Trip to Columbus

Whole chain is closing on the retail side. There are locations in Toledo too I believe. Really does suck. I've heard they're about out of everything now.

 

Is the hoof hearted pub worth a stop? Heading to Columbus on Friday and may have a couple of hours before my flight back. if it's no good, where is a better spot to grab a couple before hopping on a plane.

 

^^^ I second this question. Flying in tomorrow and back Friday. May have some free time to grab a couple beers each day. Would love to try some Jackie O's, Hoof Hearted, and Columbus Brewing. Any suggestions?

 

I'd say stop at wolfs ridge over hoof if you only have time for one, I enjoyed it there more, not to say hoof was bad, just preferred wolfs.

 

Beer wise, food wise, environment wise, or all/some of the above? Wolf would be a bit easier as it's 3 blocks from the office, but I don't know squat about their beer. I don't know much about HH either, but the name is a bit more well known to me. Thanks.

 

Trust me when I say that Wolf's Ridge is easily as good as HH, and their food is better.

@Spider889 is their head brewer

 

Wolf's Ridge tap list as of 3/21: http://www.wolfsridgebrewing.com/on-tap

Unfortunately though, the tap room is closed for a private event Friday night, per their website.

Not sure what all options you'd have access to on the restaurant side, but the restaurant itself is terrific.

Other options in the same general area as WR would be Platform, Elevator (not personally recommended) and Barley's.

 

Why isn't Seventh Sun being mentioned? It's right up the street from Hoof Hearted. I enjoyed my the beer there more that HH, although HH was very good. I haven't been to Wolf's Ridge to compare them though.

 

Where's a good place to grab dinner and a couple beers near Flint / Powell? I'm staying at the Nationwide Hotel & Conference Center.

 

You're less than 5 miles away from the new Winking Lizard/Lizardville on Polaris Parkway.

 

I don't think Seventh Son has food, for one. Their space is great, but their beer is only average IMO. It's always crowded, though, so clearly somebody is enjoying it. I haven't eaten at HH so I can't comment on their food, but their beers are pretty all over the place. If you're looking for cloudy IPAs, they're pretty much the only game in town. If you want any other style, you're kinda out of luck.
Wolf's Ridge is the best brewery in town, IMO. And the food is legitimately amazing, but you're going to spend some money if you eat dinner there. Their taproom is great and their beers are top-notch.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. Grabbed dinner there. Wings were really solid. And grabbed a pint of bodhi (amazing) and a bottle of jackie o's polycephaly 1 (world class).

 

If you're trying to hit Wolf's Ridge Brewing before a flight Friday it likely won't matter that the taproom is closed for an event (doesn't normally open until 3 anyway).

That said, swing into the restaurant. They serve the lunch menu until 3, which is the same as the taproom food menu. The new wings are excellent, as are the duck tacos.

We have 12 beers on in the restaurant but they'll grab you one of the taproom exclusives if you ask. I recommend the Driftwood session IPA or Earthrise (both fresh and hoppy), Clear Sky Daybreak if you like coffee beer, or our lagers - Helles and Doppelbock are top notch. The taproom has Coconut Cream Pie and Maplewood aged Cinnamon Toast Brunch right now.

 

I am headed to southern Columbus for work for likely a week plus. Anyone have any suggestions for great tap lists? Looking for beers that I likely can't find in bottles (or are limited offerings in bottles) but I could try on tap. Big into stouts, especially BA stouts.

I am staying around the grove city area, but happy to drive wherever to try some good beer.

 

Thanks for the recommendation folks. It's funny because I head to Columbus to meet with a couple of developers who enjoy good beer, but are burgers & steak guys from Texas. They had gone to Wolf's Ridge before I made it out a couple months back and keep referring to it as the place with fancy food. As such, it's been off the radar for the group.

Last month, I kind of forced the group to head there after dinner. I really enjoyed the place. While the front of the place is a little more upscale than I was wanting, the back bar area was perfect. I didn't try the food, but tried Dire Wolf and a Coconut Variant. I also tried their Canus Mexicanus (sp?) and thought it was pretty solid.

They had one of their IPAs w/ basil that was a surprising hit for me.

In any case, thanks BA'ers for keeping this on the radar and I hope to head back in a couple of weeks. And having 4-packs to go was a great idea that night, but maybe not the best the next morning.

 

Grove City doesn't have a ton of places. The only really decent place I know there is Hopyard 62, tap menu is here: https://www.beermenus.com/places/5852-hop-yard-62

As far as places I'D personally visit, they're all going to be closer to downtown than where you are:

Yellow Brick Pizza (892 Oak St., part of German Village) has Dogfish World Wide and Jackie O's Oro Negro both on tap right now as well as a couple other cool things (Mikkeller Raspberry Triplebock, FFF Behemoth).

Pies and Pints Short North (1024 N High St.) has Founders KBS and Wolf's Ridge Yub Nub (Dire Wolf with Cinnamon and One Line espresso). They also have KILLER pizza. The Hot Mamma is amazing, as is the Pesto. The Pulled Pork Nachos are also amazing (I could drink the chipotle crema that's on them).

IF you are thinking that Pies and Pints is an option, the actual Wolf's Ridge Brewing taproom/restaurant is closer to you (215 N 4th St) and has several variants of Dire Wolf on tap: Yub Nub, Coffee+Cherry+Vanilla, Canis Mexicanus (Mexican spiced Dire Wolf), as well as regular Dire Wolf, and has some other cool stuff. Chris (@Spider889) is a great brewer, and makes killer beer. Dire Wolf is one of the best beers in Ohio, IMO.

One other place you could check out, but is further away, is The Daily Growler Upper Arlington (2812 Fishinger Rd (strip mall at the corner of Fishinger and Riverside)) which has 60 taps. Stouts on right now are Ballast Point BA Sea Monster, Great Divide Bourbon Chocolate Yeti, and Barley's Conqueror Imperial Oatmeal Stout aged in Watershed Bourbon barrels.


Hope that's a start.

Cheers!

Kef

 

Good to hear man. Glad you dug it.

 

Great response. I really appreciate it.

Yea, anyplace in the city works. I'm willing to drive.

I'll be checking some of these out for sure.

 

No problem at all, that's part of what I'm here for

 

Just thought I'd mention that I visited Wolf's Ridge on Sunday and really enjoyed hanging out there for a couple beers. I was also lucky enough to score a 6 pack of Clear Sky Daybreak and one of the last bombers of Cinnamon Toast Brunch. All the bartenders we talked to were cool and very helpful.

Also went to the Hoof brewpub and kitchen and had great service there.