Cincinnati and a Film Festival

CINCINNATI AUGUST 2018  

Sylvester welcomes us to Cinccinnati!

 Street view of our hotel, where we received two complimentary nights accommodation.  We were on the 8th floor.  There was a modern art museum spread throughout the hotel, open 24 hrs., as well as a restaurant and a very cool rooftop bar.

 View looking east from our first class hotel room.  Mt. Adams is in the background, left, where I spent Friday at the Museum of Art.

Cincinnati is one of three big cities in Ohio, situated on the Ohio River directly across from Covington, Kentucky.  It is about a four hour drive south from Detroit, along I 75.  While the city population is just under 300,000, the metro area has nearly 2.2 million residents.  The town has a very cool vibe, which now includes a streetcar once again.  There is also an extensive skywalk system connecting major buildings downtown, something I much prefer to the underground city within Toronto.  However, this is mostly being dismantled now, though parts still exist.  We drove here on Thursday the 23rd, and came home Saturday.

We were here for the Cindependent Film Festival, where Deb's short animated film "Essentially Alys" was being shown.  Besides screening over 90 films, the festival offered workshops, coffee chats, and social meet ups.  Deb partook of the events pretty much full time.  On Friday I wondered off to the art museum, rejoining her for the evening screenings.

 Deb checks out the festival schedule.  Her movie was shown in the main Woodward Theatre on Friday night.  The lobby featured a bar, and the area was home to many restaurants, shops, art galleries, cafes, etc.  It was a 15 minute walk from the hotel, so we never needed the car or public transport.  We left the car in the garage the entire time.

 Deb's film was received with great enthusiasm, and most of the audience even laughed at all the right places!

 On Friday I walked from downtown to the museum high atop Mt. Adams.  A pedestrian bridge crosses 16 lanes of busy traffic!

Partial view of downtown from atop Mt. Adams, near the entrance to the Museum of Art. 

 Mt. Adams, in addition to being home to a large hilltop park and many museums, is a quiet residential area, with a few restaurants sprinkled about.

 My walk from downtown (and back again afterwards) took about 30 minutes, and included some serious hill climbs!

 Craft beer from Cleveland, Ohio.  Craft beer is virtually everywhere these days.  Yay!

Craft beer from Athens, Ohio.  We dined at Aladdin, a Middle Eastern restaurant, both Thursday and Friday nights, where I also enjoyed some craft beer each night.  Thursday night we went to the hotel rooftop bar, enjoying the night air, as well as Mars and the Moon, playing peek-a-boo with the skyscrapers.  

On Saturday morning I visited Ohio books, a 4-floor used bookstore on Main Street not far from the hotel.  I came away with a full bag of SF paperbacks and hardcovers.  Most paperbacks are priced at $2.50, and harcovers went for $4!  Deb went back up to the film events.  We left town at noon, and after several stops on the way home we were back in the Burg at 6:45 pm.

To really explore the city well, a minimum of 4 days is recommended.  There are two first class art museums that should be fully explored, as well as the lively downtown and riverfront areas.

In Part 2 I will show photos from my visit to the art museum...

...to be continued 

Mapman Mike

Downtown Columbus, Ohio: Four Craft Breweries

On our recent visit to Origins Game Fair in downtown Columbus, I had the opportunity to visit 4 independent small breweries.  Here is a brief report on each, and a list of the beer I sampled.

Elevator Brewing Company  

 Entrance to Elevator Brewing Company, High Street.

The brewery began in a grain elevator in a small Ohio city.  There is no

elevator at the Columbus facility.

This is one of the prettiest brewpubs I have had the pleasure of visiting.  I visited on a Friday just after 5 pm, and it wasn't that busy.  The building dates from 1898, and was built as a gentleman's club and billiards room.  It has been lovingly restored and the interior is breath-taking.  It is worth the trip downtown just to see this marvellous place.  Unfortunately, I brought Deb back on Saturday to show it to her, but it did not open until 5 pm.  Not good for a downtown business.  Unacceptable, in fact.  That remains my only complaint about this pub.

