Font and Center: Igloo Letterpress

Igloo Letterpress is a gem of a business nestled in Olde Worthington

Like many others, doodling was a constant companion throughout my years as a student. My doodling subjects depended a lot on my whims at the time, but something I would always come back to was letter fonts. Whether it was hand re-creating those that I saw and liked (Prince's "Purple Rain" album font was a favorite) or trying to design a personalized font I could call my own, I could at least pass myself off as looking engaged with the class lesson of the day.

Once I had moved to Columbus, I occasionally spied some gloriously old-time fonts and graphics on what appeared to be letterpress produced media on signs and products for sale at local businesses such as German Village's Pistacia Vera, Easton-located Celebrate Local and Worthington's Sassafras Bakery, among others. Eventually I figured out they were produced by a company in Worthington with a rather colorful name and an interesting story behind it.

Igloo Letterpress was founded by owner Allison Chapman in her home back in Minnesota in 1996. When her husband landed a job in the Columbus area and they made their subsequent relocation to Ohio, Chapman found that relocating her letterpress business was something of a challenge. She needed a building that not only had enough space to handle their large work tables and drawers of type, but also handle her over 13,000 pounds of letterpress equipment, including her grandfather's 1892 clamshell press.

Eventually the building in Olde Worthington that would become their current location came available, and Igloo formally opened their doors here in 2009. Since then, the business has continued to prosper, garnering raves from their clients and customers as well as well-earned recognition for the business and Chapman herself, including her inclusion as one of the Eight Badass Columbus Female Founders You Should Know by Amy Taylor of writehuman.com.

The Snow House Gift Shop has all of Igloo Letterpress' retail
products as well as the work of other local artisans

The Igloo Letterpress property covers two buildings. The Snow House, acquired by Igloo and re-opened as their gift shop in September 2013, contains all manner of Igloo Letterpress' retail products as well as a collection of arts and crafts from numerous local artisans. Often time my spouse and I have simply dropped by to browse through the shop, especially in concert with a visit to the Worthington Farmers Market; almost everything within these walls has a high level of visual pull. In a way, it's like window shopping without a window between you and your eyes.

But even more satisfying is in the purchasing, especially anything that has been run through their letter press or book binding machines. For example, the tactile feel of the indented letters and graphics, the simple yet clever greetings, bright vibrant designs and colors and bold typeface fonts that are characteristic of Igloo's greeting cards (which cover just about every occasion you care to imagine) make their mass-produced competition sterile and lifeless by comparison.

The heart of Igloo Letterpress is their studio space.

I believe you even gain more appreciation of their finished products when you venture inside Igloo's main production building. Cozily charming on the outside, the building interior has a certain chaotic organization that you better appreciate as you watch the employees perform their duties. Everything is hand-produced here at Igloo. From the whir and clank of the presses, to the sight and scent of vibrant inks, the concentration of employees in aligning and arranging the various graphic media, and then surveying their newly printed materials on the side as they dry and await finalization: the whole process is an homage to art form which has now been concentrated around the country into a few select bastions of creativity.

Even better, anyone can participate in this process, via one of their drop-in Saturday Farmers Market or holiday-oriented workshops or scheduled classes, some of which can handle even the younger tykes of this world. Last year's Valentine's Day (a similar event was held just this last weekend) and Christmas-oriented drop-in workshops that my spouse and I participated in proved to be incredibly fun, hands-on experiences. The Valentine's Day workshop especially was a uniquely satisfying tactile experience for me, feeling the weight of the type in my hands and arranging it alongside the graphics blocks such that it not only it actually could run through the press (hint: sharp angles generally do not work so well) but produce a little piece of art of which the creator could be tremendously proud.

Igloo letterpress is a gem of a business that seems destined to keep their tried-and-true machines and and age-honed printing methods and processes running for many more years to come in the Central Ohio region.

Igloo Letterpress/Snow House Gift Shop
39 West New England Ave
Worthington, OH 43085
(614)787-5528
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Update: Things are indeed going well for Igloo Letterpress!  Just today, they announced on their Facebook feed they are moving to a larger space just up the block in from where they currently operate in downtown Worthington.

