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?

The much-talked about expansion of the Brooklyn Brewery is apparently ready to go and BB spokespeople are saying the expansion promises more production and more variety in those very special Brooklyn Brewery small-batch beers.

I spoke with the Heidelberg Distributing rep (the distributor for Brooklyn beer in Ohio) about a week ago and she indicated the expansion could mean better availability in Ohio for things like Black Ops and, hopefully, other Brewmaster's Reserve beers. Is there a possibility we could see Dark Matter here? It's unsure at this point if we'll get a much wider range of Brooklyn's beers here or if we'll just get better availability of what we already have. However, the expansion does mean Brooklyn will be making some new beers and, if they're a hit, we could see some of them here.

Congrats to the brewery on the expansion and here's to hoping we see some great new Brooklyn Brewery beers here in Ohio.

The Pub in Beavercreek, Ohio is hosting a beer dinner with Tom Griffin, affectionately known as "The Barrel Guy" for his business supplying barrels for aging to breweries large and small. Tom has traveled all over the country to supply bourbon barrels and barrels of other varieties for beer aging, including working with Goose Island and Founders breweries. Tom was recently featured in an article in DRAFT magazine, which can be read here: http://draftmag.com/magazine/articles/169.

This looks like it will be a great event as Tom is sure to bring some very special beers from his travels and they'll be paired with four food courses and a feature presentation from Tom.

The Pub is part of the Tavern Restaurant Group which owns The Pub restaurants in Rookwood (Cincinnati), Beavercreek (Dayton), Polaris (Columbus) and Nicholson's Gastropub in downtown Cincinnati among others. Tom will be speaking at the other restaurants (except Columbus) earlier in the week.

Event Details:

- Thursday, January 20th @ 7:00pm
- Four 10oz Beers
- Four Food Courses
- $50 per person (this does not include tax or gratuity)
- Tom Griffin will be the keynote speaker to share his stories about life on the Bourbon Barrel Road.

Those who are interested should call Pub Beavercreek for reservations at 937.320.1199

There's lots of great breweries making lots of great beers out there, but I wanted to commend New Holland Brewery from Michigan for making some of the best beers I've had this year. I'm consistently happy with everything I've tried from them - I know how hard it is to have great beers across an entire line.

Just to name two, the Dragon's Milk Ale is probably one of the top 2 beers I've had this year. Incredibly smooth, super flavorful and just an all-around great barrel aged beer. If you have the chance, do yourself a favor and try this stuff.

The second is a bit of a novelty, but after a single taste, it's proof that even New Holland's unique beers are outstanding. The "El Mole Ocho" is really unique - a full chocolate flavor with a hint of chili pepper spice on the back end. It's not something I thought I would even like, but have to admit is pretty darn good.

To the people at New Holland - keep up the good work up there!

I've been a little lax in posting lately - nearly two months between posts! Fear not, I've been out sampling some great beers and there'll be a flurry posts coming now that time is starting to allow for it. Stay tuned for more update soon!

How did you get started with craft beer? I was asked this question tonight out at the pub and was mortified to realize I couldn't come up with the answer. Even after two beers, I thought about this the entire way home and finally came to the answer. I can't believe it took me that long to come up with it, but here goes.

For me, good beer and travel come hand in hand. I love to travel and see new places and often the most fond memories I have of a particular place is the food and drink.  Yes, I'm the guy who eats (or drinks) his way through a vacation. Having a particular food or drink later on can really take me back to being in a great travel spot.

I'm going to go back to Germany which I visited shortly after college. It was fascinating to me at the time that each town had it's own local brew and basically came down to light or dark. Each place's beer was distinctive and I can still remember a few of them fondly. This was well before the boom of craft beer in the US, but now, having a particular beer reminds me of all the great places I've visited - Corsendonk in Philly, Brooklyn Brewery and Sixpoint in New York, Saranac in upstate New York, Kona Brewing in Hawaii, Caffery's in Ireland and on and on. I know, a postcard would be easier.

So, great beer reminds me of great places and great times. I'm glad we can now get so many great beers from around the world and around the country here so I can remember these times even more often.

How did you get started with craft beer?

Cheers!

Gizmodo posted this fun look at why canned beer is just as good or better than bottled beer and why it just might be the future of craft beer:

http://gizmodo.com/5622938/canned-beer-is-the-future-of-good-beer

Not sure I agree with everything in here and the discussion after the article is full of complainers and people who obviously don't get it, but it's a fun read none-the-less.

What do you think is the better way to deliver your favorite craft beer?

Our Goose Island tasting and food pairing last month was a big hit and everyone there had a good time. It's hard not to have a great event when you feature great beers like Sofie, Matilda, Pere Jacques and Night Stalker. We've put together a little video of the event so those who couldn't make it can see what they missed! Don't miss out on our next event -- sign up on the site now to be notified first!

The Columbus Beerfest earlier this year must have been a success as they've already announced plans for next year's Beerfest, along with a new Winter Festival.  The Columbus Winter Beerfest will take place January 15, 2011, while the larger 2nd Annual Columbus Beerfest will be one week earlier next year on May 20 & 21, 2011.

No update on the website yet, but I expect more info there soon: http://www.columbusbeerfest.com

We also saw on Twitter an announcement of a cool craft beer festival in Cincinnati by this same group that will actually be on a bridge over the Ohio river.  More details on that soon.

The New York Times has posted a really nice article about some of the best pale ales in the country. It's just in time for the 4th of July. They mention some of my favorites, including Dogfish Head's "Shelter Pale Ale" and the fabulous "Dale's Pale Ale" from Oskar Blues. It's a good read and points consumers in the right direction for great American Craft Beer.

http://nyti.ms/93YmDD