Ohio Brewery News
9.30.2022
CENTRAL
Sometimes when writing these blog entries, we have to dig deep during a relatively slow news week. Other weeks, like this one, it’s like somebody just opened the news faucet and broke off the handle. We’ve got a lot to cover this week and we’re taking next week off in advance of the Great American Beer Festival, so here we go!
Columbus Brewing Company released renderings of their soon-to-open Beer Hall, located next door to the newly developed East Market in Columbus’s Franklin Park neighborhood. Slated to open this fall, the repurposed historic building features a large taproom and patio, as well as private event space. Find out more at columbusbrewing.com
Cheers to eight years of beers from Land-Grant Brewing! Celebrate at their Franklinton taproom this Saturday, Oct. 1, where Land-Grant will release some classics from their beer lineup and offer guided tours of the brewery led by their founders. Full details at landgrantbrewing.com
GREATER CLEVELAND
While it seems like it was just 80 degrees last week, it’s once again time to welcome holiday ales and winter warmers back to Ohio tap lists. Great Lakes Brewing Company is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of their iconic Christmas Ale, so it’s time to bust out this amazing true fact: if Christmas Ale was the only beer that GLBC brewed every year, they’d still be the seventh largest independent craft brewery in Ohio. The annual first pour ceremony happens on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 11 a.m. at the brewpub in Ohio City. Details at greatlakesbrewing.com
If you were one of the many who lined up for cans of peanut butter coffee porter years ago at a now-defunct brewery in Willoughby, you’re in for a treat. Brewmaster Rick Seibt teamed up with Collision Bend Brewing to brew a batch of this this fan favorite beer – rechristened as Rick’s Original – for the upcoming Cleveland Beer Week. Find out more at facebook.com/collisionbrew
Cheers to a year of beer from Broadview Brewing Company in Broadview Heights! Join them this Saturday for their anniversary celebration, complete with beer releases, commemorative glassware and live music. Details at broadviewbrewingcompany.com
NORTHEAST
Fans of the funk, listen up: Birdfish Brewing, Modern Methods Brewing and Noble Creature Cask House have teamed up on a unique, long-term, three-way collaboration. All three breweries worked up a beer recipe that was sent to an oak foeder to ferment with yeast cultures harvested from each brewery. When the breweries decide the beer is ready, a portion of it will be kegged and served, with fresh wort replacing the amount that was taken. The result is a years-long blending project where each release from the same tank takes on new flavor characteristics. Proceeds from the sales of these foeder aged beers will be donated to non-profits dedicated to feeding hungry families in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties. Make sure you follow Birdfish Brewing on social media for future release details.
HiHO Brewing‘s Harvest Fest happens this Sunday, Oct. 2 at their taproom in Cuyahoga Falls. In addition to the annual release of their Harvest Ale – a beer brewed with locally sourced malt, fresh hops, melon and squash – HiHO will also host pop-up vendors peddling produce, plants, pastries and more. Details at hihobrewingco.com
NORTHWEST
Cheers to two years of beers from False Chord Brewing! You can celebrate with them on Saturday, Oct. 8 at their brewery taproom in downtown Findlay. False Chord will release their strongest beer to date, an imperial stout aged on pomegranate molasses and Tahitian vanilla beans called Pick the World Up & Drop It on Its F*cking Head. Can preorders can be placed in one of two anniversary merchandise packages, which can be picked up at the brewery on Oct. 8. Get all the details at facebook.com/falsechordbrewing
This weekend is Oastoberfest, the last major festival event of the season for Twin Oast Brewing in Port Clinton. In addition to Twin Oast’s own brews, Oastoberfest will feature guest beers from more than a dozen Ohio craft breweries over the course of the weekend. Festivities kick off Friday afternoon and continue through Saturday with live music, food specials and activities. Get all the details at twinoast.com
SOUTHEAST
The owners of Wooly Pig Farm Brewery drew their inspiration from the many small family breweries that dot the landscape throughout Bavaria. The traditional Oktoberfest celebration in Munich is entering its final weekend, but the party is actually just starting at Wooly Pig. At 1 p.m. on Friday, the rural Coshocton County brewery will kick off their own Oktoberfest with the annual release of their Festbier lager. A traditional wooden keg of Festbier will be tapped on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 12:30 p.m. and one liter dimpled glass mugs will be available for the next two weekends if you want to take the party home with you. Get all the details at woolypigfarmbrewery.com
Non-alcoholic beer is a small but quickly growing segment of the beer market. The production of NA beer comes with significant expense and challenges for smaller manufacturers, but we’re seeing more independent craft breweries entering the space to offer something new to their customers. The most recent Ohio brewery to take a swing at NA brewing is Homestead Beer Company, which introduced Haypenny this week, an alcohol-free version of their flagship Tenpenny amber ale. Try it on tap at the brewery tasting room in Heath while supplies last. Details at facebook.com/homesteadbeerco
SOUTHWEST
While there’s still a place for big beer festivals with hundreds of breweries and thousands of attendees, the craft beer market has matured to the point where small, curated, highly specialized events are held in extremely high regard. Rhinegeist‘s annual Rare Beer Fest is just such an event, featuring 50 breweries pouring wood aged beers, unique one-off concoctions, and other hard-to-find and off-the-radar brews. The event happens on Saturday, Oct. 29 at the Rhinegeist taproom, but make sure to get one of the few remaining tickets before this event sells out. Details at rhinegeist.com
A pair of Cincy-area breweries celebrate anniversaries on Saturday, Oct. 8. FigLeaf Brewing marks six years of beers next week with a pig roast and beer release at their taproom in Middletown. Details at facebook.com/figleafco. Dead Low Brewing will celebrate their third year serving Cincinnati with live music in their expansive outdoor beer garden. Find out more at facebook.com/deadlowbrewing
WEST CENTRAL
Warped Wing Brewing continues their expansion in western Ohio with the announcement of what will be their fourth taproom, located in Huber Heights northeast of Dayton. The new Warped Wing taproom will be in close proximity to Rose Music Center, giving concert goers a new craft beer and food option to hit up before or after a show. The brewery expects the new taproom to open to the public by next summer and will feature small batch brews made on site alongside a full compliment of Warped Wing’s flagship beers. Read more about the new Huber Heights taproom at dayton937.com
As mentioned above, Oktoberfest season is coming to a close, and soon those rich, malty German-style lagers will give way to the strong beers of winter before returning at the end of next summer. Mother Stewart’s Brewing ushers in autumn this Saturday, Oct. 1 with their German Beerfest, featuring their own Oktoberfest-inspired beer, plus German-style beers from a half-dozen other area breweries. Get all the details on Saturday’s festivities at motherstewartsbrewing.com