Wolf's Ridge Brewing - Columbus, OH

Wolf's Ridge Brewing is located right on the outskirts of downtown Columbus.  Plenty of street parking all around.  This place is fresh and new.  Tons of seating, fancier looking then most breweries.  Since it was still early (4pm) on a Wednesday it was dead...except for a group of guys who came to drink from Elevator Brewing (the next brewery we were going to). 

 Can see the brewing process from the way back to the bathroom.

Good bartender, quick service.  We ordered a beer sampler with five beers. I like that all the names of the beers reference wolves.  Harvest Wheat was light and crisp tasting, Ridge Tail was light with not much to it, 3am IPA was fruity and had a bitter aftertaste not bad, Howling Moon Double IPA was really hoppy and had a citra taste to it I liked this one easily the most, and lastly the Canis Lycaon Stout was really good.

We ordered a 12$ cheese board, which was good but as you can see below didn't consist of quite much.

All in all I really like this place and wish we had one in my city.   Quality food, good beers, nice scenery, and excellent service...then again it IS brand new so we shall see how it turns out.  Check them out! www.wolfsridgebrewing.com/‎

North High Brewing - Columbus, OH

North High Brewing is located on the strip known as Short North. Basically 3/4 mile of shops, restaurants, antiques and much more. It is located basically at the end of this fun little strip.  From the outside, it looked foreclosed...shady windows and the area itself looked a little dead.  But come to find once we were inside it was roomy and really nice. 

 The brewery can be seen right behind the bar.

They make a big selection of beers.  We got the sampler which included all of them:
White wheat was real light and easy to drink
Wildcard English Ale Nitro was smooth and had a very sweet taste.
Queen Maudine Milk Stout Nitro was only 6%..it wasn't bad but even better knowing it was only 6%.
Olentangy Brown Ale was a little hoppy, not bad.
Red Ale was okay, had a very interesting after taste I couldn't pinpoint.
London Gentleman ESB nothing special but wasn't horrible.
Poolside Pale Ale was real hoppy and quite good.
Imperial IPA was a little too sweet for me, like candy.
Old Fort Porter was tasty.
Vanilla Bourbon Porter definitely had the bourbon taste, real nice.

We were the only customers when we were here, but it WAS like 3pm on a Wednesday.  The guys who were working were really nice, talkative and helpful.  Worth checking out for sure! www.northhighbrewing.com/‎

Columbus Brewing Company - Columbus, OH

This was the big one I was looking forward to! And it did not disappoint. Located in the Brewery District of Columbus, it is kind of tucked away but not hard to find.  Plenty of parking lot parking. 

I didn't bother with a sampler here because all I wanted was the Bohdi which I have had in the past, but man is that a good Double IPA! I also tried the pale ale and their wheat beer...not shocking both were fantastic.
We started off with preztel bread which came with two different types of mustard. They were real good, nothing special but good.

Next we split a Caesar salad, which they split for us in two different bowls.  And lastly we split the Bye Bye Miss American Pie pizza which consists of hose made fennel sausage, sliced banana peppers, pepperoni and smoked provolone. It was excellent and it was buy a pint get a pizza half off night, so it was only like 6$!

 Our server was beyond excellent,  food was really good, beer was outstanding, and I just had a great time here. This is the MUST stop brewery if you are in Columbus.  Check them out...columbusbrewingco.com

Zauber Brewing - Columbus, OH

Not much I can say here because I didn't get to try their beers.  The facility is beautiful, as you can see below. 

The bartender...forgot his name, was excellent and very friendly.  This place is all set to be a great brewery..once they have the beer.  A gift shop/growler fill station is located outside the bar, inside there are plenty of tables and a bunch of TVs. 

They have about 12 beers on tap..mostly all local beers, and every Thursday they tap a couple of their own but quantities are small.  They hope to be serving daily very soon. 
They sell t-shirts, magnets, all different types of glasses, growlers, and more! I hope to see them succeed because it looks very promising. Check them out...zbeers.com

Barley's Smokehouse & Brewpub - Columbus, OH

Finally made it back on the road for some brewery trips...this time Columbus & Akron, OH. Our first stop was at Barley's Smokehouse & Brewpub for lunch.  Barley's also has just a brewery located about 10 minutes away.

