Columbus is still waiting on a couple of brewing operations to open.
Oval Brewing Company changed its name to Land Grant in a desperate attempt to retain a connection to Ohio State, while avoiding potential lawsuits from Oval Vodka. I thought Oval was a stupid name anyway.
Land Grant's Facebook page touts beers, and says they were founded in 2009. People are confused as to the status of their beers.
They're still in the development phase.
The same is true of Actual Brewing Company, which was featured in a number of publications around town.
Of course, the process is a pain in the ass. Licensing, inspections, permits...it's not easy to open up a brewery, and you can't expect people who brew beer to have good PR skills. Of course they want people to know what they're up to. Maybe that will help cut through red tape.
It's a dangerous game. You might find that people have very high expectations. You might find that they're unforgiving if you fail to meet your goals.
To me, it says that you have no idea what you're doing. Oh, you might be a fine home brewer and all of your friends love your beer, but I'm not your friend and if you waste my time with a mediocre beer, I'm not going to cheer you along while you figure out the big boy pants. You made this choice. You accepted this challenge.
What I see right now is a lot of people thinking that the beer business is easy, and there's this warm and fuzzy wave of "buy local" washing over the country. Well, in this business you'd better deliver because if you happen to be the local tap handle some visitor selects, your beer is going to be representing the entire city.
That's why I like what Dan Cochran did at Four String Brewing Company. Dan was a home brewer who was exulted by his friends to start a brewery. He saved his pennies, did his homework and while a lot of people were talking about brewing beer, he opened a brewery.
Dan brews two beers. Brass Knuckle APA (American Pale Ale), and Backstage Blonde. Both are what he describes as"sessionable" beers. Relatively low in alcohol and light in body, with the intention being mass quantities. He also rolled out Big Star White IPA, which provided to be a successful merger between the Belgian and American styles of brewing.
Brass Knuckle is a thirst quencher that brings a respectable amount of hops to the party. Backstage Blonde is a crisp Belgian-influenced ale that brings the funk without being overwhelming. Beer critics don't really "get" these beers because they aren't true to a particular style guideline. To be completely honest, Dan's beer drinking demographic will likely be the hipsters who've been singing PBR's praises over the last few years.
That's not to say these beers are weak, like PBR, but I prefer something a little hoppier than the APA for general purposes. This APA is great on a hot day when you just want to pound cold beers. The Blonde isn't hoppy at all, but I think it's a feasible replacement for Blue Moon. The body is lighter and it's not full of spice and fruit extracts. The fruitiness in this beer comes from the sweetness of the malt mingling with the funky flavors of the yeast.
Dan's not out there talking about his beers. He's moving kegs. Literally. Dan distributes his own beer. He doesn't have time to talk about opening a brew pub, installing a canning line, or refining a list of 12 beers he might brew in the future. He's got to keep those taps flowing.
The newer brewers should take a page out of Dan's yet to be written book on opening a brewing company. Don't tell people how good your beer is going to be, hand them a pint and let the beer do the talking.
http://fourstringbrewing.com/
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Zauber Brewing
Zauber Brewing Company was one of the most anticipated operations in the central Ohio craft brewing scene. Geoff Towne has credentials. UC Davis, followed by jobs at Great Lakes Brewing, Boston Beer Company, and work in the field as a rep and a brewing consultant. On his website he tells you that he is an Internationally Certified Brewmaster.
It sounds kind of dickish.
However, Geoff's a nice guy who loves beer. If you have the pleasure of meeting him you'll find him to be genuinely warm and engaging. He doesn't talk down to anybody, despite his impressive background. Watching him interact with people as he fills growlers makes you think that his stuffy approach to his bio was in jest.
Surely he knows that some of the best brewers in the business don't have degrees, or certifications. Yeah, he knows. He's got to.
What I like about Geoff is that he's taking a different tack when it comes to beers. He spent a lot of time in Europe and he's trying to bring that approach to Columbus. His plans include a German-inspired beer hall full of German-inspired beers.
I sincerely hope he does well. Columbus has a rich German Heritage and there's a huge, untapped market of beer drinkers who would respond favorably to the less assertive hop profiles one finds in Euro-centric styles.
I'm rooting for Geoff, and I'm pleased that he has a strong following here in Columbus.
BUT...
... I'm not impressed with his beer.
His very first entry into the market was a German Hefeweizen, Vertigo, that missed the mark for me. I got the distinct impression that Geoff tried to filter this a bit to clean it up for his American audience. The result was a wheat beer that seemed a little watery. No harm, no foul. Wheat beers rarely rock my world, but this one had that "almost" quality to it that I normally associate with Annheuser Busch when they try to sneak a craftish product into the market. Every time the brewers at AB come up with a bright idea, some douche in a suit tells them to tone it down. Then some accountant guts the budget. When the beer finally reaches the consumer: suckage. Big time suckage.
