The Trials and Tribulations of A Beer Nerd.

Recently, I've come upon a downside to being a beer nerd: bars & pubs don't always have the craftiest of beer menus (although the bars & pubs may think otherwise). And it's kind of a bummer. 

The life of a beer nerd basically revolves around only wanting beers you haven't yet had. Sure, there are moods when you have something again, or have a hankering for one specific beverage, but more often than not, beer nerds want something new to log into Untapp'd. 

Lately, Spouse & I have been going to places that only have beers we've had. Actually, honestly, the last beer FESTIVAL we attended only had maybe 5 or 6 (out of 40-ish) that we hadn't tried. #FirstWorldProblem to be sure, but one nonetheless. 

In defense of the drinking establishments we've been to of late, they have had decently sized beer offerings, generally between 12 and 24 between taps & bottles. But <insert whine here>, we've already tried those. </whine>

hi·a·tus: (noun) a pause or gap in a sequence, series, or process.

Well. Didn't mean to take a hiatus of *quite* that length, but well, you know. Life. 

Been a weird few weeks, I'll be honest, but here we are. You and me. What's been going on? 

Dublin Irish Fest hanging out with We Banjo 3, and friends (one was very much new!) 

Gearing up for hockey season at some fan events. Go Columbus Blue Jackets!! #WeAreThe5thLine

 

 Gallivanting about this summer.....
such a wonderful summer we had here in Central Ohio. 

Adventure: Zauber Brewing Co.'s Maifest

This past weekend was a study in duality: busy about town one day, and nothing but home projects on the other. Needed though, especially that second day!

Ohio Adventures: the Columbus Wine Festival

Continuing our (unplanned) theme of a fest each weekend, let's move onto the Columbus Wine Festival, which was held on Friday & Saturday, August 9 & 10 at Franklin Park Conservatory. 

Spouse & I went with our friend, JBH, who is a home-brewer of wine and meads. The hours were 2:00-8:00 p.m. on Saturday, and we made the decision to go a wee bit later, thinking we'd only need 2 hours or so to get through it. HA!

Parking was decent - they had valet/security directly people where to park so it was fairly orderly. Nothing worse than traffic anarchy when you just want to get your drink on. 

Ohio Adventures: Akron Blues and Brews Festival

Spouse and I enjoy micro-brewed beer and we are so lucky to live in a city and state that really celebrates the culture around micro-brewing. Just in Columbus, we have:

• Barley's Brewing Company
• Barley's Smokehouse and Brewpub
• Columbus Brewing Company
• Elevator Brewery and Draught Haus
• Four String Brewing Company
• Hoster Brewing Company
• North High Brewing Company
• Seventh Son Brewing Company
• Zauber Brewing Company

When you widen your view to include the whole state, there are some really good, solid breweries around here. Go even farther, regionally, to Mid West breweries and WOW. Really amazing diversity of brews to fit any taste palate. 

We are also very lucky in that our state celebrates many occasions on which to drink these tasty adult beverages, in the form of beer fests. Nothing on the scale of the Great American Beer Festival, which we were lucky enough to attend in 2007, but decent fests commensurate with the size of our cities.