Kindred will be busy this year rolling out new beers, a new food concept, and a new taproom.
Oh, and a new name — Kindred Artisan Ales is becoming Kindred Beers.
“We wanted to create a brand that’s recognizable and approachable that can also be interchangeable throughout the life of the brand,” said CEO Kevin Schmudde. “[The new name] doesn’t restrict us to ‘ales,’ so we can brew any kind of style that we like.”
The Gahanna-based brewery will be releasing what Schmudde describes as “a full [beer] portfolio from luxury to premium to value” this year, with three new core beers — a hoppy White, a Pale, and an Imperial Red — to be released in 500ml bottles in early April. Kindred will also be releasing cans of Hawaiian Shirt and a new beer called Camp Beer, proceeds from which will be donated to Flying Horse Farms, a free camp in Mt. Gilead for children with serious illnesses and their families. In addition, Kindred’s long-awaited sours will be hitting the market soon.
“We are going to be bottling our first barrels next week, then they’ll bottle condition for roughly eight weeks,” said Schmudde. “We can’t rush the sours so they’re gonna tell us when they’re ready, but we hope to have those out in May.”
Among them are Wanderlust, a mixed fermentation saison with peaches and riesling must; and Spring Thaw, a golden ale aged on pinot noir grape skins. More sours are also in the works.
“We have some very special barrels that are going to be delivered next week, so in about a year we’re going to have some really special sours using those barrels,” said Schmudde.
Kindred has hired Chef Ben Beardsley to open a permanent food trailer at their Gahanna taproom next month. Beardsley — whose resume includes Deer Creek State Park, Blackwell Inn, Dragonfly Neo-V and Till Dynamic Fare — is creating a menu of artisanal sausage and fries in addition to vegetarian options. Kindred will also add a beer garden to their Gahanna taproom this spring.
In addition to the changes in Gahanna, Kindred is planning to open a second tasting room in Clintonville.
“We like our location in Gahanna but we think Clintonville is the perfect spot for us with the way that we’re re-branding and re-strategizing,” said Schmudde. “We’re looking to become part of that community.”
The Clintonville location, which Schmudde hopes to have open by September, will be at 2950 N. High Street at the former Crestview Market. The building is across the street from Lineage Brewing, a neighborhood in which Actual Brewing also plans to open its second tasting room later this year.
“We’re excited about having more breweries [in that area] without it being completely saturated, bringing beer to everyone in Clintonville and bringing more people to that area because we think it’s a bit underserved,” said Schmudde.
Kindred will celebrate their first anniversary with a party on Saturday, March 4 from noon to midnight. Special beers will be released throughout the day including SOP saison with lavender and vanilla, Waves APA with mango and ancho chili, Berliner with cucumber and blackberry, and Dry Hopped Farmhouse Pale Ale. Schmudde promises a few surprises as well. Food available at the event will include Buckeye Donuts from 12-4pm, samples of Chef Ben’s new dishes from 4-6pm, and Fired Up Pizza from 6pm-midnight. The Collaborators and Greg Mendonca will provide live entertainment at the event.
Kindred’s Gahanna taproom is located at 505 Morrison Road.