When AB announced that it was offering an "American Ale" craft brewers were nervous. They won't readily admit that they were, but when the beer finally hit the shelves they breathed a huge sigh of relief. Then they took another breath and laughed. "American Ale" is fucking awful, craft brewers and craft beer reps will tell you to try it. A rep from Great Lakes actually bought me one. He eagerly watched my face as a I had a pull from the glass as if I was taking the cinnamon challenge.
To be fair, I think Geoff boxed himself into a corner and forced this beer out to satisfy demand. Zauber's brewing efforts were delayed by red tape and I think that Four String Brewing Company, also in Grandview, scared the shit out of Geoff because Four String was out there building up a fan base while Greg was waiting for his permit. So as soon as he possibly could, he cranked out a hefe because it's quick and easy.
I was actually looking forward to Geoff's Stodgy Brown. That doesn't sound right, does it? I'm talking about an alt beer that Geoff bills as being aggressively hopped, like a Pale Ale.
I expected a sweet nuttiness up front, with a dry finish. What I got put me in mind of a Light Grand Cru. There was an unwelcome sourness to it that didn't seem intentional. I checked the profile on the Zauber's website and there was no mention of wild yeast strains. Alt beers are old school German beers that can be aled, lagered, or both, but they aren't generally sour. Maybe something funky got into the fermenter on that batch. Maybe the keg was jacked up. Either way, well, ick.
This was so unusual, I checked a couple of beer review sites and found that I wasn't the only person to pick up on it. One review described the finish as astringent.
The other alt, Myopic Red, is mediocre. It reminded me of the days before craft beer had proliferated the market and I drank Irish Red.
Full Discosure: I'm obviously not a huge fan of Euro-centric beers. That said, I've had many that I like. I was actually looking forward to the Stodgy Brown and desperately wanted to like it. Every brewer needs a flagship beer that he can anchor his brand around and that was the one that had the potential to appeal to a large audience.
Maybe Geoff needs to back off the true-to form approach. He claims to like "style-bending" beers, but nothing he's currently offering seems to bend anything. What I've tried so far could have come from a prepackaged home brew kit.
Them's fightin words in the craft brew business, especially for a guy a well-traveled as Geoff, but I think they are words Geoff needs to hear. People have been singing his praises but I think that's because they like the idea of Zauber. We're all caught up in the "buy local" movement and there's nothing wrong with that, but you have to deliver the goods. Columbus has been really fortunate to have some great local business open over the last several years and those businesses have enjoyed support. You can't betray that trust with bad product. It's not fair to the comsumers, but it's a real disservice to other entrepreneurs who will follow you. Don't salt the earth.
Geoff's doing a great job of working the crowd by connecting with the Food Truck scene to host events at his brewery, but the beers leave a lot to be desired and you can't hide behind food trucks and big talk forever. Especially with other brewers trying to carve out a slice of the same pie.
The good news is that Geoff has an opportunity to make it work. He's got a following that should afford him enough breathing room to get his beers on track.
Look, if I'm just a snob, and he manages to carve out a niche, more power to him. There's a huge segment of the market that all of the current craft brewers is not reaching. If Greg can lure them away from conglomerates with lightly hopped, Euro-brews, everybody in the business will give him a huge round of applause.
That's a big if.
http://zbeers.com/
It sounds kind of dickish.
However, Geoff's a nice guy who loves beer. If you have the pleasure of meeting him you'll find him to be genuinely warm and engaging. He doesn't talk down to anybody, despite his impressive background. Watching him interact with people as he fills growlers makes you think that his stuffy approach to his bio was in jest.
Surely he knows that some of the best brewers in the business don't have degrees, or certifications. Yeah, he knows. He's got to.
What I like about Geoff is that he's taking a different tack when it comes to beers. He spent a lot of time in Europe and he's trying to bring that approach to Columbus. His plans include a German-inspired beer hall full of German-inspired beers.
I sincerely hope he does well. Columbus has a rich German Heritage and there's a huge, untapped market of beer drinkers who would respond favorably to the less assertive hop profiles one finds in Euro-centric styles.
I'm rooting for Geoff, and I'm pleased that he has a strong following here in Columbus.
BUT...
... I'm not impressed with his beer.
