I’m heading south for another beer festival!
The travel time will not be as long as Indy Winterfest in Indianapolis from a few weeks ago. I’m heading to Toledo for the 14th Annual Glass City Beer Festival on Friday, February 28. As most Michiganders know, there is a history with Toledo. Rather than engage in historic state rivalries, I’m looking forward to checking out the Northern Ohio beer scene.
The Glass City Beer Festival is set to have 40 local, national, and international breweries that are being brought to the festival by their distributor or themselves. The winter-timed beer festival will be indoors at the Stranahan Theater. The VIP hour runs an hour before the festival begins and has appetizers and 18 beer samples tickets. General Admission runs from 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm and has 12 samples.
The Glass City Beer Festival is an all-for-charity festival with 2020’s charities being Courageous Community Services and NWO Hemophilia Foundation.
I enjoyed reading about all of the breweries that will be present. Out of the 230+ beers, here are 10 beers available during general admission that you will have to try for a variety of reasons. The following beers are listed in alphabetical according to beer name:
Bierwolf – Great Lakes Brewing Co (Cleveland, OH)
Great Lakes Brewing Co is one of the OG breweries in the Midwest, so I’m always looking to them to see what they are making. With Bierwolf, they took a dunkelweizen, a dark wheat beer with German roots, and brewed it with coffee and chocolate. I’m a fan of the dark beers Great Lakes Brewing puts out, especially their Edmund Fitzgerald, so I’m looking forward to this one.
Cuckoos in the Nut House – Pavlov’s Brewing Co (Temperance, MI)
Besides the national brands with Michigan roots, I was happy to see a smaller Michigan brewery make the festival list. As a Michigander, I’m looking forward to checking out what Pavlov’s Brewing Co is up to, especially with their nutty milk stout, Cuckoos in the Nut House. I must be conditioned or something to want to check out the Michigan brewery.
Frosty Lime Wit with Tangerine – Market Garden Brewery (Cleveland, OH)
Market Garden is one of my favorite Ohio breweries because my friend Frank who used to work there. He would always have Market Garden beers for me to try on his visits to Michigan. Anyway, Market Garden’s Frosty Lime Wit with Tangerine sounds like a bomb of flavors in your mouth and is going to be a good “break beer” from all the high ABV beers.
Ice Shove – Twin Oast Brewing (Port Clinton, OH)
Twin Oast Brewing releases this beer to signify the transition between winter and spring. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for spring to be here. Ice Shove is a Belgian White IPA that is brewed with apples and rosemary. This interesting combination piqued my interest as one to check out!
Kitka Chocolate Coconut Milk Stout – The Brew Kettle (Strongsville, OH)
This beer from The Brew Kettle sounds more like a rich chocolate shake than a beer, so if you’re looking for a thick beer with chocolate, coconut, and vanilla, the Kitka Chocolate Coconut Milk Stout is the one for you. It will be extremely drinkable as well with only 22 IBUs and 5.7% ABV.
n00b – Odd13 Brewing (Lafayette, CO)
I’m always looking for new-to-me-breweries to check out, and Odd13 Brewing fits into that category. Maybe you’ve heard of them, but for those of us who don’t get Odd13’s beers, it’s worth a shot to check them out. n00b is a New England IPA and I didn’t see many others on the beer list I was given access to, so if you like NEIPA’s, here’s another one to compare to the rest!
Old Toledo – Great Black Swamp Brewing Company (Toledo, OH)
Hometown-themed/-named beers are my favorite to recommend. Old Toledo is an American amble ale, which is a classic beer style in my opinion. Great Black Swamp Brewing Co is paying homage to its town’s roots, so check out this tribute beer!
Prepare for Glory – Inside the Five Brewing Company (Sylvania, OH)
I was drawn to the name of this beer due to my time at Michigan State University and all of the 300 chants at football games. It turns out Inside the Five Brewing Company was founded by two former Michigan State football players, Chris Morris and Brandon Fields, so I was in the right realm of connecting with this beer. MSU fan or not, Prepare for Glory promises to be a strong IPA for all the hop heads out there!
Raspberry VJP – Atwater Brewery (Detroit, MI)
It’s still Flagship February, so here’s a nod to one of Michigan’s bigger breweries, Atwater. Their Vanilla Java Porter is one of their Flagship beers and the variants of VJP are nuanced and delicious. Raspberry VJP is one of the top ones with strong raspberry playing with the vanilla and coffee tastes. I’ve rarely seen it out in distribution, so it will be one to try if you’re looking to check out Atwater’s portfolio.
Saint Joseph – Patron Saints Brewery (Toledo, OH)
With all the beers being named after patron saints, Patron Saints Brewery is living up to its name. Their Saint Joseph is a sweet stout made with maple syrup and butter pecans. If you like sweet beers, like me, we’re going to be feeling like we’ve died a happy death and gone to heaven as we try this one at the Glass City Beer Festival.
Looking forward to the festival tomorrow! Any other Michiganders making the trek down?
Cheers!
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