Great Microbreweries in Columbus, Ohio

There are several great microbreweries in Ohio and two of the best are in Columbus: Columbus Brewing Company and Barley's Brewing Company Ale House No. 1. Both offer a wide variety of traditional, handcrafted ales with rich, complex tastes and aromas.

Columbus Brewing Company

Columbus Brewing Company (535 Short Street) is located in the city's historical Brewery District, adjacent to German Village just south of downtown. CBC products are sold by several Columbus retailers and are also available at restaurants throughout Ohio.

The first beer brewed by CBC was Pale Ale, a golden-colored ale that remains one of the most popular. It's crafted from German and English malts, as well as American hops, and has a very dry finish. Those who prefer a heavily "hoppy" beer will enjoy CBC's India Pale Ale, an unfiltered brew with a hazy golden color and strong taste of American hops.

Seasonal beers include Winter Warmer, a dark ale with caramel malts and subtle accents of ginger and cinnamon, and Summer Teeth, a crisp, Bavarian-style beer that won a bronze medal at the 2010 Great American Beer Festival.

The "Hop Odyssey" series at CBC features a different brew each month, with intriguing names such as Creeper, Uncle Rusty, Shoot Your Rye Out, and Hogscraper.

Barley's Brewing Company Ale House No. 1

Barley's Brewing Company Ale House No. 1 (467 North High Street) is located in the Arena District, close to Columbus's famed North Market and not far from Nationwide Arena, home of Columbus Blue Jackets NHL hockey.

Barley's prides itself on crafting brews with traditional ingredients using methods that have been around for centuries. Barley's produces unfiltered, unpasteurized ales that still have active yeast in their containers, as well as "bright beers," unpasteurized beer with the yeast removed that has been transferred to a different container.

Cask ale at Barley's is unfiltered and unpasteurized and conditioned directly in the cask without having any air introduced into the container. Bartenders use a "beer engine" to hydraulically pull the beer through a goose-necked spout. The ale takes a minute or two to settle, but the rich, robust taste of authentic ale is worth waiting for.

Barley's also features "Firkin Fridays." A firkin is a small cask-in this case, 10 gallons. Barley's firkins contain cask ale, but unlike the larger casks that never let air inside, a firkin is tapped to pour the brew into glasses, so air is introduced into it. This means the ale is extremely perishable-therefore, firkin brew is offered only once a week.

Both Columbus Brewing Company and Barley's are housed alongside their respective restaurants, which feature casual environments with extensive menus of tasty fare. At CBC, customers can't get enough of the Hot and Sour Fried Calamari, and the grilled chicken wings at Barley's are the best in town.

Hours of Operation

CBC is open Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; and Saturday, 5-11 p.m. (closed Sundays).

Barley's Brewing Company Ale House No. 1 is open Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-midnight; Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-2 a.m.; and Sunday, noon-11 p.m. (Barley's second location, Barley's Smokehouse and Brewpub Ale House No. 2, is located at 1130 Dublin Road, northwest of downtown.)

Sources:

http://columbusbrewing.com/

http://barleysbrewing.com/