“How many taps you got here?”
“Ten million taps. We have millions under the bar you can’t even see!”
Silence.
“Ok. It’s more like 30 taps. But still…it’s a lot.”
The friendly and funny bartender in a cutoff sixth-grader’s Liberty Center sweatshirt welcomed my husband and I to our second visit to North High Brewing Company; his wit and occasional facts about the impressive draft lineup at this hip, classy joint at the northern tip of the Short North were a welcome addition to our Wednesday evening.
And he’s right, North High Brewing does have a lot of beers on draft–and in bottles, and in cans–and they’re all pretty impressive. In fact, I’d say North High with both their own fantastic list of beers as well as their well-curated list from around the world, has one of the best beer lists in Columbus. Boom.
Large windows offer a nice view of High Street, and being that North High sits next to the Kroger liquor store, my guess is that there’s plenty of action to be seen later in the evening. Much of the decor inside is made of reclaimed wood and salvaged materials, and cut growlers hang with light bulbs inside to offer a nice warmth to the space. Brick walls line much of North High’s interior, and the wall to the left of the bar is covered with mailboxes which were shipped in from New Orleans for an upcoming frequent drinkers club. I couldn’t get much detail from the bartender as she was busy, but I believe they offer you the option to keep your own mug in your mailbox to help personalize your drunkening.
During our first trip to North High we took advantage of their brew-on-premise offering and learned the ins and outs of making a nut brown ale. Our group of eight was a bit too large to truly understand the steps, but the brewing space is gorgeous; you get to make a lot of decisions and pour the ingredients yourself. Edison bulbs hang from tattered ropes to give the brewery a great nostalgic vibe along with the salvaged materials and bits of the building’s history peppered throughout. While we brewed on one side, Frankie Hejduk of Columbus Crew fame sat with the crowd at the bar in the taproom; the taproom crowd watched soccer and donned team scarves while singing and enjoying the super locally brewed beers while we put together a beer of our own. North High has a few televisions that show sports, and maybe they’re a soccer bar? Not sure, but it’d be nice to know that another great bar will be showing soccer weekend mornings.
Our second trip started with North High’s Milk Stout on Nitro, and we were highly pleased with our decision. The bartenders tend to wear thrift store finds or Homage clothing, and the vibe in North High is hip but welcoming. The location has framed photos from the building’s various iterations, which include originally a Ford dealership in 1917 and most recently a janitorial supplies shop. Large tall top tables are in the main bar, which would be great for group conversations when the bar’s too crowded to find seating. A little less than a dozen tables with seats are scattered around the space, and the L-shaped bar is large enough to fit a bit more than a dozen folks happily enjoying beers. The backbar is basically a window into the brewing facility, and as the light streaming from the large windows faded with the sun, the bulbs in the brewery offered a warm transition into evening.
I’ve loved all but one of the beers I’ve tried brewed by North High. (Sorry, Citra Smash wasn’t my cup of tea.) They have an impressive array of beers, and they hit home runs with styles I don’t generally care for. Their Imperial IPA, for example, was fantastic–and I’m generally not a fan of huge IPAs. North High Brewing’s brewmaster Charlie Davis does fantastic work creating their products. The guys behind North High, Tim Ward and Gavin Meyers, pulled Davis from Chicago, and I’m proud to say that years ago in Chicago I used to serve this gentleman Schlitz tall boys while we discussed the merits of their new advertising campaign. (Irrelevant, but small world nonetheless.)
In addition to their own beers, they’ve got an incredible selection of Ohio beers and beers from around the world. North High offers a ton of big bottles, and Finch’s, Brooklyn, Breckenridge, Dale’s and more all have a solid can offering at North High. I loved that I found Monk’s Cafe Flemish Sour Ale, a favorite of mine that I originally discovered in Philly while at, of course, Monk’s Cafe. Non-beer people should be pleased by an impressive selection of liquors as well as a few choices of wines. I will never pretend to know the difference between good and bad wines, so let’s just assume that list is as well-curated as the rest.
North High has also partnered with Commonwealth Kitchen of Commonwealth Sandwich Bar to offer a menu of sandwiches and appetizers. I can say with confidence that their bacon-wrapped dates are about the perfect companion to a locally brewed beer. Kitchen closes at 9, though, so we missed out on the food on our second time around. And if you want to brew your own beer, you can easily schedule a time through North High’s website. Fancy.
Beers at North High are reasonably priced, and I applaud that their beer menu is not only kept up to date, but they also do a great job of explaining their own beers. They include IBUs, ABV, and a nice description of each of their beers, and I can’t emphasize enough how quality their beers really are. Each deserves its own sonnet. Or at least a haiku.
We finished up our evening taking turns finishing North High’s Honey California Common and Imperial IPA as the bulbs from the brewery offered a nice light while the sun set on the northern tip of the Short North. North High Brewing is on my short list of new favorites in town, and when we have visitors in from Chicago, this is where we take them now. I can’t think of a more accurate way to show just how hip Columbus and its growing beer scene truly are.
