Four String Brewing Co. – Mexican Blonde – The first three beers were consumed at Drink Up Columbus’s Three Year Anniversary Party. I’m up to late May with reviews so I am catching up. The first offering that I picked up was the Mexican Blonde from Four String because it also came with the fancy glass you see above that I got to take home. Four String is not the best about updating their site so it’s going to be tough to distinguish this one from their standard offering of Backstage Blonde. I do feel like Corona has a distinct taste. I don’t know exactly what the difference is, but this Blonde had the same tang that Corona has. They used some spices that were similar to the Backstage but again there’s no way to confirm it. I liked this beer but enjoy the original more. I’m getting good use of the glass.

Smokehouse Brewing Co. – MacLenny’s Scottish Ale – Now that I know the difference between Smokehouse Brewing and Barley’s Brewing, I’m going to cover this beer again. As their link mentions, they created this concoction to be different than other Scottish ales, they decided to heat up the brew kettle prior to putting the wort in so that it would be caramelized. They accomplished their goal but advise against it because the kettle can crack during this process. The taste profile is mostly malt as the style often does so I enjoyed it yet again. The malt component is reinforced by the 14 IBU. I didn’t know this until now, but it also has a little kick at 6.6% ABV. I’d be happy to wear a kilt after downing a few.

Cuban Sandwich courtesy of Strongwater Food and Spirits.

Catawba Island Brewing Co. – Whitecap Wit – As noted in a previous post, this fine beverage was the first I had tried from Catawba. It finished up our night of consumption as we finally got dinner on beer number three. They don’t provide any numbers on their site so I can’t run down IBU, though as with any Wit beer very little hops are used, or ABV. I thought it had a bit too much Belgian yeast in it. Their Wit had good spicing though without being heavy handed about it. Now I’ve just got to figure out when I can go up to Put-In-Bay to try more of their selections.

Great Lakes Brewing Co. – Burning River – I’ve figured out that I have talked a lot about the new breweries popping up and ignoring the longer standing local breweries in this very space. I am consciously trying to correct that problem. If you’re not familiar, the Cuyahoga River has caught fire thirteen times. The most destructive was in 1952 causing one million dollars of damage. This event is what Great Lakes decided to name their pale ale after. At 45 IBUs, this pale ale is right in my sweet spot for bitter. They only use Northern Brewer and Cascade hops so it’s not a big mix of hops as I usually prefer. I will keep an eye on this trend between pale ales and IPAs. It has a nice malt tang that can help evoke the “Burning” part by coloring the beer to be redish-orange. It has a decent punch at 6.0% ABV. Even though the hops won’t burn your palate, it’s definitely worth picking up at one of many locations around the country.

Remember to support your local breweries while enjoying your #SippyTimeBeer. – Kevin