Ohio Brew Week is running through Saturday, July 16. You can find the full schedule and more information about OBW events in our preview post.
When asked what his favorite thing about Athens, Ohio is, beer journalist Lew Bryson laughed.
Courtesy of Lew Bryson,Tasting Whiskey Facebook
“This is going to sound weird, but I
love the way the grass grows between the bricks in the street.” This may not be the reason why Ohio Brew Week (OBW) has had so much success in the Southeastern Ohio college town, but it may add to the charm.
Brew Week started as an economic development program for Athens—once students leave Ohio University for summer break and the stifling summer heat settles into the countryside, local shops and restaurants see a huge drop in business. Brew Week offers a remedy for this.
OBW Treasurer John Glazer said people come from all over the country, including California and Texas, to check out the festivities. “The hotels sell out, entertainment venues blow up. We are 2nd only to Mom’s Weekend [at the University]. We are bigger than Halloween.”
Fran McFadden, OBW Chairman, is from California where he got into the craft beer scene before moving to Ohio and discovering the rich market of microbreweries here. “Ohio is really focused. At the end there’s a tipping point. Is it a fad or a directional movement? Craft beer is a directional movement.”
Keynote Lew Bryson agreed. Bryson gave a speech at the OU Inn’s Rock N’ Roast Saturday, a music and barbecue event featuring Columbus’ Elevator brews. Bryson spoke about the history of beer and how it’s shaped society before settling in to answer a few questions about his travels, beer, and the quirky town where OBW is hosted.
Debbie Bitzan: Okay, so you can’t name your favorite beer of all time. Do you have a favorite in Ohio?
Lew Bryson: Well I may be a bit ignorant, because I haven’t been around Ohio too much, but I have to say Great Lakes’ Edmund Fitzgerald. It’s the best porter on the planet. Great Lakes was the first brewery where I was served great crafted beer under the table. They’ve been around for a while, and they make well crafted beer.
DB: You mentioned in your keynote that you really like Athens. What do you like most about it?
LB: It’s just a neat little town that doesn’t care about the bullshit. And it has Jackie O’s—I was at Philadelphia’s Brew Week and all of the brewers knew about Jackie O’s. Seriously! I’m not making that shit up.
DB: Craft beer has been blowing up in Ohio. What do you think the market forecast looks like here?
LB: I would call it “under the radar.” There are some great microbreweries and then there are subpar breweries that are just there to get a license. It’s part of the evolution. Ohio had a fairly early start with Great Lakes, and then it seemed to stall out after a while and now Ohio is catching up. The quality of the breweries who are in it for real will wipe out the others. Yuengling is coming to Ohio now, and the effect it had on Pennsylvania could be similar. Yuengling forced PA brewers to step it up. Ultimately, breweries have to get out there and sell it.
DB: Any great stories from your travels?
LB: There was this one brewery, Bosteels, in Belgium. The owner, Ivo Bosteel, picked my colleague and I up from a train station and we went hurtling through the country side at a stupid rate of speed in his Mercedes SUV. He gave me this great quote, and it’s perfect, he said “We are not important. We are a service, the brewery, we are in service to the beer.”
DB: That’s epic. Would you say, then, that your favorite part of your job are the people you meet?
LB: Definitely. You know, drinks are cool, free drinks are cool, but new things, traveling, hitting the road and meeting new people, it’s what matters. I don’t consider myself better, I consider myself lucky. Like Ivo Bosteels, I’m not important, I’m in service to the beer. I write to bring the experience to readers.
To read more about Lew Bryson and his travels, visit his blog Seen Through a Glass.
