Brews and 'Ques: A Wooly Good Day in Coshocton

Two faded advertisements fight for the notice of passers-by
on the side of this downtown Coshocton building

It turns out the modestly-sized town of Coshocton, where the Walhonding and Tuscawaras Rivers merge into the Muskingum, at its largest was never more than 15,000 people in population. Despite its size, this town has brought forth a few surprises from within its borders, including being the birthplace of the modern promotional company  (Novelty Advertising Company was the first) as well as the birthplace of Steve Earle's favorite stalk-ee in alt-country artist Lydia Loveless.

So on a recent weekend with the urge to roam a bit and some time had passed since our last Brews and 'Ques venture, we decided it was time to pay this part of Ohio a visit for the first time ever.

Something Followed, Something New: Burial Beer (Asheville, NC)/Fonta Flora (Morganton, NC)

Stray Local, an Americana/Folk group based out of Wilmington, NC,
provided some toe-tapping music at Morganton's Fonta Flora Brewery

One thing that drew us to Asheville in the first place was their status as a craft beer mecca. Our first two visits, within one year of each other, introduced us to a nice swath of the area's craft brewers, including a very early visit to Wicked Weed Brewing, Green Man Brewing, Asheville Brewing, and the Brevard-located production facility of Colorado-based Oskar Blues.

You can expect a lot of changes with a four-year gap between the second and third visits, and sure enough, that turned out to be the case. Out of the big names, New Belgium and Sierra Nevada (as much as we tried, we couldn't make a companion trip to their Mills River location to pair up with our Chico trip a reality) have joined Oskar Blues as national breweries setting up shop in the area. Wicked Weed has also joined the big boys with their purchase by AB InBev in their so-called "High End" division, a move which shocked many in the craft beer world. And there are plenty of new breweries that have joined old guard members like Wedge, Highland, and French Broad.

With our time limited, we decided to drop by a brewery that impressed us greatly on our last visit and one brewery on the outskirts of town that has been impressing with their brews made from numerous locally-produced ingredients.

Saisons from the Hocking: Rockmill Brewery (Lancaster, OH)

Back in 2016, I had the pleasure of visiting Texas and Austin's most well-renowned brewery in Jester King. The facility's Hill Country, farmhouse-style setting was most certainly rustic and peaceful; in fact, I noted it at the time as "second on the list of the most beautiful brewery sites I have ever had the opportunity to visit."

I figured at the time I would reveal what brewery occupied that number one spot in fairly short order, but as the saying goes, stuff happens. Thankfully for me and you the reader, that distinction still exists with the same entity, Rockmill Brewery, which is nestled in the hills surrounding a town established by well-traveled Colonel Ebenezer Zane back in 1800.

You typically can't see much from the winding country road as you approach this brewery, save maybe for the sign indicating you've reached your destination (majorly helpful advice: check their Facebook page to make sure the brewery is not closed for a private event; trust us, we know.) Once you pull in, however, you start garnering the pastoral beauty that imbues the brewery property.