His very first entry into the market was a German Hefeweizen, Vertigo, that missed the mark for me. I got the distinct impression that Geoff tried to filter this a bit to clean it up for his American audience. The result was a wheat beer that seemed a little watery. No harm, no foul. Wheat beers rarely rock my world, but this one had that "almost" quality to it that I normally associate with Annheuser Busch when they try to sneak a craftish product into the market. Every time the brewers at AB come up with a bright idea, some douche in a suit tells them to tone it down. Then some accountant guts the budget. When the beer finally reaches the consumer: suckage. Big time suckage.
When AB announced that it was offering an "American Ale" craft brewers were nervous. They won't readily admit that they were, but when the beer finally hit the shelves they breathed a huge sigh of relief. Then they took another breath and laughed. "American Ale" is fucking awful, craft brewers and craft beer reps will tell you to try it. A rep from Great Lakes actually bought me one. He eagerly watched my face as a I had a pull from the glass as if I was taking the cinnamon challenge.
To be fair, I think Geoff boxed himself into a corner and forced this beer out to satisfy demand. Zauber's brewing efforts were delayed by red tape and I think that Four String Brewing Company, also in Grandview, scared the shit out of Geoff because Four String was out there building up a fan base while Greg was waiting for his permit. So as soon as he possibly could, he cranked out a hefe because it's quick and easy.
I was actually looking forward to Geoff's Stodgy Brown. That doesn't sound right, does it? I'm talking about an alt beer that Geoff bills as being aggressively hopped, like a Pale Ale.
I expected a sweet nuttiness up front, with a dry finish. What I got put me in mind of a Light Grand Cru. There was an unwelcome sourness to it that didn't seem intentional. I checked the profile on the Zauber's website and there was no mention of wild yeast strains. Alt beers are old school German beers that can be aled, lagered, or both, but they aren't generally sour. Maybe something funky got into the fermenter on that batch. Maybe the keg was jacked up. Either way, well, ick.
This was so unusual, I checked a couple of beer review sites and found that I wasn't the only person to pick up on it. One review described the finish as astringent.
The other alt, Myopic Red, is mediocre. It reminded me of the days before craft beer had proliferated the market and I drank Irish Red.
Full Discosure: I'm obviously not a huge fan of Euro-centric beers. That said, I've had many that I like. I was actually looking forward to the Stodgy Brown and desperately wanted to like it. Every brewer needs a flagship beer that he can anchor his brand around and that was the one that had the potential to appeal to a large audience.
Maybe Geoff needs to back off the true-to form approach. He claims to like "style-bending" beers, but nothing he's currently offering seems to bend anything. What I've tried so far could have come from a prepackaged home brew kit.
Them's fightin words in the craft brew business, especially for a guy a well-traveled as Geoff, but I think they are words Geoff needs to hear. People have been singing his praises but I think that's because they like the idea of Zauber. We're all caught up in the "buy local" movement and there's nothing wrong with that, but you have to deliver the goods. Columbus has been really fortunate to have some great local business open over the last several years and those businesses have enjoyed support. You can't betray that trust with bad product. It's not fair to the comsumers, but it's a real disservice to other entrepreneurs who will follow you. Don't salt the earth.
Geoff's doing a great job of working the crowd by connecting with the Food Truck scene to host events at his brewery, but the beers leave a lot to be desired and you can't hide behind food trucks and big talk forever. Especially with other brewers trying to carve out a slice of the same pie.
The good news is that Geoff has an opportunity to make it work. He's got a following that should afford him enough breathing room to get his beers on track.
Look, if I'm just a snob, and he manages to carve out a niche, more power to him. There's a huge segment of the market that all of the current craft brewers is not reaching. If Greg can lure them away from conglomerates with lightly hopped, Euro-brews, everybody in the business will give him a huge round of applause.
That's a big if.
http://zbeers.com/
Saturday, September 29, 2012
The Mission
It's back. After sitting on the sidelines collecting internet dust, this blog has been revisited with new and noble purpose in mind. I decided not to remove my previous entries even though I'm reinventing this blog to focus on beers germane to Central Ohio. It's still beer, right? It's a peak into the sordid history of a man who drinks too much beer. And writes too many words. And maybe is a bit of an asshole.
A local friend and brewer told me that I needed to get a blog together because there is a paucity of brutal honesty in Columbus. Every damned time some industrious bugger opens up a local enterprise, the community sings his, or her praises.
As such, I'll also review bars and restaurants time to time, because the same dynamic applies.
It's not necessarily fair. I love local businesses and I support them, but there are too many great local business people out there busting their asses to do right by the community for some half-assed opportunist to cash in on that loving feeling.
