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

 

Marshall Michigan: Olde Tyme Funne

We undertook a short trip to Michigan recently.  With my craft beer supply on empty, it was time to stock up on Michigan beer.  Canadians are allowed to bring back 48 bottles of beer after a 48 hour stay, and I did!  Of course that wasn't the only reason we went on the trip.  I also had to return the empties!!

We left early Sunday morning, enjoying the extra hour of sleep from the autumn time change back to Standard Time.  We crossed at the Detroit/Windsor Tunnel and headed for the Detroit Institute of Arts.  While certainly one of the finest museums in the world, it's been awhile since there has been an exhibit to tempt us to visit.  This time there were three:  the annual Offrenda invitational, which this year included 18 entries; an exhibit based around the Detroit Monet painting; and an exhibit based on Frederic Church's archaeological paintings of the Middle East. 

The Offrendas (Day of the Dead tributes) were hit and miss, but several were very good.  The Monet exhibit was quite different, focusing on the painter's garden in Giverny, a suburb of Paris.  The Detroit painting (see below) is one of my favourite Monet paintings.  I am not a big fan of his, but when he gets things right, the results can be outstanding.  The entire exhibit is small, perhaps a dozen paintings, but there are also good displays about paint and brushes from that time, and how things were changing, especially in the types of coloured paints available to artists.  It all leads up to a climactic display of the Detroit picture (below), shown without frame, but unfortunately in a glass box.  Very poor idea.  No other paintings are so displayed, only this one, and it cheapens the end result.

 The splendid painting of Monet's garden by the artist, in the DIA's collection.

This superb portrait of Monet by Renoir is also in the exhibit.

However, it was the Church painting exhibit that really got us excited.  This is a much larger exhibit, and contains several masterpieces by the American artist.  Detroit has two of his finest landscape paintings, and this exhibit was based around his "Syria by the Sea."  Church's large scale paintings are nearly infinite in their detail, and his use of colour and composition is unparallelled in scope and beauty.  Having known the Detroit painting for many years, it was wonderful to see it in context with other works from the period.  Sometimes Church painted things exactly as they were; other times he would take the ruins and transplant them to a new locale.  He was not an archaeologist, but an artist, after all.  It is a wonderful exhibit, and will travel elsewhere after showing in Detroit until January.

The finest painting in the exhibit was this gigantic one of the Parthenon, from the Metropolitan Museum in NYC.  It had its own guard.  What a thrill to stand in front of this masterpiece!!

Another very large masterpiece, this one of Jerusalem, was loaned by the Kansas City Nelson/Atkins Museum of Art.  It also had its own guard.

Detroit's wall-sized "Syria by the Sea." 

 A fine example of Church's placing of ruins in a different setting.

 From the artist's expedition to Petra.

Afterwards, we went to nearby Seva Restaurant for lunch.  It is shocking how few vegetarian and vegan restaurants the city of Detroit has (only 3 at this writing--the suburbs have several more).  Seva is in Midtown (and in Ann Arbor), and has very good food.  Sundays they serve brunch all afternoon, so we brunched.  Afterwards it was time to head west.  It was a Sunday, so traffic would be lighter than a truck-heavy weekday.  However, it was pouring rain, and there was thunder and lightning, and visibility on the freeway was hampered.  We still made pretty good time.  We were first heading for Chelsea, a small town that we have blasted through on our Amtrak journeys to Chicago.  The train does not stop, but there is an historic station and an appealing downtown.  So we stopped in for coffee on our way to Marshall.  We liked the town so much that we hope to return over the Christmas break.  In addition to gift shops, there is also an historic court house, and a wine bar, and a brewery.

 Zou Zou's Cafe, downtown Chelsea, MI.

 Downtown Chelsea is home to Jiffy Muffin mixes!  These are found in every grocery store in the country.

There used to be a stove company here.  The clock tower was built as a water storage facility to aid in fighting fires back in the day.

The beautiful Chelsea clock tower will soon be home

to a craft brewery.  Guess who will be visiting??

 The historic Chelsea depot, which sees passenger trains whizz past six times each day.

After Chelsea, it was on to Jackson.  Home to infamous Jackson Prison, the downtown boasts some cool old skyscrapers, and a very good craft beer pub.  Amtrak does stop in Jackson and I see the pub from the train window every time we travel this way.  Finally I got to visit!

Grand River Brewery, Jackson, MI.  It is also a distillery and a wine bar.

