I bought The Lady’s dad Mercury’s Wage Session Saison on Saturday.

I was greeting this morning on my Twitter time line by the news that the Seattle Post Intelligencer writer The Pour Fool had created a list of America’s Top Ten Emerging Beer Towns and the fine city of Columbus OH has made the list. So Cbus only made it to 10. I’ll pull a couple of lines out to discuss his thoughts.

Columbus Brewing, the resurrection of a brewery originally founded in 1830(!), has been delivering rock-solid beers since they emerged in 1988, led by the Gold Standard of Ohio Double/Imperial IPA, “Bodhi”, a pungent, crisp, palate-coating stunner that made me a tad weak in the knees.

I’ve got to admit that Columbus Brewing gets back seated by yours truly because they have been a standard since I moved to the Buckeye Capital. I wasn’t that into IPAs until the past year so the last time I had Bodhi, I didn’t like it. Put another beer on my list.

Zaftig Brewing takes its name from the Yiddish-derived, Americanized word for a shapely, round-bodied woman and that’s exactly the aesthetic owners,brewers Jim Gokenbach and Brent Halsey have fiercely embraced: high-gravity, ass-kickin’ BIG beers, led by their spectacular Barleywine/DIPA monster, “Shadowed Mistress”, which can stand toe-to-toe with any American Strong Ale I’ve ever tasted.

I hadn’t been interested in what the name meant. People sure do love the Yiddish derived words. I recently got to drink a my first beer from Zaftig when I tried their Scottish Perle at the Grandview Digfest so I haven’t tried their “Shadowed Mistress.” I need to try this one because…

Toss in Seventh Son Brewing, with one of America’s great Biere de Gardes, the very promising Zauber Brewing, North High Brewing with a Black IPA that would stack up strong even Out West. Four String Brewing, Sideswipe Brewing, Wolf’s Ridge, and the delightfully name-conscious Actual Brewing Company, with their towering Wheatwine, “Beau’s Eisenweizen Condensate”, and ya got a crazy-promising culture that’s only getting better, year by year, new brewery by new brewery.

…I was initially hit with the thought “Did The Pour Fool not try Seventh Son’s Seventh Son?” since it is an American Strong Ale as is the Shadowed Mistress. I feel like he may be like yours truly and try to highlight the differences instead of dwelling on common elements. The Pour Fool isn’t wrong that Seventh Son’s Bier Garden which is hopping all of the time. It was even busy on Saturday afternoon when we stopped for beer for the Lady’s dad’s birthday. I’ve had a few Black IPAs in town but somehow North High’s has eluded me. I didn’t know Actual Brewing even had an Ice Wheat beer. I am wondering if it’s have the potency of Strangeways Brewing Freeze Ray Eisbock.

I feel like someone came in the back door and showed me what #SippyTimeBeers I’ve missed in my own town. Looks like everyone will have plenty of reviews to read on the site. – Kevin