Post by Igloo Letterpress.

Into The Second Decade: Northstar Cafe

The exterior of the Beechwold location of Northstar Cafe; this mini-chain
has been making its mark in the Columbus dining scene since 2004

One particularly notable detail with any restaurant is their menu prices: is the money that you are paying worth what are you getting in the food, service and atmosphere? Coming from the Bay Area, I became acutely aware of the cost differences between similar restaurant items between the two regions; in general, the lower cost for many products and services here in Central Ohio has become one of the things I have really grown to appreciate.

This is one of the reasons why my first visit to Northstar Cafe stuck in my mind: as I glanced through their menu, I can remember saying to myself, "Wow, these are close to Bay Area-type prices."

If one glances through Northstar Cafe's philosophy on its website, you get a hint of why these price points are high for this area. As co-owner Kevin Malhame himself details in this Columbus Underground interview regarding Northstar's sister restaurant Third and Hollywood, their focus on "values-oriented ingredient purchasing" as well as the sheer number of purveyors they regularly deal with boosts their costs higher than the typical restaurant.

Northstar has signature elements throughout its three locations,
as exampled here in its Beechwold location

Northstar Cafe now sports three locations around the Columbus area, starting with their recently remodeled Short North location in 2004, followed by their Beechwold and Easton Mall locations. Of these three, my spouse and I have dined at the latter two locations.

Certain design and functional elements are commonplace among the three locations: signature-style coffee dispensers to cleanly formatted one-page menus; the racks filled with various magazines, and baked goods near the cash register, typically with their time of baking posted. All locations also offer outdoor seating; Easton adds on a fire pit with their location, while the patio at the Short North location appears to make for an ideal people watching location. Easton also is the largest of the three locations, offering double-decked seating and a nicely-flowing interior space and an opportunity to see their kitchen in action.

Tipping had traditionally never been required at any of the Northstar locations, as the service has always been order-at-the-counter. Technically, it still is not a requirement (the ordering system has not changed) but the option to tip restaurant staff has been opened up to diners. This policy when implemented led to initial confusion and perhaps even a touch of resentment for long-time customers, especially in light of the generally higher menu prices.

Northstar Cafe's Easton location offers double-decked seating
and a much more open view of the kitchen to diners.

Overall, we've found Northstar Cafe has a swath of items that rate between three to four stars on a scale of five. Their flat breads are a favorite of both me and the spouse; I also have been pleased with their Fish Sandwich (a grilled Barramundi filet topped with lettuce, red onion, tomato slices and aioli accompanied by hand-cut fries) and their Chicken and Avocado Sandwich.

We are both somewhat wary of non-authentic takes on ethnic dishes, but my spouse found a winner in their Pad Thai off the dinner menu. And while we are both not a fan of beets, their Northstar Burger (a blend of organic brown rice, black beans and beets, accompanied by white cheddar, kale, pickle and a tomato slice as well as a side salad) is another standard go-to for my spouse.

A collection of Northstar Cafe menu items (clockwise from top left)
The Sweet Potato and Turkey Hash, Pad Thai, Sweet Basil
Burrito, and their Cloud Nine Pancakes.

Breakfast/brunch-wise, their Cloud Nine Pancakes and their Housemade Granola (one of the cheapest options on their menu) are always on my personal consideration list along with their baked goods. But it is their Sweet Potato and Turkey Hash (a blend of Applewood-smoked turkey, red peppers, sweet onions, sunny-side-up eggs) that we agree may be their best dish; it is in fact my spouse's de facto selection for breakfast or brunch nine times out of ten.

With that said, there are a few items that we found just a little lackluster. The lunch/dinner-oriented burritos are not our favorites: their breakfast-oriented Big Burrito with its combo of eggs, sweet potato, black beans and salsa has a zing that I believe their lunchtime Thai and Sweet Basil Burritos could use. Their Square Meal is a healthy mix of black beans over brown rice with sautéed peppers, onions, avocado, cheddar cheese and corn tortillas, but again lacks that zing that the veggie-oriented Northstar Burger gives you.

