We had a fantastic weekend, volunteering at the final day of the North Market Microbrew Festival, which is dedicated to local and Ohio craft beers. There were 20 or so breweries there, many of whom were from Columbus and the surrounding areas. Apparently attendance records were shattered, and it was certainly busy, with perfect weather to complement the atmosphere. We worked the Barley's Smokehouse tent, alongside some of the coolest motherfuckers we've had the pleasure of meeting. Seriously, you can't go wrong in the craft beer community.
Dad watched Peanut while we were there, and his fee for babysitting was that we bring home some beer. Ummm, ok. So, afterwards, we stopped at Barley's Alehouse (across the parking lot from where we were stationed during the festival) and picked up some great beer. We were just going to get the Hoptoberfest, which we knew Dad would love, when Angelo stopped us and sent us on our way with a second growler. Now, we were feeling pretty good when we got home, fed the family, and put Peanut to bed. So we may have committed a crime and let it sit in the fridge overnight. Not to worry, Dad helped himself to a couple of glasses last night. This is what he didn't drink.
We were lucky enough to have this on tap at the festival. It's just as good the next night. It pours a deep amber color, and fortunately, there's a tiny little bit of off-white head that poured out with the growler. Whew, the crime just became a misdemeanor. The nose on this is very hop-forward, with a lot of pine and grapefruit and just a tinge of earthiness. There isn't much evidence of malt body in the nose. Taking a sip, there's the Oktoberfest style coming through... it's earthy/malty at the front, with faint toffee and caramel tomes coming through, which gives way quickly to almost a nut-like character (which in this is going to come from the malts), and then fades into the pine and citrus hops that are just a fantastic complement to the style. It's moderately carbonated, even after a night in our fridge.
This is probably my favorite Oktoberfest. Granted, I've yet to have a beer from Barley's that I don't thoroughly enjoy, but this is a fantastic example of the style. We'll be happy to assist them at any future event!
4.9/5 caps
-Jennie
Again, HUGE thanks to Angelo and the whole Barley's crew. Kick ass people, if you haven't been there, it's on High Street right after 670 (adjacent to to the North Market). Awesome food (try the sauerkraut balls), amazing beer. Wait, did I say amazing? Yeah, yeah I did.
This is just one example of the damn near 21 years of brewing excellency that Barley's has under their belt. They opened their Ale House (High Street location) on Nov 20, 1992. This particular example is stellar, but then again, I don't think Barley's is capable of producing a bad beer.
It pours a deep amber color with some light white head. The aroma is grapefruit and pine with a hint of earthiness, caramel and toffee. The flavor, after warming up for nearly an hour while Jennie dilly-dallied on the computer, is... bad. Bad as in BAD ASS! There's a whole array of flavors attacking your tongue at once. You got earthy tones from the hops blending with caramel and toffee on the front, which fades into some citrus which fades in and out throughout the rest of the sip. After the citrus initially fades, there is a nuttiness to it, giving way to citrus again and pine. I realize that not much of the flavor has changed since Jennie started on this Brewventure, which is good. It's cellar temp now, and I'm getting the same flavor profile I did when it was cold. There is still some slight carbonation which blends perfectly with the stickiness from the hops that are left on your palate.
Cheers, again, to Angelo and the Barley's crew. Which reminds me, we still need to post our review on the trifecta of brews we had back in Feb/March (Beastie Boysenberry, Blood Thirst, and Blurry Bike IPA). It's been a work in progress, as we get sidetracked with things.
4.9/5 caps
-Nathan-
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