Craft Beer

Parade Kicks Off 5th Annual Beer Week

August 23, 2015 By Lisa Grigsby

Five years ago a couple of dozen folks made their way from the Dublin Pub to Thai 9 in the first ever Beer Week Parade. Today when the parade steps off at 4:30pm from the Dublin Pub, several hundred are expected to participate. Many of the local breweries will participate, pictured left is the contingent from Fifth Street Brewpub last year.

Leading off the parade this year will be the Miami Valley Pipes & Drums. Special floats and vehicles like Thai Rob’s VW Van with Nimrod Camper, The Radler from Warped Wing, Dayton Brew Tours & the Groove Machine Party Bus. Participants are welcome to wear their favorite beer t-shirts, hats and bring signs! Parade Viewers line Fifth Street patio’s and often are treated to give-aways from those in the parade. As the parade turns into the Fifth Street parking lot on the west end of the Oregon District, the crowd will gather for a picture and then the official opening of Beer Week (thought this year is seems there were so many events that several started yesterday, like the Tomfoolery Outdoors Dayton Beer Milers at Dayton Beer Company).

The 2015 Beer Week is a craft beer drinkers bonanza! With over 150 events scheduled at over 65 locations, bars will be hosting tap takeovers, restaurants have planned beer dinners, and glassware giveaways are all over town. Here are a few of the highlights:

For all Beer Week Events check out our MostMetro.com calendar.

Welcome To Ohio Beers, Baseball Fans!

July 13, 2015 By Brian Petro

Hello baseball fans!

Welcome to Great American Ball Park!

We are at the midpoint of the season, and it has been an interesting start. Despite the loss of some key talent, the Cardinals and the Yankees are still holding on to their divisions. No one at the start of the season saw the Astros being one of the best teams in the league, or the White Sox being one of the worst. The Royals are proving they were not a fluke, and the Cubs are hoping this is the year they can get back into playoff contention. Experts saw the NL dominated by three teams, but the AL was anyone’s to take. One thing that everyone knew was that this year, all eyes would be on our neighbor to the south Cincinnati for one week. That week begins today.

Great American Ballpark will be the center of the baseball world as it hosts the 2015 All Star Game. Cincinnati will be showcased in all her glory, and not just the stadium. We all know what an amazing city it is, but the thousands of people coming to visit may not see it that way. It was the second city founded in the state of Ohio, and the “Queen of the West” according to Longfellow. Before Chicago earned its reputation as a meat packing center, Cincinnati earned the nickname of “Porkopolis” because of its hog packing capacity. It is also the home of the first paid firefighting unit AND the first paid baseball team. That professional baseball team, the Red Stockings, evolved over the years into the team we see on the field today. And our own Dayton Dragon have had a hand in feeding that team some excellent talent.

The National Prohibition Convention was held in Cincinnati in 1892.

Many people also don’t know the rich beer and cocktail history that Cincinnati enjoys. Chicago and Detroit get most of the press as hotbeds of Prohibition activity, but the Queen City had its own bootleggers and criminals making sure that a thirsty nation did not got wanting. Samuel Adams founder Jim Koch is from Cincinnati, one of the first breweries to start building the craft landscape we see today. There are going to be tens of thousands of thirsty visitors milling around Cincinnati this week, looking for delightful beers to enjoy. The focus is on beer, because that is what goes with baseball. I have searched through the local beer scene (and by local I mean Ohio), and came up with suggestions for each of the teams represented this week at the game. I paid particular attention to the beers available at Great American Ball Park, and Cincinnati itself, before looking for other breweries to highlight.

Since this week’s game is going to be at a National League stadium, we’ll let the away team go first. The teams are in order of their standings as of this writing, and the number after the team is how many players represent them in the All Star Game. An asterisk indicates a beer that can be found in Great American Ball Park.

AL East

BORIS the Crusher Russian Imperial Stout

This is one tough frog out of Akron.

New York Yankees (3) – Chickow! by Triple Digit Brewing (10% ABV, 28 IBU) is one of the heaviest hitters on this list. Which is fitting, because the Bronx Bombers are close to the top of the home run leading teams in the league.
Baltimore Orioles (4) – Based in LeBron territory, Akron’s B.O.R.I.S The Crusher by Hoppin’ Frog (9.4% ABV, 60 IBU) is an amazing Russian Imperial Stout, and another heavy hitter. It looks like you have to be to keep up in the AL East.
Toronto Blue Jays (3) – The Blue Jays have scored the most runs in baseball (470) at the break. They have been Rounding Third (Madtree (6.5% ABV, 51 IBU)) more than any other team in the bigs. And they are STILL third in their division.
Tampa Bay Rays (2) – The Columbus based Elevator Brewing’s Dark Force (5.9% ABV) came from out of nowhere in 2007 to win quite a few awards. The Rays can still take this division, but it is going to require some work.
Boston Red Sox (2) – The one exception to the Ohio rule. But not really. These boys of summer are sitting at the bottom of a tough division. *Sam Adams Summer Ale (5.3%, 7 IBU) can keep them company while they are down there.

AL Central

Kansas City Royals (7) – Their fans are the kings of the ballot box. *Ermal’s Belgian Style Cream Ale by Warped Wing (5.4%, 20 IBU) has some similar qualities to Kansas City’s Tank 7 by Boulevard. And the can had a nice blue color, which their fans can appreciate.
Minnesota Twins (2) – I am not sure, but I think it is getting close to winter in Minnesota. Mt. Carmel’s *Nut Brown Ale (6.0%, 38 IBU) is a great beer to keep warm with, offering hints of maple syrup along with the rich brown ale.
Detroit Tigers (5) – Did you know that the state of Michigan produces the most blueberries in the United States? I am sure that Rivertown Brewing’s *Blueberry Lager (4.3%, 19 IBU) has more than a few of them in their fruit forward beer.
Cleveland Indians (1) – Jason Kipnis was a beast in May. The seasonal Lake Erie Monster by Great Lakes Brewing Company (9.1%, 80 IBU) is a very appropriate beer from his team’s city. It is an Imperial India Pale Ale with plenty of bite to it.
Chicago White Sox (1) – Elliot Ness was a federal agent from Cleveland that spent some time in Chicago, helping to bring down one of its most infamous citizens. Great Lakes Brewing Company brewed a delicious amber ale (6.1%, 27 ABV) in his honor.

AL West

A small portion of the Rhinegeist family of beers.

Houston Astros (2) – When you think success in baseball, you think money. The Astros are taking *The Lesser Path (Blank Slate Brewing (6.5%, 70 IBU)) by being one of the best teams in baseball with the second lowest payroll.
Los Angeles Angels (2) – Californians seem pretty relaxed. A light sessionable sipper, Zen by Rhinegeist Brewing (4.8%, 45 IBU) is a perfect beer to kick back with while watching a baseball game.
Texas Rangers (1) – Is there any state that shows their independence like Texas? Divergent by Rivertown Brewing (3.8%, 10 IBU) is different, with sour fruit notes and a clean finish. It is a great beer to try if you have been considering sour beers, but just were not sure.
Seattle Mariners (2) – Coffee and Seattle go hand in hand. Named after the bridge connecting Cincinnati to Covington, KY, Roebeling Porter by Rivertown Brewing (7.9%, 35 IBU) uses local coffee and vanilla to enhance the roasted notes in the porter.
Oakland Athletics (2) – Fifty West Brewing created *Wire to Wire Wheat (4.8%, 18 IBU) to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the Reds last World Series victory. Who did they beat in that series? I’ll let you guess…

And now, the home team!

NL East

Washington Nationals (2) – A capital beer for the capitol’s team. *Leopold by Listermann Brewing (6.2%) is a blonde ale with Belgian spice notes. After a rocky start, they have finally climbed back to the top of their division.
New York Mets (2) – When I was doing research for another project, I discovered near where the Mets played there was a brewery dedicated to pale ales. *Altered Pale Ale by Christian Moerlein (4.3%) is a nod to that brewery.
Atlanta Braves (1) – I love peanut butter porters. Georgia grows the most peanuts in the United States. Is there any other beer for them than Nut Case by Listermann Brewing (5.0%)? If there was some sort of Waffle House beer (Waffle House is based in Georgia), that would be a close second.
Miami Marlins (2) – While doing research, I discovered that Dortmunder beers go very well with fish. Dortmunder Gold by Great Lakes Brewing Company (5.8%, 30 IBU) is one of the better examples of that style. It also represents the city the Marlins beat to get their first World Series win. They have that going for them.
Philadelphia Phillies (1) – When you are at the bottom of the league, you really could use a boost. Fortunately, Madtree Brewing has something you can use: a Lift (4.7%, 11 IBU). Light and delicious, you can enjoy a few of them in one sitting.

NL Central

A great local beer to enjoy at Great American Ball Park.

St. Louis Cardinals (6) – The entire division is looking to take over your throne. You have claimed it five of the last ten years. For that I give you Warped Wing’s Mr. Mean (9.7%, 96 IBU). It is named for the 13^th album released by the Ohio Players. Lucky number for you?
Pittsburgh Pirates (4) – You may want to explore a different classically brewed amber lager while you are in town. Hudepohl’s Amber Lager (4.7% ABV) is from a brewery established just twenty six years after Yuengling. Try it…you’ll like it.
Chicago Cubs (2) – It is crazy that this team is angling for a playoff position after last season. *PsycHOPathy by Madtree Brewing (6.9%, 70 IBU) is an amazing India Pale Ale, challenging Truth for the best IPA to come out of Cincinnati.
Cincinnati Reds (3) – Was there really any other choice? Rhinegeist Brewing Hustle (5.4%, 35 IBU) was brewed for baseball season and given the nickname of one of the most beloved Reds players of all time. It is a nice rye spice pale ale that hits all
Milwaukee Brewers (1) – Back to the classics for one of the big, German beer cities in the country. Over-The-Rhine Ale by Christian Moerlein (6.0%) shows off the German heritage of the area with a traditionally brewed ale. It harkens back to a time when generous hop profiles were needed for preservation, not just flavor.