For lunch time, it was pretty dead. Not complaining...I like uncrowded places.  This place is really big with plenty of seating and a giant bar.

They had about 8 of their own beers on tap, lots of guest beers and a huge bottle list, but we got a sampler of 4: Christmas Beer...really good Christmas beer with a lot of the good flavors you expect from that kind, Alexander Russian Imperial Stout...we both really enjoyed this and was as good as most Russ Imp Stouts I've had and at only 7.6% it was great for me, Bitter Dan Extreme IPA...this beer was 103IBUs and you could tell! It was smooth and tasty, lastly was the Highland Hammer IPA...just too sweet for me for an IPA.

For lunch, I had the slider sampler which consisted of three different sliders...pulled pork, brisket and pulled chicken.  The brisket was a big stand out for me.

All in all, very solid place, good service, not overpriced, they had a few merchandise items just typical t-shirts and pint glasses.  Check them out...smokehousebrewing.com

Top 10 breweries of 2013

2013 was the "Year of the Beer" for me and my family. I alone visited almost 100 breweries, tasted hundreds of beers maybe a thousand and with 2014 here I would like to reflect and count down my 10 favorite breweries of 2013 that I visited.  I took into account the ambiance, the quality of the beer, and all around experience I had.

10. Horny Goat Brewing, Milwaukee, WI
While the beers here didnt blow me away, the waitress was great, the property is the biggest I've seen for a brewery and this place seems like party central for that community.
http://breweryinfo.blogspot.com/2013/07/horny-goat-brewery-milwaukee-wi.html

9. Great Lakes Brewing, Cleveland, OH
Been there twice this year and both times was very impressed. Always a great beer selection, very tasty food, great service and one of the best gift shops I've been to. It's also in a great part of town with 2 other breweries within 2 blocks and some great beer bars.
http://breweryinfo.blogspot.com/2013/05/great-lakes-brewery-cleveland-oh.html

8. New Holland Brewing, Holland, MI
I appreciate this brewery more now then I did in the moment. The brewery itself is beautiful in a great area of town with lots of shops and restaurants. The place is huge, food was solid, great gift shop and a huge beer list with an electronic beer menu including many different IPAs on tap. Months later I am still buying their beer when I'm in accessible cities and while none of their beers blow me away I like most of them and really appreciate their bottle art and creativity.
http://breweryinfo.blogspot.com/2013/07/new-holland-brewing-holland-mi.html

7. Ithaca Brewing, Ithaca, NY
Flower Power was always a popular beer in the family and it was nice to see the brand new facility where it is brewed. The scenery alone is worth the visit with outside seating with a hell of a view, but the great beer samplers and home grown ingredient pizza didn't hurt one bit.
http://breweryinfo.blogspot.com/2013/08/ithaca-beer-company-ithaca-ny.html

6. Troeggs Brewing, Hershey, PA
This was an impromptu visit and very glad we made it! I really like some of their beers and their brewery is gorgeous. Tons of space, the biggest gift shop I've ever seen, great tasting food and a perfect beer sampler made this random stop very memorable.
http://breweryinfo.blogspot.com/2013/05/troegs-brewery-hershey-pa.html

5. Founders Brewing, Grand Rapids, MI
Founders is a brewery in which I've tried all their beers and have yet to turn one away. Unfortunately the brewery was under construction but it didn't stop over 100 people to be there when we went. Luckily found a table, tried some beers that are exclusive to the brewery, and wow they were fantastic! On top of great service and very great beer, we just found ourselves having a great time and can't wait to go back and see the brand new facility.
http://breweryinfo.blogspot.com/2013/07/founders-brewing-company-grand-rapids-mi.html

4. Tie: Lucky Lab, Deschutes, Hopworks, Cascade, all in Portland, OR
It was tough to pick only one of these because each had something special. Lucky Lab had great ambiance and tasty beers. Deschutes has the history, good pretzels and a great beer sampler. Hopworks had fantastic food and lots of good beers to choose from. Cascade was so good we went twice and with all those sours you just can't beat it! With about 20 breweries visited in Portland they four stood out as the best.
http://breweryinfo.blogspot.com/2013/06/hopworks-urban-brewery-portland-or.html
http://breweryinfo.blogspot.com/2013/06/lucky-labrador-brewing-portland-or.html
http://breweryinfo.blogspot.com/2013/06/deschutes-brewery-portland-or.html
http://breweryinfo.blogspot.com/2013/05/cascade-brewing-barrel-house-portland-or.html

