Ohio Brewery News
2.28.2020
CENTRAL
Calling all homebrewers: submissions for the Barley’s Brewing Company 25th annual Home Brew Competition will be accepted from March 17-21 at their brewpub in downtown Columbus. A panel of central Ohio brewers will judge the entries and announce the winner on Sunday, April 5 at Brewcadia, located above Barley’s. As in past years, the winning brewer will have the opportunity to brew their recipe at Barley’s with brew master Angelo Signorino. 2019’s winning beer – Jim Sudduth’s Northern English Brown Ale – will be on tap when the event starts at 1 p.m. For full event details, visit barleysbrewing.com
GREATER CLEVELAND
Cheers to four years of beers from Sibling Revelry Brewing! 125 22-ounce bottles of Syble, the annual anniversary brew, will be released when the party starts at 4 p.m. at their Westlake brewery taproom. This year’s version is a blend of Cosmic Cocoa chocolate stout aged in coca-infused bourbon barrels and 2019 vintage Barleywine aged in cinnamon-infused bourbon barrels. On top of that, six packs of Only Child, a new single-hop IPA featuring the experimental HBC-692 hop with citrus, floral and woody flavors, will be available for sale. The first 100 purchasers will also receive a free Only Child t-shirt. Six barrel aged beers will be on tap and the event will feature live music, brewery tours, a kids zone and more. For full details, visit facebook.com/siblingrevelrybrewing
NORTHEAST
Hoppin’ Frog Brewery has built a reputation on strong, malt-driven beers, many of which top 12% alcohol by volume. Founder Fred Karm owns the gavel used at the Ohio Statehouse during the legislative session when Ohio’s ABV limit on beer was abolished; it’s on display at Hoppin’ Frog’s tasting room in Akron. This week, the brewery released bottles of Pentuple, a Belgian tripel-inspired beer supercharged with malt flavors and clocking in at 15.1% ABV. Pentuple won a bronze medal at the 2019 Great American Beer Festival in the Other Belgian-Style Ale category, populated primarily by experimental brews that bend the strictures of traditional Belgian styles. Enjoy a draft in the tasting room, pick up a bottle to-go, or grab a six pack of the new Sunken Dock Australian-style pale ale this Saturday if Belgian beers aren’t your speed. Learn more about that release at facebook.com/hoppinfrog
NORTHWEST
Irish culture took root in North America and the UK in large part due to emigration caused by the potato famine of the late 1840s, which took the lives of approximately a million Irish and displaced a million others who fled out of desperation. While the potato is inexorably linked to Irish culture and celebrated around St. Patrick’s Day every year, it’s not an ingredient that is traditionally used in beer production. Aistear Brewing in Bowling Green has attempted to bridge that gap, brewing up a batch of an experimental potato ale called Póg Mo Thóin, which translates to, well, that’s what Urban Dictionary is for (it’s slightly off-color, be forewarned.) Pronounced “pogue mahone” – which was also the original moniker of Celtic punk band The Pogues before the BBC refused to play their music barring a name change – this hoppy red ale is on tap now at Aistear’s Bowling Green tasting room. Details at facebook.com/aistearbrewing
SOUTHEAST
Cheers to seven years of beers from Homestead Beer Company! A full day of events are planned for Saturday, Feb. 29, headlined by a beer and dessert pairing flight at 2 p.m. Ticket holders will be treated to four beers and matching sweet delectable made using spent grain from each beer, as well as a 22-ounce bottle of Brew Cherrymore cherry vanilla milk stout to take home along with a cherry cordial made with cherries soaked in the beer. If you’re not interested in the pairing (or if it sells out before you get a ticket), fear not: Brew Cherrymore will also be available for purchase throughout the day starting at noon. Homestead will also tap their popular 3 MC’s double IPA and have four-packs available to go. To get tickets for the beer and dessert pairing, visit facebook.com/homesteadbeerco
SOUTHWEST
Despite the snow and ice that has descended on Ohio this week, a sure sign that spring is just around the corner is the kickoff of the 28th annual Bockfest in Cincinnati, which starts tonight and runs through Sunday. The traditional strong German lager has splintered off into several sub-styles including the lighter color Maibock or helles bock, the monastic derived Doppelbock (a.k.a. “liquid bread” for Lenten fasting), the stronger Eisbock with flavors concentrated by freezing the beer and removing water ice, and Weizenbock, a hybrid of bock and Hefeweizen brewed with wheat and fermented with wheat beer yeast. The 28th iteration of Bockfest starts with a parade through Over-the-Rhine at 6 p.m. tonight, followed by a party at the Bockfest Hall at Christian Moerlein Brewery. Festivities continue on Saturday, including the Bock Beer Experience which will feature two dozen bock beers from area breweries (ticket required). See the full weekend schedule of events at bockfest.com
WEST CENTRAL
Cheers to Ohio’s newest brewery, Sojourners Brewstillery in Centerville! Jeff Marjamaa – who co-owns Sojourners along with his wife, Laura – is a brewing industry veteran, the co-owner of Aegir Brewing Company in Elk River, Minnesota and JAKs Brewing in Falcon, Colorado. The initial tap list at Sojourners consists of a west coast IPA, strawberry table beer, farmhouse-style saison, blonde ale and an Irish red ale. A stout is on deck for release closer to St. Patrick’s Day. The grand opening occurs today at 4 p.m. Stop in this weekend and get your Ohio On Tap passport stamp! Mark Fisher has a full write-up with photos of the 6,000 square foot brewery and taproom at dayton.com