Beverages are available across the gamut but are targeted to a select few brands for categories such as beer and wine. One notable change has been with the coffee, with the switch from Columbus-based Backroom Roasters to the beans of North Carolina's Coffee Culture a couple years back. Since the change, the coffee has tended toward a subtler-tasting java with more floral and fruity notes.

So that question posed at the beginning of this post still remains: is the money that we are paying at Northstar Cafe worth what we are getting in terms of food, atmosphere and service?

For us, that answer remains yes, though I admit I did a second take on our last visit when I saw certain menu prices had crept toward, if not slightly over that $15 mark. Along with Northstar Cafe's food sourcing philosophy, we appreciate the consistency of their preparations and service: we've never had a dish served to us that was defective (too salty, too cold, etc.) and we've always had friendly service from staff members, including an unexpected comp or two without asking for such.

I can certainly see the other side of the higher-price equation, however, and signs are there that this is becoming an issue for more and more people. Only time will tell whether this particular aspect, a byproduct of Northstar Cafe's food-sourcing philosophies, will prove to be a drag on that formula of success that has fueled this eatery for more than a decade.

Northstar Cafe - Beechwold
4241 North High Street
Columbus, OH 43214
(614)784-2233
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Northstar Cafe - Easton
4015 Townsfair Way
Columbus, OH 43219
614.532.5444
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Sonoma Day-Tripping: Fremont Diner/Mission Sonoma San Francisco/Adobe Road Winery

Our California travels during the holidays, unlike other visits in the past, were marked by days or half-day trips instead of extended multi-day affairs. One of these excursions was marked with a quick road trip along Highway 12 into Sonoma, where we dropped by an old favorite, absorbed a little California history, and did a little wine tasting along the way.

The Fremont Diner has gained a loyal following since its opening in 2009

Fremont Diner - this roadside diner had been formerly the home of a long-standing roadside dive Babe's Burgers and Franks, which had a reputation for good burgers. After Babe's closed, over a year passed before the building was remade and reopened in mid-2009 by owner Chad Harris. Despite the cramped (though nicely nostalgically-decorated) interior space and window-only service, diners started to flock here as word spread the delicious Southern-styled eats being created here using locally sourced food purveyors.

I myself had been a frequent visitor of the diner while I was still residing in the Bay Area, and my spouse got the pleasure of tasting their wares on our first year dating anniversary trip out to California in 2011. Our last year's Christmas-time trip to California was our first chance for a revisit since then.

Exterior changes were the first thing that caught my eye on this return back to the diner. The hand-painted clumsy-in-a-charming way original Fremont Diner sign had been relegated to the back of the property. Even when this sign was up front, the restaurant was (and still is) easy to drive past if you aren't sure what to look for.

Clockwise from top left: Glass jugs of complimentary water; a "Greetings
 from Sonoma" mural from the now-enclosed outdoor seating area; a shot
of the Fremont Diner kitchen; and dishes of deliciousness ready to go

In addition, the outdoor grassy area with picnic tables next to the restaurant with had been enclosed, providing a shelter from inclement weather or extreme temperatures. With indoor seating packed as usual and cold temperatures (by California standards) that morning, it was a welcome sight this morning. This enclosed space had some additional neat features, including a natty Sonoma-oriented mural and play things for the kids (I spied two buckets of Mr. Potato-Head toys, amongst other items.)

Another welcome change was the switch to table service, which is a fairly recent change from the order at the window queue I was used to going through every time I dropped by for a visit. Being a bit chilly in the outdoor seating, we immediately ordered a pot of French Press coffee; the diner uses the roasts of San Francisco-based Four Barrel Coffee.

Clockwise from top left: Four Barrel French Press Coffee; Nashville Fried
Chicken and Mac 'N Cheese (from an earlier visit); and our breakfast this
morning: Black Pepper Brisket Hash and the Chilaquiles

While there are many delicious things to sample here at Fremont, my personal leanings are toward their Nashville-style chicken (yes, take note all you Hot Chicken Takeover fans who might be heading to the Bay Area soon) and anything involving pork. No chance for fried chicken this early in the morning (we did find an archival photo of their finger-licking version of this dish from a previous visit, as seen above), but we found some acceptably delectable substitutes in the Black Pepper Brisket Hash ($10.99) and their take on Chilaquiles ($11.99). The spouse was taken aback at first at not getting a corned beef flavor profile, but got in tune with the smoky profile of the brisket in her hash. The addition of pickled onions in my chilaquiles add both a bit of color and extra zing to Fremont Diner's otherwise solid take on this Mexican classic.

