Going to four craft breweries in one day is a bit ambitious, but that’s exactly what my girlfriend Angie and I planned for this past weekend, squeezing visits to a quad of Columbus breweries in between an Ohio State football game and a Middle Kids concert at The Basement.
Despite the fact that Columbus is my hometown, I hadn’t visited a ton of the breweries in the area up until this weekend. Luckily, there are many in a small area near downtown, which is where we were planning to hang out for most of the day.
North High Brewing
After a nice leisurely stroll around the Oval and OSU’s campus, we ventured a few blocks south to the Short North, where North High Brewing sits. Their taproom is a rustic and chic former Ford dealership, which owners Gavin Myers and Tim Ward restored to perfectly fit the neighborhood.
There were a handful of people in the bar when we entered around lunchtime, and we were immediately impressed with their vast offering despite their status as a microbrewery.
At North High, we got a flight with the following beers:
-Coffee Golden Ale (4.8%)
-THE Pale Ale (5.5%)
-Coffee IPA (6.8%)
-Oktoberfest (5.6%)
Obviously we’ve switched over to fall beers with the smell of football in the air and the leaves starting to change (hopefully soon). The standout here was the Coffee IPA. It had a nice roasty coffee flavor and plenty of hops. My friend Eric also tried their double IPA and said it was decent. North High also has a small selection of food which we didn’t try, but it looks like upscale trendy type food that would pair well with beer. They’ve gone from being one of the smallest breweries in Columbus to one of the biggest, and recently added a former Anheuser-Busch senior brewmaster to the team. They also have a program for customers to brew their own beer, bringing home brewing to the brewery.
Four String Brewing Company
Next, we traveled a few blocks west and entered Four String in Grandview. It’s located in an industrial park which still exists in the area despite the massive growth in Grandview over the past half decade or so. Four String has a cool story as well. Started by rock band bassist Dan Cochran (hence the name, which pays homage to the bass as well as the four ingredients to beer in water, malt, hops, and yeast), the brewery has been around since 2012 and has been built from the ground up with little funding and a dream.
There weren’t as many people in Four String, but the big standout here was the prices. They have plenty of cans and pints priced as low as $2, so if you’re drinking on a budget, this is your place.
At Four String, we tried a flight with the following:
-Fun House Golden Ale (6.4%)
-Pivotal IPA (5.9%)
-Jailbreak Session IPA (4.2%)
-Vanilla Porter (6%) – full can
Despite the divey feel, Four String produces some solid stuff. They’re readily available throughout Columbus and beyond, and I’m a big fan of their Brass Knuckles Pale Ale. We also grabbed a couple of cans of the Vanilla Porter that we’re planning to stash away until it’s nice and cold outside. It’s nice that you can buy individual cans here, and again, the prices are right.
Land Grant Brewing Company
After Four String was the highlight of our day. We traveled to the Franklinton neighborhood and visited Land Grant. I’ve always been a fan of Land Grant, and with their outdoor patio, they were extremely busy on a Sunday afternoon. They have a nice taproom with tons of community tables and plenty of TVs that sits in a neighborhood that is quickly gentrifying.
Founded by Ohio State alumni, the brewery got started with a Kickstarter in 2012 and finally brewed their first beer in 2014. They have successfully tied into the sports community in Columbus, becoming a partner of the Columbus Crew SC and showing just about every game the sports-crazed town has to offer.
At Land Grant, we once again obtained a flight, this time with the following:
-Greenskeeper Session IPA (4.7%)
-Son of a Mudder Brown Ale (6.1%)
-Skull Session Scarlet Lager (5%)
-Sports Lemon Lime Gose (4.3%)
You can probably see the football theme here with some of the names of their beers. They also have a nice go-to IPA called Stiff Arm. Greenskeeper is one of the best session IPAs I’ve had, and this one would pair perfectly while watching football. We went out on a limb and tried the Gose and were surprised at the uniqueness of this one – it tastes like lemon lime Gatorade. Land Grant quickly shot up the list of my favorite breweries and I love the atmosphere at this place.
Seventh Son Brewing Co.
For our fourth stop, we were undecided between a pair of breweries. Deciding to pass up Wolf’s Ridge downtown, we instead headed to Seventh Son on 4th Street in Italian Village to enjoy the nice day on their patio.
