Blizzards, snow, and cold mean it’s winter in Ohio, but trust Ohio brewers to find a way to warm us up! February 5th, in Athens, Jackie O’s is having a Stout and Big Beer Fest combined with a bottle release of some of their barrel aged beers like Quincedence (a cabernet barrel-aged sour strong ale with quince fruit), Vanilla Bean Rum Barrel Dark Apparition, and Kopi Luwak Bourbon Barrel Dark Apparition. There will be 25 Jackie O’s brews on draft and some killer guest taps for the event. Check their website for all the tasty details (www.jackieos.com). There’s nothing like some Sweet Chocolate Love (oatmeal chocolate milk stout) to warm things up! Or try some Black Ryno (India oatmeal rye stout) or Java the Stout.
February 11 and 12th will be the Cincy Winter Beer Festival at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati.
Then the annual OgreFest at the Brewkettle starts on February 14 and runs until at least the 20th. If you haven’t been to Brewkettle lately, you will be pleasantly surprised at the new addition. They have nearly doubled their seating area, and added a completely new kitchen. They were recently voted the best brewpub in Cleveland by the voters on Fox 8 online. That makes at least four years in a row, I think! Come and check out the new expansion and their lineup of big beers! Aside from Ogrefest, you’ll find the award winning White Rajah IPA back on tap and their Son of Sam German Pils.
On February 26, the Winking Lizard in Independence is having their 2nd Annual Barleywine Festival. For $35 you’ll get 3 hours to taste 10 samples of beer and an assorted buffet of sandwiches, pizza, and more. There will be some draft and some bottle selections, including Smuttynose Barleywine, Stone Belgo-Barleywine, Victory Old Horizontal, 2010 Looking Glass Killer Penguin, BrewKettle Jack Hammer, and Sierra Nevada Brewers Reserve Grand Cru, just to name a few. Make your reservations now at winkinglizard.com.
The Ohio Craft Brewers Association’s annual Cleveland Winter Warmer Festival will take place on March 5 at the Sachsenheim Hall, 7001 Denison Ave in Cleveland. There will be two sessions; 1-4 pm and 6-9 pm. All Cleveland breweries as well as others from Ohio will be participating. Look for tickets to be on sale at your local participating brewery. This is the festival that has been at the Rock Bottom in past years.
The Fifth Annual Glass City Brew Fest will again be held at the Erie Street Market in Toledo on March 4. They promise beer from at least 24 different breweries and live music.
If you’ve never been to one of the Buckeye Beer Engine’s beer dinners, here’s one for the meat lovers. It’s the Buckeye Carnivore Dinner and will be held on Tuesday, February 22nd at 7 pm. The six course dinner featuring pork dishes will be paired with six Buckeye beers. Then on March 13, the Beer Engine will be celebrating its fourth year in businesss. I’m not sure how they are celebrating it, but stop by and help them celebrate! And mark your calendars for the 5th annual 420 HopFest, starting on April 15 and running through Wednesday, April 20th with a unique tapping each day of the event.
Meanwhile, Matt Cole at Fat Head’s Brewery is brewing an Imperial Head Hunter IPA for the first time. He’s looking for this one to be about 9% abv and over 100 IBUs. He’s also brewing an Aventinus-like beer called Alpen Glow Weizenbock with a complex profile of raisins, figs and tons of bubblegum, banana and clove. A new Belgian strong golden ale called Poseidon’s Punishment is the tank with a blend of three Belgian yeast strains and candi and corn sugar, and clocking in at 10%. And, (insert drum roll here) Head Hunter IPA is now in available in 12 ounce bottles and selling faster than they can make it; and they are brewing 60 barrels a month! Soon the always popular BumbleBerry Blueberry Ale will also be available in 12 oz. bottles. Fat Heads will be opening a production Brewery in the Cleveland area to supply kegs and bottles to Pennslyvania and Ohio. They plan to have the first bottles rolling off the line by the end of 2011. It’s nice to see the growth in demand for craft brew.
