Pick of the Liter: Combustion Brewing

One of the blaring headlines in the craft beer world to hit early in 2017 was one that might worry aficionados at first glance. Growth in what seemed to be at times an unstoppable juggernaut of a business model in the 2010s slowed dramatically in 2016: Brewers Association statistics noted that the segment grew only 6% in volume (compared to 12-15% in prior years) and ticked up only a notch (0.1%) in total market share.

What is somewhat hidden in the statistics is that the smaller segment of younger brewpubs and breweries that open up in under-served communities continues to boom. Typically, these establishments are much more tuned in to their surrounding community and, when done correctly, are transformed almost instantaneously into local hangouts. This niche is one that the newly opened Combustion Brewery and Taproom definitively falls into.

Brews Cruising (California Edition): Sac-Town Sipping

Sacramento's State Capitol Building, whose construction was completed in 1874

Having lived in the both the Columbus, Ohio, and Sacramento, California areas for a few years of my life, I have found quite a few parallels beyond their capital city status. These parallels range from geography (mostly flat land at the junction of two rivers) to population (roughly 2 million people in their respective Metropolitan Statistical Areas to their quests to gain more prominence on the world stage) and even extend to pop culture. As hipster as Columbus can be, Sacramento is apparently more so, if you believe the folks behind infogroup.com, which rated this Central Valley city 4th on its Most Hipster City in the U.S. list (FWIW, Columbus didn't do too badly by its own man-bun, coming in at 20th.)

Not surprisingly, the craft beer scenes in both cities have also seen parallel, big-time growth. Starting in the single digits prior to 2010 like Columbus, Sacramento's brewery count now hovers in the mid-forties. A brief jaunt to the West Coast recently allowed me to dip into Sactown's beer scene with visits to West Sacramento's Bike Dog, and the Natomas-area production facility for Track 7 Brewing.

Food Truck Dossier: Nothin But Nadas

Food Truck: Nothin But Nadas

My First Thought: With "nada" meaning "nothing" in Spanish, we have Billy Preston here, right? (Nothin' but nadas leaves nothin'...okay, it's a big stretch, but that's how my mind works.)

Reality: The food truck's name really doesn't lie: this trailer serves nothing but freshly fried up empanadas with various fillings. Despite a noticeable warning sign about the empanadas being super hot, I've found they generally are sufficiently cooled off enough after a couple of minutes to be handled safely by both hand and mouth.

The Griswold Effect: Homestead Beer Company (Heath, OH)

The Griswolds arrive at Walley World (Image from www.today.com)

In the 1983 movie "National Lampoon's Vacation", the final sequence starts with the Griswold family's battered station wagon pulling into the vast (and empty) parking lot of their ultimate goal; the giganto-family amusement park Walley World. The head of the family, Clark Griswold (played memorably by Chevy Chase), parks the car about as far from the amusement park entrance as one could.  When asked why he parked so far away, Clark responds, "Right, right...and at the end of the day, when the lot's all full and everybody is fighting to get out of here, we'll be the first to leave."

Walley World, uh, cold beer on tap is down that away...

Driving into the rather substantial parking lot of Heath's Homestead Beer (a member of the Columbus Ale Trail) gives you a touch of that same feeling. You can park seemingly far enough to run off enough a full beer pint's worth of calories to the building that hosts this Licking County brewer. But there's definitely no need to be a Griswold in this case. Drive up slowly and park close, and get ready to relax.

Belgians and Bluegrass: Cleophus Quealy Beer Company (San Leandro, CA)

There's not much to see with the exterior of the Cleophus Quealy Beer Company's building; a somewhat smallish sign sporting the brewery's name hovers over the entrance of the space, located a few minutes from the Oakland International Airport in an industrial area of neighboring San Leandro, CA. In many ways, the experience we had driving up to this brewery, turning our heads every which way to spot our destination, was very similar to our visits to Columbus, Ohio's Sideswipe Brewing, which also lies in an industrial area in the city's Valleyview area.