The Fremont Diner has a whole lot more to choose from, including craft ciders and beers, desserts (including butterscotch pudding and lemon chess meringue pie slices) and the recent addition of barbecue dinners spring of 2014. Perhaps the best advice if you decide to stop by is bring an appetite and/or bring a lot of friends: there's a lot of good stuff to be found in Fremont Diner's seasonally-oriented menus, and there is no real mystery why this place remains a favorite destination for many.

The Fremont Diner
2698 Fremont Dr. (CA Highway 12 - Google Maps)
Sonoma, CA  95476
(707) 938-7370
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The front of  Mission San Francisco Solano, the most
northernmost mission on the famed El Camino Real

Mission San Francisco Solano - there is no doubting the influence that Spanish settlers had in many areas throughout the Americas, and California was an area where that influence was profound. Much of this influence was brought on by those of the Catholic faith: from the mid-1700s all the way to statehood in 1859, representatives from the Franciscan Order, led by Father Junipero Serra, setup missions throughout the state with the idea to colonize the area as well as bring Christianity to the native peoples.

This Spanish colonization had consequences both positive (mainly via introduction into California of modern agricultural technology and European vegetables, fruits and horses) and negative (particularly in relation to the decline and decimation of Native populations from exposure to diseases and the attempts to turn and keep individuals into Christianity.) An inexpensive way to dive into this chapter of California history lies in a visit to one of these sites.

The main mission building, restored after the 1906 San Francisco
Earthquake damaged the structure, contains many informational exhibits,

Mission San Francisco Solano in Sonoma, operated by California State Parks and part of the Sonoma State Historic Park, is the northernmost and last established (construction began in 1823) outpost along what became known as El Camino Real (translation: The Royal Highway). This road connected the 21 missions of what was then Alta California as well as assorted military presidios and pueblas such that a traveler could make it between outposts with one day's travel.

The only mission established while an independent Mexico ruled the region, Mission Solano San Francisco operated as such for only 11 years before it was officially closed in 1834. From there, the building underwent numerous ownership transfers and uses as well as increasing neglect until the property was bought by the California Landmarks League in 1903. Restoration efforts began several years after this purchase before the full transfer of the property to the state of California took place in 1926.

Various scenes from around the Mission, including the chapel and
the fenced-in courtyard behind the main building.

Admission to the Mission property will get you into several sites which now make up the Sonoma Historic Sites Park, including the Military Barracks and nearby Casa Grande Servants Quarters, the Toscano Hotel, and two homes associated with General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, who was influential in the military, business and political realm in the years just before, during after the Mexican-American War as well as the subsequent statehood of California.

Exhibits inside the Sonoma Barracks, including a original
California Bear Republic flag. We also dropped by the Toscano
Hotel and the Casa Grande Servants Quarters.

The Mission and associated Sonoma Historic Sites Park is open 365 days a year except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

Sonoma State Historic Park
363 Third Street West
Sonoma, CA 95476
(707) 938-9560
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The interior of Adobe Road Winery, including their delicious wines.

Adobe Road Winery - I have a confession here to divulge: for all the years of residing next door to the most famous of the Bay Area's wine countries, I really was not much into wine tasting or drinking. My spouse and I have visited wineries since we've been together, but they never have been approached as enthusiastically as our pursuit of breweries.

Not that this visit to Adobe Road, located in the heart of Downtown Sonoma will change this tendency, but this was perhaps my first wine tasting where there was not a blah wine in the bunch. This was also a wine tasting that will guarantee a return visit at some point.for us.

This winery tasting room (the main winery is located in Petaluma), located on the main plaza in downtown Sonoma, is part of the boutique wine hobby/business of Kevin and Debra Buckler. Their prime business lies in auto racing, started in 1992 with the founding of their The Racing Group (TRG) race team (they now race under the banner of TRG-Aston Martin.) The Bucklers' have been quite successful at this prime venture, concentrating mainly on the Gran Turismo (GT) racing circuit with a brief dalliance with the NASCAR circuit in the late 2000s.