NL West

Los Angeles Dodgers (5) – California grows the most strawberries in the United States. Which is why the seasonal Sol Drifter by Madtree (4.3%, 18 IBU) was selected for any Dodgers fans that may be heading to the Midwest.
San Francisco Giants (4) – When India pale ales were initially developed, they were highly hopped for long journeys. For the longest trip to Cincinnati (barely edging Seattle), we give you *Truth by Rhinegeist Brewing (7.2%, 75 IBU). Fresh beer for the end of an almost 2,400 mile journey.
Arizona Diamondbacks (2) – There are a wide range of flavors and great depth to Mystic Mama (7.0%, 130 IBU), a local favorite from Jackie O’s in Athens. And there are snakes on the can, which may have had more influence than I want to admit.
San Diego Padres (1) – If there is one thing I know about San Diego, it is sunny and 75 F at all times. Fathead Brewing has created Sunshine Daydream (4.9%), something light and easy to drink for looking out over the Ohio River. It is no Pacific ocean, but it still offers a nice breeze and a place to dip your toes.
Colorado Rockies (3) – Do you miss the mountains, Coloradans? Chomolugma by Jackie O’s (6.5%) derives its name from what the Tibetans call Everest. It is a delicious brown ale flavored with wildflower honey.

If you are looking for places to enjoy these beers while taking in the atmosphere of the All Star festivities, Holy Grail Tavern and Grill, Arnold’s Bar and Grill, the Moerlein Lager House are just few in the Cincinnati area with great food and some of the delightful beers mentioned. Have a great time this week on the historic banks of the Ohio River, and enjoy the efforts of the talented local brewers we have in the Buckeye State. Cheers!

The Super Bowl – One Long Session for Beers!

January 30, 2015 By Brian Petro

Super Bowl XLIX is here. Is your beer fridge ready for it?

The Super Bowl XLIX festivities begin at noon on Sunday, February 1. Pundits are going to spend the entire day analyzing the players, discussing past Super Bowls, and making deflated ball puns. The game itself starts at 6 PM, and will end around 11 PM after all the awards have been given out and more analysis of the game. That is a long drinking day for anyone. You have to pace yourself through a day filled with salty snacks, good friends, and lots and lots of fine, locally crafted beer. Fortunately, British brewers thought of this decades ago, and developed something called a session beer.

During World War I, production of material for the war effort was important. Parliament created a law that allowed for two drinking sessions a day; one at lunch and one at dinner time. Since drinking was much more limited, any typically could only be done at a bar, people would have a few more at lunch then they normally would. They did not want to go back work around dangerous equipment inebriated, so British brewers started to brew beers that were lower in ABV. They typically capped at 5%, but many went as low as 3%. Pilsners, bitters, and pale ales were the styles that were used, offering the most flavor while delivering a love tap of alcohol.

The United States does not have the same fondness for low ABV beers. The legacy of the “little beer” began just before Prohibition as a desperate attempt by then president Woodrow Wilson to stop the inevitable. He proposed that beers of no more than 2.75% ABV be brewed, minimizing the harsh effects of the terrible affliction of alcohol on a delicate public. Clearly, that did not work, and the country dried up for thirteen years. The first beer that came out after the Volstead Act was repealed but before the 21^st Amendment went into effect? 3.2% beers. Our legacy with them is much more contentious, thus when the craft beer movement rolled forward, the LAST thing brewers wanted to do was create beers in the Budweiser range of ABV. The ABV War began, trying to create bigger beers, beers full of flavor and alcohol. The winning brewery at this point in time is Brewmeister’s Armageddon out of Scotland, ringing in at an overwhelming 65% ABV. Most beers like this are brewed once for effect, then retired.

A dark day in U.S. history, but a good time for session beers.

Session beers just came back into vogue in the last ten years as a reaction to all of the high ABV beers flowing through the country. Founder’s All Day IPA may be the beer that brought this type of beer to the general attention of the public. This great Michigan brewery sells this in a fifteen-pack, acknowledging that you can sip on this all day and still be able to function at your desk on Monday. It was mentioned more than a few times as a great session beer by the people I spoke with. The 4.7% ABV is perfect for a long session of drinking, and the hops ensures that it is not boring to drink. Fat Head’s Sunshine Daydream out of Cleveland is another highly recommended session beer, creeping up to 4.9% ABV and still delivering with refreshing flavor.

Looking for a local, low alcohol growler fill for the big game? Here is a list of what was found on tap (or in a can) around the Miami Valley. Not all of these fall into the session beer category, but they all hover around the 5% ABV range.

Lock 27 – Pugilist’s 4.7% ABV seems light for a beer with a fighting name. Session beers are not all light and hoppy. Here is an irish stout whose punch is in the flavor, not the spirits. Order some of their Smoked Wings while you are there. You will not be disappointed.
Yellow Springs Brewing – If you are going to go to one brewery for all your low ABV beer needs, this is the place to go. They have the biggest selection of tap beers that fall into this category. Their Kerfluffle, an English Mild beer, is the lowest on the list at 3.1% ABV. They also have Daily’s Comet Saison (3.8% ABV), Handsome American Brown Ale (5.5% ABV), Ryatt’s Eviction English Pale Ale (5.0% ABV) and Zoetic Citra American Pale Ale (5.2% ABV). A little something for everyone!
Dayton Beer Company
This should be enough for Sunday, right?

– Patterson Pale Ale, at 5.5% ABV, is higher on the list for a session beer, but a delicious option. While you are there, get a growler of their award winning Java Man Cometh (7.0% ABV) to help celebrate if your team wins, or cry into if they lose.
Warped Wing Brewing Company – They have some heavy hitters in their line up (Baltic Argonaut at 11.5% ABV would make a short session), but they offer their own Self Starter Session IPA at 5.2% ABV. Ermal’s Belgian Cream Ale at 5.4% ABV and their delightfully unique Wedding Beer at 4.5% ABV are options for Super Bowl growler fills.
Fifth Street Brewing – For my money, kolsch is my favorite style of lighter beer. FSB’s 1600 Kolsch (5.0% ABV) and Deluge Pale Ale (5.4% ABV) are both excellent beers to add to the game day menu.
Star City Brewing – If you already have plans and will have to miss their Super Bowl Potluck Extravaganza, you can enjoy their kolschy Blonde Ale at 3.8% ABV or Weizen Star Hefeweizen at 4.8% ABV at home with a much different pot luck.
Lucky Star Brewery – While you are in Miamisburg, you can stop by this brewery as well and pick up their Ojos Locos Mexican Lager at 3.9% ABV or their Redemption Red at 5.3% ABV. Their Wicked Step Mutha Double Stout weighs in at 9.9% ABV, but would be a delicious late game addition to cap off the party.
Toxic Brew Company – Relax. There is always some Practice Yoga (5.6% ABV) to enjoy during an all-day football binge. Sign up for the Shuffle Board League while you are there so your sports enjoyment can last after football is over. Abby’s Cure at 9.6% ABV came highly recommended for Sunday, but as a tasty treat with your all day sippers.
Eudora Brewing Company – Another award winning craft brewery in Dayton, their Sundowner Blonde Ale weighs in at 5.0% ABV. Supporting them means you are also supporting charity:water, providing clean water to those with no access to it.
Hairless Hare Brewery – Hello friends up north! The American Ale here sits at a sessionable 4.9% ABV. And is there anything more American than watching the Super Bowl?

Just discussing some dinner plans after the game.

Not enough options? Belmont Party Supply has many, many selections for session drinking. Cincinnati favorites like Madtree offers Lift at 4.7% ABV and Rhinegeist releases Cougar at 4.8% ABV for you to consider. Rivertown’s Little Sipa IPA at a nice and light 4.5% ABV is another Cincinnati option on the table. The new kid in Ohio, Boulevard Brewing Company, has their Pop Up Session IPA that sits at a respectable 4.3% ABV and 80 Acre Hoppy Wheat at 5.5% ABV. Fans of New Belgium Brewing can get their hands on Slow Ride Session IPA sitting at 4.5% ABV. You can also pick up He’Brew’s Dry Hopped Session Pale Ale (5.5% ABV) or Heavy Seas’ Cross Bones Session IPA (4.5% ABV) there. If you want a little more heavy in your seas, their Loose Cannon IPA is an amazing choice with a little more punch (7.25% ABV).

The Super Bowl has become more than just the championship game for the NFL; it is a cultural event that brings people together with friends for good food and good company. Whether you are cheering for the New England Patriots, the Seattle Seahawks, or just a halfway decent Super Bowl ad, session beers are one way to sip on great beer all day and still be ready to shout, cheer, cry, and celebrate when the game begins. Now, time to start researching the wings and nachos. Cheers!

Thinking About a Stout? – National Stout Day

November 6, 2014 By Brian Petro

Murphy’s Irish Stout. The other well known stout from Ireland.

In September of 2014, there was a secret experiment going on at Starbucks. They have always been working with trying out new flavors, but this was different. They were not going for your traditional riffs on traditional coffee. There was a new demographic they had their sights on: the beer drinker. Starbucks dabbled in the liquor industry before with a coffee liqueur. It was not on the market very long, but it did deliver the rich Starbucks flavor people expected. The company that ushered in the craft coffee boom was looking to capitalize on the craft beer boom, and they knew their path in. It was not brewing Starbucks beer. It was going to brew a coffee that tasted like beer. The profile they were looking for shared many of the characteristics coffee already has; hints of bitterness mixed with rich complexity, a slight roasted flavor, and something with the same deep brown color as their core product. They were looking to make a coffee drink that tasted like a stout.