The brewery's fairly expansive almost 4,000 square foot interior isn't all that fancy either, but the touches that are there makes for an agreeable and pleasant experience,  Tables and decorative barrels, topped with succulents (a nice decorative and drought-friendly touch) are scattered throughout this seating area. This theme is continued behind the tap area, where really neat chalkboard sketch of a Buddha's Hand provides the bar's backdrop. Faded wood paneling also lines the main tap area as well as selected covey areas along the interior walls. Rearward, the brewery's production side is very evident, with barrel racks, kegs and other brewing paraphernalia. As our time inside progressed, the general vibe reminded me a bit of Clintonville's Lineage Brewing.

Bike The C-Bus 2015

 

Now in its eighth year, the Bike The C-Bus citywide bike tour, organized by local bicycling advocacy group Yay Bikes!, offers people of all levels and abilities an organized group ride that takes them through much of the Columbus metro area. While our amount of bicycling this year has not been up to our liking due to numerous factors, my spouse and I couldn't resist taking the two-wheeled tour of the area on this Labor Day weekend.

As it turned out, the roughly 560 riders who attended this year's well-organized event (along with the regular roughly 30-mile ride around the metro, 60 participants rode in the event's first ever metric century ride) were in high spirits on what was a very warm and humid, but otherwise perfect, day for a jaunt around the metro.

Some of the pre-ride sights in front of the Lincoln Theater in the 
King-Lincoln neighborhood; this area on Long Street
would host both the pre- and post-ride festivities

The first of several waves of riders pedals off to ride through the metro.

Early on, we got a taste of what most weekday downtown commuters do not
get to experience: low traffic volume on the outbound North 4th Street.

The Bike The C-Bus took riders close to numerous area
landmarks, including this sports-based trio of
Huntington Park, the Shoe, and Mapfre Stadium.

The first ride rest stop took place at the Clintonville Community Market,
who offered cold, refreshing fruit-infused waters for riders

Land Grant Brewing in Franklinton played host to another rest stop; water
was available, but some decided to grab a cold one instead.

As it turned out, we found ourselves riding with different riders
throughout the day due to the various rest stops, traffic light
timing, and the varying but mainly leisurely paces.

Other rest stops were found in Dennison Place/The Circles and
the Olde Towne East neighborhoods. These stops were hosted
by Endocrinology Associates and the
Olde Towne East Neighborhood Association, respectively.

The familiar Columbus skyline and the State Capitol were easily
seen during the jaunt, along with a statue of a dude who probably
preferred two beers over two wheels (King Gambrinus).

After a journey through the Franklin Park and Near East Columbus
neighborhoods, riders finished the tour to find a selection of
food trucks (including Paddy Wagon, Tatoheads, Los Potosinos
and Betty Bev's Food Angels) and beer from Elevator Brewing. 

Overall, we had a great time cruising through the city on this first ever Bike the C-Bus tour for us. The folks at Yay Bikes! and the event volunteers did a wonderful job of making this ride run smoothly, and there was a generally friendly vibe among both the riders and neighborhood residents, who often gave us a friendly wave or greeting as we rode by. To that end, I personally would also like to give a big thank you shout out to those who checked on my spouse, who determined last minute that she was not going to be able to make a red light on an uphill section of road and ended up taking a tumble trying to stop her bike. We are both happy to report that she came out of this fall with only a couple of minor bruises.

Bike the C-Bus Bicycle Tour of Columbus
Held annually in September via Yay Bikes!
82 E. 16th Avenue
Columbus, OH 43201
(614) 470-4220
info@yaybikes.com
Facebook     Twitter     Website

Crafty Colorado (Part 2): Big Beaver Brewing (Loveland)/Odell Brewing (Fort Collins)

Colorado has more craft breweries than you can
shake a giant rodent at, or so it seems

To paraphrase a familiar children's book, Colorado has all breweries great and small. This proved true with the first two breweries we visited after leaving Falling Rock Tap House in downtown Denver.

Big Beaver Brewing - our initial intent this day was to cruise around Fort Collins, roughly one hour north of Denver on I-25. This plan was derailed a bit by a freeway accident, but this is where our chauffeur/my brother-in-law's knowledge of the area came in handy.

"Don't worry, you can't swing an empty growler around without hitting a brewery or two around here," he said as we got off the freeway in Loveland and ended up at Big Beaver Brewing, located in what looks at first glance to be a small office complex that is very easy to drive by if you're not paying attention.