Their winery, started a few years after the founding of the racing team, has both received the same level of passion from the Bucklers and seen its own measure of success with highly-rated wines and various awards. On this visit, we had only been intending to grab a bottle of their old vine Zinfandel for my father-in-law, who had been wowed by it on a previous visit to the area. But as we got closer, we began to start thinking to ourselves, "Well, we're here...why not taste what they have?

Adobe Road Winery offers a standard tasting on weekdays of $15 and a tasting of their reserve wines on weekends for $25; both those fees are waived if you decide to purchase some wine. Our visit this day came with two bonuses, the first in the form of our host. Alec was a wonderful host, engaging in both his humor as well as his knowledge of the winery and the wines we were sampling. Our second bonus came in the day we visited: since we came on a Monday, we found out that the there were leftover wines from the premium tasting from the weekend. Since the wines would simply be tossed out due to oxidation, we were able to sample their entire available collection.

At the end of our wine tasting, my spouse and I agreed we could have been happy purchasing ANY of the bottles of wine they had for sale. Our fortune to sample the premium wines worked out for both us and Adobe Road, as we walked out with a bottle of their delicious Cabernet Franc along with the requested old vine Zinfandel for my father-in-law. This Cab Franc will definitely be a wine we save for a very special occasion.

Adobe Road Winery (Tasting Room)
481 1st Street West
Sonoma, CA 95476
(707) 939-9099
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Köstlichste! Schmidt's Sausage Haus and Restaurant

The entrance to what has become a Columbus restaurant institution

German restaurants in the Bay Area were something of a conundrum for me: the more traditional style "meat-and-potato" styled restaurants such as Suppenkuche and Walzwerk personally seemed a little spendy for what you would end up getting. This perception is much of the reason why Berkeley's Gaumenkitzel, which put a California-twist on traditional German dishes, turned out to a preferred destination when I wanted to delve into this cuisine.

Still, I was really hoping to drop by a more traditional type restaurant one of these days, and my move to Ohio gave me that opportunity in the form of Schmidt's Sausage Haus and Restaurant. The fact that the dishes would come in at Columbus-region prices made this visit even more appealing.

This German Village area restaurant, which started as a meat-packing operation in 1886 (the restaurant itself began serving diners in the late 1960s), has in its years of operation become a popular destination for locals and tourists alike; in addition, it has remained a family institution as well, with the fourth generation of the Schmidt family now handling restaurant operations. In 2008, they obtained some national publicity when they were featured along with several other local restaurants in a Columbus-focused Man v. Food episode starring Adam Richman. Most recently, they have expanded their operations into Columbus' flourishing food truck world with their Schmidt's Sausage Truck.

As I approached and entered Schmidt's, I was not surprised to find the restaurant had numerous tourist-friendly trappings: included in these were the Mann und Frau "stick-my-head-in" cutout at the entrance; the polka/oompah music by restaurant regulars Squeezin' N Wheezin'; and plenty of German-themed tchotchkes and other media scattered about the brick-walled interior. I imagine it could be a bit too much for some, especially in combination with the typically large crowds, but I found the atmosphere as a whole quite fun and enjoyable.

The interior of Schmidt's unsurprisingly plays up its German heritage,
and you can't NOT post a picture of their luscious cream puffs.

We were joined for dinner by two eager diners (a very good friend of ours as well as my mother-in-law, both of whom have distinct German generational lines) with both of them as well as my spouse itching to visit Schmidt's after a several year absence. Thankfully, our wait for a table wasn't too long and, after some debate as to whether to go the buffet route, we all decided to order various of their traditional dinner dishes.

Our two guests both ordered the Bavarian Cabbage Rolls topped with tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese ($13.50), while my spouse ordered the Alpine Chicken Spatzel ($12.75), a combo of grilled whole breast chicken sliced and served on German spatzel noodles, peppers, mushrooms and onions with garlic-basil sauce.  All dinner dishes are served with two side dishes of the diner's choosing.

