akin to picking your favorite David Bowie album, but that doesn't stop people from trying. One such attempt is the Columbus Underground reader’s poll of the best microbreweries in Columbus (strange that they still use the term microbreweries). For... Continue Reading →
Now that we’ve closed the books on 2015 it’s time to look back on the year in beer in Central Ohio. Once again there was much to celebrate as growth of the craft brewing industry showed no signs of slowing down. No less than seven new breweries officially opened their doors in 2015—Temperance Row in Westerville... Continue Reading →
Despite the short sleeve weather we've been having lately, Christmas is coming just as surely as a hangover after a night of imbibing imperial stouts. With less than two weeks to go it’s high time to start thinking about Christmas shopping. I know there are probably some type A personalities out there who have almost... Continue Reading →
To what lengths would you go to get your hands on some über fresh, Hoof Hearted beer? Would you be willing to drive out to the farmlands of Morrow County and spend a good chunk of your Sunday afternoon standing in line? The answer for hundreds of Central Ohio beer lovers is a resounding yes.... Continue Reading →
Now that Halloween is behind us there is nothing to stem the tide of Christmas beers and holiday ales that threaten to overwhelm your palate with flavors of cinnamon, allspice and fermented honey. Where can the spice-averse beer lover turn to fight off the blues that settle in as the sun retreats into the southern... Continue Reading →
To wrap up my series on Barley's Brewing and their long tenured brewmaster, Angelo Signorino, I solicited feedback from three people deeply immersed in the Central Ohio brewing scene. Without further adieu I turn the keyboard over to Colin Vent, head brewer at Seventh Son, Jay Wince, president and head brewer at Weasel Boy Brewing, and Jim... Continue Reading →
In my last post we took a look back at the early days of Barley’s Brewing and the origins of some of their classic beers, like the Centennial and Scottish Ales. While those are still great beers I don’t want to give anyone the erroneous impression that Barley’s is only for people who spend most of... Continue Reading →
Remember if you can the year 1991. The Soviet Union collapsed, the South African parliament repealed apartheid, Nirvana released their debut album Nevermind, and the Cincinnati Reds were reigning World Champions. These events have been documented on Wikipedia, chronicled in TV documentaries, etched into the long term memories of my generation. What you may not... Continue Reading →
Today (Tuesday, September 1st) cans of Actual Brewing’s Photon Light Lager will start hitting the shelves of beer stores and supermarkets across Central Ohio. Intrigued by a craft brewery that chooses not only to brew a light lager but put it in the spotlight, I headed out to Actual this past Friday to get the story... Continue Reading →
The good folks at the Grandview Craft Beer Alliance put on the 2nd annual Summer Session this past Saturday. Beer festivals can run the gamut from awesome experience to shit show, but I’m happy to say that the Summer Session falls firmly into the former camp. If you were there you know what I mean, and if you weren’t make a note not to miss it next time around. Here are the top ten reasons that set the Summer Session apart from many beer festivals.
A blow by blow account of my mission to locate and infiltrate the newly opened Hoof Hearted taproom.
If breweries had theme songs Land Grant’s would have to be the old Ringo Starr song “It Don’t Come Easy.” Things got off to a promising start when they launched a successful kickstarter campaign in February of 2012, but it would take 33 long months from that point to opening day. Despite or more likely... Continue Reading →
Welcome to round three of the Ohio vs The World series. For those of you who might have missed the earlier rounds, this is a sporadic series that pits Ohio beers against highly regarded beers from other parts of the world in a blind taste test format. In the first round one of Ohio's most sought... Continue Reading →
Welcome back for the second installment of my two part series on Ohio grown hops. Yesterday we got the brewer's perspective. For the most part everyone was supportive, some downright enthusiastic, about using local hops. At the same time there were many questions about the supply, or lack thereof, and quality of local hops. Several breweries... Continue Reading →
In today’s post I ask Central Ohio brewers to share their opinions and experiences with locally grown hops.
After a longer than anticipated hiatus it's time for round two in my Ohio vs the World series. For those of you who missed the initial post, this series is all about putting the best beers in Ohio up against highly regarded beers from other parts of the world in a blind taste test format. Round... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
Pat's Pints 