Ohio Brewery News
1.14.2021
CENTRAL
At the risk of jinxing it, we have enjoyed a mild winter so far, at least by the highly scientific metric of how often I’ve had to shovel my driveway. While this may not be a textbook Ohio winter, it is most definitely still stout season and Olentangy River Brewing Company has a very special one for you this weekend. Snow Pants is a winter-themed variation on their 2019 Ohio Craft Brewers Cup gold medal-winning Russian imperial stout, I Can’t Feel My Pants, that complements the rich, sweet malt character of the original with the addition of cacao nibs, cinnamon and toasted coconut. 22-ounce bomber bottles will be available at the brewery taproom in Lewis Center this Saturday, Jan. 16 starting at 8 a.m. Get more details at facebook.com/olentangyriverbrewingcompany
GREATER CLEVELAND
Sibling Revelry Brewing has a duo of seasonal favorite bottles now available for pre-order. The brewery’s popular Cosmic Cocoa imperial stout gets the bourbon barrel treatment to impart a boozy nose and hints of vanilla to the rich, chocolatey base beer. Fans of Sibling Revelry’s barrel aging program will also be able to pre-order bottles of this year’s version of Syble, a blend of barrel aged Cosmic Cocoa and cinnamon whiskey barrel aged barleywine. These releases are extremely limited – just 60 bottles of Cosmic Cocoa and 200 bottles of Syble – and are available exclusively on a pre-order basis for pickup at the taproom in Westlake at a later date. Get more details and place your order at brewstubs.com/siblingrevelry
NORTHEAST
Hoppin’ Frog Brewery’s Rare Beer Club is celebrating its fifth year by offering, what else, more rare beer! Club members traditionally have access to six exclusive beers over the course of a year, but owner Fred Karm has upped the ante and thrown a seventh rare brew into the package. In addition to the beers, Rare Beer Club members also have the ability to purchase select beers before their public release as well as special member-only beer bundles. Membership is available at four levels, ranging from 2 to 8 bottles of each exclusive beer. Get more info and sign up for your membership at shop.hoppinfrog.com/rare-beer-club
NORTHWEST
If you follow Earnest Brew Works on social media, you’ve regularly seen co-owner Scot Yarnell tapping a firkin live on camera and talking about what’s new at the brewery. Scot’s mallet is going to be busy this week and next as Earnest is offering a slate of special firkins daily at their south Toledo taproom. High Gravity Week runs through Saturday, Jan. 16, featuring strong beers ranging from Evil Earnie imperial stout to Spicewood barleywine. Starting Sunday, Jan. 17, Heat Week features daily firkins of beer infused with chile peppers of escalating heat, culminating next Saturday, Jan. 23 with the 1 million Scoville unit bhut jolokia ghost pepper. Get all the details on this firkin frenzy at facebook.com/earnestbeer
SOUTHEAST
You’ve got to hand it to Fifty West Brewing for going pedal to the metal on their brand. Located on and named after U.S. Route 50, the 3,073-mile transcontinental highway stretching from Sacramento, California to the Atlantic Ocean, Fifty West embraces the open road from their signature orange VW bus to their food menu inspired by stops along the route. It only made sense that when the brewery decided to branch out from their Cincinnati roots that it be into a community located on Route 50. Fifty West’s new brewery in downtown Chillicothe officially opened to the public last week after a December 2020 soft opening. Ross County’s first craft brewery features many Fifty West staple brews and plans some upcoming exclusive beers paired alongside the burger bar menu borrowed from the Cincy homebase. Plan your visit, hit the road and get your Ohio On Tap passport stamp! Details at fiftywestbrew.com/chillicothe
SOUTHWEST
In early 2020, I lamented the difficulty in writing about Brink Brewing without having it devolve into a list of the many honors and awards they have rightly earned. Since then, Brink has earned yet another Great American Beer Festival medal for their enviable trophy case, a third consecutive gold for Moozie, which now has to be considered the undisputed best milk stout in the country. Lucky for all of us, Brink will soon be offering 12-ounce cans of Moozie as well as two-time GABF medalist Hold the Reins English mild ale. 16-ounce can releases are planned for taproom favorites Maiden Voyage New England IPA and Damocles black milkshake IPA. Upon release, cans will be available at Brink’s College Hill taproom and at select Cincinnati-area retailers via distribution. Read David McKinney’s coverage of Brink’s upcoming can releases at mmamckinney.com
WEST CENTRAL
Pretty much every Ohioan knows that aviation pioneers Wilbur and Orville Wright hail from Dayton, but that’s not the end of the story when in comes to Gem City inventors. In fact, beverage fans can thank Daytonians Ermal Fraze for the pop-top can and Arthur Frei for the invention of the ice cube tray. The former has had his contribution to beer memorialized by Warped Wing Brewing in the form of Ermal’s cream ale, and the latter has been honored by Fifth Street Brewpub’s flagship IPA, Ice Breaker. Next week, from Tuesday, Jan. 19 through Saturday, Jan 23, Fifth Street will hold their annual Ice Breaker Fest, a celebration of the hop-forward, west coast-inspired IPA. The original brew will be bolstered by three flavored variants: white peach, passion fruit and cranberry. Read Ashley Moor’s preview of the event at dayton.com