Come March, it’s HeadStrong month at Fat Head’s with lots of unique brews over 8% including many of their own. HopHeads will be happy that the Hop Juju Imperial IPA and the Hop Stalker IPA will make a return as well. Stop in for a brew, check out the new menu (coming soon) and take a growler to go with their $3 off growler specials on Monday and Wednesday.
2010 was also a year of booming growth for Elevator Brewing Company, now in their 12th year in downtown Columbus. January saw the second annual release of Horny Goat, a porter aged in whiskey barrels. And March will be the seasonal release of Heiferweizen. You should also check out their “School of Beer,” which features fresh monthly concoctions from Masterbrewer Vic Schiltz and Assistant Brewer Mark Beery. The Masters of Beer Appreciation (MBA) and Professor of Hearty Drinking (PHD) courses don’t require any homework, but they do challenge beer aficionados to sample 24 unique beers during the calendar year. The February and March selections are Imperial Espresso Stout, Hoppelbock, Wheat Wine Bitter and Gaelic Green Beior.
The addition of a mechanical bottling line in January 2010 spurred a 33 percent increase in beer production over the past year, and Elevator’s bottled products are now prominently featured in beverage retailers throughout central Ohio.
Weasel Boy Brewing Company is still buzzing after their Anastasia Russian Imperial Stout took a bronze medal at the 2010 GABF. Brewers Jay and Lori Wince have been tapping past vintages of the beer periodically of both the 2010 vintage (8.2% abv) and a bourbon barrel-aged version (10% abv). 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. Late winter brings the return of the highly popular Bitter Sable Imperial Black IPA at 8% abv. 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. Also making its return is Wiley Wolverine Rye Pale Ale. This American style pale ale is refreshingly crisp and citrusy.
February for Jay Cox at Cornerstone Brewing brings thoughts of love and Valentine’s Day. In honor of that, he has created Devil’s Lust, which is a Belgian-style ale that will ensnare your senses with bright fruit flavors, spicy cinnamon, and a touch of chipotle to heat things up. March and spring brings thoughts of rebirth, new beginnings and St. Patty’s Day! You will find the “rebirth” of their Erinn Rosanna Irish Red Ale, O’Nooley’s Dry Irish stout, and of course a bunch not-yet-named beers because he’s still thinking them up! So stop in to one of their two locations and celebrate winter, Valentines Day, St. Paddy’s dat and the end of winter with whatever weird new beers Cornerstone is bringing into the world!
Main Street Grill in Garrettsville is kicking off 2011 with some cask-conditioned ales, starting with an English brown ale, followed by an English bitter.
Ohio Brewing Company aims to help you prepare for St. Patrick’s Day with their Double Irish Red, a malty, richly flavored red ale, (~7.5% abv) which will go well with your Irish Stew or corned beef and cabbage. You’ll find it available on draft and in 12 oz. bottles throughout NE Ohio.
And lastly, Ohio has a couple of new breweries. The Quarter Barrel Brewing Company in Oxford opened its brewery/pub/cafe/used bookstore in October and has a limited but quality selection of guest draft beers and, now and then, one of their own on tap. An interesting little cafe with good food and relaxing atmosphere. The other is the Great Black Swamp Brewery in Toledo. This is a microbrewery only, and you have to check their website (www.greatblackswampbrewing.com) to locate pubs with their beers, listed on their site as Sand Piper Golden Ale, Mosquito Red, Bull Frog Stout, Bay Front Pale Ale, and Wild Duck IPA.
GLBN.OH.2011.02
By Karen Bujak
The Muse of Brews
Blizzards, snow, and cold mean it’s winter in Ohio, but trust Ohio brewers to find a way to warm us up! February 5th, in Athens, Jackie O’s is having a Stout and Big Beer Fest combined with a bottle release of some of their barrel aged beers like Quincedence (a cabernet barrel-aged sour strong ale with quince fruit), Vanilla Bean Rum Barrel Dark Apparition, and Kopi Luwak Bourbon Barrel Dark Apparition. There will be 25 Jackie O’s brews on draft and some killer guest taps for the event. Check their website for all the tasty details (www.jackieos.com). There’s nothing like some Sweet Chocolate Love (oatmeal chocolate milk stout) to warm things up! Or try some Black Ryno (India oatmeal rye stout) or Java the Stout.