Interior of the bar.  There is a lot of large stained glass, and beautiful mahogany 

is everywhere.  Internet photo.

 View from dining area towards the bar and front entrance.  Billiard tables are behind me, at the very rear.  The atmosphere here is exceptional!

Type:  Brewpub.

Number of craft taps:  10+

Cask Ale: No.

Draft Cider: No.

Bottle selection: No.  Some for takeout only. 

Samples and Flights:  Yes. 

Vegan Food Options:  Yes.

Interior:  To die for.

Overall Rating:  ** 1/2 stars.

I tried four of their ales, rating them 1* to 3*s.

Heifer Weizen:  **s.  5.5%.  Served very cold.

Dirty Dick's Nut Brown Ale:  ***s.  6%.  Full-bodied, rich flavour.

Mocha Plum Stout:  ** stars 6%.  Served at a proper temperature!  Very dark and rich.  Flavour is more subtle than expected.

Gordon Biersch Brewing Company 

 Pub entrance, near the hockey arena in downtown Columbus.  

This is part of an Ohio chain.  I did not have high expectations for their beer, but I was in for a surprise!

Type:  Brew pub; sports bar. 

Number of craft taps:  9:

Cask ale:  No.

Cider taps:  No.

Bottle Selection:  No.

Samples and Flights:  Yes.

Specialties:  German beer.

Vegan Options:  Yes.

Interior:  Large sports bar filled with TV screens.  Sigh.

Overall Rating:  ** 1/2 stars.  I am not a fan of "sports" bars.  This one has fabulous beer.

I sampled six beer.  Apparently a five glass  sampler includes a 6th.

Hefeweizen:  ** 1/2 stars.  5.5%.  Satisfying on a hot day, with good flavour.

Maibock:  *** stars.  7%.  A seasonal beer with excellent flavour, which lasts long after sipping.

Blood Orange IPA:  *** stars.  5.8%.  Very fruity and refreshing, with a minimum of IPA flavour.  An excellent ale.

Chocolate Rye Stout:  ** 1/2 stars.  4.6%.  Heavy on the coffee flavour, which I adore.

Mocha Stout:  *** stars.  4.6%.  Dark and spicy, there is a lot of coffee in this full bodied ale.

House IPA (given free without asking):  *** stars.  6.4%.  My favourite IPA is produced by Marble Brewery in Albuquerque, NM.  This is pretty much an exact replica!

Barley's Brewing Company  

 Lots of dark wood and booths inside Barley's.  

Located directly opposite the Columbus Convention Centre, where Origins is held.  The Origins weekend is the busiest of the year for the pub.

Type:  Brewpub.

Number of craft taps:  9.

Cask ale:  Yes, every Friday!

Craft cider?  No.

Bottle selection.  Nothing interesting.  Needs work.

Samples and flights:  Yes.

Vegan options.  Yes.

Interior:  Historic building with high tin ceiling; wainscoting; booths with brass fittings.

Overall Rating:  ** 1/2 stars.

I sampled 3 ales, including the current cask offerings (I had 2nds of this one!).

Point of Origin:  ** stars.  4.8%.  Special brew for the game fair, it was a Belgian Golden Ale.  Very refreshing, and went well with our meal.

Russian Imperial Stout:  ** stars.  7.6%.  Good and solid, but not memorable.

Sensual (or Sexual?) Chocolate:  ** 1/2 stars.  ?%  This week's cask offering featured chocolate and vanilla, and was dark, rich, and full-bodied.  I had two 5 oz. samples.

Wolf's Ridge Brewing Company  

The brewing tanks and the bar. 

It was quiet in the main bar and restaurant on a late afternoon Saturday.  However, the separate tap room, which can be reached from here but also has a separate entrance, was packed.  We sat at the quiet bar and chatted with the very friendly bartender.

Type:  Brewpub.

Number of craft taps:  12.

Cask Ale:  No.

Craft Cider:  In bottles.

Bottle selection.  No.

Samples and flights:  Yes. 

Specialty:  Cream ales.

Vegan options.  Limited.

