Ohio Brewery News
3.13.2020
CENTRAL
Cheers to two years of beers from Random Precision Brewing! The sour-focused brewery will hold their anniversary party on Saturday, March 14 at their Linworth taproom. Two new beers will see release this weekend: Unforeseen Consequences golden sour with boysenberries and Night Walks robust American porter fermented with Brettanomyces. Three small batch variants of Night Walks – mint, Irish cream and hazelnut – will also be on tap while they last. Random Precision will also re-release two past favorites: Iconic 96 Brett IPA with pineapple and Plethora of Pinatas golden sour aged in tequila barrels with lime infused sea salt. Get all the details at randomprecision.com
GREATER CLEVELAND
The Major League Baseball season may get off to a late start this year as the country adapts to slow the spread of coronavirus, but that doesn’t mean we have to put hot stove smack talk on hiatus too. Saucy Brew Works is coming out swinging with the draft release of Stealing Signs this Saturday, March 14 at their taproom in Ohio City. Named after the recently uncovered Houston Astros cheating scandal, this new IPA is bursting with citrus flavor from multiple additions of Citra hops, set against a crisp, crushable backbone of pilsner malt from Origin Malt. All indications are that this beer will be a real banger. Details at facebook.com/saucybrewworkscle
NORTHEAST
Ohio’s newest brewery will open its doors to the public on Monday, March 16. Planted Flag Brewing, owned and operated by Aaron and Karen Wirtz, joins a bustling craft brewing community in Medina County that includes OCBA-member neighbors Blue Heron Brewery, Lager Heads Brewing Company and Wadsworth Brewing Company. Aaron previously brewed for The Jolly Scholar in Cleveland before embarking on this new adventure. Planted Flag is located at 3594 Pearl Rd., just north of Medina, and will feature five beers brewed with Ohio-grown malt, as well as a kitchen – run by Karen – offering pub fare made with locally-sourced ingredients. Rick Armon has the full story, including some of the hilariously-named beers, at beaconjournal.com
NORTHWEST
On International Women’s Day, March 8, 2020, Upside Brewing hosted a women’s brew day in conjunction with the Pink Boots Society, the national organization that assists, inspires and encourages women in the beer industry. Women from Findlay Brewing, Inside the Five Brewing, The UrbanWoody Brewery and others joined in the effort, brewing a New England IPA with this year’s Pink Boots hop blend from Yakima Chief Hops. Once the beer is released at their brewpub in Sylvania, Upside plans to donate a portion of the proceeds to the Pink Boots Society’s scholarship fund, providing educational assistance for women looking to advance their careers in brewing. To get updates on the beer release follow Upside on Facebook at facebook.com/upsidebrewing
SOUTHEAST
I suppose I could fill this particular entry with sweet tree puns, but I fear it might be too sappy…
Wooly Pig Farm Brewery will tap their Maple Sap Cream Lager on Saturday, March 14 as part of their early St. Patrick’s Day party. The seasonal beer was brewed with 250 gallons of maple sap, imparting a hint of rich, natural sweetness on top of a crisp, sessionable base beer. Enjoy it on draft at the taproom in Fresno or grab a growler to take home. Lava Rock Grill will also be on hand Saturday dishing up Irish-inspired fare. Get all the details – and a couple of maple puns – at facebook.com/woolypigbrewery
SOUTHWEST
OCBA member breweries are taking proactive steps to stem the tide of the coronavirus outbreak. Brewing beer requires rigorous sanitation and many of those cleaning principles are carried over into the taproom as well. Many breweries are temporarily switching to disposable cups and utensils to prevent cross-contamination. Fibonacci Brewing announced that they would begin a direct-to-consumer home delivery program and will start utilizing their building’s drive-thru window for carryout sales to minimize person-to-person contact. Rhinegeist and Samuel Adams both made the hard decision to temporarily close their Cincinnati taprooms.
The measures necessary to “flatten the curve” of the outbreak are already starting to have an economic effect on breweries and other small businesses. Please do your part to slow the spread of coronavirus – if you feel sick, please stay at home and call your doctor – but also please consider supporting your local brewery by visiting the taproom for a pint or a meal, buying beer to-go (or for delivery if available), or purchasing a gift card or merchandise online. This crisis will pass and we want to ensure that Ohio’s brewing industry is as strong as ever when it does.
WEST CENTRAL
Visitors to Dayton for the Ohio Craft Brewers Conference in February got the first chance to taste the newest version of Fifth Street Brewpub’s Scottish Reign, a wee heavy ale aged in Weller bourbon barrels for nine months. This impressive, malty, boozy brew will see a very limited bottle release this Saturday, March 14 at 2 p.m. at the brewpub. Fifth Street describes the 10% ABV Scottish Reign as having “a luscious taste profile of toffee, caramels, and butterscotch backed by oak and delivered in a subtle envelope of bourbon.” Get full details on the release at facebook.com/fifthstreetbrewpub