February 11 and 12th will be the Cincy Winter Beer Festival at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati.
Then the annual OgreFest at the Brewkettle starts on February 14 and runs until at least the 20th. If you haven’t been to Brewkettle lately, you will be pleasantly surprised at the new addition. They have nearly doubled their seating area, and added a completely new kitchen. They were recently voted the best brewpub in Cleveland by the voters on Fox 8 online. That makes at least four years in a row, I think! Come and check out the new expansion and their lineup of big beers! Aside from Ogrefest, you’ll find the award winning White Rajah IPA back on tap and their Son of Sam German Pils.
On February 26, the Winking Lizard in Independence is having their 2nd Annual Barleywine Festival. For $35 you’ll get 3 hours to taste 10 samples of beer and an assorted buffet of sandwiches, pizza, and more. There will be some draft and some bottle selections, including Smuttynose Barleywine, Stone Belgo-Barleywine, Victory Old Horizontal, 2010 Looking Glass Killer Penguin, BrewKettle Jack Hammer, and Sierra Nevada Brewers Reserve Grand Cru, just to name a few. Make your reservations now at winkinglizard.com.
The Ohio Craft Brewers Association’s annual Cleveland Winter Warmer Festival will take place on March 5 at the Sachsenheim Hall, 7001 Denison Ave in Cleveland. There will be two sessions; 1-4 pm and 6-9 pm. All Cleveland breweries as well as others from Ohio will be participating. Look for tickets to be on sale at your local participating brewery. This is the festival that has been at the Rock Bottom in past years.
The Fifth Annual Glass City Brew Fest will again be held at the Erie Street Market in Toledo on March 4. They promise beer from at least 24 different breweries and live music.
If you’ve never been to one of the Beer Engine’s beer dinners, here’s one for the meat lovers. It’s the Buckeye Carnivore Dinner and will be held on Tuesday, February 22nd at 7 pm. The six course dinner featuring pork dishes will be paired with six Buckeye beers. Then on March 13, the Beer Engine will be celebrating its fourth year in businesss. I’m not sure how they are celebrating it, but stop by and help them celebrate! And mark your calendars for the 5th annual 420 HopFest, starting on April 15 and running through Wednesday, April 20th with a unique tapping each day of the event.
Meanwhile, Matt Cole at Fat Head’s Brewery is brewing an Imperial Head Hunter IPA for the first time. He’s looking for this one to be about 9% abv and over 100 IBUs. He’s also brewing an Aventinus-like beer called Alpen Glow Weizenbock with a complex profile of raisins, figs and tons of bubblegum, banana and clove. A new Belgian strong golden ale called Poseidon’s Punishment is the tank with a blend of three Belgian yeast strains and candi and corn sugar, and clocking in at 10%. And, (insert drum roll here) Head Hunter IPA is now in available in 12 ounce bottles and selling faster than they can make it; and they are brewing 60 barrels a month! Soon the always popular BumbleBerry Blueberry Ale will also be available in 12 oz. bottles. Fat Heads will be opening a production Brewery in the Cleveland area to supply kegs and bottles to Pennslyvania and Ohio. They plan to have the first bottles rolling off the line by the end of 2011. It’s nice to see the growth in demand for craft brew.
Come March, it’s HeadStrong month at Fat Head’s with lots of unique brews over 8% including many of their own. HopHeads will be happy that the Hop Juju Imperial IPA and the Hop Stalker IPA will make a return as well. Stop in for a brew, check out the new menu (coming soon) and take a growler to go with their $3 off growler specials on Monday and Wednesday.