Two things immediately came clear as I entered the space and surveyed the interior of this brewery. Firstly, this brewery seemed to be busting at the seams, with more general "stuff "(tables and chairs, beer-related equipment, an informal bar area, etc.) than you would think would fit in this compact and in spots cobbled-together space. This thought also applied to the number of beers available: for what seemed to be a relatively new and modestly-equipped brewery, Big Beaver sported 16 options on their beer menu this day.

We learned later that this brewery has been a rousing success since its opening in October of 2010, undergoing several expansions of their facilities to the point where they have maxed out their current space and capacity. In addition, we learned that the brewery has operated with a sustainability mantra since its opening, focusing strictly on growler sales of their beer.

Secondly...or should that be doubly?...the beer names are pretty much all double-entendres for certain human anatomical parts; even their logo has a certain suggestiveness that is hard not to notice.

Big Beaver has integrated their suggestively-named (and tasty)
offerings into a fun atmosphere where the locals flock.

As I figured out, these names aren't meant to be offensive (though I am sure some would find them such) but rather reflective of the generally fun atmosphere that has been built over the brewery's existence. Big Beaver just seems like a nice place to hangout for awhile. The bar staff greeted everyone with big smiles, and gave us newcomers good explanations as to what was on tap. A calendar on the wall detailed brewery-related promotions attached to each day of the week. Even the smell of bratwurst (Big Beaver serves bratwurst boiled in their Wonder Wiener Wheat Beer and offers two versions of house-made mustard along with the typical condiments for interested patrons) is in itself a welcoming sensation. Perhaps the banner we spotted overhead sums up the general aura here well: "There are no strangers here, only friends who have never met."

As for the beer, we found our choices pretty drinkable and easy for, well, hanging out for an hour or so. Perhaps the standout for all three of us was their Pucker Up Sour Brown, an ale with a winning tart plum profile through its use of lactobacillus and brettanomyces. My Whiskey Dick Stout had subtle bourbon and oaky hints, while my brother-in-law's Amber Was Her Stage Name reminded me of a cream ale in texture, with alternating hints of bitter and sweet.

Big Beaver Brewing Co.
2707 W Eisenhower Blvd
Loveland, CO 80537
(970) 818-6064
Facebook     Instagram     Twitter     Website

Odell Brewing's facility in Fort Collins reflects its status as
a top-fifty craft brewer in the United States

Odell Brewing: from cobbled-together and cozy, the next brewery we stopped by was just the opposite: sleekly-designed and expansive.

Out of the breweries on this day of touring, Fort Collins-based Odell Brewing was the must-visit, especially for my spouse. Odell's St. Lupulin ranks in my spouse's top five beers she has ever tasted; the fact that they do not distribute out to Ohio also contributed to this visit. Being in road trip mode allowed us to bring back a collection of their brewed goods, and we were hoping we'd be able to find a few releases you couldn't find in the local bottle shops.

Odell's current facility is something of a just result of the brewery's longevity and success, being the second microbrewery to open in the state of Colorado, as much as their willingness to expand beyond their base brews and push the boundaries over its 25 years of existence. Their Fort Collins production facility is large, with 45,000 square-feet dedicated to production plus a spacious tap room. In terms of size, it reminded us of New Glarus Brewing's facility in Wisconsin. Other smaller touches, such as the Odell-logo bike racks in front, help further their brand as well as their philosophy toward environmental sustainability, an especially prominent credo for this area of the country in general.

While Odell's interior is fairly contemporary and sleek, the
overall atmosphere is fairly laid back.

While size-wise the facility was on the scope of New Glarus, the taproom inside was its own entity, with plenty of seating both within and on the patio outdoors. While we did not order any food at the brewery, Odell Brewery does offer snacks for its taproom visitors as more substantial sustenance in the form of regularly scheduled food trucks.

But of course, the main focus here is the beer. As we discovered, Odell offers three select flight trays consisting of their Classics (including 90 Shilling, Levity and 5 Barrel), Locals (with three of Odell's IPA brews such as Myrcenary and Runoff Red) and their Pilot tray, brewed on their special pilot system. With all these brews generally available only at the taproom, this flight was a must share between the two of us.