Interior:  Modern Industrial, with plenty of chrome.  Tap room separate.  Nice bar in main restaurant.

Overall rating:  ** 1/2 stars.

I sampled 3 ales.  All were good to excellent.

Hefe:  ** stars.  5 %.  A good Hefe.

Daybreak Cream Ale:  *** stars.  5%.  Wonderful coffee aroma.

Terre du Sauvage Blue:  ***+ stars.  5.5%.  Barrel-aged sour with 40% oats, and conditioned on fresh citrus.  Must be tasted to be believed!!!

We also ate at a place called Melt!, which is an Ohio chain that features gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches.  They offer vegan cheese and a wide vegan menu.  In addition, they offer a number of craft taps.  Love this place!!!

 Interior of Melt, on High Street, Columbus.

I came across Brioso Cafe and Roastery on my walk to the Museum of Art.  I had a cold brew, then brought Deb back next morning for her espresso.  We bought coffee beans here, too.  A great place, and a small city parking lot next door.  We parked here all day Saturday for $3!

Mapman Mike

 

 

Columbus, Ohio: Origins Game Fair 2018

We made our 2nd annual visit to Origins Game and Film Festival in Columbus, Ohio.  The event is held downtown at the colossal convention center.  It is jam-packed with board game geeks who come to play and to shop.  Besides thousands of board games for sale there are booths selling clothing, knick-knacks, game add-ons, model cities, forts, ships, etc, and artists displaying original fantasy and SF art, as well as authors trying to sell their books.  It is certainly fun to visit.  The film festival is small. but they showed two of Deb's films (for the 2nd year in a row!).  Acceptance gets her two entry badges for the entire 5-day festival, worth $70 each.  Here are the three games we came home with this year.

 Front of the boxes.

Back of Planetarium.  This one also came with a free SF expansion pack!  Scroll right...

 Back Of Cthulu Tales

 Back of Dr. Who box.  

There were about half a dozen other games I could have bought.  The Dr. Who Game was from last year, but the booth had sold out by the time we went back.  This year we bought it sooner.  The same game comes also as a box using only the newer Doctors, with an expansion added for the newest (Peter Capaldi) one.

Deb wanted to attend some of the film events on Friday afternoon.  I made the mile long walk to the Columbus Museum of Art instead, meeting up at 6 pm with Deb at a nearby pub.  The Museum of Art is a small one by Ohio big city standards, with much larger and more important collections found in Cleveland, Toledo, and Cincinnati.  However, it's a decent spot to spend a few hours.  A modern addition wraps around the old original building, with lots of space for temporary exhibits and local artists.  Ten themed galleries surround Derby Court, and I spent a good deal of time browsing here.  there is also a cafe, where I stopped for some refreshment, and an outdoor sculpture garden where I sat and read for a time.

Columbus Museum of Art

 Entrance foyer, with Derby Court in background.

Entrance ceiling.

Derby Court, the centre of the old building.  Ten themed galleries surround it.

Gallery hallway.

 Gallery 1 had a quilt show, with a flower theme.

 Gallery 1.

Half of a gallery was devoted to the folk art of Mr. Pierce, which was a highlight of my visit.

Migrating North, by Pierce.

Another great work by Elijah Pierce!  Scroll right...

Another hallway, which served as additional gallery space.

The best of a small series they had by Matisse.

Sunflowers in a Wind Storm, by Emil Nolde.

Lhasa, by Charles Sheeler

They had 3 good works by Monet, including this unusual forest scene. 

The central and largest of the older galleries is devoted to Old Masters.  People are encouraged to write their thoughts on little cards, and pin them to a bulletin board.

Close up of above.

 See below for tag...

Old building showing newer addition.

From within the cafe, looking out towards the sculpture garden.

Far corner of the sculpture garden, looking back towards the cafe.  I sat out here and read for a time before joining Deb downtown.

Downtown Columbus is littered with about 20 skyscrapers, though none of the modern ones are architecturally interesting from the outside.  This is the Chase Building, the 12th tallest in town and 357' high.  Today, people were allowed to climb it with ropes!  There are 3 climbers on their way down.