November 6 is National Stout Day, and stout is a fascinating beer. Stouts first gained popularity in the early 18^th century, when it was discovered this hearty beer was a little tougher than the other ales, and had a little more kick. They were originally known as “stout porters”, since they were as dark as the porters being brewed at the time, but had a higher ABV. Eventually the “porter” was dropped and the style simply became known as stout. The question of “stout vs. porter” now causes some serious debate among the beer brewing and drinking crowd, some insisting the styles are as different as twilight and midnight, some saying that there is little difference other than a naming preference. The Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) notes a few general differences between the two. Porters are lighter in color, ranging from reddish brown to dark brown, where stouts are dark brown to black. Porters are usually sweeter, while the roasting of the barley for stouts can impart a bitter flavor. Porters roll crisply right over the tongue; stouts are thicker and tend to linger, using less water than their lighter counterparts.

Once you are past the “stout vs. porter” conversation, you can begin discussing the different ways stouts are brewed. It is generally agreed there are six distinct styles of stout:

Dry Stout – Because of a little Irish brewery named Guinness, this is the most widely known style of stout, though most don’t call it dry. Most people will call it an Irish stout, again because of Guinness. There are some bitter notes in this one coming from the roasted barley and some extra hops. Guinness’ IBUs (International Bitterness Unit) sits is around 47. For comparison, Dogfishhead’s 60 Minute IPA is 60 IBUs. It is usually thinner and lighter than other stouts, making it great to drink over time. Murphy’s Irish Stout is another fine example of this style.

Hello milk stout! Nitrogen is used to smooth out the beer even more.

Sweet, or Milk, Stout – Advertisers are tricky. Trying to convince consumers of the healthy qualities of some stouts, they would add lactose, or milk sugar, to the brew to add sweetness. Milk is healthy, right? This type of chicanery caused the designation to be banned in England, but it can be used anywhere else in the world. The sugars mask the bitterness of the roasting and add some weight to the mouthfeel, leaving a rich and sweet flavor to embrace. Left Hand Brewing makes a delightful Milk Stout Nitro, and Southern Tier’s Crème Brulee Imperial Milk Stout are absolute delights to drink.

Oatmeal Stout – If milk is a healthy addition to the brewing of stouts, why not oats? Oat is a grain, and beer needs grains. You have warm water, oats, flavor…it is like oatmeal! A hearty breakfast in a bottle! They were most popular in Scandinavia, which maintained the tradition until beer explorer Michael Jackson reintroduced the nearly extinct species. The oats added to the mash add their own version of sweetness, while adding some thickness to the beer as well. If you are looking for a local one, you are in tons of luck. Warped Wing’s 10 Ton Stout, Eudora Brewing Company’s Thunderball, Yellow Spring Brewing’s Prowler, Star City’s Old Mill Stout, and Lock 27’s Oat Rodeo are just a few local selections for you.

American Stout – We have our own stout! American stouts shoot for the full, smooth mouthfeel of the richest stouts while adding extra hops, coffee, chocolate flavors to heighten the natural ones that emerge from the roasting process. They find their way to the higher end of the ABV scale, and are a product of brewers wanting to experiment with the traditional stout formula. The carbonation, usually not overly present in other stouts, emerges more in the American version. Dayton Brewing Company’s new Java Man Cometh would fall in this category, as would Deschutes’ Obsidian Stout and Revolution Brewing’s Rise.

Russian Imperial Stout – This was brewed in England for the Russian court of Catherine II. Since it was brewed for a country where vodka dominates all other liquor (they put down almost five times the vodka the Unites States does), it had to be stronger than normal and built for a long journey. Most stouts pack a reasonable 6-7% ABV punch. The low end of the spectrum for Russian Imperials is 8%, heading as high as 12%. Toxic Brewing’s Black Tonic sits in this category, as does Hareless Hare’s Rabbit Hole Chocolate Stout. A personal favorite, Great Lakes Brewing Company’s Blackout Stout (our own Max Spang has some thoughts on it as well) and North Coast Brewing’s Old Rasputin are other well respected versions of this strong style.
Max Spang and I agree: This is a delicious Imperial stout.

Foreign Extra (Tropical) Stout – The home of the stout is a long way from the tropics. Especially in the 18^th century, when ocean going wooden ship was the only way to get there. It was brewed with some extra malt, making it sweeter and sturdier to survive the month long journey across the Atlantic. It was nicknamed “Tropical” because the earliest versions of this beer went to the warmer colonies of the British Empire. They are typically a stronger version of a dry stout, but any style can be made into a Foreign Extra Stout. The most well-known of this style is the Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, and most breweries dabble in this style, offering it on tap in smaller batches or seasonally. Ridgeway Brewing’s Lump of Coal is a tip top example of a seasonal foreign extra stout.

Starbucks may still be testing their coffee stout concoction for all we know. There is no need to wait for them to enjoy the hearty flavors stouts can provide. And some of them even have healthy ingredients in them (sort of)! Despite the heaviness of these beers, many of them are not much more calorie dense than light beers. Guinness has only 15 more calories per 12 oz. serving than Bud Light, and for the same ABV. Enjoy a stout or two on National Stout Day. You can drink a Founder’s Breakfast Stout or Southern Tier Mokah instead of the Starbucks, right?

An Evening of Beer Education with Joshua Bernstein

October 17, 2014 By Brian Petro

One book for all your beer education needs.

It does not seem all that long ago, but it has been over thirty years since craft beers began to emerge. The beer scene in America, on rocky ground since Prohibition, had fully bottomed out in the 1970’s and looked like it might stay there. Fortunately, Jimmy Carter relaxed federal brewing standards in 1978, allowing people who may have just been tinkering with brewing beer or making their own wine become a little more serious about it. The movement started off slowly, but exploded in the mid-1990’s, with breweries and brewpubs popping up everywhere. The beer drinking public was introduced to styles of beer that had not been seen in America since the early 20^th Century. With the number of breweries, and beers, that were springing up through the country, it became very easy to get lost in all of the styles and intricacies of the various beers. Hop varietals? Imperial IPAs? Lambics? What were all these new beer styles? And how were we, the drinking public, supposed to keep up?

With all of these new beers hitting the shelves, crowding out the large corporate beers and infusing a new interest in beer, people started to take notice. Especially the media. The New York Press was one of those media outlets. They put an intrepid young writer, Joshua Bernstein, on the bar beat. His adventures in the bar scene of the City That Never Sleeps eventually brought him to the restaurant beat, and an interest in the expanding craft beer scene. He has been exploring the beer scene since then for well-known publications like Bon Appetit, Saveur, Details, The New York Times, and is a contributing editor for Imbibe. The man knows, and enjoys, his beer. He used his experiences to write a pair of books to help those that have entered the world of craft beers find their way a little easier. His first book, Brewed Awakening, is an impressive tome for those looking to start exploring the world of craft beer and could use a guide to help them with the intricacies of it. The Complete Beer Course is a different kind of twelve step program, starting with the basics and leading the reader on to beer pairing and proper long term storage of beer.

Warped Wing has been crafting innovative beers for a thirsty Dayton population.

Dayton has been having its own craft beer boom. The Dayton Beer Company was the first to the party, and the number of breweries in the Miami Valley has been rising ever since. One of the many breweries that have been born during this growth spurt is Warped Wing, who this year released their beers in cans and continues to brew beers that grab your attention, and your taste buds. Warped Wing knows that with all of the new beers in the city, patrons new to craft beer may need a primer. Who better to offer that primer than a native son of the Gem City, now based in the Big Apple, Joshua Bernstein? He will be at Warped Wing this Monday, offering an educational evening of beer tasting and appreciation. Tickets are still available, and they are offering discounted rate for designated drivers. Purchase your tickets early, because the price goes up if you buy tickets at the door. From the most experienced beer drinker to someone just dipping their tongue into the beer pool, this is an opportunity to meet and learn from one of the top names in the field today. We will see you at Warped Wing Monday Night!

ShakesBeer: A Double Dose of Craft

September 29, 2014 By Megan Cooper

Question:

What is ShakesBeer?

A) A casual mix and mingle for downtown residents and employees.

B) A fun way to enjoy Shakespeare’s Othello through a modern (and much shortened!) production.

C) An opportunity to go behind-the-scenes at one of Dayton’s local craft breweries.

Answer:

All of the above!

Dayton Metro Library is hosting a free after-work networking event on Thursday, October 9 at the Main Library (215 E. Third Street, Dayton) with a double dose of craft.

First up: Enjoy the craft of acting from The Human Race Theatre Company as they perform a shortened and modern version of Shakespeare’s Othello (40 minutes of tweets and deceit) at the Main Library in Downtown Dayton. Then: Head across the street to Warped Wing to enjoy craft beer. Take a tour, take home a special pint glass (first 50 attendees), and enjoy locally-brewed beer available for purchase.

Don’t miss this free event for your opportunity to mix and mingle with other downtown residents and employees in a casual and quick ShakesBeerian adventure.

What’s on tap?

4:30 p.m. – Mix and mingle with fellow downtowners at the Library while you peruse the diverse items from the ShakesBeer collection: plays, modern movie remakes, home brew how-tos, great soundtracks, best brewery guides and more.

5 p.m. – Showtime! The Human Race Theatre Company presents their original production #othello. Adapted and directed by Aaron Vega. All the knavery of this classic tragedy fits into a fast-paced 40 minutes.

5:45 p.m. – As the show wraps, actors will be available for questions and comments about how plays translate from the page to the stage, and you’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at the fine craft of acting.