Out of the five beers in the flight, the definite winner for us was the Fifty Niner Golden Brett, a fruit-laced (hints of pineapple and pear) beer with hints of oak and vanilla and that familiar funk only brett can lend. The Fernet Aged Porter (porter aged in Leopold Bros. Distillery fernet barrels) and their Legal Rye Rye IPA (nice interplay with the spicy rye and fruity notes) were also quite enjoyable as well.

We both decided we needed a little bit of a palate cleanser from the more unique flavor palettes from the Pilot Tray; a pint of Lugene Chocolate Milk Stout, brewed with milk sugars and actual milk chocolate, proved to be a smooth, creamy finish to our beer sampling adventures at Odell.

Of course, we couldn't leave without a few bottles to take back with us to Ohio, and the folks at Odell were only happy to help us out with that endeavor.

Odell Brewing Co.
800 East Lincoln Ave
Fort Collins, CO 80524
(970) 498-9070 -or- (888) 887-2797
Facebook     Instagram     Twitter     Website

California Odds and Ends: SoMa Streat Food Park (San Francisco)/Mountain Grounds (Martinez)/Track 7 Brewing (Sacramento)

This final food-oriented post on our 2014 California travels covers one of San Francisco's newer mobile food bastions, a rather unlike place to find some great coffee, and a nice little take on the West Coast style IPA by a brewer in California's capital city.

An oasis in a concrete jungle: the entrance to SoMa Streat Food Park

SoMa Streat Food Park: Driving through San Francisco on our last trip to California, my spouse and I had a "Empire Strikes Back" moment. In that classic movie, there is a scene where Han Solo and his Rebel crew escape pursuing Imperial ships by pretending to attack a Star Destroyer as a guise for latching his ship, the Millennium Falcon, to the bottom of the Destroyer. The Imperial Fleet loses track of the ship and decide that the Falcon has jumped to hyperspace. Before the fleet itself jumps to hyperspace, they perform a standard Imperial procedure by dumping their garbage into space.

Ah, but Han Solo knows this, so as the trash is dumped out, he simply unlatches his ship and floats away with the garbage until all Imperial Fleet ships have jumped to hyperspace. However, he needs to find a place where they can shelter down as well as fix the creaky hyperdrive engine and scans the computer maps for something nearby.

Han Solo: No. Well, wait. This is interesting. Lando.

Princess Leia: Lando system?

Han Solo: Lando's not a system, he's a man.

For us, the conversation went similarly:

Me: Okay, food trucks...wait, Streat Food.

Spouse: Street what?

Me: Streat Food. Food truck park South of Market.

San Francisco's SoMa (as in the South of Market neighborhood) Streat Food Park, nestled between the US 101 freeway and the local Costco, was in development prior to my departure to Ohio. I had always wanted to drop by to see the finished product, especially to compare it to other versions I had encountered like Columbus' Dinin' Hall and Traverse City's The Little Fleet (my blogpost on the latter can be found here.) My spouse and I found that the Streat Food Park offers a bit of an oasis from the surrounding concrete jungle, offering arcade-style games, the "Streat Brew" beverage truck with wine, beer & other mixed drinks, and a covered main seating area with televisions and patio tables to complement the rotating collection of food trucks.

Food trucks, covered seating, coffee vendors and the Streat Brew
alcoholic beverage truck are just some of the sights at SoMa Streat Food.

The food trucks here include some of the more regionally famous mobile vendors (Chairman Bao, Señor Sisig, Little Green Cyclo and Roli Roti, to name a few) as well as trucks with some unique food focuses (from the Irish-Eritrean(!) menu of EireTrea to Chef Pelle's Nordic Scandinavian specialties to Sugar and Spun's natural and organic (?!) cotton candy.)

The Caribbean Spices and El Calmar food trucks and their respective eats

None of the big-name or truly unique vendors seemed to be around during the time of our visit, so we took a shot with what sounded appetizing at that time and ended up with some decent eats. My spouse's fish tacos from the Peruvian oriented El Calamar were nothing eye-popping taste-wise, but did serve as solid belly fillers. 

