The year 2021 began the second year of a worldwide pandemic, making travel more difficult than any wanderlust filled person would like to admit. While I didn’t go as far as I wanted last year, I did get to travel some in 2021. In fact, looking back through my notes it was a lot more than I had remembered.
I visited nearly 100 breweries in 2021, including my 300th overall brewery (Dreaming Creek Brewery in Richmond, Kentucky) and my 200th Ohio brewery (Holy Trinity Brewing Company in Columbus).
I got to take a trip to Cleveland’s Ohio City with my brother-in-law, and I got to visit a few new cities for beer adventures like St. Louis and Michigan City. Here’s a full recap of the 2021 year that was for Brewery Adventures.
300th Brewery – Dreaming Creek
In March, I got the pleasure of having my 300th brewery visit be to Richmond, Kentucky’s Dreaming Creek Brewery. It’s everything I love in a small town brewery – a neighborhood hangout with great beer, a really good location, and good people. I got to go with my wife, and it was made even more special because I got to record an episode of the Beers and Beards Podcast there with my good friend and Kentucky native Gary Thomas.
The folks at Dreaming Creek were incredible and so accommodating and I’m glad that they were my 300th brewery stop.
Ohio City
In April, I took a trip with my brother-in-law Joe to visit Cleveland, and more specifically Ohio City. We stayed within walking distance of nearly 20 breweries, and we ended up getting a dozen overall. Most were new for me but there were some standout new favorites as well.
Bookhouse Brewing is designed in the mode of a bookstore dressed up as a brewery, and they have a great space, including a big outdoor patio. They have the more traditional styles that I’m gravitating toward, including a pilsner and a Belgian pale ale.
Nano Brew was another standout. The experimental brew wing of Market Garden, Nano is a bicycle-themed brewery that has one of the best taprooms I’ve seen in awhile. A multi-level patio is the highlight, but inside there are brick walls and a long bar. The food there is also some of the best in Ohio City.
There are some other must-stops like Great Lakes and Market Garden, and Ohio City is a great place to visit if you’re looking for some impressive brewery density in an amazing neighborhood.
Licking County, Ohio
I took a few different trips to Newark, Ohio for a commentary gig, and along the way I ended up stopping at every brewery in Licking County, Ohio. Just east of Columbus, it’s spread out but features some great breweries. I also recapped my visits with a podcast episode focusing on the county as a whole.
On one of my trips I even made it all the way out to Wooly Pig Farm Brewery in Fresno, which became a highlight of my year for both the atmosphere and beer they brew.
I also took a few different trips to Columbus, and now I’ve been to almost every brewery in Ohio’s capital city.
Michigan City
In June I took a family vacation to Michigan City, Indiana and Lake Michigan. Of course there had to be some brewery stops included, and we hit 18th Street Brewery in Gary, Indiana on the way, and then Zorn Brew Works and Shoreline Brewery in Michigan City.
I was really a big fan of 18th Street – they have a ton of amazing IPAs and they’re also a distillery. The building that Zorn Brew Works is located in is 19th Century and dates back to before Prohibition.
Buffalo Trace & Frankfort, Kentucky
In July I took my first trip to the Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, which was a great experience in its own right. They’re making some of the best bourbon in the world right now and have been for a long time, and their tour experiences are top-notch.
While Frankfort is the capital of Kentucky it’s a small town, and there are only a few breweries. One such brewery is Sig Luscher Brewery, which was revived a handful of years ago from the descendants of an 1800s brewer. West Sixth Brewing also has their West Sixth Farm location in Frankfort, which I visited and was a highlight of my year. The incredible views and well-maintained grounds make for an awesome experience.
St. Louis
At the end of July my wife and I drove from Cincinnati to St. Louis, and the trip was unforgettable. The two Midwest cities are pretty similar, with a long brewing heritage and some great modern breweries. There were almost too many highlights in St. Louis to mention, but among them were trips to Side Project, 2nd Shift, Perennial, 4 Hands, and Wellspent.
Brian of Three One Pour joined me for an episode of Brewery Adventures to discuss 2nd Shift Brewing and the St. Louis beer scene as a whole.
Athens
In September I took a weekend trip to the Hocking Hills and Athens, Ohio areas, and visited some old friends, including Little Fish and Jackie O’s. Both breweries are currently in the process of expanding to new taprooms in bigger cities – Little Fish in Dayton and Jackie O’s in Columbus – but it’s still great to visit their original locations. They make some of the best beer in Ohio.
Ft. Wayne and South Bend
In October I got the opportunity to travel to South Bend for a Cincinnati Bearcats football game against Notre Dame, and of course there were some brewery visits as well. On the way we hit a couple of small town Ohio breweries – Lake Rat in Celina and Second Crossing in Rockford – and then some really great breweries in the underrated beer city of Ft. Wayne, Indiana.
In Ft. Wayne we visited the tiny taproom of Fortlandia, which while small is pumping out some great beers. We also tried some of the off-the-wall offerings from 2 Toms, and got food and great beer at Hop River.
Almost on accident we visited the Danny Boy Draft Works taproom in South Bend, an outpost of the Indianapolis brewery.
Later in October, I took a birthday trip to Dayton, and visited a couple of new breweries that I hadn’t been to. Nowhere in Particular’s Cabinet of Curiosities acts as the brand’s playground, and Southern Ohio Brewing in Beavercreek has an amazing outdoor space just off of the bike path.
Indy
In November I took a short work trip to Indianapolis, and I got to a couple of breweries while there. Oaken Barrel is an old-school style brewpub, and Hoosier Beer Co is the complete opposite end of the spectrum putting out some modern styles in a taproom that also features axe throwing.
I took another trip to Columbus and hit some of the Northwest breweries, including Plain City’s 1487 Brewery and Dublin’s Getaway Brewing and the North High Brewing location there. I also visited the sour-only Random Precision for the first time, as well as Grandview’s Endeavor, Hilliard’s Crooked Can, and the Taft’s Brewpourium outpost in Columbus.
Akron
Closing out the year I took a trip to Akron and visited a few new breweries. Missing Falls and R. Shea are in the same building at Canal Place downtown, and both industrial taprooms were great visits. Akronym is part of the revitalization of downtown Akron, and I loved their focus on lagers. Just north in Cuyahoga Falls, Missing Falls has a great taproom on the Cuyahoga River and is pumping out some great IPAs.
Just after Christmas I was able to hit brewery No. 200 in Ohio for me – the just opened Holy Trinity Brewing Co in Columbus. The fun play on a faith-based brewery is a great addition to Columbus, and their beer styles run the gamut but mostly focus on Belgian-inspired.
Asheville
To close out the year, my wife and I took our second trip to the beer Mecca of Asheville, North Carolina. It was great to get away for a couple of days, and the nearly 70-degree weather made it even better. I was also able to catch up with my friend Joel from Brewery Travels, who is currently living in Asheville for three months. I got to visit Dssolvr (which was his 800th brewery) and Hillman with Joel, and beer always tastes better when you’re drinking with friends.
We had hit most of the highlights in the South Slope on our previous trip, so we focused on some breweries we hadn’t visited before. Our only repeat stop was Zillicoah – and it was a great choice. We also visited our first ginger beer brewery, and Ginger’s Revenge blew me away.
We also visited some of the newer breweries, and New Origin absolutely blew me away. Their IPAs and dark beers are some of the best I’ve had in awhile.
Check out the podcast episode where I’ll talk about my favorite breweries, surprising breweries, and break down my favorite beers of the year.