Beer Road Trip! (IL, IN, OH)

If you are wanting to make a Dayton stop, and assuming you are wanting to keep it close to I-70, consider these stops

liquor-wine-warehouse.com

hairlessharebrewery.com

bunkersbarandgrill.com

 

I assume you are talking about Columbus Ohio right? Having just been through Cinci and Cleveland I would say the one beer that stood out as a must get is Columbus Bodhi (not a shocker). I found a couple of bottles since they just started bottling it but you can use beermenus to locate growler fills. It's really excellent and you have to make sure you grab one

 

Anytime that I'm in Ohio I get some Fathead Brewing's Head Hunter IPA and Columbus Brewing's IPA. Both are very good and easily found in Columbus.

 

For brewery visits in Columbus the go-to is the Wolf's Ridge, Seventh Son, and Hoof Hearted trio. They're very close to each other and all three of them are brewing great stuff and will have 8+ taps with plenty of different styles.

* Make sure to visit the Tap Room and not the restaurant at Wolf's Ridge. They're attached to each other so if you find yourself in sort of a fancy restaurant ask the staff to point you to the stairs/door that leads to the Tap room.

**If this will be a food stop too eat a Wolf's Ridge. The main restaurant is great and the Taproom has a brand new independent kitchen with great options too. You can check the Food Truck schedule for Seventh Son too. Avoid eating at Hoof Hearted.

If you have more time for other Breweries I recommend Land Grant, Lineage, and Kindred.

 

If you want to hit a really good under the radar brewery, take a 25 minute detour off I71 and go to JAFB Brewery in Wooster, OH. I don't think they open until 3 during the week, but I don't think you would regret the stop.

 

Another place you could stop, literally not even 5 minutes off I-70 in Zanesville, is Weasel Boy. Cabernet Barrel Aged Sour Scottish Ale and Belgian Strong Dark should both be out very, very soon if they aren't already. I doubt their best beer, Anastasia, will be on tap yet, but it might be. Good pizza (get the smoked loin on it, you won't regret it), cool atmosphere, great people. Jay and Lori are good people, and I miss working for them. I'll try and text Lori tomorrow and get an up-to-date taplist for them for you, so you can see if it might be something you'd want to stop and try.

If you do decide to stop, it's very, very simple to get there. Since you'll be coming from the west, take the 5th Street exit, follow it to the very end of the road, where you'll have 2 options, left or right (straight would end you up in the Muskingum River canal). Left to the traffic light. Right over the bridge. Right at the light. Weasel Boy is on the right hand side about a 1/4 mile, right beside the river. Parking is on the left. You'll see their beer trailer in the parking lot.

When you leave, you'd make a right back to 6th Street to the bridge, turn left and cross that bridge, and follow that road straight until you see a Red Lobster. Make a right at that traffic light onto Underwood Street, and you'll see I-70 ahead of you. You'll make a left onto the on ramp and back on your way.

 

In Indy I would go counter clockwise around I-465 and hit up Deviate and then Daredevil / Big Woods in the Speedway area.

There is nothing in Illinois but once you cross the Mississippi there is 4 Hands.

 

We toured Indy's brewpubs just this spring and were way impressed. We went to Upland, Sun King, Black Acre, Deviate, Daredevil, Taxman and we had Triton, Tow Yard and maybe a couple others on tap at various bars & restaruants.

Deviate, without question, is brewing the most ambitious and some of the best beer in town. Its location is, at best, "non-descript", the decor at best is "functional" - you go there for the beer. Daredevil is new, big and shiny and I still have some excellent Rip Cord & Lift Off in my fridge. But I have to say, if you have a chance, you should go out of your way and dip south to Taxman. Across from the grain elevator in Downtown Bargersville (all 2 blocks of it), they brew Belgian beer you'll probably like even if you don't like Belgian beer and their food is insanely good. The burgers are incredible and just pray that the BBQ Mac & Cheese with Crispy Pork Belly is on the menu. The space is rustic urban with big garage doors open on nice days. If I was staying over night, I wouldn't miss any of the 3. If I was passing through, it'd have to be Taxman & Daredevil for me (maybe do Big Woods & Deviate on the return trip?)

Oh, fredmugs is rigth - that drive through IL is well worth skipping all toghether (or at least napping while somebody else drives).

In KC, you pretty much have to hit Boulevard, but you'd be better focusing on BBQ (it's not really a hopping brewery town) like Arthur Bryant's & Gates because you're there, or Jack Stack because it's excellent. In Manhattan, KS (a bit off I70), Tallgrass Taphouse is a neat place with pretty good beers getting pretty major distribution recently. And when you get to Denver, all I'll say is that whatever else you do, you cannot skip Falling Rock Taphouse.