Meanwhile, I went with the Haitian-oriented Caribbean Spices truck and their Kongo Jerk Sliders, a mix of Haitian pikliz with jerk chicken between plantain patties. The slider did not quite really hold up as such and I had a much easier time mixing everything together as a plate lunch. I wouldn't have minded a little more kick from both the jerk and the pikliz (which uses the notoriously capsaicin-laden Scotch bonnet pepper in its preparation), but otherwise it made for a decent lunch.

SoMa Streat Food Park

429 11th Street (SoMa)

San Francisco, CA 94103

Facebook     Twitter     Website

The front of the rather unassuming location of Martinez-based
Mountain Grounds, great coffee by way of Martinez

Mountain Grounds: While boasting the distinction of being legendary New York Yankees slugger Joe DiMaggio's birthplace, as well as being home to the National Historic Site dedicated to famed author and naturalist John Muir, the small East Bay town of Martinez, California does not normally come to the top of the area's destination places. However, if you do find yourself near here, a tasty reason to visit can be found in an otherwise unremarkable strip mall on the outskirts of town.

My initial visit to the Mountain Grounds coffee shop a couple years ago was a couple months after their initial opening in September 2013. It was something of a take-a-chance stab at some good coffee in an area dominated by chain coffee places such as Starbucks and Peet's. The owners indeed had an interesting history, pulling roots from Montana to setup shop in this normally very quiet county seat of Contra Costa County. The coffee beans sourced are also roasted and shipped from a longtime friend located in Montana.

The lattes I received that day were about the best we had during that whole visit to California. As it turned out, others have noticed the quality of the beans used at this coffee shop: Coffee Review placed the Guatemala Acatenango Gesha beans sourced by Mountain Roasters in the Top 30 Coffees of 2013 and the second highest in the state of California for that year. Since then, they have joined the nitro-charged iced coffee trend (before Starbucks and local-purveyor Crimson Cup brought out their beer-oriented versions), added a way to beat the California heat with a myriad of Starbucks-styled coffee concoctions and a more straightforward espresso over ice cream, and have integrated themselves within the local community.

My return trip to this coffee house showed me a much more bustling place than my previous visit, especially considering it was a lazy between-holidays Sunday morning. Mountain Grounds has added basic cafe-styled food items to their menu (including bagels, muffins and paninis) as well as other non-coffee beverages like chai and cider. And yes, the coffee was quite good again.

Martinez, California and the state of Montana: not two areas you would think of the source of great coffee, but Mountain Grounds is doing a pretty good job of changing that perception.

Mountain Grounds

3750 Alhambra Avenue
Martinez, CA 94553
(406) 459-9206
Facebook     Twitter

Track 7 Brewing Company: We "accidentally" ended up with a bomber of this Sacramento-area brewer' Panic IPA during a trip to grab some non-Ohio-distributed brews for our trip back home. It was definitely not on our list of must-gets initially, but was recommended to us by a store clerk after we pulled a couple bottles of Russian River Brewing's Pliny the Elder for our stash. According to him, this beer took "Best of Show" at the California State Fair Craft Brew Competition in June 2014, besting entries from more well-known breweries such as Stone and Firestone Walker.

I am not the biggest IPA fan, but Panic was an IPA that I very much enjoyed. It started off with that West-Coast style taste profile with hints of grapefruit and pine, but finished with a uniquely and pleasant grassy, bready taste. Even my spouse, who is much more of the hop-head/more IBUs, the tastier gal, could appreciate this very well-balanced brew.

Track 7 Brewery's newest production facility, which began construction in 2014, is slated for its official grand opening festivities on February 21, just in time for the upcoming Sacramento Beer Week, slated to start one week later on February 27.

Track 7 Brewing Company
3747 West Pacific Ave, #F
Sacramento, CA 95820
916-520-HOPS (4677)
Facebook     Twitter     Website

Franklinton Fun (Pt. 2): Columbus Idea Foundry/Glass Axis/Land-Grant Brewing

Note: Part 1 of this post can be found here at this link 

The Glass Axis: Founded in the late 1980s by Ohio State University students and graduates, The Glass Axis has been a prime force in Central Ohio in promoting and providing support to people who specialize in the glass arts. In addition to this main focus, this non-profit organization offers teaching and education to the public at large, including classes that allow the dabblers (like me, courtesy of a gift certificate given to me by my spouse) to try out their artistic flair.

