Ohio Brewery News
4.8.2021
CENTRAL
Columbus artist Hakim Callwood is on a mission to paint murals in all 50 states, collaborating with artists in their communities and making art open and accessible for up-and-coming artists. The project – dubbed Tour de Mural – kicked off last year with visits to Cleveland, Fort Wayne, Indiana and St. Croix in the Virgin Islands. On Friday, April 9, Callwood will debut the second episode of Tour de Mural at Land-Grant Brewing in Franklinton at 6 p.m. To help fund the travel and production expenses for the project, Land-Grant is releasing cans of a new experimental beer at Friday’s event – the label art features one of Callwood’s most famous Columbus murals – and the brewery will donate 100% of the proceeds to Tour de Mural. Find out more about the beer and premiere at landgrantbrewing.com and read up on the nationwide mural project at tourdemural.com
GREATER CLEVELAND
Cheers to 12 years of beers from Fat Head’s Brewery and Saloon! The brewery’s state record run of Great American Beer Festival awards – a total of 25 medals in the last 12 consecutive competitions – started at the brewpub in North Olmsted, fueling expansion to three brewery locations across northeast Ohio. Fat Head’s tapped seven beers to celebrate this week, including the 12th Anniversary Hazelnut Coffee Pastry Stout, Super Juicy Hop Juju imperial IPA and a couple of beers from the Canton brewpub: Orbital Madness hazy IPA and Krombopulus Raspberry Killer fruited sour ale. Several of these beers are available in limited supply, so head over to the North Olmsted brewpub before the kegs kick. See the full anniversary draft list at facebook.com/fatheadscle
NORTHEAST
It’s hard to remember a time when beer trails and brewery passports weren’t so ingrained in craft beer culture. Right now, there are close to a dozen active beer trails in Ohio, ranging from small, single county booklets like the Licking County Beverage Trail to the sprawling, statewide Ohio On Tap brewery passport app administered by the Ohio Craft Brewers Association. One of the first beer trails in the state, the Summit Brew Path, returns this week for a fifth year. The Akron-Summit County Visitors Bureau manages this perennially popular passport, which has grown from 14 official stops in 2017 to 24 locations spanning four counties in 2021. Pick up a booklet at one of the participating breweries and go get your stamps! More info available at summitbrewpath.com
NORTHWEST
Major League Baseball returned to Cleveland and Cincinnati this past week, and the minor league season is scheduled to kick off across the country during the first week of May. Fans of the Dayton Dragons – the High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds – can look forward to a new craft beer experience at games this year, as Moeller Brew Barn sets up shop inside Day Air Ballpark. The brewery will have a permanent bar set up this season featuring four taps, plus more Moeller taps at other concession areas throughout the concourse. Catch the next generation of Cincinnati stars this summer while sipping on a Wally Post Red rye ale, Honeywagon IPA or a Blackberry Prairie Wheat. Learn more at facebook.com/moellerbrewbarn
SOUTHEAST
Covering craft beer has done wonders not only for my taste buds, but also for my vocabulary. Today I learned the word “aestivation,” defined as “a state of animal dormancy, similar to hibernation, although taking place in the summer rather than the winter.” I’ve always been a cold weather person, preferring to bundle up and go outside rather than sweat through the sweltering summer months. Thanks Outerbelt Brewing: you’ve given me a new word to describe myself AND a beer to match. Aestivation is a German-influenced Maibock, pale in color with a pronounced hop character, but still brimming with the toasty malt flavors of the bock family of beers. Pick up a few four-packs this Friday at Outerbelt’s taproom in Carroll, then go home and avoid the warm weather this weekend. More details at facebook.com/outerbeltbeer
SOUTHWEST
Author David Nilsen recently wrote a piece for VinePair exploring Ohio’s love for pale coffee beers. Examples of the style come from all over the state, including the multiple Great American Beer Festival medalist Daybreak from Wolf’s Ridge Brewing, Cool Beans from Jackie O’s and Dimmer from Branch & Bone Artisan Ales. Cincinnati’s Esoteric Brewing decided to tap into the hot market for the style, offering Kallima coffee cream ale as their inaugural canned beer. Six-packs will be available starting Friday, April 9, featuring label art inspired by Esoteric’s stunning art deco building located in the Walnut Hills neighborhood. Be sure to follow the brewery on social media to stay on tap of future can releases: facebook.com/esotericbeer
WEST CENTRAL
You’ll have to dust off a German pronunciation guide to get this joke, but Mother Stewart’s Brewing is putting their Weiss Squad back out on the street this week. This German-inspired Hefeweizen has been a taproom favorite, a refreshing warm weather crusher perfect for enjoying on the Mother Stewart’s patio. Now that it’s in cans, you can pop this one open on your own front porch, on the deck of a luxury yacht, or after solving a crime in your trademark white blazer (you’ll have to dust off an ‘80s TV trivia book to get *that* joke.) Pick up a six pack this week at the Mother Stewart’s taproom in Springfield. More details at facebook.com/motherstewarts