6 p.m. – We got our Shakes in, now for the Beer. Head across the street as Warped Wing offers a tour of the craft brewery to see behind-the-scenes magic. First 50 attendees to hand in their ticket will take home a free pint glass!

New Beer Garden at Oktoberfest

September 17, 2014 By Lisa Grigsby

Our friends at Cavalier Distributing supply some of the most delicious craft beer around town. You may have seen them at the monthly beer tasting at Trolley Stop, where they are often helping pour beer and kindly sharing their knowledge about ales, porters, stouts and the newest trends in craft brewing.

So when they shared with us that they will have their very cool draft truck in the new beer garden at DAI’s Oktoberfest, Friday, Sept. 25th – Sunday, Spet. 27th, we got very excited! Cavalier is even making it possible for a couple of our readers to attend the Friday night preview party. Check our Most Metro Facebook page for a chance to share your way to a pair of tickets for the VIP preview.

Here’s what will be on tap:

Revolution Oktoberfest -A classic German-style Oktoberfest beer that goes down smooth with a pleasant, toasty malt flavor. Hallertauer Mittelfruh hops give the beer a crisp, balanced bitterness and a spicy, earthy aroma

Reissdorf Kolsch – a minty, hop aroma; sweet, vanilla like, malt flavors; and a crisp, dry, cedar finish. medium in color, slightly hoppy, has an ABV of 4.8%

Stone Go To IPA– an abundance of lupulin-borne bitterness into a “session” IPA delivering all the fruity, piney character of a much bigger IPA.

Jackie O’s Mystic Mama- Columbus and Warrior hops lend an assertive bitterness. Amarillo, Simcoe, and Centennial hops give this beer tons of great flavors of grapefruit, tangerines, and pine needles.

Wyders Reposado – Pear cider infused with smooth subtle oak laden tequila notes. Refreshing pear cider crafted with some inspiration from south of the border.

Fat Head’s Bumbleberry – a light, refreshing ale with a nice blueberry aroma, crackery malt flavors, a hint of sweetness and a refreshing blueberry finish.

Madtree Pyschopathy -subtle malt backbone combats the bitterness and intensity of floral, grassy and citrus hop flavors.

Madtree PumpCAN – Really nice big pumpkin aroma, nice and hearty, with a balanced amount of spice. Spice does not overwhelm the pumpkin, it’s still allowed to shine here.

Schofferhoffer Grapefruit – unique combination of sparkling smooth Schofferhofer Hefeweizen with grapefruit flavoring. A refreshing well-rounded taste with tangy character and hints of sweetness.

Weihenstephan Original – yellow bright lager, a flavorful beer with a mild hoppy note and a pleasant fresh spicy taste.

Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale – a unique sipping beer with the distinctive nose of a well-crafted bourbon. Aged for at least 6 weeks in freshly decanted bourbon barrels from some of Kentucky’s finest distilleries.

Breckenridge Vanilla Porter – An ale that has all the chocolate and roasted nut flavor of a classic Porter, with an enigmatic surprise thrown in for good measure, real vanilla bean.

And if that’s not enough to tempt you, the following brews will be available in bottles:

Weihenstephan Hefe, Weihenstephan Oktoberfest, Old Speckled Hen, Trooper Beer
Stone IPA, Arrogant Bastard, Zombie Killer, Carlsberg, Brew Dog Dogma, Triple Karmeliet

I’ll be hoisting a mug of brew at Oktoberfest and hope to see you there. Prost!

Big Brews And Blues On The Menu For Friday Night Ticket Giveaway

May 13, 2014 By Lisa Grigsby 5 Comments

Diabetes Dayton will hold its 5^th annual Big Brews and Blues fundraiser on Friday, May 16 from 5-9pm at Carillon Park. With the event taking place at the end of American Craft Beer week, it’s only right that it features a unique selection of American beer with a specific emphasis on beer brewed in Ohio. This year there will be 60 beers to chose from, some of which will only be available at this event. One unique offering is a Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald, Boston Stoker coffee-infused cask-conditioned ale. They will have beer represented from breweries such as Thirsty Dog, Samuel Adams and Mt. Carmel, to name a few. And there is a special emphasis on our local microbreweries, with 2 selections each from: Dayton Beer Company, Eudora, Toxic Brew, Yellow Springs Brewery, Star City Brewing, Hairless Hare, and Lock 27.

Food will be available for purchase from Boston’s Bistro & Pub, Company 7, Hickory River

Smokehouse, Taqueria Mixteca and Brock Masterson’s. The music also draws from local talent with Chris Yakopcic starting the evening off, followed by the Eric Jerardi Band, and the final act of the evening will be the Mark May Band with the Soul Satyr Horns.

Big Brews & Blues is the signature fundraiser to help generate revenue so that any child living with diabetes can attend camp, regardless of their ability to pay. Camp for these kids means making friends with other children living with diabetes, becoming more independent, receiving the best medical care 24/7, and enjoying all the fun camp can offer.

Tickets for this 21 and older event are $30 presale or $40 at the door and include 20 2oz tastes with a souvenir sampling glass. General admission for those who’d like to just come out for some great music is $20. Tickets can be purchased at a variety of ticket locations throughout the Dayton area or on-line. The event is all under tents and will be held rain or shine (the forecast is 70 and sunny right now). Information can be found on the event website www.bigbrewsandblues.com and you can also call the Diabetes Dayton office at 937-220-6611.

DMM Ticket Contest
We’re giving away 2 pairs of tickets fro Big Brews and Blues. If you ‘d like to throw your name in the drawing, like this post, tell us your favorite brew in the comment below and fill out the form. We’ll announce the winners Wed night![form 55 “DMM Contest Entry – Generic”]

How to drink beer in the shower

February 28, 2014 By Max Spang Leave a Comment

via The Nate Green Experience

Beer has been around longer than showers have. Way longer, actually, which means people were getting drunk and smelly well before it was commonplace to bathe every single day. Considering all the black plague and polio going around, who could blame them for wanting to be wasted all the time? Nowadays, we have so much clean water in our society that we literally poop in it (I’m not above toilet jokes here, folks). We even waste gallons of the life-saving stuff each time we shower. Yet, with all of these modern marvels of sanitation technology, we seldom do anything in the shower other than wash ourselves, urinate down our legs, procreate, and mentally relive embarrassing situations. Fortunately, people from all around the world have been stepping up their shower game lately. But drinking beer in the shower is nothing if not confusing… probably. I’m here to finally end the confusion and prevent you from ending up with soapy shards of glass in your cornea or, even worse, spilled beer.

Make sure your beer is cold

This ~~whole article~~ probably goes without saying, but you’re going to be in a tiny room with hot water cascading towards you at a rapid rate. It’s going to heat things up, so you need to be prepared by maximizing the chillocity of your beverage. Canned beer is perfect for this. Toss one of those bad boys in the freezer for a few minutes while you commence the bathing preparations. Before you know it, you’ll be experiencing the luxury of drinking an ice cold beverage and warming your entire body at the same time. Isn’t this country awesome? U-S-A! U-S-A!

Stock up on beer geek street cred

Let me explain; you can easily drink right out of the bottle or can like a normal person. However, if you want to be a super awesome beer geek then you shouldn’t be afraid to go the whole nine yards. Plus, it’s kind of awkward to be naked and to put something brown and phallic-shaped up to your lips. Grab some appropriate glassware, artfully pour it into the glass, and savor the beer just like you would at a tasting except you’ll have shampoo in your hair. And you’ll be naked, unless of course you go to naked beer tastings, in which case you can add the next one to the Dayton Most Metro calendar. The point is that you need to look like a true beer geek at all times, even if nobody else is around. Otherwise you’re just a poser. Beer Geek? More like beer weak, am I right?

via The Daily Dot

Leave your morals at the door

Drinking alcohol opens the door for other, um, activities. While there’s no shame in innocently chugging four of five brewskis in the shower by yourself and passing out on the couch with a towel barely wrapped around you, we all know that drinking leads to debauchery. I encourage you to bring a friend or two along and have a shower party. Did I mention you’ll already be naked? I’m not going to suggest anything explicit on here (other than riding a moose with a loved one), but keep in mind that drinking alone is one of the signs of alcoholism. Although, on the other hand…

Wallow alone

Both drinking and showering are great ways to indulge in self pity and reflect on all your mistakes in life, especially first thing in the morning. Remember when I said there was no shame in drinking by yourself? I was lying. At the risk of completely dismissing this whole article in one sentence, if you’re drinking solo in the shower then you’ll probably end up dying alone. You know that one special person that got away? They never actually loved you. They never actually needed you, and they are better off without you. Think about that and drink up. Remember, tears are harder to spot in the shower.

Pics or it didn’t happen

What’s the point of doing anything unless you post hundreds of pictures of it to facebook? Take a whole bunch of photos of you getting your drink on in the wash room, slap some Instagram filters on’em, and put them all over the internet. Check in on untappd and let everyone know you’re showering. Remember, you’re only worth as much as the number of likes you get. People will love how outside-the-box your mind works, and before you know it your Klout score will go up a point or two.

By the way, don’t forget to share this article on facebook, Twitter, Pintrest, Tumblr, Instagram, Snapchat, Live Journal, Xanga, and Myspace.

The Beer Can rEvolution

January 24, 2014 By Brian Petro 3 Comments

In honor of Beer Can Appreciation Day- we are rerunning this story from 1/24/13.

When I was a kid, I remember taking a sip of my dad’s beer, right out of the can. I am fairly sure it was the worst thing I have ever tasted. It tasted like a wet bread and metal sandwich. I did not actually drink another beer until I was legal to do so, thinking if all beer tasted like that, I was better off without it. In retrospect, drinking Old Milwaukee out of a can is a poor choice on quite a few levels. And for the most part, people will agree that beer out of a can is about as low as you can get on the beer spectrum. That was not always the case. On January 24, 1935 the first canned beer from the Kreuger Brewing Company hit the market, and the world of beer was transformed forever.

