Expand your palate with these up-and-coming breweries throughout Ohio.
Black Cloister Brewing Company
Stop me if you heard this one: a Lutheran pastor opens a brewery…Yep, you heard that right. Once-homebrewer Tom Schaeffer, who was pairing beer tastings with bible studies in his own living room, opened Black Cloister just a few short years ago in an 1874 classic Victorian building in the Warehouse District of Toledo. While its year-round offerings and limited releases are all delicious, Black Cloister’s magic touch lies in its lagers. Try a Casilda of Toledo, their Vienna lager, which balances a subtle combination of toasted malts, caramel and sweetness.
FigLeaf Brewing Company
Sandwiched between Dayton and Cincinnati, Middletown’s FigLeaf Brewing Co. has made quite the moves in a short time. This year, the brewery took home a silver medal at the U.S. Open Beer Championships for its Ponderous Porter and has been gaining steam with the release of several beers in cans throughout their hometown. For an introduction to their craft, dive into a glass of Basmati Cream Ale, brewed with Basmati rice, pilsner malt and liberty hops.
Hoof Hearted Brewing
With the most ridiculous names and can art in the beer industry, Hoof Hearted has built quite the fan base, thanks to its embrace of the latest brewing craze: the New England style IPA, often characterized by an insane amount of dry-hopping, an extremely hazy profile, and a juice-like taste on the palate. Thankfully, the looney team behind this phenomenon also tackles several other styles to equal perfection. If you can, get your paws on Mom Jean’s, the double milk stout that they tend to brew with their very own coffee beans.
Little Fish Brewing Company
While most craft beer aficionados know the Athens area as the home of the stellar Jackie O’s Brewery, Little Fish makes its mark just a few short miles away. Little Fish prides its craft on creating exceptional farmhouse ales and sours, as well as other beers that tend to run the style gamut. With a keen eye, track down a bottle of Little Fish’s BA Reinheitsgewhat!?, a barrel-aged Berliner Weisse brewed as a sarcastic jab at the 500-year-old Purity Law.
Masthead Brewing Company
One of Cleveland’s newest breweries, Masthead, who renovated a historic automotive dealership into a brewery, has garnered quite the praise for its killer brews and scrumptious wood-fired pizza. With so many breweries just a hop, skip and jump away from each other in Cleveland, competition is getting stiff. Masthead keeps things simple by crafting accessible beers for the masses. Snatch up a pint of their Wit, an excellent take on the Belgian-style wheat brewed with coriander, curacao and lemon peel.
R. Shea Brewing
If off-the-wall inventive brews are what you are searching for, then look no further than Akron’s own R. Shea Brewing Co. Treat your taste buds to a Peanut Butter Cup Milk Stout or an Orange-Mango Citra Shandy. Owner Ron Shea tends to keep his selections at a relatively low alcohol content throughout his wide array of both year-round and seasonal offerings, giving beer lovers the option of quaffing down more than just one per sitting without having trouble standing up from the bar.
Urban Artifact
In one of the most impressive moves in all of Ohio, Urban Artifact had one major agenda when opening a brewery – to celebrate and embrace the wild culture of beer. Their philosophy consists of making wild, funky and tart beers. By the indication of both the incredible liquid results and the cult following they have gained, I would say they have succeeded. Every one of their beers is brewed with locally caught wild yeast, bacteria, or mixed cultures. Fire Iron, a wild ale brewed with bananas, guava and passion fruit, is like a banana smoothie for beer connoisseurs.
Wolf’s Ridge Brewing
Located in the heart of downtown Columbus, Wolf’s Ridge has quickly become one of the most buzzed-about breweries in the Buckeye state. With an expansion just a few short years ago, the brewery has been able to transition its beer into bottles and has gracefully moved them up north as capacity has allowed. As a result, the Wolf’s Ridge innovative creations and flagship beers have gained a following. Dire Wolf, in all its glory, is a full-bodied Russian imperial stout dominated by notes of chocolate, espresso and dark fruits.
