Warped Wing brewery to open downtown Dayton

Joe Waizmann, AleFest founder, and three partners will be opening a brewery in the old Foundry building in downtown Dayton. Mark Fisher at DDN has the full scoop. Joe is a great guy who knows beer, so I anticipate solid beers from these guys.

John Haggerty, who was the Head Brewer of New Holland, will be brewing the beers. John brings a ton of commercial experience, with a decade at New Holland and years of experience with regional breweries before that.

Waizmann explains that "the name appeals to both the historical as well as the cool and edgy." Wing warping was the technology the Wright Brothers pioneered enable controlled powered flight. Personally, I am looking forward to my first pint of Warped IPA.

Dayton is on the verge of a craft beer explosion. Not only do we have a slew of great craft bars, but it looks like we'll have a slew of our locally produced beers, too. Waizmann notes, "these are exciting times for craft beer people in Dayton and we are excited to be contributing to the culture."

States Making Most on Beer: Ohio Ranked 5th

Interesting article detailing the top 10 states generating beer-related revenue. This figure includes both macro- and microbrews, but it's still an interesting figure. Ohio ranks 5th, and 6th overall in terms of beer-related jobs. A lot of our weight undoubtably comes from having AB In-Bev in Columbus and MillerCoors in Trenton, but having Sam Adams in Cincy is also probably bumping up the numbers. World class breweries like Hoppin' Frog, Jackie O's, Great Lakes Brewing Company, Fat Heads and Brew Kettle will continue to grow, and new breweries like the eight opening here in Dayton this year will add to the number, too.

2nd Annual MSD Brew Ha-Ha Tomorrow!

The decorations are being set, the music is ready, and the beer are arriving throughout the day. Everyone is getting very excited for the 2nd annual MSD Brew Ha-Ha, tomorrow from 6-10 pm. The event raises money for the Montessori School of Dayton, an amazing preK-8th grade school doing amazing things. (Seriously, what other school has a student-run coffee shop, several rock bands as part of the music curriculum, builds robots out of legos, creates sculptures that Dale Chihuly posts on his Facebook page, and hosts a beer festival?)

Below is the beer list, with style, ABV, and location details. Big thanks to our table sponsors. There are still tickets available online and at Belmont Party Supply, Lucky's Taproom and Eatery, The Trolley Stop, and Chappy's Taproom and Grille. Tickets will also be available at the door.

This year's beers continue with the Great Lakes region theme, but with the addition of beers from Indiana and Illinois. I'm happy to report a huge increase in Ohio beers, with outstanding offerings from Dayton and Cincinnati as well as other parts of the state. 

We are beer geeks and we picked the beers we like to drink, so it shouldn't surprise anyone to find a huge number of beers that are rated either Exceptional (one asterisk below) or World Class (two asterisks below) by the beer rating site BeerAdvocate.com. And we've quadrupled the number of draft beers this year (noted as ± below), including a brewpub exclusive sour ale from Ohio's own The Brew Kettle. We've also included a cider (although not from the region, it's one of the best) and a gluten-free beer. 

So without further adieu, here are the stars of the show:

Table 1 (Lucky’s Taproom and Eatery)

Hoppin' Frog Cleveland Crusher ±

Oatmeal Stout (9.40% ABV) OH

Two Brothers Domaine DuPage ±

Biere de Garde (5.90%) IL

Bell's Hopslam Ale**

Imperial IPA (10.00% ABV) MI

Bell's Two Hearted Ale**

American IPA (7.00% ABV) MI

Table 2 (Thai 9)

New Holland Dragon's Milk

Milk Stout (10.00% ABV) MI

Weyerbacher Merry Monks’ Ale*

Belgian-style Tripel (9.30% ABV) PA

Tröegs Perpetual IPA*

Imperial IPA (7.50%) PA

Julian Hard Apple Cider

Cider (6.99% ABV) CA

Table 3 (South Park Tavern)

Founders Breakfast Stout**

Imperial Stout (8.30% ABV) MI

Founders Red's Rye PA*

Rye Pale Ale (6.60% ABV) MI

Two Brothers Cain & Ebel*

Rye Pale Ale (7.00% ABV) IL

Two Brothers Prairie Path Ale

GLUTEN-FREE Blonde Ale (5.10% ABV) IL

Table 4 (King's Table)

Blank Slate Movin' On ±

English Bitter (4.20% ABV) OH

Cellar Dweller Smoked Porter ±

Porter (ABV unknown) OH

Dark Horse Tres Blueberry Stout*

Imperial Stout (7.50% ABV) MI

Dark Horse Scotty Karate Scotch Ale**

Scotch Ale (9.75% ABV) MI

Table 5 (Chappy's Taproom & Grille)