I tried Ryes N' Shine coffee Rye IPA, Pumpkin Grind Porter, Black Penny Porter,

and Temptation Cinnamon Ginger Cider.  All were very good!  I got a tee-shirt!

 Rear of County Building, downtown Jackson, MI.

 It was dark when we arrived in Marshall, which is about halfway across the southern part of Michigan.  We checked in to our historic hotel (more in a moment), then headed out for dinner.  We walked to Schuler's, a very old coaching inn restaurant and pub.  We sat in the pub where I drank a pint of New Holland's Dragon Milk Imperial Stout, dark and delicious, finishing up with a very good veggie burger, my first of three for the trip.  Deb had a salad.  This is one of the better pubs I have been to, nice and dark and atmospheric, and their commitment to craft ale taps makes me like them even more.  It was a short walk back to our hotel, where we snuggled in for the night.  I was in the process of having a major sinus meltdown.  I was swallowing meds as fast as I could, and sneezing about 85 times per hour.  Deb applied some hot compresses to my nose and eyes back in our room (we actually had a suite of two rooms), and things eventually simmered down.

Next morning, afternoon, and evening was our Marshall adventure.  Original plans had called for a side trip to Kalamazoo, but we decided to stay local all day.  Marshall is an historic home and building paradise, and though we have seen much of it on previous visits, it was fun to see some of it again.  This town has more historic signs and buildings then I have ever seen in a small town.  We shopped downtown all morning, had lunch at The Stagecoach (veggie burger and some Detroit craft porter from Atwater Brewery), rested for awhile back at the Inn, then headed out for coffee.

Stagecoach Inn, where we had lunch.  Internet photo. 

http://www.battlecreekvisitors.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Stagecoach_Featured-823x420.jpg

Dark Horse Brewery is one of the best, and they have recently added a roastery, cafe, and bakery to their beer empire.  This makes Marshall nearly perfect (sadly, the train does not stop here).  We enjoyed pour overs, then headed out onto their river trail system for a long (and cold) autumn walk.  Yesterday had been mild with storms, but today was clear and cold.  After our walk, we headed to the Dark Horse pub for beverages (Deb had some delicious ice water; I sampled 5 ales).  We shared a hummus and veggie platter, then later ordered a pizza (no cheese).  The pub is a great one in which to sit around and do pub things, such as talk and drink beer.  I succeeded at both!  Upon leaving we stopped in at the bakery again for some cookies and coffee beans, as well as a few packs of beer.

View from our hotel room towards downtown Marshall, just beyond the fountain and traffic circle.  They were beginning to set up Christmas decorations this morning.

Our historic inn, Marshall, MI.  We had three windows--two can be seen above the sign.

Now the back entrance to the National House Inn.  Our third window is upstairs, but hidden behind the tree on the right.  This place is really really cool!  Staying here is an expensive treat, but rates moderate on Sundays and Mondays.  We stayed two nights.  You can walk anywhere in town from here.  We stayed here with a group of teacher friends when I retired back in 2010.

Downtown Marshall is home to the American Museum of Magic.  It was closed today, but we have visited on a previous visit, and loved it!

It was Deb's turn to get excited, as we visited a new coffee roaster and cafe in Marshall.

 Cute barrel seats at Dark Horse Commons Cafe and Bakery (with brewery and pub next door).

 Images from our autumn river walk in Marshall, MI.

 Images from our autumn river walk in Marshall, MI.

 Images from our autumn river walk in Marshall, MI.

Deb on the boardwalk.

Images from our autumn river walk in Marshall, MI.

 Dark Horse empire in Marshall, MI includes a brewery, tap room with restaurant, coffee roaster, and cafe/bakery.

They got a lot of our money on Monday.

 Inside the cozy Dark Horse Pub, Marshall, MI.  I am sampling their 

Scotty Karate, Plead the 5th, Scary Jesus, Toonilla, and 20th Anniversary Ale. 

Local regulars can get their own mug, which hangs on walls or ceiling when

not in use. 

I had to work Tuesday afternoon at 4 pm (I teach music lessons).  We checked out Tuesday morning, reluctantly passed by Ann Arbor, and headed for Dearborn's fantastic Merchant's Fine Wines (also with liquor and tons of craft beer) for my 48 bottles of craft beer, then to our mailbox, and on home.  It was a really fun trip!  No more overnight adventures planned until at least March Break.  See you all then!

Mapman Mike