Ohio Brewery News
11.11.2021
CENTRAL
Last week we used this space to scratch the surface of the plethora of central Ohio’s new and recurring holiday seasonal brews. While Wolf’s Ridge Brewing has a few of those to offer – Home for the Holidays spiced ale, Impish or Admirable? winter lager and the soon-to-be-released Santa Was Here snickerdoodle stout – let’s spend our time together today to talk about the brewery’s new hop drops. Abominable Haze hit late last week, a new double dry-hopped white IPA with strong citrus and stone fruit character from immense dry hop additions. Coming later this month – and maybe sooner than later if this advent calendar gives us any clues – is ‘Bout It, a hazy IPA brewed with yeast that releases thiols from hops to amplify tropical fruit aromas and flavors. Completing the trilogy toward the end of November is Cone & Bine, a wet hop IPA brewed with freshly harvested Yakima Valley Citra, Simcoe and Cascade hops. Be sure not to miss release details on these new hoppy brews by following the brewery at instagram.com/wolfsridgebrewing
GREATER CLEVELAND
Something about this time of year just seems perfect for malty English-style ales. Whether in the crisp fall air surrounded by auburn leaves or cozied up with a blanket in front of a crackling fireplace, nothing beats a rich, toasty brown ale or a big, boozy barleywine. Bookhouse Brewing’s Vaughn Stewart tapped into his knowledge and experience with English beer styles to craft the perfect fall elixir with the brewery’s 200th batch. The milestone brew – carrying the moniker Batch 200 – is a UK-inspired porter with a distinctly American boost in alcohol content, clocking in at 7.5% ABV. The malt-driven, robust chocolate notes are balanced by a hint of herbal hop character and complemented by apple and fig aromatics derived from the yeast. As if that luscious brew wasn’t enough to satisfy the autumnal palate, Bookhouse also steeped 25 pounds of Sri Lankan coconut into a portion of Batch 200 to add another dimension of flavor. Try them side by side at the brewery taproom in Ohio City starting this Friday, Nov. 12. Find out more at instagram.com/bookhousebrewing
NORTHEAST
Millersburg Brewing Company knows a thing or two about brewing strong beers, earning a Great American Beer Festival gold medal in 2016 for Doc’s Scotch Ale and a World Beer Cup bronze in 2018 for Pope’s Imperial Pumpkin Ale. So when brewer Marty Lindon decides to drop a barrel-aged English-style Barleywine, it would benefit all big beer lovers to stop and take notice. On Friday, Nov. 12, Millersburg will release McBender, a rich, malty 14% ABV brew aged for eight months in bourbon barrels from the recently resurrected McBrayer distillery in Kentucky. The beer offers a complex, intertwined bouquet of intense flavors from roasted malt to caramel to chocolate, backed up with a pleasant and persistent boozy warmth imparted from the bourbon barrels. Enjoy some sips at the taproom in Millersburg and take home a bottle or two for those cold winter nights ahead. Find out more at instagram.com/millersburgbrewingco
NORTHWEST
Cheers to a year of beer from CLAG Brewing in Sandusky! If you’ve ever been there or the associated Small City Taphouse next door – recognized as one of Ohio’s great craft beer bars even before they installed their own brewery – you know that there’s nothing understated about the beer selection or anything else they have to offer. As you might imagine, that over-the-top culture of decadence breeds a fanatical following, which is why VIP tickets to their first anniversary party this Saturday, Nov. 13 were snatched up almost immediately after going on sale a couple weeks ago. For good reason too, as CLAG is releasing close to a dozen beers in bottles and cans, plus a draft list that’s longer than this entire blog and features collaboration brews made with The Answer Brewpub, Perennial Artisan Ales, 450 North Brewing and more. Retail bottle and can sales start at 3 p.m. on Saturday, see the full list at instagram.com/clag_brewing
SOUTHEAST
Earlier this year, Three Tigers Brewing kicked off fundraising for the Patrick Gangwer Brewing Scholarship by auctioning off a series of handcrafted ceramic mugs. The funds generated by that auction were put toward a brewing scholarship for Steve Bradbury of Jackson, Ohio, who is enjoying his first semester in the fermentation science program at Hocking College. To continue the program and fund a scholarship for another future professional brewer, Three Tigers is raffling off a dual tap kegerator on Saturday, Nov. 27. The winner of the drawing will be able to choose a full color Three Tigers wrap design for the kegerator, provided by Dush Graphix of Newark, Ohio. Raffle tickets are available at the Three Tigers taproom in Granville until the drawing at 4 p.m. on Nov. 27. To learn more about the contest and the memorial scholarship fund set up in Patrick Gangwer’s honor, head over to instagram.com/threetigersbrewing
SOUTHWEST
Thanksgiving is coming up, which means you’ll soon be exercising your creativity in repurposing your leftover turkey and sides to come up with an entirely new meal. Necessity is the mother of invention, as the old Plato saying goes, leading Big Ash Brewing to develop the newest beer on their board. Scraps is an English-style mild ale with a malt bill composed of a mélange of remnant grains from prior brews. The finished beer ends up as greater than the sum of its parts, as the old Aristotle saying goes: a dark beer with light body, low alcohol and prominent notes of roasted malt, nuts, biscuit and toffee. Grab a pint of Scraps at the Big Ash taproom in Cincinnati and start contemplating what to do with your own leftovers. After all, the unexamined meal is not worth eating, as the old Socrates saying goes. That’s how it goes, right? Find out more about Scraps at instagram.com/bigashbrewing
WEST CENTRAL
Cheers to eight years of beers from Star City Brewing! Maybe by fate, maybe by planning, Star City’s anniversary plans also happened to coincide with the 500th batch turned out by the Miamisburg brewery. To mark that momentous milestone, they decided to test the limits of their brew system by making the biggest beer they’ve ever produced, a mash tun busting imperial stout that clocks in at a massive 15.1% ABV. The huge stout – named Batch 500, of course – is big and boozy as expected, and absolutely brimming with intense chocolate, caramel and coffee character. Enjoy this monumental brew along with a bevy of other fermented delights when Star City’s anniversary festivities kick off at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 13. Find out more at facebook.com/starcitybrewingcompany