Hoppin' Frog B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher Oatmeai Imperial Stout**

Russian Imperial Stout (9.40% ABV) OH

Revolution Eugene*

Porter (6.80% ABV) IL

Revolution Anti-Hero

American IPA (6.50% ABV) IL

Revolution Coup D'Etat

Saison/Farmhouse Ale (7.50% ABV) IL

Table 6 (The Trolley Stop)

Stoudts Fat Dog*

Imperial Oatmeal Stout (8.00% ABV) PA

Stoudts Smooth Hoperator

Doppelbock (7.00 ABV%) PA

Maumee Bay IPA

English IPA (7.00% ABV) OH

Triple Digit Chickow

Hazelnut Double Brown Ale (9.00% ABV) OH

Table 7 (Belmont Party Supply)

Founders Imperial Stout** ±

Imperial Stout (10.50% ABV) MI

Brew Kettle Rude Cru (brewpub exclusive) ±

Belgian-style Sour Red Ale (ABV unknown) OH

Hoppin' Frog Mean Manalisha Double IPA

Imperial IPA (8.20% ABV) OH

Upland Komodo Dragon Fly

Black IPA (6.50% ABV) IN

Table 8 (Stacker’s Subs and Grub)

Fat Head's Head Hunter IPA**

American IPA (7.50% ABV) OH

Fat Head's Bumbleberry Honey Blueberry Ale

Fruit Beer (5.40% ABV) OH

Jolly Pumpkin Fuego del Otono*

Biere de Garde (6.10% ABV) MI

Jolly Pumpkin Calabaza Blanca

Witbeer (4.80% ABV) MI

Table 9 (BrewTensils)

Great Lakes Blackout Stout** ±

Russian Imperial Stout (9.00% ABV) OH

Dayton Beer Company Double Pale Ale (with Hop Rocket) ±

Double Pale Ale (ABV unknown) OH

The Brew Kettle White Rajah**

American IPA (6.80% ABV) OH

Rivertown Bock Beer

Bock (7.20% ABV) OH

Rivertown Roebling Porter

Robust Porter (7.80% ABV) OH

** rated world class by BeerAdvocate

* rated exceptional by BeerAdvocate

± draft

Here's a cool infographic on America's alcohol consumption sent to me by the folks over at Healthline. If you are having trouble reading the graphic below, check out the story here.

Brewtensils Brewout in Honor of National Homebrew Day

Join the folks at Brewtensils for a National Homebrew Day inspired brewout.

Miami Valley Brewers

In last week's Dayton City Paper, I ran interviews with the heads of the three breweries slated to open in 2012: Toxic Brew, Dayton Beer Company, and Vitruvian Brewing Company. The online version contained some additional questions and answers that didn't fit in the print.

An exciting time to be into craft beer in Dayton. All three breweries were great to work with, and I'm wishing them all a successful launch. Here are a few extra photos that I shot while working on the piece.

Left side of Toxic Brew. See shuffleboard!

Right side of Toxic Brew

Toxic Brew looking out the street

Look for this sign on 5th street in the Oregan District

Brewing system at Dayton Beer Company

Dayton Beer Co. fermentation vessels

These taps will soon flow with Dayton Beer Co. drafts

Tasting room and bar at Dayton Beer Co.

AleFest Columbus: This weekend

You've been to the Dayton AleFest for years. Why not try the Columbus one? Use it to build your tasting list for the big game. The AleFest team has an amazing line-up once again, including some rare casks. Here are all the details:

**Update** AleFest Columbus Brewery List Available

Choose from over 250 craft beers  from 100+ breweries,  with rare draught & cask offerings Link to the list of breweries for Saturday: Brewery List Columbus 2012 Directions to The Aladdin Center here: Aladdin Shrine Center Info AleFest General Info: AleFest Official Website   Bell's Two Hearted Ale & Thirsty Dog Hoppus Maximus ***in cask, draught and bottle*** An excellent educational way to experience the differences & similarities of one beer via all 3 traditional delivery methods    Special Appearance by OSU Greats: Michael Wiley, Standout OSU & NFL Tailback  Founder of Rush for Success Lung Cancer Foundation **and** James Cotton, OSU Defensive Lineman & Linebacker  Founder of the Buck-Icon Foundation   Reminder: Tropical Attire Encouraged.....  ...so dig that Hawaiian shirt outta the closet!   Hope to see you and your beer friends THIS Saturday....Cheers!