Canned beer snuck into the market in 1935, offered by a little known brewing company looking to make a big name for itself. The writing was on the wall for Prohibition by the late 1920’s; everyone knew the end was near. Especially a company named the American Can Company, who already dominated the canned food industry, and were looking to expand into canned beer. They had been doing some experiments with canned beer on a request from the Olympia Brewing Company in 1909. Their biggest problems were making a can strong enough to hold up to the heat of pasteurization and stress that off gassing would have on the can as well as keeping the beer from absorbing a metallic flavor. This was all put off with the passage of the Volstead Act and the march towards country wide temperance. American Can did not give up. The developed a tin and steel based can which could resist all the pressure it was going to be put under. They also coated the inside with something called brewer’s pitch, which kept the beer from interacting with the metal of the can.

This new can had some big advantages over bottles. Two of the main enemies of beer, light and oxygen, would be kept completely away from the liquid. This ensured the product inside would be as fresh as it was when it was first brewed. This extra insurance of freshness would allow brewers to ship their beer further than they currently were. Most beers at the time did not ship much further than the state they were in, maybe an adjacent state if they could. This would allow them to ship beer to be consumed at home all over the country. Bottles often broke while they were being shipped. The ones that finished the journey had to be returned and reused by the brewer. This added extra expense to the beer. Cans would be disposable; no expenses for cleaning, returning, and reusing the bottles. The American Can Co. experimented with cans that were in the shape of traditional bottles, to allow factories already set up for bottles to use the cans without having to invest very heavily into it. Now that they had a working can, all they needed was a brewer to use it.

Prohibition was hard on breweries, and they were not going to jeopardize getting their product back to a thirsty market in an experimental package. After trying the major breweries, the Kreuger Brewing Company out of New Jersey agreed to take American Can up on their offer of paying for all the materials up front. They sent out some samples, and they were a hit. Their test market, Richmond, VA, also bought the cans of beer in such quantities that Kreuger was cutting into the major brewing companies market. Pabst was the first of the major brewers to buy into the use of cans, and started to modify the overall design. They discovered you could ship more cans than bottles if they were shaped like the food cans that were more commonly shipped. Miller Lite’s punch can idea is not really a new idea; the first beer cans had a flat top, so you had to punch holes into it yourself to get to the delicious liquid inside. Pabst also made a change to the lining of the can, switching out the brewer’s pitch for a consistent plastic lining called Vinylite. These can were engineering masterpieces, and also very short lived. World War II cut into the steel supply. It was not until 1958, when Coors introduced the aluminum can that the can started to rise again. The lighter metal made the can easier to open, and the addition of the pull tab by Schlitz in 1963 made the can a solid seller.

By 1968, the can was the beer container of choice. This beer can was not lined, as their older steel counterparts were, and the metal flavor of the can began to heavily leech into the beer. The decline in the quality of the cans matched a decline in beer in general in the United States. The country was shedding breweries at an astounding rate, and by the early 1980’s most of the beer in the country was being provided by only a hand full of brewers. Over 90% of the beer in the country was being provided by Anheuser-Busch, Miller, Pabst, Schlitz, and Coors. Not what most people would call a fine selection of beer. This environment would last until the late 80’s, and the beginning of the microbrewing revolution. Microbreweries would be the engine to get the beer industry back from the brink of being completely obsolete. They made beer interesting again, and people began to come back to drinking, and appreciating, good beer.

Can technology began to improve as well, but with one small drawback: most canning machines were designed for the Budweisers and Millers of the world. It was not until the Canadian company Cask Brewing Systems developed a canning system that was good for small breweries that the smaller craft brewers even had an option to can their beer. Cans had also returned to being lined with a thin, more modern plastic, which meant the beer was no longer in contact with the metal. The Craft Beer in a Can revolution began only ten years ago, with the Oskar Blues Brewery in Colorado. They put their first beer, Dale’s Pale Ale, in a can and never looked back. 21^st Amendment Brewing Company also puts their beers in cans, and makes some incredibly good beers such as their Back in Black IPA, Allies Win the War, and Hell or High Watermelon. Revolution Brewing Company out of Chicago and Anderson Valley Brewing Company in California also make quite a few canned beers. More and more small breweries with great beers are seeing cans as an economical and environmentally friendly way to get their beers into more markets for more people. According to CraftCans.com, there are currently 740 canned beers made by over 200 different breweries across the country.

If you have not had a can of beer in a while, do yourself a favor and check out the selection of canned beers that are now available. Even if your beer of choice has always been in a can, give that beer another chance. In fact. many of my favorite beers come in cans. What will you find when you crack open a craft cold one on the birthday of the beer can? Cheers!

It’s A Mad, Mad Tree – Welcome MadTree Brewing!

January 3, 2014 By Brian Petro Leave a Comment

Welcome to Dayton Mad Tree Brewing Company!

People who love good beer will find each other. They will frequent the same beer tastings, see each other at beer weeks and festivals, and share all of the best beers they are finding among the blogs, tweets, and Facebook posts they read. Some start Beer of the Week clubs where they will create their own tastings. It was at one of these Beer of the Week groups in Cincinnati that Brady Duncan, Jeff Hunt and Kenny McNutt, all home brewers, discussed creating their own brewery. That was in 2009; the seed that was going to grow into MadTree Brewing was planted.

“I bought them a few too many beers and forced my way in!” laughs Brady Duncan. A graduate of the University of Dayton, he spent a brief time in Alabama getting an MBA before returning home to run analytics for Proctor and Gamble. He remembers his time in Dayton “eating French bread pizzas at Milanos and drinking beer”. He discovered craft beers in Alabama, and has been a disciple of them ever since. That beer club idea was turned into a plan, and over the course of the next three years the three men worked on the financial structure, finding a place to brew, buying the equipment, and the most important part, brewing the beer. “We brewed each beer about thirty to forty times to make sure we had the right flavor,” Duncan said. Axis Mundi, their Russian Imperial Stout, was the exception. “Jeff and Kenny only brewed that a few times before they got it right. I think it was a recipe even before I got on board.”

Things had to change once they brought it to a larger scale. They started in Cincinnati with the capacity to brew ninety barrels and rapidly discovered it was not enough. “The demand here was much stronger than we thought,” mused Brady. “All of the accounts that we had were on allocation. Each account could get 3-5 cases max, and it sold out quickly. They would have to wait two weeks before they were able to get another shipment.” It is a good problem to have, especially when you are brewing a quality beer. The first batch of their beer went to Arthur’s, a Hyde Park staple famous for their burgers, in February of 2013. They were also able to get PsycHOPathy, a delightfully crisp IPA, into Great American Ballpark for opening day of the 2013 Reds’ season. It was a hit. Draft Magazine rated the beer 97 out of 100 making the list for their top 14 rated beers of 2013.

All these people heading to GABP just for a Mad Tree…

What makes their beer so popular in a craft beer scene that includes such stalwarts as Mt. Carmel, Moerlein Lager, Rivertown Brewing, Blank Slate and 50 West? “We have a good water source,” states Kenny. “There is a deep well on the site where we get our water. We take it from there and soften it, use a UV filter, then put the water through reverse osmosis. Each beer not only has its own malt and hop recipe, it has its own water recipe. The right water enhances the hops and gives the beer a good finish.” Another element that makes MadTree a hit is their brewing philosophy. “We brew our beers to flavors, not to styles. It is hard to put our beers into a category for that reason.” This adds some approachability to their brews.

They planned on bringing their beer to Dayton much earlier than January 6. They had to add more capacity to their brewery, 240 barrels since they opened, for a beer scene that he states is as good as the one in Cincinnati. “The only difference is that the breweries in Cincinnati brew at a higher capacity,” says Duncan, Dayton will be treated to an initial run of:

Gnarly Brown – Brown Ale/Porter
Happy Amber – Amber Ale
PsycHOPathy – IPA
Thundersnow (Seasonal)
Lift – Kolsch-style Ale

At the end of the month Dayton will also see Axis Mundi, Galaxy High Imperial IPA, and a few other surprises. February will see the release of Rubus Cacao, a chocolate raspberry stout in the area. Towards the end of February is when we will see Lift in cans and Sprye, a pale ale to get us ready for spring.

They are one mustache away from being the ZZ Top of brewers.

When you are searching the shelves for these beers, don’t look for bottles. MadTree Brewery is the first brewery in the state to use cans for their beers. Jeff Hunt noted several reasons for the decision, the biggest one being the beer itself. “It is better for the beer. No light gets in to change the chemistry of the beer and skunk it. The seal on a can of beer is also better, keeping the product inside fresher for longer.” Cans are better for the planet (and trees); they are 50% more likely to be recycled. They take up less room in a truck, meaning less fuel is required to move more beer.

Brady Duncan is looking forward to the expansion in Dayton. “We are approaching Dayton as a local market. We know people in the Dayton beer scene, and look forward to being a part of it. We want to get as involved in the Dayton community as we are in our own. And they need some good beers around UD!” MadTree willbe kicking off in Dayton with a Launch Week of events. Come out to celebrate a new local addition to the growing selection of beers in Dayton. Cheers!

