Stone Expansion - Columbus?

Pretty much the same thing can be said about Ohio breweries and cities, especially Cleveland and Columbus. I can't speak a ton to Cleveland because I don't live there, but the Columbus area alone is a "newer" beer scene and has 22 active or soon-to-be active breweries and a lot of them are doing great stuff. The beer doesn't get the "recognition" like this poster suggested because the beer has very limited distro, isn't in bottles, or has a lot of experimentals and one-offs.:

I would easily put Ohio's IPA/DIPAs against any other state's lineup, and in fact, the last IPA or DIPA I purchased that wasn't an Ohio-brewed one was the sixer of Big Eye I bought back in March.

If we're going off strictly ratings, no Michigan brewery brews a better DIPA than Columbus Bodhi or Hop Juju, no Michigan brewery brews a better IPA than Head Hunter, no Michigan brewery brews a better an Amber/Red than Uncle Rusty, a better Pale Wheat than Fool's Gold, a better porter than BB Black Maple, a better American Stout than Java the Stout or Sohio, a better American Wild than A Token of Our Extreme....

I'm not trying to make it a d**k measuring contest, but Ohio does some very, very good stuff. And in fact, I love Michigan beers (pretty much the only thing about the state I do like), I love going to Founders and went to Bell's last year for the first time and had an amazing time, but Ohio makes amazing brews that I don't have to drive 5 hours for OR try and beat out all the fanboys to get as it gets off the truck.

 

Fat Head's Hop Juju - GABF Gold 2013
Trail Head Pale - Silver GABF 2013

Brew Kettle - National Brewing News winner for best IIPA El Lupelo Libre

Medals aside(because most beers aren't even entered):

Fat Head's:
IBUsive
Angels for ALS
Hop Stalker

Brew Kettle:
White Rajah

Columbus Brewing:
IPA
Bodhi

JAFB:
New Stunt IPA
Double Vision IIPA

Rhinegiest:
Truth

I could go on...

Founders Centennial is an ok beer, but nowhere near any of the beer I mentioned. DRIPA is a good beer too, but again, not on par with Ohio's best IIPAs.

Edit: You also left out Head Hunter's medals at GABF, Brewing News and Haywood IPA Fest in California. Not a big deal, but it doesn't make your argument stronger by leaving them out.

 

Don't really care who is best in one person's opinion (I know mine!), but independent (or at least not completely biased towards MI or OH) reviewers agree:

Top 50 Breweries:

Michigan = 7 (B. Nektar, Bell's, Dark Horse, Founders, Jolly Pumpkin, Kuhnhenn, Shorts)

Ohio = 2 (Great Lakes, Hoppin' Frog)

 

Great Lakes and Hoppin Frog are good breweries, but any list without Fat Head's and Jackie O's is irrelevant. Those two are better than anything in MI for my money.

 

Like yeah, GL and HF are our most widely distributed breweries, but no way are those two the best.

I like both a lot, but I easily put Fat Head's, Jackie O's and CBC with or ahead of them, and would almost put Thirsty Dog and TBK in the same general area as those two and I'm starting to dig the stuff coming out of Hoof Hearted

Also...are we putting meaderies in the argument now?

 

Haven't tried the first 2 you listed, but Founders Centennial doesn't touch the top 3 IPAs in Ohio. No disrespect to Founders and Centennial IPA, but it is kinda your bland staple IPA at this point. CBC, Fat Head's, and TBK all brew better IPAs than Centennial, and it isn't even close IMHO. The people on this website agree, just check out the ratings.

 

Gotta mention Chillwave from Great Lakes in that conversation. IMO, right up there with Bodhi and Hop Juju (haven't had a chance to try El Lupelo Libre). Drinking it fresh it is close to the best IIPA I've ever had. Not sure if it won any medals, but who cares? It's awesome. Can't say I've tried (m)any memorable IIPAs out of Michigan.

 

I wasn't talking about beer. And yeah I've spent time in Columbus. It's nice, but there are things Detroit has that Columbus will never have. Columbus doesn't have an art museum of the caliber of the DIA, the ethnic neighborhoods, the architecture (ruined or otherwise), the burgeoning art and music scene, the automobile history, or the "character" that Detroit has.

I wasn't claiming that Michigan's IPAs are way better, but they are comparable. I was mostly getting angry at the other guy who said Michigan beer is crap, which is patently false. I would say that Michigan has beers of the same quality of those (I mean, are we really going to argue between Two Hearted's 4.27 and Head Hunter's 4.29?), but with way better distribution, which should count.

And yeah Chillwave is an amazing beer. Up there with Hopslam and Mars .

I'm not the biggest fan of Centennial either. Haven't had it in awhile, though, so I might need to get some more.

 

Who said Michigan beer was crap? I didn't, just like Ohio beer more. I am not a fan of Bells, in general, but that's as far as I went with that.

 

Nor does Detroit have a zoo as good as the Columbus Zoo, a science center as good as COSI, a library system as good as CML...There's the Short North/Victorian Village, German Village, Italian Village, Brewery District, Arena District, etc. We're the "unofficial home of US Soccer". There tons of great things each city has, Columbus just doesn't have the history of violent crime, bankruptcy, or urban blight, or I guess what is now known as "character"?

There's a reason Columbus is actually attracting population, business, and in this case, Stone. Because Columbus and central Ohio is growing when the rest of the Midwest is shrinkining. Because we have a stable economy, a diverse population, a growing craft beer scene (named one of the 10 best "emerging" craft beer cities in the US), is within a day's drive of half the US population, and aren't land/lake locked.

 

All I know is that the Tigers are already down 1-9 against the Twins after giving up 20 runs to them last night. That is sad. Talk about a waste of money.

 

Sorry sir, but you need to do more research. We seem to have a better handle on IPAs while Michigan has an edge with darker beers. I'm looking at you Bell's BN!

DRIPA is fantastic!! That beer paired with the amazing food at Slow's is a magical combination. If you ever want to try a solid Ohio IIPA, I can send you CBC Bodhi.

Cheers!

 

Yeah but I just find that hard to believe. They make a lot of good beers. I guess it came across as harsher over the internet.

No, that's not what character is and that's also a low blow. Good day.