Yuengling in Ohio

My latest Dayton City Paper article ran today, covering the Yuengling in Ohio phenomenon. I'll be honest, when my editor and I first discussed the piece, I was dreading it. I was headed to Three Floyds and FOBAB that weekend and thought, jeez, if we should be excited about any beer coming to Ohio, it should be Three Floyds--monster craft brewer that tops most trades and best lists, not Yuengling, a pale lager with a cult following.

But in covering the story, I grew to appreciate the beer. Not everyone loves the Three Floyds giants, but most folks can get behind Yuengling. It's not the most complex beer in the world, but I don't think it's trying to be. It's price-point takes aim at the Budmillercoors of the world, not of the craft brew set (it's about a $5-6 sixer). More than anything, it's likely to act as a gateway beer, turning folks onto flavor who would normally drink pale yellow macrobrews.

And there are some really cool stories associated with the beer. The brewery's history is interesting, given how far back it dates (seriously, Andrew Jackson was president and several of the midwestern states weren't even part of the union yet!). But what got it for me was how much people who drank Yuengling had a connection with the beer. I wish I could have printed everything that Matt, Benjamin, and Sarah had to say about the beer. It's true that it was like coming home for them.

And that I do understand. In college, at Ohio U, The Union always served Schlitz at insanely low prices. I think bottles were under a buck ($.90?), and we were poor, so we drank a lot of Schlitz. I have a lot of fond memories associated with that brand, even though I know it doesn't stack up to Three Floyds, etc. I'll tend to chose a craft beer almost every time, but if an old college friend showed up with a case of Schlitz, I'd be perfectly happy to help him or her work through it.

Beer Geek Weekend: FFFXV and FOBAB 9

The second weekend in November, I hit a double header of beer tastings in the Chicago-land area: The Three Floyds XV Anniversary Party and the 9th Annual Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beers.

My write-up for the Dayton City Paper ran this week, and you can see it here.

Three Floyds was frustrating, as we stood in line for about 3 hours, just to buy our beers. It's true what they say about FFF events being very poorly organized. The last hour or so was fun, but then we had to rush off to get to FOBAB. Still, brought home a bottle of Baller Stout and a case of Zombie Dust, the FFF American Pale Ale that is simply amazing.

FOBAB was fun, as always, with a lot of crazy beers (see the

highlights in the article). This year, my media pass let me "backstage" to talk to some of the brewers and organizers, which was cool. (It also got me taller pours of the samples, which I probably, in retrospect, didn't need). I'll be back there next year, although I think I'll stick to a single event next year!

Where The Hell Are All The Brewpubs?!?

Check out my recent article from the Dayton City Paper exploring why Dayton has a drought of brewpubs and how we might get the tap flowing again!

Good Beer Writer, Lousy Self-Promoter

I've been really busy writing lots of good beer-related stuff, but I've missed posting a few of my Dayton City Paper articles. A shame, since one of them was the cover article a few weeks back--probably the article I'm the most pleased with to date. Time to rectify that. Here are three articles that you may have missed:

Craft Brew Around Town
original publication date: April 12, 2011
A guide to some of the best places in Dayton (and surrounding 'burbs) to pair craft beer with sports, music, food, and cinema.



Do-It-Yourself Craft Beer
original publication date: April 26, 2011
An intro to homebrewing for the non-brewer, with an overview of the basics. Don't miss the DCP Summer Wheat Ale recipe, a straightforward ale that's as easy to drink as it is to make.


Buckeye Vodka
original publication date: May 10, 2011
Buckeye Vodka brings microdistilling to the Miami Valley, with their high end artisanal vodka with a mid-range price point. It's become my house vodka.

Big Brews and Blues

This Friday, check out Dayton's first outdoor beer festival of year: Big Brews and Blues. The event runs from 5-9 on the 20th, and features samples of 30 craft beers and live music by 4 local blues bands. Tix are $20 in advance/$25 at the door. Proceeds go to Dayton Diabetes, a local non-profit who help those whose lives are affected by diabetes. You can see my full write-up this week in the Dayton City Paper.

Technorati Tags: Big Brews and Blues, Dayton, blues, beer, craft beer, brewing, homebrew

Fizzy Green Beer is for Wussies

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! The family is clad in green and the boys ate their customary green-dyed breakfasts (this year, it was Blarney Cereal, which is just regular cereal with green dye in the milk. Gross, but the kids love it).

Green dye is fun for the kids, but it has no place in beer. To avoid it, check out my alternatives to green-dyed Budmillercoors in this week's Dayton City Paper. All are good alternatives, but my personal favorites are Guinness Extra Stout (I know, obvious choice, but classics are classics for a reason) and Conway's Irish Ale from Great Lakes Brewing Company.

Technorati Tags: St. Patrick's Day, Murphy's, Guinness, Great Lakes, Heavy Seas, Wexford's, Saranac, Irish Stout, Irish Red, beer, craft beer, brewing

Beer and Food Pairings

I'm late in posting this due to an insanely busy week, but this week my article on beer and food pairings ran in the Dayton City Paper.

Big thanks to Gina, my wife, who took the photos. Only cost me take-out at Taqueria Mixteca and a chocolate torte (which the kids actually ate most of). There were two other photos that I really liked that didn't run, so I've posted them here. The cake one is my favorite.

Critic's Pick: Chappy's Beer Club

Just a quick note that I've been meaning to post for several days now. I have another piece in the current edition of the Dayton City Paper (the 2/2 edition). It's just a quick Critic's Pick, but it highlights the Chappy's Beer Club. If you aren't familar with Chappy's Tap Room and Grille, they've got on of the best beer menus I've seen. Lots of great beers, but more importantly, lots of information about the various beers, so it's easy to find something that suits your mood.

Technorati Tags:beer, brewing, craft beer, Chappy's, Chappy's Tap Room and Grille, Beer club, Chappy's Beer Club, Dayton City Paper, Epicurean, beer, craft beer, brewing, homebrew

Published Beer Writer

I've made the seemingly backwards leap from digital to print and am now the monthly beer columnist for the Dayton City Paper, the local alt weekly (backwards because for many years, I worked with educational publishers, trying to push them from print to digital). My first column highlighted the joy of discovering great beer and the communal nature of beer-geekdom in the Miami Valley and featured quotes from two staples in the Dayton Craft Beer community, Mike Schwartz (owner of Belmont Party Supply and Miami Valley BrewTensils) and Joe Waizmann (founder of AleFest, Cask AleFest, and AleFeast).

One interesting aside that didn't make the article was a story that Mike Schwartz told me in my interview with him. I've always thought of Mike and his shop as an epicenter of craft beer but when Mike bought Belmont Party Supply back in the 80's, it was originally just the liquor store. In fact, at the time, Mike had pretty much stopped drinking beer. He was bored by the macro-lagers, which tasted terrible and left him feeling awful.

But it was Joe Waizmann who showed Mike the right direction. Joe was working for a local distributor and one day, he brought Mike a bottle of Old Peculiar, the legendary British Old Ale. Once that first sip passed his lips, Mike was a man transformed. Like a sinner who found religion, Mike's epiphany drove him to build out his craft beer temple, evangelizing to the hoards of unknowing masses, sharing the gospel of flavor and aroma.

Yet another example of one enthusiastic craft beer drinker sharing his discovery with another so that, as Mike notes, "we all grow together."


Technorati Tags: beer community, Dayton City Paper, beer, Old Peculiar, craft beer, Belmont Party Supply, AleFest