3. Wicked Weed Brewing, Asheville, NC
Very surprised by how quickly a new brewery could already knock it out of the park! Awesome ambiance, two floors of drinking with different beers offered on each floor, really good food, great service and some of their beers were just incredible.  Asheville is a little far for me but if I had any reason to go back this would be it.
http://breweryinfo.blogspot.com/2013/05/wicked-weed-brewing.html

2. Three Floyds Brewing, Munster, IN
Most beer nerds know of Three Floyds and since I have recently become somewhat of a beer nerd I learned about them. After reading tons of reviews of horrible service, blasting heavy metal, and the troubles of actually finding zombie dust I was nervous. But we got there when they opened, went right to the merchant area and bought a bunch of beers (unfortunately no zombie). Sat down, ordered a few beers and had food. The service wasn't terrible, music wasn't loud but wow the beers killed it. Zombie dust, and a few others we had just were fantastic and the food was incredible also.  I have continued to seek out their beer and the originality of the decor, the art work of the bottles, the food, the beer, everything makes this place so memorable and I look forward to going again some day but for now ill continue just tracking down whatever beers of theirs I can find.
http://breweryinfo.blogspot.com/2013/07/three-floyds-brewing-munster-in.html

Honorable mentions:
Oskar Blues Brewing, Brevard, NC
Great place, looking over the brewery itself is the tasting room with lots of merch, great tasting beer 
and an all around great experience just very far out is the only downfall. 
http://breweryinfo.blogspot.com/2013/05/osker-blues-asheville-nc.html

Brewery Ommegang, Cooperstown, NY
Just like Ithaca it had an amazing view probably even better than Ithaca. However I didn't love the beers 
I did enjoy some of them. Food was good. Nice gift shop. All around worth a visit!
http://breweryinfo.blogspot.com/2013/08/brewery-ommegang-cooperstown-ny.html

And my #1 brewery of 2013 goes to....
Fat Heads Brewing, Cleveland, OH
I went to the Pittsburgh Fat Heads in 2012 but I am picking the Cleveland location since I first visited 
it in 2013 and have been back 4 times. It helps we all love their IPA but each trip has brought somethin
different. I've tried 4 different IPAs they've made, had White Rajah on tap there best it's ever tasted,
had some great meals except for one the pizza was meh, and always leave with at least 1 case 
and a couple of growlers. Favorite brewery to visit because its close, is always consistent and usually
has something new to offer. Plan on visiting a lot in 2014 as well.
http://breweryinfo.blogspot.com/2013/05/fat-heads-brewery-pittsburgh.html

So there you have it, my top 10. In 2014 I plan on visiting plenty more...no where near the amount I
saw this year but I can't say I'm disappointed I can't. So until next time, cheers!

Community Beer Works - Buffalo, NY

I'm a Buffalo native, and was VERY happy when I heard a new brewery was coming to town.  I've been to so many different breweries...over a 100 now and I saw what a brewery can and should be. Unfortunately I have never really been a huge fan of what my city has to offer us beer wise...Ithaca and Southern Tier are great but far away.  Fast forward 2 years and now we have Community Beer Works just killing it! 

-Their IPA finished second in the national IPA contest..and I will say I have tried the other 3 beers in the final 4 and I believe they deserved their spot.  The IPA..coming from a big IPA fan is very good..I do feel like some batches are better than others but I have never thought it was bad and sometimes it's been incredible.

-The Frank is better than most Pale Ales you will find, most people I know like the Frank, it's light and easy to drink.

-I'm not a brown ale fan but my girlfriend is and loves the Whale. 

-Their operation is small, only open 2 days a week, but I've been in there many times and they're nothing but polite. You can taste the beers in the small area and fill up half or full growlers. So glad to have these guys in Buffalo and my only request would be is to pump out a few different varieties like maybe a Choc Stout, a pumpkin beer and Christmas beer. For merchandise they have glasses, growlers, coasters, stickers. Check them out...www.communitybeerworks.com/