Jim Ellison’s Columbus Brew Adventures kicked off their newest brewery tour this past week. It heads north to Delaware County and includes the Daily Growler, Staas Brewing, Restoration Beer Worx, Barley Hopsters and Ill Mannered Brewing. I had previously visited each of these stops, but I signed up for the tour anyway because the opportunity to get a “behind-the-scenes” look at each of these locations and to chat with the owners and brewers always makes Columbus Brew Adventures tours more than worth the price of admission.
The Daily Growler in Powell was the first stop, and we had the opportunity to meet with owner John Blakely and sample three of their 60 beers. I love The Daily Growler’s digital beer menu, which is also available on their website to sort by style, brewer, state or ABV. We sampled a collaboration Black IPA from Hoof Hearted and Land Grant, plus an American Strong Ale from Devil’s Kettle, finishing with a Black IPA from North High Brewing.
We headed on to Delaware for a stop at Staas Brewing. Owners Liz and Donald Staas gave us a history of their endeavor, a tour of their ½ barrel brewing system and then set up samples of three of their very Belgian and English beers. We tasted their Belgian Golden Strong Ale, Belgian Quad, and a very unusual Sage IPA. They define their business as “a neighborhood pub” and pride themselves on getting to know all their customers on a first name basis. I think maybe “Norm” has a stool here.
A short walk right around the corner put us at the Restoration Brew Worx which just opened this summer. Co-owner and head brewer Frank Barickman gave us an extensive tour of their 10 bbl brewing system complete with a sample of their Untamed Blonde beer fresh from the fermenter. We then sat down at a large private table in the back for a feast of food and beer. Co-owner Rick Martine brought out a spread that included Cuban sandwiches, beer bread complete with beer cheese, three types of spicy pork rinds and baskets of hand-cut French fries. The timing was perfect as it allowed us to soak up the four beers sampled. They included a Belgian Wit, an English mild (their gateway beer for converting Bud Light drinkers), a very nice porter, and their best-selling Judgement IPA. Their chefs even made a quick appearance to explain their food menu.
A 30 second walk took us a couple of doors down the block to Barley Hopsters. If you are not familiar with them, I suggest you acquaint yourself. It is primarily a homebrew shop and carry out. They also have 8 beers on tap, but mostly I love the fact that you can walk up to their coolers, buy any one of their 650 different beers, and they will open it for you for 75 cents and give you a glass. You then plop down into a stuffed chair and enjoy. Great selection, great bargain.
We went back to the van for a short drive to Powell for the final stop of the tour, Ill Mannered Brewery which opened this fall. A couple of the four owners were on-hand to give us a guided tour of their 3 bbl system. While we were listening and learning, they were hand delivering beers to us to enjoy including a Blonde Ale, and IPA and a Brown Ale. These are some hard working guys that brew the beer and man the bar, while holding down their day jobs. When you go, be certain to check out the hand-blown beer mugs hanging from the front wall over the window.
It was a great tour with lots of good beer samples, some very good food, chauffeured comfort and exposure to lots of expertise from the brewers, the owners, and, of course, Jim Ellison himself. You can book any of CBA’s half-dozen brewery tours, including the new Delaware & Powell tour, at columbusbrewadventures.com.
