Expansion is the key word for this month. Many of the Ohio breweries have recently expanded, are currently expanding, or are planning an expansion. Market Garden Brewery, featured on the cover this month has recently completed an expansion, and if they continue to have trouble keeping up with demand, will eventually have to expand to a production brewery, as there is no more room to expand at the brewpub. In addition to re-stocking the serving tanks after a busy holiday season, brewer Andy Tveekrem is working on a Funeral Beer. He’s not sure where he heard of the custom, but he liked the idea. He plans to brew a beer and, a year from now, if he’s still with us, there will be a celebration and the beer will be served, and he’ll brew another. If he dies within the year, then the beer will be served at his funeral. Let’s hope it’s not a beer to die for… not yet, anyway!
Jackie O’s is working on a new brewing facility about two miles from their brewpub. The 7500 sq. ft. brewery will house a new 20-barrel brewing system and 40-barrel fermenters. No word yet on when it will be ready, but the goal is to have Jackie O’s beer available statewide. Jackie O’s brewer, Brad Clark is not too busy to keep his house taps full, however. Look for the following seasonals in late winter, early spring: Black Ryno, an India oatmeal rye stout, Sweet Chocolate Love, an oatmeal chocolate milk stout, Smoke Ya Oats, a smoked oatmeal stout, and Stoutella, a hazelnut honey chocolate stout, all in the range of 5.5 to 6.5% alcohol.
Available now at Jackie O’s are favorites Baklava Braggot, a honey walnut cinnamon lemon strong Belgian Ale at 9% alcohol and Hogwash, a smoked maple lavender ale at 5%. He has a few new rarities you might find also: Cinnamama, a Cinamon IPA, a Beligian Quadruple at 11%, and Garde de Maple, a biere de garde brewed with maple syrup.
Willoughby Brewing Company is working to enclose their patio, as well as increasing their fermentation capacity. They plan to introduce more new brews in 2012 including a 13th Anniversary Belgian Strong Dark Ale, a Kölsch in February, followed by a German lager and Wild Irish Red in March. Fat Head’s Brewery and Saloon is also hard at work on a new production brewing facility in Middleburg Heights. All this expansion is exciting for Ohio craft beer lovers! Columbus has a new brewery, Four String Brewing Company, and Findlay has Alexandria’s, a new brewpub, and there are at least a half dozen more slated to open in 2012.
And good beer bars are popping up everywhere, now. Have you been to the World of Beer in Columbus which opened on Halloween in 2011? Interesting concept: 50 or so taps, hundreds of bottle selections, and well-trained servers to educate the customer and help them find a beer they like. No food, though. And Lizardville, the good beer store/bar in Bedford Heights (affiliated with the Winking Lizard), is looking to expand with at least two more locations in the Cleveland area, and may be looking at Columbus, too. It’s getting hard to keep up with Ohio’s craft beer scene!
Weasel Boy Brewing Company has released their 2011 vintage bourbon barrel version of Anastasia Russian imperial stout (10%abv) in one gallon growlers that are available only at the brewery and select local retailers. Anastasia is an English-style imperial stout that is as black as a moonless night and features strong flavors of roasted barley, chocolate, sweet malt and dark fruit .Aging for six months in Woodford Reserve barrels infuses bourbon, oak and vanilla notes and creates a wonderful blend of spirit, oak and stout! Look for the highly popular Bitter Sable Imperial Black IPA (8%abv) before first of March. This beer is an American-style double IPA that features Summit, Amarillo and Centennial hops with subtle roasted malt additions to darken the color and lend hints of dry roasty flavor.
The arrival of spring brings the anticipated release of Weasel Paw Pawpaw Pale Ale! An English-style best bitter is the base for this pawpaw infused beer. Pawpaw, a native Ohio fruit, gives pleasant aromas and flavors of banana and mango for a crisp and refreshing pint. Look for a late March release.
Visit www.weaselboybrewing.com for complete details of upcoming special tappings, release dates and entertainment line-ups.
Ohio Brewing Company is to release their Double Irish Red, a 7.5% abv strong ale with a rich, malty profile. It will be available on draft and in bottles. February will also see the return of Twice Bitten their imperial red ale, with a real hop kick. The plan is to release a portion in 22 oz. bombers also.
In March, Ohio Brewing plans to release some of the Twice Bitten and also their Steel Valley Stout that has been aged in bourbon barrels. And, lastly, the Ohio House Bill that recently passed allowing breweries to serve beer by the glass means Ohio Brewing will be opening a tap room in late March.
Elevator Brewing Company (Columbus) introduces the Goat Series for 2012. Inspired by the soaring popularity of Horny Goat, a porter aged for three months in whisky barrels, the Goat Series will roll out a new barrel-aged beer every three months throughout the year. Horny Goat hit shelves in January, to be followed by Angry Goat (barrel-aged brown ale), Bully Goat (barrel-aged red ale) and Wicked Goat (barrel-aged IPA). These extremely limited batches will be available in bottled four-packs only.
The Brew Kettle will be bringing back their Dark Helmet imperial schwarzbier, a German-style black lager, in time for their annual OgreFest in mid-February in which they fill most of their taps with high gravity beers.
February and March will also see the return of AleFests in Columbus (Feb 4) and Dayton (Mar 3), the inaugural Cincinnati Beer Week (Feb 2-9), the Cincy Winter Beerfest (Feb 10-11), and the Glass City Beer Fest (Toledo, Mar 2). For planning ahead, April 21 will be the 3rd Annual Big Tap In in Youngstown, and the International Beer Fest will be May 11 & 12 at the IX Center in Cleveland.