That's especially true with beer. Craft beer is a passion. I've talked to the people who brew it and they aren't in it for the money. It's all about the beer and the people who enjoy it. You can see it on their faces. When Angelo Signorino is drawing pints at a beer festival he is absolutely giddy. Eric Bean will stand there and talk about brewing with inebriated dorks for an hour. While is wife rolls here eyes and wonders if he'll ever get his ass back to the house and clean the gutters. The schedules are grueling, but they do it because it's not a job, it's a lifestyle.
Angelo oversees two microbreweries. He's got to keep 12 taps, and four beer engines flowing. Oh, and every Friday Barley's cracks open a 10 gallon firkin at each location. Any brewer will tell you, cask conditioned beers are a huge pain in the ass. They also aren't the most profitable beers, but craft brewing really isn't about the profit. In fact, owning a craft brewing operation is probably one of the worst business decisions a person can make. You're probably not going to get rich and you won't retire at a young age. The upside is that you'll enjoy going to work every day.
And it's not pretty work, either. From the outside looking in, it seems nice enough but there's dark side. Imagine being Kim Kardashian's gynecologist: It's hot. It's wet. It's sticky. People get hurt.
When Eric took the helm at Columbus Brewing Company he inherited a mess. Columbus Brewing Company was mediocre, at best. Oh, there were fans but they were drinking shit. Columbus Pale Ale was like one of those watery Utah beers because people who were more interested in counting beans than brewing beer tried to cut costs. Eric brought the focus back to the beer, and under his direction Columbus Brewing Company has emerged as a serious player in the craft brew business.
Then you have Elevator Brewing Company where Vic Schlitz has been working at both ends of the brewing spectrum with an impressive selection of light beers, contrasted by a series of beefier, barrel-aged offerings. Elevator would probably do well to trim the selection back and revisit the standard bearers of the craft industry, because I find their Pale Ale and IPA just a little unfulfilling. That's because they're both brewed in the traditional British sense and I like the less subtle American approach. Perhaps rolling out American variations would be in order, but that's just me being picky. Regardless, Elevator holds its own.
These three (four if you count Barley's twice and you probably should because they each have their own identity) operations are the heart and soul of Columbus' craft beer market and they have set the bar rather high. New brewers are welcome to join the fray. I know that Eric, Angelo and Vic welcome it because craft brewers tend to feed off each other. The friendly competition between the brewers builds the market for everybody.
Likewise, a lackluster brewing operation can be detrimental to everybody. If a traveler visiting from out of town is unimpressed with one brewery's offering, they might write off all the breweries. Then they'll tell their friends that Columbus has a weak beer scene and that rumor will spread. It's not really fair, but it happens.
The reason for that is because cities that are known for great craft beers make it really hard to find a bad beer. Portland, San Diego, Denver...Cleveland, believe it or not, has become a Midwestern Mecca of craft beer. Surprisingly enough, the vaunted Great Lakes Brewing Company might be the least inspiring brewery, if only because they seem to be suffocating under the weight of their own success.
For its size and demographics, Columbus has a paucity of brewers. We need more and they've been starting to spring up. Neil House, Four String, Zauber and Hoof-Hearted have opened for business and there are more on the way. Unfortunately, a lot of people entering the market don't have the chops. When Jay Wince opened up Weasel Boy in Zanesville he did so with hundreds of batches of home brew under his belt. His beers weren't just vetted by friends happy to catch a free buzz, he entered competitions and had his beers objectively evaluated.
Some of the new brewers have barely graduated from extracts in plastic buckets. The operations they've invested in don't appear to have the capacity to sustain a profit and if they happen to have a natural affinity for brewing beer, it's unlikely they'll be able to satisfy demand. Brewing equipment is not cheap and expanding is difficult when you can't afford to halt production to install a new brew kettle or roll in a bigger fermenter.
Moreover, after sampling some of these new beers, I'm not impressed. I'll go into detail in future entries but I've had a couple of beers that are not worthy of the honor of representing Columbus. I have a friend, we'll call him Bob, who is an avid home brewer and, while he relentlessly sells himself short, his beers don't seem as amateurish as some of those being celebrated locally.
That will not stand.
As a consumer, I don't owe you my business. I'm not going to drive by Barley's to support you while you try to figure out how to get that weird molasses flavor out of your IPA. I'm not going to spend $12 on 64 ounces of mediocre bucket brew, when I can spent $9 on 72 ounces of Columbus IPA, which might be the best IPA in the country, by the way.
As I delve into these beers, my goal isn't to belittle anybody. I genuinely want to see more brewers in Columbus. I just don't want them to suck. Blowing kisses and throwing roses at you because you opened a local business isn't going to address the deficiencies in your beer.
It's not a game, kids. This is serious business.
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