Launch Week Events:

MONDAY, JAN 6

Kings Table 5pm Release Party
PsycHOPathy IPA, Gnarly Brown, Thundersnow

Chappy’s 6pm Tap Takeover
PsycHOPathy IPA, Gnarly Brown, Happy Amber,Thundersnow, Relegation, Lift

Tuesday, Jan 7 5:30pm Craft Beer Pub Crawl

Thai 9 Lift

Blind Bobs Happy Amber

Lucky’s Taproom
Psychopathy IPA, Identity Crisis, Relegati Gnarly Brown firkin with vanilla beans and coffee

Trolley Stop Thundersnow, PsycHOPathy IPA, Gnarly Brown, Happy Amber, Proper Session Ale

South Park Tavern Relegation, PsycHOPathy IPA, Gnarly Brown, Happy Amber, Lift, Thundersnow

Wednesday, Jan 8

Trolley Stop 6pm Meet the Brewer
Relegation, PsycHOPathy IPA, Gnarly Brown, Happy Amber, Lift, Thundersnow

Thursday, Jan 9

Spinoza’s 6pm Tap Takeover
PsycHOPathy IPA, Gnarly Brown, Relegation, Happy Amber, Thundersnow

Kroger’s Austin Landing
sampling event

Friday, Jan 10

Milano’s 5pm Flight Night
PsycHOPathy IPA, Gnarly Brown, Relegation, Lift, Happy Amber, Thundersnow, PSA, Identity Crisis

*UD, Beavercreek, and Miamisburg-each account has 4 beers

Don’t despair if you can’t make these events, there are also upcoming events coming to Taggarts, Rumbleseat, Brunings Wine Cellar, Bunkers, Beef O’Brady’s in Beavercreek, Peachs in Yellow Springs and we’re sure, many more! Or you can pick up MadTree Brews at The Market, Kroger, Halls Corner Carryout, Speedzone, Vandalia Carryout, Liquor Wine Warehouse, Valero, Bee Gees, and the Beer Barn. We want to thank the fine folks at Cavalier Distributing for making this happen and we know that they are probably adding more locations as we type, so if you don’t see your favorite beer stop listed, just ask them to carry MadTree!

Welcoming More Brew Goodness To Our Community – Eudora Brewing Company

November 11, 2013 By Brian Petro 1 Comment

Welcome to the community Eudora Brewing!

Eudora, a nymph from Greek mythology, is a bringer of water. She is part of a larger group called the Hyades, daughters of Atlas and nicknamed “the Rainy ones”. Their brother, Hyas, was killed in a hunting accident, and their tears became the rain. They were afterwards turned into a cluster of stars that we can still see in the head of Taurus, also called the Hyades. The water that they bring is one of the four critical ingredients in beer, along with yeast, hops, and barley. The owner and head brewer of the soon-to-open Eudora Brewing Company, Neil Chabut, knows the importance of water to the brewing process, and has integrated water awareness, and a few other surprises, into the fabric of the business.

Neil has been brewing his own beer for over three years, but it was not until about a year ago that he started considering starting his own brewery. He did his research, working at Brewtensils and learning the craft there while speaking to other breweries in the area. He also spoke to many of the other developing breweries in the area, learning about the business side of it and elements he needed to consider as he was going to go into business for himself.

The building itself, located at 4716 Wilmington Pike in Kettering, is very intimate. The brewing vats are in clear view from wherever you are sitting in the room. The brewery offers its five beers that they brew on site, as well as some seasonal beers that will be developed as the business moves forward. The beers they are initially offering are their year round beers:

Sundowner Blonde: This is a very refreshing, lightly flavored beer. It has a hint of summer mixed into the caramel undertones.
Boomerang IPA: This National Homebrew Competition finalist beer has all the hops you could possibly want, and then some. The hoppiness hides some other nice spice notes, offering a great flavor even if you do not like aggressive IPAs.
Bee’s Knees Honey APA: A balance between the Blonde and the IPA. The honey adds a light sweetness, and the hops in the pale ale add some bite. A delightful beer from start to finish.
Mother Fuggle Brown Ale: A tasty, well roasted brown ale. It has a combination of nutty, chocolately, and roasted flavors that make this a complex and flavorful ale.
Tunderball Oatmeal Stout: Deep, dark, roasted, smooth excellence. Oatmeal adds some thickness, and the dark chocolate flavor does the rest.

A little something for everyone…which will you try first?

They sell flights of the beers they have on tap, as well as growlers so you can take home your favorites. They are currently working on the ability to offer customers the opportunity to brew their own Eudora beer recipes in five to ten gallon batches. It is still a few months away, but Neil is looking forward to offering some hands on learning AND the chance to take home and enjoy beer you created! The initial food offering is going to be light snacks and hot dogs, but Neil is looking to partner with local food trucks while working on building out their kitchen offerings.

Helping local brewers and looking to work with local businesses are not the only ways Eudora is looking to give back to the community. They are also a partner with charity:water, an organization that is working hard to bring clean water to the ends of the earth.Three percent of all profits at Eudora will be going to this charity, and they use all of that money to fund their efforts. Neil knows that water is the biggest ingredient in beer, and that they can make sure some of the beer we enjoy brings water to people that need it.

The Eudora Brewing Company is looking to become another of the big stars in the Dayton brewing scene. Their pro-community attitude and warm atmosphere are going to go a long way to making this a great place to stop for a beer in Kettering. The real draw is going to be the incredible beers Eudora Brewing Company will be creating. Neil has already proven he can make beers that earn national recognition. Starting at the grand opening on November 15^th and 16^th, from 4 to 11 PM, Dayton is going to get an incredible taste of what one person can do with all the water the Hyades are raining down on us. Go out and welcome them!

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Big Hearts, Beers, and Barleywines – A Chat with Peter Roll

September 27, 2013 By Brian Petro Leave a Comment

Break out the tasting glasses one more time, and help out Daytonians in need!

Dayton is the proud home of multiple, exceptional beer festivals. They kick off in March with AleFeast, pairing fine craft beers with some of the best local cuisine in Dayton. Dayton Beer Week is the big week of beer love in the Miami Valley, with most of the restaurants in town participating in some way. It starts with a beer parade, and ends with AleFest, a day filled with amazing beers from over a hundred breweries. Many of you may even be going to Oktoberfest this weekend at the Dayton Art Institute, another great downtown festival in celebration of German culture, including their fine selection of beers. All of the fans of barley and hops need to save a little room for one more beer festival. Big Beers and Barleywines will be coming up on October 5th, and there are two very particular reasons to support this great event.

One huge reason is how unique the beers will be. This is the event for the craft beer fanatic. Many of the other events showcase a wide variety of beers and breweries, giving patrons an extensive range of popular beers to sample. Big Beers takes a different path, focusing on some of the biggest flavored and rarest beers that can be found in the country. There are 150 beers to choose from, with more unique beers being released on the Facebook page all the time. Some recent releases are Oskar Blue’s Ten Fidy imperial stout, aged for nine months in Four Roses bourbon barrels, Bell’s Black Note, Goose Island Halia, a saison with peach and aged in wine barrels, and Elevator Bar Bar Barleywine. All of these beers are not just delightful to try, but are hard to come by outside of their region or festivals like this one.

Resident Home Association helping people in Dayton

These are some of the many faces the Resident Home Association helps in our city.

The other compelling reason is the charity it supports. The Resident Home Association has been helping adults in Dayton with developmental disabilities since 1966. They provide everything from housing and trips to work to cookouts and ladies pampering classes. They have not just developed a community focused non-profit; they have developed a family that helps each other. Five years ago Peter Roll, the Executive Director of the RHA, was offered an opportunity to partner with old friends of his. Mike and Donna Schwartz, longtime supporters of the RHA and owners of Belmont Party Supply, wanted to have a beer tasting to help raise funds for the non-profit. That beer tasting grew into what we now call Big Beers and Barleywines. Mr. Roll went into greater depth about the organization and what it provides in a conversation I had with him.

Brian Petro: Tell me a little of your background. Are you a Dayton native? Where did you go to school? What did you go to school for?

Peter Roll: I am a native Daytonian. I graduated from Chaminade Julienne High School in 1974-the first graduating class after the merger of Chaminade and Julienne High Schools. While sorting my way through college I worked at the Dayton Children’s Psychiatric Hospital and the St. Josephs Treatment Center. After Graduating from the University of Dayton I was hired by Sally Young at the Montgomery County Board of Developmental Disability Services as a Case Manager. It was in my role as a case manager that I became aware of RHA. I knew that if I was to leave the county and work in residential services, Resident Home was the only place I would consider.

BP: What brought you to the Resident Home Association?

PR: As a case manager for the county I had the opportunity to see many residential programs and Resident Home clearly stood out as the best residential provider organization in the area if not the State of Ohio. In 1987 the directors of RHA, Shirley Fowler and Brenda Whitney recruited me and convinced to come to Resident Home. The push for quality services and a well trained and experienced work force were already in place when I arrived in October 1987 and made my decision an easy one. I gave up job security with public benefits to come to a place that puts the care of its residents above everything else. In retrospect I could not have made a better decision and I hope I have contributed to the success of the agency.

BP: How has the RHA changed over the last four decades? Have there been any social developments that have impacted how the organization has grown?

PR: When I arrived we had the capacity to serve 72 people in 9 different locations. We now have the capacity to provide residential services to 80 people in 13 locations. We had some of our more independent people living in an apartment complex in Kettering when I arrived, but because of aging issues, we moved those residents into 2 homes to better look after their health and safety needs. That move occurred in 2007. We also moved 2 homes off of East Third Street. One in 2005 and the other in 2010. Both of these moves were made to provide safer neighborhoods for our residents and to provide homes that were more accessible. In addition to those significant changes we have added new services such as adult day services, transportation services and we are still one of the few agencies providing respite care services. Even as we expanded the number of people served and the types of services offered, we will not put expansion ahead of the quality we strive to provide. Our feeling is that you have to serve within your means and sometimes bigger and more is not always best.

BP: In 2001, the RHA became part of Partners for Community Living. What was the impetus for that move? How has it benefitted all parties involved?