With this being my first visit to the restaurant, I dove into a Schmidt's standard by ordering the Bahama Mama Sausage Platter ($11.75). This more flavorful-spicy than heat-spicy sausage was served with a hot-dog style bun along with sauerkraut, potato salad and applesauce.

My spouse and my mother-in-law also supplemented their meals with a beer; Schmidt's has a decent collection of both Euro-centric and local brews, including two special house beers produced by Columbus-based Elevator Brewing.

Clockwise from top left: Bahama Mama Sausage Platter, Alpine Chicken
Spatzel, sample Schmidt's menu, and Bavarian Cabbage Rolls

Some of us also decided to grab a dessert to take home. Our friend spotted the German Chocolate Cake ($5.25) in the pastry case while we were waiting to be seated, and could not resist taking a slice home. As for us, Schmidt's renowned half-pound cream puffs (these mountainous creations are enough of a reason to start your meal with dessert at times) normally would be calling our name. However, since that actually was the last (and only) thing I had had from Schmidt's prior to this visit, we brought back some of their Apple Strudel ($5.25) instead. Their strudel, which structure wise reminded us more of an apple pie, was a pleasant sweet treat later that night.

Simply put, Schmidt's serves hearty comfort fare in a fun and welcoming atmosphere. These dishes may not be wow-inducing, but they are quite tasty and satisfying in their own right; our happy smiles and full bellies at the end of the night pretty much sealed the deal on what was a dandy experience for all of us.

Schmidt's Sausage Haus and Restaurant
240 East Kossuth Street (German Village)
Columbus, OH  43206
(614) 444-6808
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Beards, Brew and Ballyhoo: The 2015 Columbus Winter Beerfest

The crowds were large and the venue sold out (at least on Saturday)
for the 2015 version of the Columbus Winter Beerfest.

For all the breweries that my spouse and I have visited since we've been together, we had never been to a full-fledged beer festival. That status was changed as we made the pilgrimage to the Columbus Winter Beerfest this weekend.

Now five years old, the biannual Columbus Beerfest (there is a summer edition as well) has grown by leaps and bounds each year, expanding on the number of vendors as well as number of attendees. This year's edition cover two days and featured over 350 beers from 100-plus different brands and breweries combined.

While there is a "Connoisseur" ticket package that allows you such privileges such as early tasting, a special/larger tasting glass, and a food/special beer pairing with local breweries and restaurants (from the research I did prior to the event, it seems to be worth the extra cash generally speaking), we decided the standard admission would be perfectly fine as we were meeting up with some members of my spouse's beer club, Brews and Betties (formerly the Hopyard Honeys) for dinner prior to the event.

As a newcomer to this type of event, I wanted to follow a general game plan and more or less stuck with it. I decided to split up from our group to get a feel of the layout and atmosphere (and grab some pictures in the process). I also made the decision to target porters and stouts (my general leaning and much more of a winter beer anyway). In addition, I had ferreted out some breweries and styles from the beer list posted on the event's website to break up that stout/porter taste profile every two or three samplings.

For my spouse, beer sampling power came in numbers - she and her beer club buddies got to sample multiple beer at various booths. This worked well at gaining maximum tasting of different beers with relatively sane levels of alcohol consumption as well as her strategy of asking for half-pours. Another option for lessening the intoxication factor that many people took advantage of was the various pour buckets or a random stray partially or fully empty cups.

As in past posts, I find images really help tell the tale of these types of experiences, so without further adieu, here are some pictures from our night at the Beerfest:

The folks attending the Anime/MMORPG Convention Ohayocon 2015 provided
a unique contrast to the beer aficionados attending Beerfest. That said, quite a
few Ohayocon attendees double-dipped and also dropped into the Beerfest. 

The tasting glasses and tickets (25 total) for the regular admission
attendees. Your admission ostensibly got you a pour per ticket,
but few if any vendors were actually asking for them and only
those with robo-livers could even think about drinking that
amount of beer (roughly 10 beers) in roughly 4 hours.