Founded way back in 2010 by Collin Castore, Jen Burton, and Travis Spencer, the group paired with head brewer Colin Vent to create a unique offering. Seventh Son is one of the more underrated breweries in Columbus but their solid beers and awesome location and space are going to keep them in business for a long time.
At Seventh Son, our flight was:
-Fox in the Stout (8.9%)
-Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! Gose (3.1%)
-Stone Fort Oat Brown (5.25%)
-Oast Session IPA (4.2%)
With it being such a beautiful day, we finished our flight and decided to order a pint along with some food from the food truck. Angie got a full pint of the stout, while I doubled up on the gose (kind of a funny switching of roles with styles, but I’ve been really into sour beers recently). The Explorers Club food truck that was on hand was also awesome, with some of the best food truck food I’ve ever had.
All in all, this mini tour of breweries helped change my opinion of the beer available in my hometown. In the past, I had visited Kindred Artisan Ales, Grove City Brewing Company, Elevator Brewing, and BrewDog DogTap, and while each had some decent offerings, none were truly special in my mind. If you’re visting Columbus, I’d definitely recommend any of the four that we tried over the weekend, or grab a can somewhere as most of them distribute throughout Ohio.
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Barley’s Brewing Company
On a more recent trip to Columbus (again for a concert), Angie and I were able to check out Barley’s Brewing Company in downtown. Barley’s has been around since 1992 and is located right in downtown with a full restaurant. Despite the fact that we were there on a cold Wednesday night, we still got one of the last tables in the place.
I of course had to try a flight, because two of their beers are in Rick Armon’s 50 Must Try Craft Beers of Ohio and I had tried neither. My flight was:
-Barley’s Scottish Ale
-Blood Thirst Wheat
-Bourbon Meyer Buckeye
The first two were in the book, and they didn’t disappoint. The Scottish Ale is one of the best I’ve ever had of that style, and although I’m not a big hefeweizen fan, I also really liked the Blood Thirst. And being a big dark beer fan, how could I not try the chocolate and peanut butter stout? It was amazing.
I of course also tried their famous Christmas Ale, which both Angie and I enjoyed. My full pint was the Christmas Ale, while Angie opted for the Bourbon Meyer. This place has a nice quaint feel, plenty of seating, really good food, and is one of the best kept secrets in Ohio.
Hoof Hearted Brewing
After getting their start in the tiny town of Marengo, Ohio north of Columbus, Hoof Hearted opened a brewpub in Italian Village in 2016. The brewery is known for its irreverent and eclectic style, and their description on the Ohio Craft Brewers Association website reads “Craft beers with the subtlety of David Lee Roth in bunless chaps.” Exactly. Don’t go here expecting “the usual” or “normal” beers. Everything they have punches you in the mouth with flavor and confuses your taste buds in a delightful way. It’s no wonder that tickets for their beer releases sell out in 20 seconds flat. They also stand out due to their unique cartoonish artwork and the fact that their name comes from a fart joke.
At Hoof Hearted we tried a flight with some of their core offerings, including their Can I Ask You a Personal Question? NE IPA, which is one of the best beers I’ve ever had. If you like milk stouts, Mom Jeans is fantastic, and we also split a can of their Don’t Microwave It, Don’t Boil It sour IPA with raspberry & lime zest. Again, fantastic.
Sideswipe Brewing
Sideswipe is one of the smaller breweries in Columbus with a 5 bbl system, but what they lack in size they make up for in quality. Their taproom is small and what you’d expect from a brewery: an L-shaped bar that is featured front an center, a few tables, and the brewing equipment to the right. It’s located in an industrial park near Columbus Brewing and Four String’s production facility, and the name comes from the black belt owner’s love of martial arts.
A week before I visited, the brewery released cans for the first time, featuring their Pixelated Sun hoppy wheat and Sexy Weekend table beer. Both of these offerings are nice lighter go-to options and a good place to start with cans. The quality of the beer here was a pleasant surprise, and it just goes to show that sometimes you have to venture off of the beaten path to find the good stuff.
Check out the full list of breweries I’ve visited here, and check out my rundown of every Cincinnati brewery here.