PR: Partners for Community Living is a partnership between the Resident Home and Choices in Community Living that grew out of a philosophy that sometimes it’s easier and more efficient to manage resources in certain areas together that you may not be able to do well or at all, if you attempted to do so individually. It was with this mindset that Partners for Community was formed. Each agency maintains its own identity but we also share resources in such areas as establishing an endowment, having a shared volunteer program, utilizing the same staff to put out newsletters, participate in fund raising events and provide wish lists and “fun raising” events for residents of both agencies. We are now in our 11th year and this venture has been extremely valuable to us as it greatly adds to the quality of life for those we serve.

Peter Roll, Executive Director of the Resident Home Association of Dayton

Peter Roll, (left) Executive Director of the Resident Home Association and enjoyer of fine stouts.

BP: What projects is your organization currently working on?

PR: Right now we are in the midst of a technological transformation. All of our homes have had computers for years but we were not using our electronic capabilities to the point where we could store information. For the past few summers we have been scanning paper records to our servers (in a three week period 50,000 documents) but even as we were doing this our paper continued to grow. We are now evaluating systems that will help us electronically document our daily services and store our information. We are investing in new servers, time systems and electronic medication administration record keeping. This sounds pretty dry but it is very important for us to convert to systems that help us manage and retain our records while at the same time make us more environmentally efficient.

BP: Your organization has over 5,000 hours of volunteer work done each year. What are you looking for in your volunteers? Any skill sets you are in need of or just people willing to help?

PR: We need people of all types to help us out and volunteers are very much appreciated regardless of their skill sets. Everyone has something to offer and we many programs they could choose from that would benefit our agency and those we serve. We have Friends by Choice which is our version of Big Brothers/Big Sisters. We have Adopt–A-Home where an individual or group could pick a location and help with activities, landscaping, etc. We always need help with our events, newsletter mailings and grounds clean-up. Nutritionists, exercise and healthy living, music and art appreciation are other examples of volunteers we could use.

BP: What are the biggest challenges you see for the RHA in the future?

PR: Funding and workforce development. As it stands now our funding sources barely keep pace with our expenses. With new rules, unfunded mandates and the pending impact of the federal healthcare law, we will find it very difficult to make ends meet. We also have an aging workforce especially in the management area and we really need to have some of our folks assume leadership positions. This is also a funding issue. Right now our funders expect quality but don’t want to fund adequate levels of supervision. In addition wages for direct service workers are not what they should be and the push to increase minimum wages has a detrimental effect on us as we are competing for some of the same workers but our expectations are some much higher than the typical minimum wage jobs yet our pay scales our similar. This causes some potential workers to take positions that are less demanding at a similar level of pay.

A large crowd at Big Beers and Barleywines

All of these people will be enjoying the magic of rare craft beers. Will you be one of them?

BP: What is your favorite part of the event?

PR: For me my most favorite parts are the way Mike and his employees, especially Natalie Phillips, embraces the festival but more importantly our mission. They really care about what we do and the people we serve. Their desire to obtain the finest products available to support our cause is sometimes overwhelming. I also like to see the pure enjoyment of the patrons. The smiles, laughter and goodwill gestures are very endearing.

BP: What are your favorite beers to enjoy?

PR: I’m certainly not a great beer connoisseur but I have grown to appreciate porters and stouts.

Dayton has a long history of supporting original industrial and business pursuits as well as creating a strong community that lifts up those that need it. For the price of one ticket, you get to sample some of the best beers in the country as well as help a great local organization. The event itself takes place at the Roundhouse in the Montgomery County Fairgrounds, October 5th from 4PM to 8 PM. All of the proceeds generated by Big Beers and Barleywines go to the RHA, to help them continue to provide the outstanding service that the community has come to expect from them to an even wider range of adults in need. It is a once a year opportunity that is not to be missed.

Jimmie’s Ladder 11: Great Food in a Historic Firehouse

September 5, 2013 By Dayton937 4 Comments

Jimmie’s Ladder 11 on Brown Street. A “hot time in the old firehouse”

What better place for a Food Adventure than a historic Dayton Firehouse? But atmosphere isn’t everything , you gotta have good eats too. Jimmie’s Ladder 11 at 936 Brown St. is one of Dayton’s best examples of a great menu in a great venue. The restaurant is located in what used to be an old city firehouse back in the days when the engines were run by horse drawn carriages. Dayton Fire Department memorabilia lines the walls of this beautiful dining area. Antique wood floors and walls throughout the building develops a warm, nostalgic feel. But Th e Food Adventure Crew knows, the decor is just the beginning.

HERE’S THE SKINNY:

— Jimmie’s Ladder 11 is located in a historic Dayton Fire Department Building built in 1892.

— Family owned restaurant with a stellar service staff.

— Owner Jimmie Brandell worked at the Upper Krust for 17 years honing his restaurant skills.

— Wide variety of menu choices from Burgers and Sandwiches, to rare Upstate New York favorites

Creole Cheesecake is not a Dessert, it is a Savory Appetizer

— Nice selection of craft beers on tap and in bottles. They even feature a fire hydrant tap.

— Live Music on weekends, showcasing eclectic local bands

— Private Party Loft available for special events or parties

— Outdoor dining area overlooks a bustling Brown Street

Let’s dive into the menu, with FOOD ADVENTURE’s MUST EATS for JIMMIES LADDER 11:

Grab a fork and follow us…

Paisano Pasta Chips – Fresh Deep Fried Pasta, “Italian Nachos”

CREOLE CHEESECAKE – Probably one of the best appetizers in Dayton. This unique menu item is not a dessert. It is a casserole type dish served in slices. The “cheesecake” is stuffed with Andouille Sausage, Shrimp, smoked Gouda, Cream Cheese, Onions, and Peppers. Slightly “fiery,” but mostly rich and tasty.

NEW ORLEANS GUMBO – Made from scratch daily, this hearty gumbo is simply amazing. Bursting with Chicken, Shrimp, and Andouille sausage, this is a “must eat” with the perfect heat. We are addicted and after one cup, you will be too.

VODKA RIGGIES- You won’t find this Upstate New York favorite anywhere else in Dayton. Jimmie’s wife, Sue is from Utica, NY where this dish originated. Creamy tomato sauce is blended with vodka, chicken and rigatoni, then finished with peppers. There is some spiciness to this pasta plate, but we won’t have to hose you down afterwards. One of our favorites for sure.

NEW YORK STYLE CHEESECAKE – One of the best we have ever eaten. Again made from scratch, this is a cross between the Upper Krust Cheesecake and the ones you find in New York City. We love this stuff. Order a piece for a rich, sinful taste of dreaminess.

LADDER 11 SANDWICH – The kitchen starts out with either a hoagie roll or rye bread. They add some Romanian style Pastrami and Corned Beef. Top the whole thing off with the house-made, hand-cut Cole Slaw. The final touch is a drizzle of house-made Russian Dressing. Are you licking your chops yet?

Honorable Mention:

The Hamburger – You might hear fire truck sirens in your head, because for 6 bucks, this platter is a steal.

Tom Turkey – A throwback to the Upper Krust sandwich. You cant go wrong with turkey and creamy house-made cole slaw chopped that day.

Paisano Pasta Chips – Could be described as “Italian Nachos.” Homemade pasta, deep fried and topped with Italian Sausage, Onions, Peppers, Mozzarella and Provolone. The concoction is finished off with a delicious Asiago cream sauce.

New York Style Cheesecake – Unbelievably good

Jimmie’s Ladder 11 is a Dayton original. No trendy stuff here. The Ladder 11 staff has brought together good, affordable food and fun surroundings. They even have great salads and vegetarian choices.

If you have not had a chance to visit this establishment, take some time to check it out. We frequent this place because we love the menu and beer selection. The service is always spot on as well. Got a hungry stomach? Put that fire out by visiting Jimmie’s Ladder 11.

Want some more “hot” scoop from some “fiery foodies”? Then “like” Food Adventures on Facebook by clicking HERE.

Browse through our incredible photos below for a thorough look at the menu. We aren’t a “one dish Trish,” we write informed stories after trying various menu items during numerous visits.

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Beer puns: I can barley stand them

August 26, 2013 By Max Spang 1 Comment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwEqTbaFVXU

Big Pun was not a player, he just f****d a lot.

Remember Big Pun? Dude was a robust rapper whose biggest hit was about banging chicks. This was a simpler time back in 1998 when fat guys could get famous by talking about how much tail they got and nobody would question them. Anyway, in my half-assed attempt to try to segue into the actual article, I’d like to point out that I bet Big Pun could take down a few pints of beers without it even phasing him. Like the rapper himself, there are some pretty big puns in the beer world. This little article is going to explore (read: poke fun of) some of the most punishing puns out there. And yes, I’m going to try to cram as many puns in here as I can. Hopefully you will catch on to my rye wit. It’s the yeast I can do. (Bam, three puns right there).

Hop on the pun train

Head on over to Beeradvocate and check out their top beers for Imperial IPAs and look at some of the names. Hopslam, Hopsicle, Pure Hoppiness… Everyone has their own version of a hop pun, and that’s not just hop-perbole (eh..). The word “hop” is probably the easiest beer-related word that you can make puns with. Making an IPA with apricots? Boom, “Aprihop”. Releasing a hoppy red ale in the fall? Boom, “Red Hoptober”. Want to convey that the beer is so bitter that it will literally kill you? Boom, “Hopsecutioner”. The list is almost never ending, and frankly it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Homebrewers are getting in on the action as well; Brent Osborn from Osborn Brewing recently posted a label for a beer called Hopstitute. That’s a hop prostitute in case you didn’t catch it.

$1.99 per ounce, or $199 per hour.

