Grandview Digfest was larger in scope than most tasting I’ve gone too. They didn’t just cater to beer drinkers. They had numerous tents for liquor, which the lady wholeheartedly took part in, for food purveyors and local craft manufacturers. I will buy a shirt from one of the company’s for my younger brother’s birthday.  So what beers did I try? Let’s run down that list of six.

Catawba Island Brewing Co. – Seiche Scottish Ale – I tried their Whitecap Wit a little more than a week ago when I went to the Drink Up Columbus 3rd Anniversary Party. They are out of the northwest part of the state, sitting on Lake Erie. I will end up reviewing the second beer I’ve tasted before the first. I have been trying more Scottish ales because of their fantastic malt tastes. This beer was not much different save for a little bite of hops, this time courtesy of the East Kent Golden variety. The dose is noticeable even at 16 IBU because of the sweetness from the malt. This beer was my first of the evening and got me started at 7.8% ABV. No wonder I didn’t make it through the UFC 174.

Wolf’s Ridge Brewing – Clear Sky – This brewery is one that I haven’t found myself at yet even though it’s in town so I wanted to try one of their beers. I decided to go with this cream ale, which I’ve found out is related to a pale ale. I can understand the comparison as it wasn’t very hoppy or malty and had a clear yellow coloring to it. I did throttle back on the alcohol content with a 5.1% ABV. If Wolf’s Ridge was going for a craft version of Genesee, they hit the spot.

Rhinegeist Fiction (L) Wolf’s Ridge Clear Sky (R) and Catawba Island Seiche (B)

Rhinegeist Brewing Co. – Fiction – This beer is another that I’ve had another offering of theirs (Truth, an IPA) that I picked up on a trip to Fairfield, OH. The second beer will also get reviewed first again. This company is out of Cincinnati and don’t distribute this far north yet. This beer is one of their rotational rarities, which I believe is a fancy word for seasonal. This beer is a Belgian Extra Pale Ale. Belgian yeast is present so that gives the pale a twist. The extra pale part comes in with a dry hopping of Nelson Sauvin and Motueka hops. At 40 IBUs, it isn’t that bitter especially with the yeast doing it’s job. Fiction has a 6.0% ABV so I went back up the scale.

Zaftig Brewing Co. – Scottish Perle – After we finally grabbed some food (Let’s just say a sandwich shop was out of sandwiches. Maybe they should work on that aspect for 2015.) I realized that I was behind on drinks so I decided to get a full beer. The problem was I decided to grab a beer that was 10% ABV. Good idea on a catch up beer, moron. It was a Scottish Strong Ale. I was expecting a dose of the grapefruit hops that is present in Seventh Sons’s Seventh Son American Strong Ale. Another reason I expected it was that they listed it at 43 IBU. This beer did deliver on the promised roasted malt and chocolate. It may have actually been a bit too much roasted malt. It wasn’t my favorite beer but I do want to try more from this company based here in Cbus.

Sideswipe Coop Looter (Duh), Millersburg Blonde (L), Guinness Chocolate Cupcake from Sweet! Mobile Cupcakery and Zaftig Scottish Perle (R)

Millersburg Brewing Co. – Lot 21 Blonde – This company is proud to be part of the Browns Backers. Yuck. They are based between here and Canton so that is too be expected. I needed to back off the heavy beers so this one came down to 5.5% ABV. Blondes are good for that kind of beer. It was a great cool off beer. It was light and crisp. As usual in blondes, it only has a 23 IBU so little bitterness to be found. Just what the doctor ordered. Now if I just would have swapped this beer and the Scottish Perle, my liver might have been happier.

Sideswipe Brewing Co. – Coop Looter – This company is the third of the evening that I will be reviewing beer #2 prior to beer #1 that I have tried. I have shied away from buying their beers in part because they only come in 22 oz. I did try their Elegant Hoodlum Smoked Stout which is fantastic so I had to try another beer from them. I crept back up in ABV at 6.0% with this Saison. It was a perfect summer beer. It was light and crisp with just a hint of spice. I would have called it a Hefeweizen if I didn’t know any different. Another good beer from a company here in Cbus.

As usual, go out and enjoy your own local #SippyTimeBeer and let me know how it is. I may travel there to try it! – Kevin