The Muse of
Brews
February/March
2008 Column
Looking for something to warm you up this winter? Come to the Second Annual Winter Warmer Fest at the Rock Bottom Brewery on the west bank of the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland’s Flats! It will be held on Saturday, February 9 this year, from 1 until 9 PM, and will feature at least ten Ohio breweries and maybe more. The tickets are $20, include a commemorative glass and initial tastings, AND are limited. Last year they sold out, so get them early. It will be held partially indoors and partially outdoors in a heated tent.
Scott Gukel, the Rock Bottom and Cleveland Chophouse brewer, will be featuring a 3-year old Belgian triple and a barrel-aged beer for the festival. Upcoming brews at both locations will feature a Scotch ale and either a Dunklebock or Schwarzbier.
Then, on Monday February 11, OgreFest begins at the Brew Kettle in Strongsville. This is the annual celebration of big warming beers! Of the 24 taps available, all but about two will be filled with 8% abv or higher beer. Brewer Jack Kephart will be adding a few of his own big beers to the lineup with Dark Helmet, an imperial Schwarzbier, and an imperial wit beer. The beers rotate until they are gone. The OgreFest is scheduled to run until February 18, but some may linger a little longer. Because of the rotation, you have to keep coming back to try them all!
The Brew Kettle is again organizing a bus trip to the Michigan Winter Beer Festival that will be on February 23, in Grand Rapids. This is usually a sell-out also, so reserve your spot early.
Following on March 7 will be the Second Annual Glass City Beer Fest in Toledo. As we go to print the only information available is the date. Whew! That’s almost non-stop festivals for a month; enough to keep you warm this winter?
Buckeye Beer Engine has started the new year with monthly beer and food dinners pairing beer with food. The dinners feature unique items not on their current menu. The dinner in January featured the beer of Left Hand Brewing Company with the founder of Left Hand in attendance. They will also be showcasing a different beer style each month, with different variations of the style on tap, and at least one on special. Beside their 25 or so taps and two cask ales, they now also have a huge selection of bottled beers, some quite hard to find!
The Brown Derby Roadhouse in Medina has a new brewer, Mike Zoscak. A recent visit found the Tombstone Triple on tap, a 8.5% abv strong citrusy Belgian ale, Pecos Pale, a hoppy American pale ale, the Brown Derby Lager, a 6.2% malty copper-colored lager, and the about-to-be-tapped, Wild Bill’s Winter Ale. I had a taste of the latter, unfiltered from the fermenter, and it promises to be a very nice lightly spiced winter ale that is well balanced and hides the 7+% alcohol content. In addition to these, the Roadhouse Red, and Derby Light, they have several guest craft beers on tap, including the Plumber’s Ale from Black Box Brewing in Westlake.
Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. is collaborating with some investors who want to capitalize on the popularity of Akron University’s mascot, Zippy. The Akron University sports teams are known as Akron Zips, and Zippy, a lovable kangaroo, was recently voted number one mascot in the U.S. These businessmen want to market Roo Brew, with a picture of Zippy on the label. The beer is a German lager, an easy drinking, golden, flavorful beer, and was in the fermenters at this writing.
Brewer Tim Rastetter, and new assistant brewer Brian Brown, fresh from the Siebel Institute, are busily brewing at the new brewery in Akron to keep up with the growing demand for Thirsty Dog beers that are now regularly featured at all the Winking Lizard Taverns and at Russo’s in Cuyahoga Falls.
Hoppin' Frog has released three great new beers for 2008. These beers have been in development since they opened and are now being released for distribution in 22-ounce bottles. The first is the Silk Porter, a dark, robust and silky smooth ale made with oatmeal, with many flavors of roasted, toasted and caramel malts. The other two are the Smashing Berry Ale and Smashing Berry Dark, both with an abundance of fresh, natural fruit flavor, previously only available at the brewery. With these new additions, Hoppin’ Frog is now producing nine different beers, and available in five states. A recent stop at Mad Mex in Cranberry, Pennsylvania, found Hoppin’ Frog’s B.O.R.I.S (Bodacious Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout) available on tap and in 22 oz. bottles.
Mulholland Brewing Co., a new microbrewery in Reynoldsburg, features twenty taps, and several filled with their own brews. Upcoming beers include La Rye Noir, a black rye served on nitrogen tap, with a hint of hop bitterness, Saison DuMadge, a lightly spiced saison, Highlander Imperial Scottish Ale, a Scottish ale with a huge punch, brewed with a number of grains and hops to balance the overall flavor.
Rocky River Brewing Co. brewer Matt Cole, who is always pushing the envelope a bit when designing beers, is still at it! He recently had a Chocolate Twister Stout on tap, made with white and dark chocolate—yummy! Coming in February and March will be Lucifer’s Lunacy, a Belgian triple that is hopped like a double IPA, the return of his IBUsive, an imperial IPA, No-Mo-Simcoe, an IPA made with the last of his Simcoe hops, the return of Neptune’s Nemesis, his medal-winning Baltic porter, and the Smokestack Porter. Some of these will be entered into a double IPA festival in California or the World Beer Cup.
Larry Hazen, Willoughby Brewing’s new brewer, is another one that likes to push the limits. Spring will be Willoughby’s tenth anniversary and he has created an Anniversary Ale for the occasion. It is the “big brother” of Willoughby Wheat. By big, we mean 10% alcohol! I’m anxious to try this strong, golden wheat ale. Also coming soon will be So Toasted, an oatmeal imperial stout that is 20% toasted oatmeal and at least 9.5% abv. (It wasn’t done fermenting at this writing.) Hazen has also started a “Micro-batch series,” where he has taken three taps and devoted them to rotating, 15 gallon or less batches. These are batches either brewed on his pilot brew system or altered versions of other brews already on tap; such as a blueberry-chocolate coffee version of the PDG Porter, or the raspberry-orange version of the light Belgian Mist. For St Patty’s day, he expects to have the Wild Irish Red on tap, and an IPA.
Ohio Brewing Co. has booked entertainment for St. Patty’s Day. It sounds like they are confident they will be open by then! Personal observation confirms there is a lot of construction going on at their downtown Akron location, which they are opening in partnership with Damon’s Grille. Their first beers will include: Verich Gold, a Kolsch-style ale, Cardinal Ale, an award-winning Irish red ale, an IPA, Alt-ernative Amber, an Alt beer, and a stout. They promise to have no mass market beers on tap, only their own and sometimes a guest craft beer.