Columbus is the state capital, and this is the building.

From 1906, this is now the 28th tallest building in Columbus, at 180'.  Detail of the ornate summit.

  

Internet photo of downtown Columbus, Ohio, skyline.

 Internet photo of LeVeque Tower.  It is the 2nd tallest in town at 555', and was built in the 1920s.  It's worth a trip downtown to visit!

Mapman Mike 

Michigan 11th Annual Cask Ale Festival

It's been a long time since I've been to this festival.  I went to the first one, and haven't been back in many years.  Held in Westland, a far suburb of Detroit, it is hosted by Ashley's Restaurant.  I love cask ale, but there has to be some strict rules applied before it can be enjoyed to its fullest.  This type of festival is usually not able to fulfil my requirements.  Cask ale is best served at around 50 F.  In England, pub cellars often make perfect places to store the casks, and the beer is pumped up by hand pull engines.  Another unique thing about British cask ale is its relatively low alcohol.  Often American cask ales are way too strong!

With ale-loving friend Jennifer G. along, and Deb as our designated driver, we headed out in really miserable weather to this much-anticipated event.  It rained all morning, but by festival time (2 pm) it had mostly stopped.  However, with temps in the 40s the Festival was a damp and chilly outdoor affair.  25 casks were on offer, and we couldn't wait to try them!  No tokens were required, and we were allowed to taste any of them we wanted!  This was a fantastic way to run a festival, and I highly approve.  We were underneath a canvas and plastic roof, in the garden of Ashley's.  It was not a very large area for the number of people that turned out, and there were some very mushy areas within the grounds.  But these were minor details considering how much ale was on offer.  Here is the list, as provided by the Festival.

Ales on offer at the 11th annual Michigan Cask Ale Festival.  Circled numbers are ones I sampled.  I also tried #6, not circled.  

In addition to a wristband and list of ales, we were given a sturdy taster glass (to keep) along with a single token.  Each cask had a box in front of it, and the token was to be left in the box of one's favourite ale.  Another good idea.  I was quite surprised by how many IPAs were on the list.  I attempted to try none of them.  The latest fad seems to be trying to add the strangest ingredients one can find to an IPA.  In my book, this is a very bad idea.  There are very few IPAs I would drink regularly.  One of them is Two-Hearted Ale, by Bells.  Another is All Day IPA by Founders.  And the third one is Marble IPA, from an Albuquerque brewery (Marble).  Fortunately, there were several sours on offer, a couple of Browns, and one stout.

There were two on offer from one of my favourite breweries, Batch Brewery in Detroit.  However, there were none from the big Michigan breweries.  Nothing from Bells, or Founders.  Boo.  Hiss.  It was nice to see many smaller breweries represented, including several I had never heard of before today.

Two of the hardy tasters out today at the 11th Annual Michigan Cask Ale Festival.  On display are the decent tasting glasses given to each participant.  Though Jenn and I tried some of the same ales, we did venture off in different directions on occasion.  

While Jenn and I got cold and damp at the outdoor festival, Deb went browsing at Westland Mall, just across the parking lot from Ashley's.  After an hour Jenn and I retreated into the warmth of Ashley's for some coffee.  Afterwards, we resumed our tasting, soon joined by Deb, who hung out with us until we finally left around 4:45 pm (the festival closed at 5 pm).

So, who got my token for best ale?  It really was a toss-up between #3 and #5.  But I only had one token, so I remained loyal to Batch Brewing and gave them mine.  New Funk #3 turned out to be the best farmhouse ale I had ever sampled.  It comes from their new Detroit facility on Grand Boulevard, which is dedicated to brewing sours.  I'm guessing that New Funk will be on offer in their Corktown taproom.

Will I go back to the Festival next year?  Come back here and check if I do.  In the meantime, Deb and I will be returning to Columbus, Ohio in June.  She has had two more of her short films chosen for screening at Origins Game Fair in mid-June.  So stay tuned for reports on that party!

Mapman Mike