Ohio Brewery News
6.24.2021
CENTRAL
Every season is stout season, just ask Wolf’s Ridge Brewing. Fans of the brewery’s Dire Wolf imperial stout can look forward to a bottle release of not one, but two versions this Sunday, June 27. The first was aged for 12 months in Knob Creek bourbon barrels, adding notes of vanilla and oak to the rich, sweet, roasty base beer. The second version – Breakfast Barrel Dire Wolf – was aged for a year in maple syrup barrels that previously held apple brandy, then conditioned on vanilla and a blend of coffee beans. If you’d prefer lighter barrel aged fare for summertime, pick up a bottle of Saison Pesca Bianca, aged in neutral oak barrels and then refermented with Italian white peaches. Bottle sales will be held exclusively through Wolf’s Ridge’s online store starting Sunday at 3 p.m., but the brewery will also hold a special sneak peek tapping event at their downtown Columbus taproom today. Get all the details at wolfsridgebrewing.com
GREATER CLEVELAND
Cheers to 10 years of beers from Market Garden Brewery! Over a busy decade, Market Garden has established itself as a go-to brewpub in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood, spun off a second brewpub concept down the street at Nano Brew, built a production brewery a block away to keep up with demand in bottles and cans, and brought home three medals from the Great American Beer Festival competition. This Saturday, the original brewpub will host a 10th anniversary party featuring a specialty beer release – on top of the longtime favorite Viking pale ale and brand new Berry On Top blackberry hefeweizen that have been released in the leadup to the event – plus a throwback food menu, brewery tours and activities throughout the day. Get all the details at marketgardenbrewery.com
NORTHEAST
Cheers to three years of beers from Muskellunge Brewing Company! The small but mighty brewery will celebrate their anniversary this Friday, June 25. Owner and brewer Frank Estremera has his 12 taps loaded with hits, including the recently released Deer Creek American lager and Sippo Lake Vienna lager, both perfect for sipping on the Muskellunge patio on what looks to be a perfect, warm summer evening in downtown Canton. Take home pint cans of anything on draft, or pick up some malt and hops from the homebrew supply shop that the brewery established in the last year. For up-to-date info on Friday’s festivities, give Muskellunge a follow on Facebook: facebook.com/muskybrewco
NORTHWEST
If you’ve never experienced a Toledo summer, it’s very much like summer everywhere else in Ohio, but add some Florida-esque humidity to the mix on account of the northwest Ohio region’s swampy origins. Toledoans are quite adept at finding ways to beat the heat, and Maumee Bay Brewing Company is adding a couple of new crushable summer beers to aid in the effort. Manguavitae is a crisp, tart Berliner weisse brewed with sweet mango and guava fruit puree to balance the subtle sourness typical of this classic beer style. If sour beers aren’t your thing, you’re still in luck: check out Beach SZN watermelon shandy, the most recent in the brewery’s series of refreshing, fruit juice-blended shandies. Both brews are available on draft at the historic Maumee Bay brewpub in downtown Toledo. Get more details at facebook.com/mbaybrew
SOUTHEAST
There was a time not long ago that production and sale of beer with greater than 12% alcohol by volume was illegal in the state of Ohio. We’re not talking about the Prohibition era here: the law that lifted the ABV cap on beer went into effect just five years ago. With that arbitrary restriction in the rearview mirror, breweries have been free to create and celebrate a variety of strong beers. Jackie O’s will hold their third annual Bwizzle Day barley wine release on Friday, June 25, featuring four rich, strong, barrel aged barley wines, two of which clock in above the old 12% ABV threshold. Bottles of Rum Barrel Brick Kiln, Prodigality, Iron Furnace and Wood Ya Honey will be available for carry out at the brewery taproom in Athens and Jackie O’s on Fourth in Columbus. Visitors to the Athens taproom will also be able to enjoy pours of the new beers and some vintage barley wines from the cellar while they last. Get all the details at facebook.com/jackieosbrewery
SOUTHWEST
Two woman- and LGBTQ-owned breweries have teamed up to create a collaboration brew in time for Middletown’s Pride Color Crawl on Friday, June 25. Kelissa Hieber, owner/brewer at Denver’s Goldspot Brewing and a Middletown native, traveled to N.E.W. Ales Brewing for the collaboration brew day. The resulting beer, #AlphabetMafia, is a hazy pale ale made with Cascade hops and an experimental yeast that imparts fruit cereal flavors. The name is a reference to a term that was meant to be derogatory against LGBTQ+ people, but has been taken back and embraced by some members of the community. “Some take it as a smack against our community, but I think it’s funny,” N.E.W. Ales co-founder Beth O’Harra told author David Nilsen in an interview. For full details on the beer and the Middletown Pride celebration, check out Nilsen’s article at porchdrinking.com
WEST CENTRAL
Fifth Street Brewpub will be celebrating their ninth anniversary this weekend, but with a bittersweet note to the proceedings. Founding brewmaster Darren Link is leaving the brewery to devote more time to Broken Leaded, his stained glass art studio. Link is responsible for Fifth Street’s signature beers, including Icebreaker IPA, the fan favorite Mint Cookie stout and the Herbivore series of beers infused with garden staples like basil and lemongrass. The brewery will celebrate Link’s tenure and accomplishments at the anniversary festivities on Saturday, June 26 starting at noon. Drop in for a pint of Damn Birthday, a pilsner-based pale ale made with Sabro hops, as well as other special tappings. Read more about this weekend’s celebration at dayton.com