Photos by Kevin & The Lady

I went to Land-Grant Brewing last November and I fully intended to do review but got caught up doing the end of the year columns. I invested in this company on Kickstarter (which is why my name is on the wall in the above picture) when they were called Oval Brewing Company which should have made this post a priority. Because it has been so long since I tasted their beers, I went back in to try them again for the Columbus Crew soccer match this past weekend. They had an expanded beer menu so I got to try an extra two beers this time around.

Creamsikolsch – This beer is new enough that it hasn’t made it to their website. It made it’s way to my lips first because (for the most part) I stick to going low IBU to high IBU when drinking beers. Though they don’t have the stats on the site, I do recall it having the same IBU (26) as on of their main stay beers, the 1862 Ale which is also a kolsch. Despite the low IBU, the hops have a presence because of the cleanness of the malt. The main feature to this kolsch though is the creamsicle taste. It gives this beer a nice light summer vibe and taste a lot like an orange creamsicle. This beer is really refreshing and perfect for the summer.

1862 Ale – I ended up book ending the original offerings with new beers so this one started the core beer series. As noted already, this one is a kolsch and it has a 26 IBU rating. I could really repeat a lot of what I typed above. The malt is again so clean that the low dose of hops announces it’s presence. Unlike having the additional not of fruitiness though, this one is straight up beer flavor. It comes in at 4.9% ABV so it’s a good session beer.

Son of a Mudder – I put this beer on my list of best beers in Cbus for 2014 and I haven’t changed my mind since then. If you’re too lazy to click on the link, here’s what I said about the beer in January

This brown happens to be closer to an amber because of it’s relatively high IBU, which is 37. There is a bitterness but it isn’t too prominent of a taste. This one won’t kick you in the teeth at 6.1% ABV. Very glad that they’re finally open and that my investment is quite tasty.

Greenskeeper – Not too many places have a session IPA as one of their staples but they do. This one barely ranks above Son of a Mudder with an IBU of 39 but the malt makes all of the difference. This one is much like the kolsches in that the malt is so light and clean, the hops pop despite what would be considered a low hop beer. It certainly has more of pine and citrus tang to it than either of the kolsches though. A greenskeeper could drink this all day and not become Carl Spackler since it comes in at the very sessionable 4.9% ABV.

Stiff-Arm – This IPA is the last of the staple beers of Land-Grant. We’re finally starting to crank up the IBUs but it’s also still at about the level most pale ales are at, 54 IBU. I hate to keep pounded a point into the ground but it’s worth noting again that the malt is so clean that the lower IBU shows up quite well with a very clean and low malt concoction. There is certainly more malt in there than their other beers as can be seen with orangish-red hue. It’s not exactly a heavyweight in the ABV department either coming in at 6.4%. Those high numbers aren’t needed though. This beer is artfully crafted and very good.

EF-1 – This beer is part of their Space-Grant Series which only contains this particular beverage. It is also where the words clean and low get tossed out the window. Dark beers with roasted malts aren’t clean by any means. You also need plenty of hops to counter act said roasted malts. The name seems to come more from the hops involved in this beer which are Apollo, Galaxy and Millenium. This triumverate of hops ends up totaling to a 69 IBU. Malts don’t seem to have fancy names like that. They’re more straight ahead even if they don’t list which ones they use. They do help to bring the ABV to 7.3%. While Son of a Mudder is still my favorite, this one has found a nice spot as my second favorite. – Kevin