Decent attempt at exercising my creative side, courtesy of a Glass Axis class

In addition to the class, we had been able to frequent their old Grandview location for their Annual Holiday Sale, where a collection of glass-made gifts, ornaments and other items are available for purchase. This year's edition allowed us to visit their new location in Franklinton after they had announced their move early in 2014.

Based on what we saw, the new facility looks to be a keeper. Much of the space was organized to handle all the sales goods (there were plenty of attractive options available for the Christmas shopper), but was plenty of room to handle the hot glass area as well as what seemed to be a special display and exhibit area. On this day, visitors could mix in their shopping with workshops to make their own glass-made goods while partaking in a good cup of free java via the Cafe Brioso cart.

The Glass Axis' official re-opening at their new Franklinton facility is set to take place January 2015; for information on this event as well as Glass Axis' services and classes, please contact them at:

The Glass Axis
610 West Town St. (Franklinton)
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 291-4250
Facebook    Twitter    Website

Columbus Idea Foundry: While members of the Glass Axis specialize in all things glass, the folks associated with the Columbus Idea Foundry (CIF) pretty much take on all fields of art and design. With the wide swath of inventive minds under this roof, one should not be surprised by a slightly mischievous, go big or go home environment.

Founded in 2008, CIF is another organization who relocated within to the Franklinton neighborhood with the assistance of a $350,000 grant from ArtPlace America. Along with offering wide-ranging classes to the public (including blacksmithing, electronics, fashion, and functional arts such as gardening and lockpicking(!)), regularly scheduled Maker Family and Maker Date Night events allow families and couples to explore their creative side while satisfying any built up hunger pangs via an in-house potluck of sorts or a dinner at nearby Strongwater Food and Spirits. Additional fun onsite is available in the form of the team-building Trapped In A Room with a Zombie game, where groups of people can use both mental and physical faculties to avoid a most dastardly attack by the undead.

Similar to the Glass Axis, we had attended their holiday sale/open house at their old Milo-Grogan location and wanted to check out their new facility. Like the previous year, select items were offered for sale, including Magnet Gears, a holiday gift my nieces and nephews enjoyed immensely.

But perhaps the true creative spirit was evident in the demonstrations that day. People could carve out and make their own wooden pen in the wood-making area. In addition, we had on a previous visit performed some pewter casting before with CIF member Terry Griner. Indeed, his enthusiastic self was there again, entertaining the crowds with his tales; he ended up swapping some old-location COSI stories and laughs with our friend we were entertaining from out of town.

For more information about the classes and services provided by the Columbus Idea Foundry, please contact them at:

The Columbus Idea Foundry

421 W. State St (Franklinton)
Columbus, OH 43215
Facebook     Twitter     Website

Land-Grant Brewing Company: I managed to sneak in a quick survey during Land Grant's grand opening back in October, but this visit was really my first where I could sit back and soak in both the atmosphere. Of course, the brewery's Franklinton location made it a perfect stop for all of us on this busy day to relax for a bit and sample some of their offerings.

Starting off as a Kickstarter campaign back in 2011 under its original Oval Brewing name, the building that has now become Land-Grant has a fairly straightforward interior: the bar, television screens, seating area and outdoor patio is setup in a way that allows patrons to not feel too crammed except on the most packed of times. Their take on the sports/university motif (banners for Ohio State University and most of the country's other land-grant universities can be found lining ringing the walls) is novel and shows just a bit more thoughtfulness than your typical average sports bar.

Land-Grant does not have an on-site kitchen similar to many other Columbus brewery locations, but they have adopted a regular rotation of fairly well-known area food trucks to provide visitors with food options. The brewery has a selection of their own beers on tap along with a select number of beers from both Ohio-based and outside-the-state brewers.

As one might expect, their beers have adapted names related to the land-grant/sports theme. On my first visit, I found their 1862 American Kölsch Ale (named for the year when the Land-Grant Act was passed) a nice crisp beer, perfect for a hot summer day.

