In this episode Nick Smith from Steam Machine Brewing in the UK joins us to talk about the rebirth and surge in popularity of IPAs over the past 40 years.
American IPAs Part 1 – Not Your Father’s IPA
Sitting in the sleek Hoof Hearted Brewpub drinking a DIPA cloudier than a German Hefeweizen, fruitier than a grapefruit/mango smoothie, it’s hard to fathom how this beer could have evolved from the English-style IPAs of my youth. In a single generation American IPAs have morphed into something that would be unrecognizable to the founders of CAMRA,... Continue Reading →
Birthday Brewery Crawl Postmortem
This past week I turned 50 years old. Not content to spend the rest of my days frequenting restaurants where they give AARP discounts, I decided to do something I’ve been kicking around in my head for a while—undertake a crawl of all six downtown Columbus breweries. The plan was to first work our way... Continue Reading →
Pat’s Pints Podcast Episode 4 – Hoof Hearted
This month we discuss hoppy beers, Hoof Hearted's new brewpub, can release parties, and Van Halen with Trevor Williams from Hoof Hearted Brewing.
Central Ohio Beers of the Year (2015)
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 →
Beer Review – Dragonsaddle Triple IPA by Hoof Hearted
Last month I wrote a post about the madness of the Hoof Hearted Dragonsaddle Triple IPA can release party. To recap I showed up a little too late to ride the dragon, as hundreds upon hundreds of hopheads descended on an otherwise nondescript farm field in Morrow county. In response to my post several readers... Continue Reading →
An update on Columbus-area brewery expansions
No less than five Columbus area breweries are in the middle of either moving or expanding their brewing operations. Some have been in the news lately, while others have been silent for a while. Curious to get a pulse of what is going I reached out to representatives at each brewery for an update. Four String... Continue Reading →
Central Ohio Beer Happenings and Events – November 13-15
These days it seems that just about every weekend there are multiple beer events going down in Central Ohio, from anniversary parties, to beer releases, to tastings, to events with less obvious connections to beer like board game marathons or bicycle races. It's a lot to keep up with even for the avid beer fan,... Continue Reading →
Land Grant Releases a Trio of New Beers
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 →
Infiltrating the Hoof Hearted Taproom
A blow by blow account of my mission to locate and infiltrate the newly opened Hoof Hearted taproom.
Beer Review – South of Eleven DIPA by Hoof Hearted
As the Central Ohio beer scene matures an increasing number of breweries are releasing their beer in bottles and cans, with the latter emerging as the more popular format. Land Grant and Actual Brewing have recently purchased canning machines, Jackie O's keeps expanding the number of canned offerings, while Seventh Son, Four String, Elevator, and most recently North High... Continue Reading →
Ohio Grown Hops Part 1 – The brewer’s perspective
In today’s post I ask Central Ohio brewers to share their opinions and experiences with locally grown hops.
Central Ohio Brewers Talk Hops Part 2 – Favorite Aroma Hops
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 →
Beer Review – Thudstaff by Hoof Hearted
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 →
Central Ohio Brewers Talk Hops, Part 1 – Supply and Demand
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 →
Central Ohio Beer Roundup 2/26/15
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 →
Hoof Hearted’s Dragonsaddle Triple IPA release Friday at Hales Ales Kitchen
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 →
Central Ohio Beers of the Year 2014
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 →
The King of Ohio IPA crown goes to …
At long last we’ve reached the conclusion of the King of Ohio IPA contest. Nearly 70 beers from every corner of the Buckeye state started off with a chance to win the title. Through a series of reader’s polls (over 4400 votes were cast), blogger picks, and one blind taste test, that number was narrowed... Continue Reading →
Free Homebrewing Workshop Saturday at the Worthington Public Library
Have you ever thought that you'd like to try your hand at homebrewing but don't know where to start? You could be like me and wait for someone to give you a Mr. Beer American Light starter set for Christmas. If you follow all of the instructions in a few short weeks you too can have... Continue Reading →