Ohio Brewery News
5.8.2020
CENTRAL
Columbus may not be the largest city in the world located on the 40th parallel north (Beijing wins that contest far and away), nor is it the largest city in the U.S. on that line (hello, Philadelphia), but, uh, we built an airport on it, so take that, Kansas/Nebraska border! This global line of demarcation serves as the inspiration for Ill Mannered Brewing Company’s 40th Pale-llel, an American pale ale featuring lush fruit aromas and flavors courtesy of Mosaic hops. This beer is making its can debut this week at Ill Mannered’s taproom in Powell, about 12 miles north of 40 degrees latitude. Pre-order cans online for pickup at illmanneredbeer.com/store and get GPS coordinates (and directions) for all Ohio Craft Brewers Association member breweries offering carry out at ohiocraftbeer.org/map
GREATER CLEVELAND
Six local breweries are getting together to host a virtual happy hour to benefit and raise awareness of Cleveland Tip Jar, a crowdfunding platform created to help Cleveland-area service industry workers impacted by the pandemic. On Thursday, May 14 at 5 p.m., you can join the brewers and staff of The Brew Kettle, Fat Head’s, Great Lakes, Masthead, Noble Beast and Saucy Brew Works for a roundtable discussion of beer and any other craft brewing industry topics. The event will be livestreamed through the Cleveland Craft Beer Community Facebook page, and viewers are encouraged to ask their questions in through that page no later than Tuesday, May 12. To help out your favorite Cleveland bartender or server, visit clevelandtips.com
NORTHEAST
There haven’t been a ton of bright spots to this pandemic, but this might qualify: in early April, the state liquor commission issued an emergency rule that allowed certain permit holders to sell beer, wine and spirits to-go. Breweries that held an additional permit that allowed them to sell beer made by another brewery were given the go ahead to offer those beers for carry out and delivery. Brewers are innovative and collaborative by nature, so it was only a matter of time until we saw a group of breweries do something mutually beneficial within the new rules. UnHitched Brewing in Louisville has put together a mixed eight-pack of beers from northeast Ohio breweries – two each from Birdfish Brewing, HiHO Brewing Co. and Noble Creature Cask House, plus two of their own – and is offering delivery next week to Cuyahoga, Lorain, Medina and Summit counties. See the full contents of the pack and order online at unhitched.beer/beer-run
NORTHWEST
OK, so Cinco de Mayo was a little different this year, but that didn’t stop a lot of Ohio breweries from going forward with beers to celebrate the occasion. Quite a few cans of Mexican lagers were sold at breweries this past week, but Inside the Five Brewing took a unique approach to their market entry. Dentro del Cinco – Spanish for “Inside the Five” – is a refreshing margarita-inspired ale delivering crispness and acidity from lime and a boozy punch from aging in tequila barrels. Available in crowlers to-go at Inside the Five’s taproom in downtown Sylvania while supplies last. For more info on this and other upcoming releases, follow them at facebook.com/insidethefivebrewing
SOUTHEAST
You’d never know it from the arctic blast that’s coming through Ohio here in the second week of May, but summer is right around the corner. One of my favorite styles for sipping on a sunny day is a fruited gose, the tart and sweet balance with a hint of salt perfectly complements a patio drinking session. The Granville Brewing Company announced yesterday that they would be releasing some small batch variations on Zoinks! It’s a G-G-G-Gose starting this week. The initial blackberry version sold out just hours after the announcement, but more fruit flavored variants are on deck for the coming weeks. Follow them at facebook.com/thegranvillebrewingcompany for future announcements and sale dates.
SOUTHWEST
That old saying “don’t swap horses midstream” – the idea that once you’re committed to a plan, you shouldn’t deviate from it – clearly didn’t come from a time of upheaval like the one we’re living through now. Sometimes you’ve got to grab the other horse’s tail to get yourself to dry land. Fifty West Brewing had a draft-only hazy IPA, Downstream, scheduled for release this spring, but the coronavirus pandemic quickly scuttled those plans. The brewery made a quick pivot and packaged the limited release beer in cans. You can pick up a four-pack while supplies last at Fifty West’s new bike trailside burger bar, located on their Cincinnati brewery campus. Read more at facebook.com/fiftywestbrewingcompany
WEST CENTRAL
I have to admit, my knowledge of mid 2000’s Houston hip-hop really doesn’t go much past Chamillionaire and “Who is Mike Jones?” so when Alematic Artisan Ales said they were releasing a beer called Draped Up, I didn’t get the reference. A quick Google search led to a longer trip down the Spotify rabbit hole, kicked off with Bun B’s anthem glorifying rides with tinted windows and slick paint jobs (“draped up and dripped out.”) Draped Up, the beer, is a high-temperature fermented IPA made with Kveik yeast and hopped with Columbus, Cascade, Mosaic and Simcoe to drop in bold tropical fruit flavors and aromas. Cruise over to Alematic in Huber Heights and snag some crowlers while you can. Read more at facebook.com/alematicbrewing