Tales of ales from the heart of Ohio to the ends of the Earth
Anyone who follows this blog will know that I've been remiss at writing new material of late, but Ohio's strong showing at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) this past weekend inspired me to get off my ass and write a new post. The GABF is essentially the beer industry's equivalent of the Oscars or... Continue Reading →
Brown ales are a style near and dear to our hearts, but one whose popularity has been waning in recent decades. In this episode we are joined by homebrewer, Jim Sudduth, whose English Brown Ale won the 2019 Barley's Homebrewing Competition, for a in depth look at this underappreciated style. Join us for a voyage... Continue Reading →
The invention and rise of the American IPA is one of those rare moments in the history of brewing that forever changes the rules of making beer. In this episode we turn our attention to this ubiquitous and hugely influential style by sampling six year-round American IPAs from our home base here in Columbus. We... Continue Reading →
Dark days call for dark beers, and in that spirit we kick off a series of three podcasts on stouts with an episode on Imperial Stouts. We start by reaching out to our friend Nick Smith, co-founder and head brewer at Steam Machine Brewing in the UK, for a fascinating discussion on the historical origins... Continue Reading →
I’m always happy with blind tasting events when the beers that rise above the field are a mix of tried and true favorites and surprising newcomers. That’s exactly what happened a few weeks ago at the King of Ohio IPA competition. Fat Head’s Strange Magic took top honors, while Seventh Son’s Miracle finished in the... Continue Reading →
Time for another blind taste test, this one focused on double/imperial IPAs. American craft beer lovers are crazy about hops, and the double IPA style is an ode to the glory of the humulus lupulus plant like no other. Although DIPAs are released throughout the year, they seem to peak in mid to late winter... Continue Reading →
Beer is made by yeast, full stop. Given its pivotal role brewers are generally pretty picky about what type of yeast they let into their fermentation tanks. Scientists have classified over 1500 different species of yeast, but the vast majority of beers are made by just two species—Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ale yeast) and Saccharomyces pastorianus (lager yeast).... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
Time for another round of Ohio vs The World, an ongoing series where Ohio beers match up against some of the most sought after, highly respected beers on planet Earth in a blind taste test.  The basic premise is to see how well our local beers match up against the hard to find, highly coveted white... 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 →
During the summer I find myself on the road a lot.  While I enjoy using these trips as an opportunity to try beers I can't get at home, increasingly I find that it's not so easy to find places where the beers are better than what I can get back in Columbus. So before heading out on... 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 →
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 →
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 →
As announced last week on this blog I’m participating in a collaboration with five other beer bloggers to identify the best Ohio-brewed IPA, and bestow the crown King of Ohio IPAs. Each blogger is tasked with identifying three beers to represent their part of the state in a showdown that will be held on November 1... Continue Reading →
This past week my blog turned one year old. In the short period of time five Columbus breweries have either come into existence or opened public taprooms—Actual, Sideswipe, Wolf’s Ridge, Zauber and Zaftig. Three more breweries, Land Grant, Pigskin and Temperance Row, are on the verge of opening, and Columbus is still in the running... Continue Reading →
Let’s say you want to visit a several breweries on a single day. Maybe you are visiting town for the weekend or are looking for something fun to do for a birthday, bachelorette party or other special occasion. There are two options you can choose, an organized brewery tour run by a company who specializes... Continue Reading →
A few months back I received an e-mail out of the blue from a gentleman named Jim Ellison who runs a company called Columbus Brew Adventures, inviting me to go on one of his Columbus Brewery tours. What could I say, one of his tours was on my list of the top gifts for the... Continue Reading →
Pat's Pints 