On this latest visit, we got to sample three more of their offerings, and all three had their good points. Their Stiff Arm West Coast Style IPA didn't have that sticky, bitter punch of some of the more well-known exemplars; however, there was enough there to not only please my spouse (the IPA lover of our group) but also gain an appreciated from her friend and I (who are more into the darker styles of beer.) The Son of a Mudder Brown Ale also was similarly milder only in that we had had Seventh Son's very nice and much more assertive Stone Fort Brown Ale the night before; that fact made it no less enjoyable, however. Perhaps our favorite offering by a nose was their Beard Crumbs Oatmeal Raisin Stout: it turned out to have a pleasant blend of raisin, malt and chocolate flavors with a nice body and mouthfeel all the way to the end.

The owners of Land-Grant have also shown the ability to make lemonade out of lemons, an aspect that would seem to bode well for their future. An act of vandalism on their new building early in December has led to a fundraising effort for Franklinton's Gladden Community House and Harmony Project via the sale of T-shirts which have been redesigned to mirror the results of the vandalism. All proceeds from the sale of the T-shirt (which can be ordered on their website here) will be donated to these two community-oriented organizations.

Land-Grant Brewing Company
424 W. Town Street (Franklinton)
Columbus, OH 43215
(614) 427-3946
Facebook     Twitter    Website

The Commissary Block Party

Incubator kitchens are an increasingly utilized and effective tool for fostering food businesses in a number of communities across the country. In San Francisco, the Mission District-based La Cocina has been on the leading edge of assisting low-income entrepreneurs with establishing their own food business since 2005. Another notable member is ForageSF, who has branched off into this world after several years of helping small food businesses out with their fun and engaging Underground Markets in addition to their roving supper club and foraging events.

Columbus' Food Fort, established in July of 2011, has been a linchpin in helping the local mobile food industry reach the thriving status it holds today. The opportunities for more innovation by local culinary institutions only promises to increase with the arrival of The Commissary, the brainchild of Kate Djupe. Her own experiences of trying to produce her own baby food for sale showed her there was a need for such a kitchen space that would not only be able to handle this type of production, but also allow for existing businesses to expand and experiment with their own culinary aspirations. Due to a funding gap, a Kickstarter campaign was launched and proved ultimately successful, allowing The Commissary to develop its current space in the Marble Cliff area of the metro.

This successful campaign sparked a Block Party celebration, in which supporters of the venture like my spouse and I were allowed to experience and discover what had been developed from their funds. These were some pictures of what turned out to be quite a fun time seeing this promising venture come to life, with more to come, including a coffee lab from Stauf's Coffee Roasters as well as both a molecular gastronomy and brewery area.

Bright green brick and a balloon greeted us at the entrance

Simple to creative, and from community and business members of
all types, the Supporter Spoon Wall was gorgeously laid out

Artistic murals lined the walls of the drive-thru area for mobile food trucks

The kitchen and community bookshelf (which includes many
borrowable baking tins)

Local band Earwig, who has their own Kickstarter campaign in support of
their new album release, threw out some rocking tunes in a space that will
eventually contain more kitchen spaces for rent

My spouse and I really enjoyed the pierogis from Sophie's Gourmet Pierogis and the
chicken dish from the King-Lincoln-based Los Potosinos. The excellent Dos Hermanos
taco truck was also there serving food. We washed down our eats with beverages
from Mill St. Distillery in Utica, OH and Columbus-based Actual Brewing.

Another in the Columbus Knife Fight series took place tonight. In the end,
Chef Matt White from Columbus Brewing Company edged out
Chef Lara Yazvac Pipia of Two-Top Consulting

Friendly folks from Outfit/Good, a community-oriented T-shirt maker, and
Igloo Letterpress offered some fancy printed goodies for attendees. In addition,
Amy Turn Sharp was also there lending poems on demand to folks typed
out on an old-style typewriter.

The Commissary founder Lara Djupe took us on a tour of the facility. Before
this picture, she mentioned that she may still need to be pinched to believe
it's all actually happened. Based on this picture, I think she's realizing it has.

The Commissary
1400 Dublin Rd
Marble Cliff, OH 43215
Facebook    Twitter    Website