Ohio Beer Guide: Home Page

Current Breaking Ohio Beer NEWS!

*Check EVENTS page for Ohio Happenings!*

* Hoppin' Frog in the News! *

Nice article in the Akron Beacon Journal about Hoppin' Frog! "Hoppin' Frog Hops Ahead!" Hoppin' Frog was also the only Ohio brewery at the Indiana Beer Fest on July 19. I took pictures, but lost my camera! The Silk Porter through the coffee bean tower was awesome!

* Main Street Grille & Brewing Co. now Brewing! *

Formerly Garretts Mill and Alessi's, now open again and brewing at 8148 Main St, Garrettsville (click for map).

I haven't personally visited yet, but I'm told the food and beer are good but still many macro brews on tap. Will that change as they brew more of their own?

* Blackout Stout wins medal at World Beer Cup! *

Great Lakes Brewing Co, wins another medal... the Bronze...at the World Beer Cup in San Diego in April, for the Blackout Stout in the "British Style Imperial Stout" category. Congratulations! Great beer! The Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter made Zymurgy Magazine's list of "Best Commercial Beers in America" tied for 13th place.

* Ohio Brewing Company Now Open! *

Ohio Brewing Company opened Sunday May 10. They are located in the old O'Neils building, 222 South Main Street, in Akron's downtown. Map

Operating in conjunction with Damon's grill, they have 6-8 of their own beers on tap plus eventually some guest beers and a cask ale. Over 25 big screen HDTV's plus darts, pool, and Buzztime Trivia for your entertainment.

NOTE: Free Parking in adjacent parking deck after 6 pm and on weekends.

* 69 Taps now open in Wadsworth! *

Opened April 18 at 300 Weatherstone (click for map)

Same great $2 pints for happy hour and happy hour is 11-7, except Friday, when it's 11-9!

* Weaselboy Brewing Tap Room Now Open on Wednesdays! *

Blackfooted Porter now on Tap! Be sure to visit their 'On Tap' page for the entire line up of house and guest beers!

Current Guest Tap: Cumberland Pale Ale from Barrelhouse Brewing, Cincinnati

New Taproom Hours:

Wednesdays 4:00pm - 10:00pm

Thursdays 4:00pm - 10:00pm

Fridays 4:00 pm - Midnight

Saturdays 3:00pm - Midnight

* Medal Winners at the Great American Beer Fest! *

Congratulations to Elevator Brewing Co. in Columbus for winning the bronze medal in the American-Style Dark Lager category for their Elevator Dark Horse, and to Great Lakes Brewing Company for winning the silver medal in the Robust Porter category for their Edmund Fitzgerald Porter.

* American Homebrewers Association Homebrewer of the Year! *

Richard Skains from Rocky River, Ohio was recently named the Homebrewer of the Year in the American Homebrewers Association’s (AHA) National Homebrew Competition – the world’s largest beer competition. Out of this year’s 5,052 total entries, Skains’ alder-smoked Bock with chipotle peppers in the Specialty Beer category, was declared the best-of-show beer by a panel of some of the top beer judges in the United States.

Skains, originally from Houston, moved to the Cleveland area to study music, and has a master’s degree in percussion performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and after playing professionally for ten years, now teaches music in Cleveland. His love for good beer developed during summers in Graz, Austria playing in the Graz Festival Orchestra.

He started brewing in a bucket, like most home brewers, in 1992, later building a two-tier all-grain system after taking an advanced beer making class at the Grape and Granary in Akron in 1998. Two years ago, Skains began working part-time as an assistant brewer at Rocky River Brewing Company in Rocky River, Ohio. Working under the tutelage of head brewer Matt Cole, who has a passion for making award winning beers, was both educational and inspirational. He started using techniques learned from Cole to improve his home brew, which included using professional fittings, good yeast management, water chemistry procedures, and quality ingredients.

This year Skains entered only three beers in the AHA competition. In the first round, he received a 1st place for a Schwarz bier, 2nd place for a smoked bock bier, and a 1st place for the smoked bock bier with chipotle peppers. Of the 701 entries that advanced to the second round, he received a bronze medal for the Schwarz bier and a gold medal for the smoked bock bier with chipotle peppers.

Then the gold medal winners from each of the 23 beer categories were judged for “best of show.” As winner of the best of the best, Rick Skains becomes the Homebrewer of the Year, and can boast that he has brewed the best homebrew in the world!

* Buckeye Beer Engine - OPEN 365 days per year! *

Buckeye Brewing Company's Beer Engine Pub celebrating one year anniversary! It's at 15315 Madison Ave in Lakewood. Map

The Buckeye Beer Engine is where they brew the Micro-sized test batches for Buckeye Brewing Co. It is also a pub, open from 11 am - 2:30 am, 7 days a week. With over 20 taps, they will have Buckeye Beer, Beer Engine Beer and guest beers from around the globe. Check it out--their website is http://www.buckeyebeerengine.com

Click here for pictures of the Buckeye Beer Engine

* 69 Taps now open in Medina! *
It's located in the shopping plaza behind Damon's at the corner of North Court Street (Rte. 42) and Reagan Parkway

Both locations serve $2 pints during happy hour every day!

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