Ohio Weekly Roundup
10.19.2018
CENTRAL
The fourth annual “King of Ohio” beer competition winner will be crowned on Saturday, Oct. 20 at Smokehouse Brewing in Columbus. Organized by Rick Armon of the Akron Beacon Journal and Pat Woodward of Pat’s Pints, the contest seeks out the best Belgian-style beer in the state this year after crowning champs for IPAs (Hoof Hearted), session beers (Streetside) and stouts (Yellow Springs) in previous years. For more details on the competition, read Armon’s write-up at ohio.com
Speaking of Belgian beers, the RAM Restaurant & Brewery tapped a special Belgian Quad collaboration this week. Quad-51 was aged in 451 Spirits bourbon barrels for a year, adding a rich, boozy character to the malt sweetness and spicy Belgian yeast esters of the quad. Get it on draft at the RAM’s Dublin brewpub while supplies last.
The three BrewDog locations in central Ohio are each tapping special collaboration beers on Saturday, Oct. 20. DogTap in Canal Winchester teamed up with Wolf’s Ridge Brewing on a wet hop IPA, BrewDog Franklinton and Homestead Beer Co. brewed an orange pineapple hazy IPA, and BrewDog Short North collaborated with Three Tigers Brewing on a hazelnut chai brown ale. Details at facebook.com/brewdogusa
GREATER CLEVELAND
‘Tis the season for Great Lakes Brewing Company’s Christmas Ale! The traditional first pour party will happen on Thursday, Oct. 25. The Ohio City brewpub will open promptly at 11 a.m. and Brewer Santa will personally deliver and tap the first keg of Christmas Ale at 11:30 a.m. The first bottles and kegs of Christmas Ale will be available exclusively at the Great Lakes gift shop on Friday, Oct. 26, with the beer hitting distribution the following week. For full event details, visit greatlakesbrewing.com
Welcome Southern Tier Brewing Company, the newest member of the Ohio Craft Brewers Association! Southern Tier opened their downtown Cleveland brewpub in the historic Gateway neighborhood in early September of this year. Stop in for some of Southern Tier’s flagship beers and some pub exclusive brews and get your Ohio On Tap passport stamp. Taproom details at stbcbeer.com
Bookhouse Brewing has hit the ground running since opening up last month in Ohio City. They have two new freshly tapped collaborations on draft: Gastfreund black pineapple saison made with Hansa Brewery that balances intense fruit and hints of roast, and Je Ne Sais Quoi brett-fermented biere de garde made in collaboration with Terrestrial Brewing. Details at facebook.com/bookhousebrewing
NORTHEAST
On Tuesday, Oct. 23, Hop Tree Brewing will hold their second annual fundraiser for Tinker’s Creek Watershed Partners at their Hudson brewery taproom. Tickets are $50 per person and include food, two beer tickets, three raffle tickets, a commemorative beer glass, and an individual membership with TCWP. All proceeds from the event will go directly into restoring, preserving, and protecting the Tinker’s Creek watershed. For tickets, visit tinkerscreek.org
This week, Hoppin’ Frog released their new winter seasonal, Frogichlaus, a creamy Swiss-style holiday lager with a malty taste and aroma, low bitterness, and reddish-brown color. Released on draft and a limited number of 12 ounce bottles, this mellow and soothing 12.4% ABV sipper may have you hearing the prancing and pawing of little hooves on the roof…
Stein Brewing Company in Mount Vernon is accepting memberships in their new mug club. Limited to 150 spots, mug club members receive a 24 ounce mug stored on site with your own personal number, a custom keychain, bottle opener, custom flask made from bourbon barrel staves, special edition mug club T-shirt, members-only VIP mug club days, parties and events, and more. Details at facebook.com/steinbrewco
NORTHWEST
Wild Side Brewing will release their barrel aged Wild Apple Ale this Sunday, Oct. 21. There will be three variations available: one Citra dry-hopped, one plum-infused, and one blended with blueberry, blackberry and boysenberry. All three versions were aged in Madeira wine barrels and fermented with Wild Side’s house mixed culture. Doors open at noon at their taproom in Grand Rapids. Details at facebook.com/wildsidebrewingcompany
This week, Lake Rat Brewing tapped their first sour beer. Lab Rat is the brewery’s new base sour ale; the version currently on tap features the addition of a half-pound per gallon of fresh raspberries for a tart, juicy and refreshing experience. Available on draft at the brewpub in Celina while supplies last.
SOUTHEAST
With all the seasonal beers seeming to creep further and further ahead on the calendar, you’ve got to respect Homestead Beer Co. for holding out the release of their pumpkin ale, Spooky Ooze, until the weekend before Halloween. They celebrate the release with a Halloween party at the brewery in Heath on Friday, Oct. 26, including an all-day costume contest, live music, and food from Moe’s Original BBQ. For details, visit facebook.com/homesteadbeerco
Dungeon Hollow Brewing will hold their Fall Fest on Saturday, Oct. 20. Special beer releases are in the offing, though a tap list had not been provided by press time. The Bloomingdale brewery will host a dozen craft vendors, as well as pumpkin carving and painting. For details as they become available, go to facebook.com/dungeonhollow
SOUTHWEST
Listermann Brewing Company opened up registration for the League of Extraordinary Chickow!s this week. Chickow! hazelnut double brown ale and its variants have earned medals at the last three Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beers competitions, including the 2016 Best-In-Show and 2017 Runner-Up. Each league member gets two exclusive 12 ounce bottles of Chickow! variants each quarter, one exclusive piece of high-end swag and special growler fills of draft-only Chickow! variants. Details and sign-up link at facebook.com/listermannbrewing
Operation Plowshare, Urban Artifact’s popular blackberry donut Midwest fruit tart returns on Tuesday, Oct. 23. This explosion of flavor boasts an almost unbelievable 2.5 pounds of blackberries per gallon; there’s literally over a ton of fruit added to each 30-barrel batch brewed! Look for cans throughout Ohio next week, or get a sneak peek taste at Ale-O-Ween in Dayton on Saturday, Oct. 20.
Wiedemann’s Fine Beer will hold their inaugural Fall Fest at their brewery in St. Bernard this weekend. The action kicks off today with guest taps from Brink Brewing, Fretboard Brewing, Municipal Brew Works and more, plus live music and food specials all weekend long. Get more details at facebook.com/wiedemannbeer
WEST CENTRAL
Mother Stewart’s Brewing Co. is canning three beers for the first time today – Wet Hop IPA, Porter and Vienna Lager – and will release them into distribution next week. The Springfield brewery has been regularly putting cans into the market since May of this year with previous releases of Cashmere IPA and Amber Lager. Look for cans around the Dayton, Columbus and points between starting next week.
Two new IPAs will soon hit the taps at Hairless Hare Brewery. Tapping today at 4 p.m. is Caesar’s Demise, a brut IPA brewed with flaked oats to bolster the mouthfeel while maintaining the style’s signature dryness. On Friday, Oct. 26, Hairless Hare will release Whirlfloced, an IPA with the crystal clear appearance of a West Coast style, but the flavor profile of a New England IPA. Available on draft only at the brewery in Vandalia.
Last chance to buy Ale-O-Ween tickets before prices go up at the door on Saturday, Oct. 20! Join 41 Ohio breweries pouring over 100 beers at our annual Halloween party in Dayton. Tickets available at beerfesttickets.com