2010 was also a year of booming growth for Elevator Brewing Company, now in their 12th year in downtown Columbus. January saw the second annual release of Horny Goat, a porter aged in whiskey barrels. And March will be the seasonal release of Heiferweizen. You should also check out their “School of Beer,” which features fresh monthly concoctions from Masterbrewer Vic Schiltz and
Assistant Brewer Mark Beery. The Masters of Beer Appreciation (MBA) and Professor of Hearty Drinking (PHD) courses don’t require any homework, but they do challenge beer aficionados to sample 24 unique beers during the calendar year. The February and March selections are Imperial Espresso Stout, Hoppelbock, Wheat Wine Bitter and Gaelic Green Beior.
The addition of a mechanical bottling line in January 2010 spurred a 33 percent increase in beer production over the past year, and Elevator’s bottled products are now prominently featured in beverage
retailers throughout central Ohio.
Weasel Boy Brewing Company is still buzzing after their Anastasia Russian Imperial Stout took a bronze medal at the 2010 GABF. Brewers Jay and Lori Wince have been tapping past vintages of the beer periodically of both the 2010 vintage (8.2% abv) and a bourbon barrel-aged version (10% abv). 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. Late winter brings the return of the highly popular Bitter Sable Imperial Black IPA at 8% abv. 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. Also making its return is Wiley Wolverine Rye Pale Ale. This American style pale ale is refreshingly crisp and citrusy.
February for Jay Cox at Cornerstone Brewing brings thoughts of love and Valentine’s Day. In honor of that, he has created “Devil’s Lust,” which is a Belgian-style ale that will ensnare your senses with bright fruit flavors, spicy cinnamon, and a touch of chipotle to heat things up. March and spring brings thoughts of rebirth, new beginnings and St. Patty’s Day! You will find the “rebirth” of their Erinn Rosanna Irish Red Ale, O’Nooley’s Dry Irish stout, and of course a bunch not-yet-named beers because he’s still thinking them up! So stop in to one of their two locations and celebrate winter, Valentines Day, St. Paddy’s dat and the end of winter with whatever weird new beers Cornerstone is bringing into the world!
Main Street Grill in Garrettsville is kicking off 2011 with some cask-conditioned ales, starting with an English brown ale, followed by an English bitter.
Ohio Brewing Company aims to help you prepare for St. Patrick’s Day with their Double Irish Red, a malty, richly flavored red ale, (~7.5% abv) which will go well with your Irish Stew or corned beef and cabbage. You’ll find it available on draft and in 12 oz. bottles throughout NE Ohio.
And lastly, Ohio has a couple of new breweries. The Quarter Barrel Brewing Company in Oxford opened its brewery/pub/cafe/used bookstore in October and has a limited but quality selection of guest draft beers and, now and then, one of their own on tap. An interesting little cafe with good food and relaxing atmosphere. The other is the Great Black Swamp Brewery in Toledo. This is a microbrewery only, and you have to check their website (www.greatblackswampbrewing.com) to locate pubs with their beers, listed on their site as Sand Piper Golden Ale, Mosquito Red, Bull Frog Stout, Bay Front Pale Ale, and Wild Duck IPA.
Events:
February 5 – Stout & Big Beer Fest – Jackie O’s, Athens, Ohio www.jackieos.com
February 5 – Alefest Columbus, Alladin Shrine Center Ballroom, 2-6 PM www.alefest.com
February 11-12, 2011 – Cincy Winter Beerfest – Duke Energy Convention Center, Cincinnati, Ohio – www.cincybeerfest.com/
February 14-20 – Ogrefest – BREW Kettle, Strongsville, Ohio www.thebrewkettle.com
February 22 – Buckeye Carnivore Dinner, Buckeye Beer Engine, Cleveland, 7 pm www.buckeyebeerengine.com
February 26 – 2nd Annual Barleywine Festival, Winking Lizard, Independence, Ohio 1-4 pm or 5-8 pm. www.winkinglizard.com
March 4, 2011 – Glass City Beer Fest – Toledo, www.glasscitybeerfest.com
March 5 – Cleveland Winter Warmer Festival, Sachensheim Hall, 7001 Denison Ave, Cleveland. 1-4 pm or 6-9 pm. Tickets at Cleveland area breweries.
May 20-21, 2011 – 2nd Annual Columbus Beer Fest – Columbus Convention Center