Just got an email from Buckeye Beverage Service that they are now open and serving central Ohio.  They appear to offer all sorts of kegging and draft beer supplies, and mentioned they have corny kegs available (I assume for sale).

More info on them here: http://www.buckeyebeverageservice.com

A while back I wrote about the opening of Barley Hopsters in downtown Delaware, Ohio with some mixed feelings. The article in the local paper didn't paint the promising store in the best light.

I'm happy to report that after several months in business, Barley Hopsters is a really good beer store and carries a really good offering of homebrew and home wine-making supplies as well. I've been in the store a few times now and found more than enough to keep me happy, which is great since it's so close to home.

The beer selection is primarily single bottles, arranged by style, in a wall of coolers. They are of course limited to the same selection anyone else can get through their distributors in Ohio, but Brian, the owner, seems to have a good feel for the mix between fast-movers and high-end specialties for the more experienced. I've seen many things here you won't find nearly anywhere else in Delaware county. More than that, the feel of the place is right - friendly, helpful, and priced about right. Every time I've been in, the place has a decent crowd.

My only issue is the lack of full six-packs that are cold.  As far as I can tell there are none (you can certainly buy anything in a sixer that's available, but at stock-room temperature - sorry for those with no patience!). Maybe that's coming down the road when space and money allow for more coolers.

If you're on the north end of Columbus, I can certainly recommend this place to pick up a great six-pack.

Barley Hopsters is located at 43 N. Sandusky Street in Delaware, Ohio. Current hours are Mon. - Thurs. from 11am to 7pm, Friday and Saturday from 11am to 8pm and Sundays 11am to 3pm.

I knew there was something I forgot to pick up while I was in New Zealand earlier this year. Williams Warn, a small company of two based in Auckland, New Zealand has come up with the next evolution in home brewing - Personal Brewing.  The Williams Warn Personal Brewing looks like a sweet system, including a draft tap to dispense what you've made.  I guess if your home brewing system costs ~$4,500 USD, it better be sweet and make awesome beer. 

Just wish I'd know about this a few months ago and I would have totally checked in out. Anybody want to buy me a sample unit? I'd likely share the results with you at least.

http://www.williamswarn.com

Back in December, the Delaware Gazette ran a story that a new "Upscale Beer Store" is coming to Delaware. The store, to be located 43 N. Sandusky St. is slated to open in February.  The article says the store, called Barley Hopsters, will sell beer, homebrew supplies, and food for pairings.  A small wine selection is also in the works.

You can read the full article here: http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/default/article/Upscale-beer-store-coming-downtown-930884.php#ixzz1BUMWDSpj (Not sure why you can't read the full article directly on the Delaware Gazette's website)

I'll give the store a fair shot until I see it first-hand, but there are some troubling things in this article.  Again, I don't know if this is just poor journalism or the information was taken out of context, but it worries me when an "upscale" beer store is going to "offer beers such as, Great Lakes, Sierra Nevada, Busch, Miller and Coors." I wouldn't consider Busch, Miller and Coors to be upscale, but perhaps they are just making sure they don't exclude the college crowd in town.  Also, I'm not sure what "During the day, Harpster will run shows or movies that are beer-related, but family-oriented" means.

It'll be good to have a local craft beer store if Barley Hopsters lives up to expectations. Anyone want to weigh-in and suggest some family-friendly beer movies?

You have a kegerator. You want it to look cool. You want everyone to know what's on tap. But how can you get custom handles for every beer? You can't. Enter the Keg Cap Tap™ - a new tap handle that lets you use the free plastic caps on new kegs to easily show everyone you're drinking a quality beer. We tried one out and were suitably impressed. Full review after the jump.

As we mentioned earlier, "Big Brew" was held at the Columbus Brewing Company on May 1, 2010. Home brewers from all over the area came to brew an American Wheat Beer.  Nearly 25 home brewers participated and almost 150 gallons of beer were produced. The event was really fun and the folks at Columbus Brewing Company are to be commended for putting on a great event. Watching brewmaster Eric Bean and crew roast a pig, and subsequently eat the pig's ear, was a true highlight.

The music in the video was provided by our friends The Wet Darlings. The song is "Vampires" (not necessarily a comment on home brewers!) from their upcoming EP "X". You can check them out here: http://www.thewetdarlings.com.

Let us know if you're in the video and we'll tag it appropriately.

National Homebrew Day is May 7th, but this year's Big Brew is slated for May 1st.  Big Brew is an event where homebrewers get together at designated sites and make homebrew together.  There are hundreds of sites across the country and around the world already registered.

More details on the event here: http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/pages/events/national-homebrew-day

Really enjoyed this video of Sam Calagione from Dogfish Head Brewing Co discussing a bit about how they got their start and what equipment they used then and are using now to do test batches.  Yes, it's a promo video for the Sabco system, but it's interesting nonetheless.  I just hope they continue to use this thing to innovate and bring us new beers!