Fermentationalism Sensationalism: Breweries grounded in puns

Patrick Rue started a brewery and called it The Bruery. Get it? Of course you do. But they don’t just stop at their name, they like to come up with all kinds of puns. “Rueuze” is their version of a gueuze. “Tart of Darkness” is their sour black ale. “Chocosaurus Rye” is their chocolate rye beer. “Loakal Red” is their red ale that is aged in oak and is only available to the locals near the brewery (how’s that for specific?). The list goes on and on. At least they aren’t rued about it. Another brewery located in Louisville called Against the Grain has an affinity for making beers that pack a PUNch: Judas Yeast, Tickle Me Ale-mo, Raucho Man Randy Beverage, My Hammy Weiss, Quiet RYE-it… I could seriously name any of their beers right now. Just look at all their beers and you’ll see what I mean. There are more breweries who have notoriously punbelievable beer names: Dogfish Head, Cigar City, Three Floyds, Oskar Blues, Surly, Great Lakes, and… well, pretty much every other brewery out there.

Imperial Entendre

I have a theory about why puns are so rampant in the beer world. You see, the truth about beer people is that they are all kind of dorks. I’m very much putting myself into this category. Being dorks, we like to make dorky jokes, and what’s dorkier than a good pun? Beer geeks like to come up with clever little puns to make their beer geek friends chuckle. I can speak from firsthand experience; I have made beers that only came about because I thought of a stupid name first. For example, I thought it would be funny to name a beer “Brett Michaels” and ferment it with Brettanomyces, so my next batch is going to be a beer with Brettanomyces. The name came before the beer. So now when people come over, they get to taste Brett Michaels. It’s stupid and dorky, but that’s who we are.

Just like bananas, these puns are appealing

I couldn’t be bothered to actually spend time researching this train wreck of an article, so I recently asked some of the local beer geeks what some of their favorite beer puns were. Here’s a few of the best:

Hoptimus Prime
Black Hops
Java the Hop
Cure what ales you
Hopstitute
Imperial stout trooper
Tricerahops
Hell Or High Watermelon
Hopportunity Knocks
Just the TIPA (one of my personal favorites)
Hoptical Illusion
Men in Bock
Genghis Pecan
Boom Shakalager
Groundskeeper Spilly
Mama’s Little Yella Pils
For Those About to Bock
There Will Be Black (I DRINK IT UP)
IBUsive
Stop, Hop and Roll
Alphaphylactic Hop
Dry Humpkin
Hoppy Seconds
Yippie Rye Aye
Citra Ass Down!
Spruce Willis
You Will Fail Ale
Goser the Gosarian
Apocalypse Cow
Pandora’s Bock
Me, My Spelt, and Rye
Wet Hop American Summer

These are all real names for beer. Seriously, google them. Want some more beer pun fun? Check out Bad Beer Puns on Twitter. I got a chuckle from “Lambic Pentameter”.

What’s your favorite beer pun? Hop on over to the comments section and let me know. Or don’t, I don’t care.

Welcome to Dayton Beer Week 2013!

August 15, 2013 By Brian Petro Leave a Comment

It is here! Who says there is nothing to celebrate in August?

Beer has flooded the country. In 2010, there were fewer than 1,800 breweries in the United States. And there were zero in Dayton. Fast forward to 2013, where there are over 2,500 breweries in the United States. Dayton is seeing its own brewing growth spurt, with the Dayton Beer Company, Fifth Street Brewpub, Toxic Brewing Company, Lock 27 Brewing, Yellow Springs Brewing, Eudora, Star City Brewing, and many others that I am sure are in the works. Beer tastings have also expanded all over the city. Brewtensils has been offering not only supplies, but classes in brewing everything from a traditional lager or pilsner to experiments on the far ranges of the flavor scale. This is the environment the 4^th Annual Dayton Beer Week will be awakening to this weekend, inviting all of Dayton to step out and discover some of the beery goodness themselves.

There are going to be some big events celebrating beer this weekend as the party kicks off at Kitty Hawk Golf Course with the 3^rd Annual Pints, Putters, & Pink Balls-2 Club Golf Scramble benefiting the Breast Cancer Foundation. Registration starts at 12:30 PM for a 1 PM start. Get out your beer gear on Sunday and join all the floats and fun for the 4^th Annual Beer Pride Parade in the Oregon district, starting at 4:30 PM at Dublin Pub (of course). The good folks at 5^th Street Wine and Deli will be having a pre-parade tasting starting at 1 PM, so you can get an incredible seat for the festivities. For those of you who are a little more health conscious, Widmer Brothers is sponsoring Biking for the Beer of It Tuesday night. It begins in West Carrollton and ends after a 10 mile ride at A Taste of Wine in Miamisburg. They are very considerate, making sure you are well hydrated with a selection of beers at the midway point. The last major event of the week will be AleFest at Carillon Park (who is also setting up a historic brewery). You can try out all of the Dayton breweries, explore the growing gluten-free beer offerings, and just generally enjoy over 375 beers from over 150 breweries. That is, of course, if you are not beered out by that point.

Beer weeks ends with a bang, celebrating over 350 craft beers!

It is not just the big events that make this week special. Restaurants all over the Miami Valley are going to be celebrating in some form or another.

Monday:

Rouge will take over the draughts beginning at 5 PM at Jimmy’s Ladder 11. They will be featuring the Double Chocolate Stout, Hazelnut Brown, and Imperial IPA. After you’ve had your beer, you can keep the glass!
From 6 to 9 PM, you can help South Park Tavern fight off the Dogfish Head invasion they are anticipating. Grab a pint and pitch in!

Tuesday:

Cincinnati favorite Mt. Carmel Brewing Company will be taking over some taps at Blind Bob’s with their Summer Wheat, Harvest Dry Hopped ESB, and others. The festivities there start at 4 PM, and you get a souvenir glass to take home with you!
What goes better with beer than pizza? Spinoza’s will be having a Full Pint Brewing Company beer dinner from 7 to 9 PM.

Wednesday:

Ohio beers are going to be taking over two bars at the midway point! Chappy’s Tap Room and Grille will be featuring a Great Lakes Brewing Company infused firkin from 5 to 7:30 PM. Blind Bob’s will be the downtown center of the Ohio beer takeover, featuring native beers from 5 to 9 PM.
An incredible beer dinner will be going on at Twisted Root, featuring Merchant du Vin beers like Samuel Smith and Orval Trappist Ale. Five beers and five courses for $50, all of it starting at 7 PM.
If you are continuing your pint glass collection, Southern Tier Brewing will take over the taps at Taggart’s Pub. They will be featuring their 2XIPA and Choklat beers.

Thursday:

Start your palates! Lucky’s Tap Room will be having a Firkin Drag Race to the Finish! The casks will be tapped at 6 PM, and go until they are empty.
Enjoy some Ballast Point beer at the Milano’s Atlantic City Subs in Beavercreek, and take home another pint glass! The festivities will go from 6 to 8 PM.
Columbus favorite Elevator Brewing will have the run of taps at Archer’s Tavern beginning at 5:30 PM.
C’est Tout Bistro is planning a beer dinner featuring Unibroue beers from Canada.

Friday:

The Trolley Stop will be rolling out the red carpet on the second last night of Dayton Beer Week. They will be featuring rare beers like Bell’s Black Note, and good music that night from 7 PM to midnight.
Raise your glasses! From 6 to 7 PM, King’s Table will be featuring a stein hoisting competition featuring Sam Adam’s beers.
Are you still shy about craft beer? The Arrow Wine on Lyons Road will be having an Oskar Blues beer tasting from 5 to 7 PM. If you purchase a four or six pack of these very good brews, you will also walk out with a special gift.

This is not even remotely close to the full list of events for the week. Many restaurants and bars will be having specials on a wide range of beers. Look over the full menu of events and plan your week accordingly.

This is a nice start to the week…

While you are out exploring Dayton, there are a few things you should remember while doing your tastings:

When you taste, it is very similar to tasting wine. You want a little foam on the top. You also want to look at and sniff the beer before you taste it, to see what aromas are coming off of it.
Do not hold the beer in direct light when you look at it. You get the best idea of color when you look at it in indirect light.
Give it a little bit of a swirl in your glass. This stirs up the carbonation a little, allowing more of the aromas to be released. Don’t underestimate the importance of scent when tasting your beer!
Hold the beer in your mouth a little bit, allowing it to roam all over your tongue. Enjoy the flavors that come out as it is in your mouth. Take a mental note on how thick the beer is. This is known as mouthfeel.
Allow the beer to warm up SLIGHTLY before you drink it. As with wine, a little bit of extra warmth unveils deeper flavors that may not be otherwise obvious.

And while you are going to Beer Week events:

Car pool. Parking is going to be very limited for some of these events, and the citizens are going to be out in force. Getting more people in one car is going to be helpful for everyone.
Get there early. You want to make sure you get there in enough time to get seats! Make sure you call the venue and check out the details.
Drink plenty of water. This is going to serve a twofold purpose. First, water will help cleanse the palate between each beer, giving you a better idea of how each beer tastes. Secondly, it will help you avoid a worse hangover than you might normally have.
Do not eat spicy foods before you go to an event. You do not want your taste buds to be still burning from the Nuclear Hot wings you just ate. Eat a little something; just tone it down.
Go to the dark side. If you are not at a pre-set beer tasting, start off with some of the lighter beers, and go to the darker ones. The darker beers tend to have heavier flavors and be thicker, which can linger a little longer.
Designate a driver. No explanation needed.

It has been a busy few years for the craft beer scene, and this is the year it looks like it is going to explode in Dayton. This is the time to go out and taste new beers, find new favorites, and meet new friends. There are so many events going on during the week we would love to know which ones you are most looking forward to. Leave a note in the comments, and we will see you around town. Cheers!