Pretzels are a popular choice for giving your palate a break from multiple beer
samplings; hand-fashioned pretzel necklaces like this were commonplace

Beer list handed out of the event; the check-marked beers were those that
were in more limited supply, but even some of the more plentiful beers tapped
out early (such as one of my favorite porters, Great Lakes' Edmund Fitzgerald)

The folks at Zaftig Brewing pouring me a Bam Ba Lam, a breakfast stout made
with Ghirardelli Chocolate and Crimson Cup Coffee Beans. This proved to
a favorite beer for all our group members. This Worthington-based brewery
is due to celebrate its one year anniversary with an event on February 28

Deschutes Brewery, based out of Bend, Oregon, made it easy for folks
to avoid the long lines with this Mirror Pond Pale Ale portable keg/cart

The representatives of San Diego's White Labs, a leader in the development
and supply of yeast for the craft beer agency, were very happy to have folks drop
by and say hi. Unlike most vendors, they had some stickers and other fun
media (such as a beer geeky poster describing their yeasts) for the taking.

Some early action on the "dance floor" in the middle of the event space.
Not surprisingly, more people joined the group as the night wore on as
the liquid courage consumption built up in event-goers.

While portable canopies and table setups were common, several
breweries went for fancier setups. Vehicle-based taps were
sported by Zanesville's Weasel Boy and Columbus' own
Seventh Son and North High Brewing, among others.

One vendor I had pegged for a palate break was Hudson, Ohio's Spindoktor.
I ran into a few people at the event who liked their hard root
beer beverage, but alas I never did get around for a sampling.

One alternate non-beer beverage I did get to was cider from
Griffin Cider Works. Founded by a British ex-pat, this Cleveland-area
company's original cider provided a nicely crisp and not too sweet
break from my mainly porter/stout based quest.

My spouse and I had been questing for the 5 Rabbit Cerveceria (from
Chicago) El Bizarron collaboration with Tampa Florida-based Cigar
City Brewing to no avail. Lucky for us, this Cuban-themed porter
brewed with plantains was available (their rep said it was the
last three kegs available that he knew about) and was easily in
our top three beers tasted that night. 

Columbus-based Zauber Brewing's space was enhanced by hops supplied
by Marysville-based Grandpop's Hops.

Speaking of hops, Jackie O's Brewery's tent was hopping with activity.
This Athens-based brewery has recently returned to Top 100 Brewers in
the world by ratebeer.com, joining 4 other Ohio-based breweries. 

Fancy fonts preceded another palate-cleanser for me; in this case, it was the
Belgian White from Cincinnati-based Fifty West Brewing.

While there were plenty of people at the Beerfest, it never really did
seem too claustrophobic due to the large amount of space in the hall. One
exception was the men's bathrooms, which became more of a mess
as the night went on (this is nothing new, however, from what I've read.)

The chocolate-hints of Eugene Porter from Chicago-based
Revolution Brewing made it a winner in my porter/stout quest.

This teeter-totter from the Shandy-oriented Traveler Beer Company out
of Vermont proved to be a hit with Beerfest goers. Live music bands and a 
karaoke stage were other non-beer activities which attendees could partake.

I ended up on a mini-tangent in sampling two smoked beers:I sampled both the
Buchenrauch, a smoked lager produced by Columbus' Wolf's Ridge Brewing,
and Weasel Boy's smoked porter Rauchbier one after the other. Both were
very tasty, though I preferred the porter's fuller mouth feel a little more.

Overall, this seemed to be generally well-run event that has been helped out by its move to more spacious Columbus Convention Center. While Columbus was well represented, many breweries from around Ohio also had a presence there, making it a great event to explore beer from parts of the state to which they may not regularly travel.  If you don't mind what can be long (but generally quick-moving) lines and gobs of people, this event seems to be a fun way for those who are still new to the scene, those from out of town unfamiliar with Ohio-based beer, and just beer enthusiasts (especially if you're with a group of friends) to spend a night sampling lots of good beer.

My spouse and I both had fun hanging out with our friends this night, and agree this is an event any beer lover from around this area should do at least once. In addition, it also has given us some valuable experience on how to approach similar events in other cities in the future.

Columbus Beerfest (Winter and Summer)
Contact information at the following links
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