Drinksgiving 2019: Part IV - I Got a (Johnny) Fever, and the only prescription is more beer!

Baby, if you've ever wondered,

Wondered whatever became of me,

I'm drinking all the beer in Cincinnati,

Cincinnati, travelin' with my Pleeps.

Sunday began with a relatively short drive to Cincinnati, the last of the big "C" towns we'd yet to visit in Ohio (the others being Cleveland and Columbus). In retrospect, I'm glad we decided to roll through this often overlooked beer city, because all three breweries we visited were top-notch and all quite unique in their own way. 

First up was Urban Artifact. Of the three Cincinnati breweries we'd visit on this day, it was the only one with which I was familiar. Urban Artifact celebrates Wild Culture through its artfully crafted beers as well as its brewery experiences. Focusing on sour and wild beers, you can rest assured you'll find many unique and flavorful beers for even the most discerning palates. Deuane spoke highly of this place, so I knew we'd be in good company. 

First off, the building alone is quite impressive. The taproom is built in the lower level of the historic St Patrick’s church in Cincinnati's Northside neighborhood, while the brewery resides in the old church gymnasium building just behind the church. The space also boasts a courtyard between the buildings, which I imagine must be quite popular during the warmer months. For a cold, breezy first day of December, we appropriately huddled indoors in the taproom to enjoy our beers. 

Urban Artifact - praying at the altar of wild ales.

As anticipated, the beer selection was rife with an assortment of tantalizing fruited sours and wild ales. Urban Artifact applies the descriptor of "midwest fruit tart" to many of its beers, and I decided I wanted to try at least three of them, with Pleeps wanting to sample a fourth. I reckoned a flight was in order, and here's the low-down: 

• Bathysphere - tart ale brewed with 2,400 lbs. of black raspberries
• Gramophone - tart ale brewed with 3,000 lbs. of nectarines per 30bbl batch
• Operation Plowshare - tart ale brewed with 2,600 lbs. of blackberries and 60 g. of vanilla beans per 30bbl batch. Described as a "liquid jelly donut." 
• Pachycephalosaurus (2019) - A blend of wild-caught cultures, curated to highlight the terroir of the Ohio River Valley, then aged on marionberries (i.e. blackberries) in neutral oak.

Pleeps is about to take flight at Urban Artifact.

A beer like Pachycephalosaurus is one that I simply had to try. You can really get a sense of time and place by sipping and savoring a wild ale. It can capture your environment in liquid form. Bacteria and other fun little critters indigenous of a particular region might just float on in, giving it a distinct flavor or aroma profile. I often think of Allagash "Coolship" series; when I drink one I am transported back to that little shack in Maine where the brewery ages some of its finest wild ales. While I'm not familiar with the Ohio River Valley from a geographical perspective, I feel I was able to experience a slice of its natural environment in liquid form.

Our vantage point at Urban Artifact.

Pleeps also had to try Landline, a tart ale brewed with 2,000 lbs. of bananas and 1,000 lbs. of red raspberries per 30bbl batch. Any time we encounter a beer with bananas, Pleeps simply goes bananas! While he loves his stouts, he can't resist when his favorite food collides with beer. He was a happy camper after sipping this one. 

Overall, the beers here were exceptional and a true joy to drink. Urban Artifact has definitely settled snugly into its niche of creating complex and expressive wild ales and sours. I left with a 4-pack of Bathysphere cans, which was not only a favorite of our group, but also a popular choice among other customers during our visit. All in all, Urban Artifact offers a world-class craft beer experience. 

After consulting my trusty vinyl app, The Vinyl District, I found a record store called Everybody's Records, which turned out to be literally right across the street from our next brewery stop. I decided to make a quick pit stop and dig through a few bins of LPs before rejoining the group. Among my finds was a nice clean copy of King Crimson's Lizard album. 

Across the street, everyone had already begun digging in at Nine Giant. Immediately, I was impressed with the vibe of this place. Being a beer marketing guy, I was also taken by the brewery's story and - for lack of a better term - "branding." I particularly loved the brewery's logo and this little story that was printed out on the wall for all of the patrons to enjoy:

I was skeptical about my first selection, ImPeachMint, an apricot peach mint Gose. Apricots and peach... SOLD! But mint? Hmmmm... I was burned in the past with beers featuring mint. It's a strong, piquant flavor that, if used to haphazardly, can really dominate the flavor profile of a beer. I had a mint beer many years ago that tasted like I'd swallowed a glass of Scope mouthwash. Yes children, it wasn't a pleasant experience. However, this beer was eloquently balanced with equal parts of its ingredients. The mint mingled quite nicely with the sweet nectar of the fruit; a hint of mint, if you will, which didn't detract from the flavor. Working at Tröegs, I'd learned that peach doesn't really come across in the flavor profile like other fruits, so apricots are often used to bolster the peachy, tree-fruit character of a beer. This beer was refreshing and immensely enjoyable, and it enticed me to take a deeper dive.

Pleeps at Nine Giant.

Once I settled in, I realized the tasting room was quite small. It's basically just a square room with a short bar area and some high top tables strategically placed around the floor. However, Nine Giant's branding gave the space lots of character despite its diminutive size. Since I was running a bit behind, I finished my first beer rather quickly and moved onto a second.

Enter Grounded, a West Coast Style Rye IPA featuring classic Northwestern hops. Yeah, this sucker was old school, baby! Bitter notes of grapefruit, pine, and orange zest tickled my tastebuds, then finished with a spicy note only rye beers can deliver. It's nice to see breweries still brewing IPAs that are actually bitter. This one had some grit and balls to it. So this place was two for two, making Cincinnati two for two as well. I wish I had a little more time to dig into some other beers, but sometimes I can't resist the beckoning call of used records.

After our quick visit to Nine Giant, we still had time for one more stop. Founded in 2013, MadTree is an up-and-coming midwest production brewery with quite an impressive facility and tasting room. Surprised by the size of this place, I later learned that in addition to distributing its beers throughout Ohio, they are also available in Kentucky and Tennessee. 

Outside MadTree's impressive facility.

The beer list here was pretty ridonkulous! There must have been about 30 beers on tap or in bottles (although the majority of the selections were draft). It was hard to narrow my selection, but I eventually landed on a Peach Berliner Weisse. I'm sure you know the story of me and peaches by now! It's hard for me to resist a beer brewed with peaches. This tart wheat beer is part of its "304 Series." Unfortunately, I couldn't find any information at all about MadTree's "304 Series." It's definitely not the area code in which the brewery is located. At any rate, this was a fine peach-infused ale with a pleasantly tart finish.

Beer coolers at MadTree.

Meanwhile, I was pretty impressed by the size and scope of the brewery. The spacious tasting room boasted a very long bar, merch shop, and plenty of seating. The tree theme was incorporated throughout, creating the illusion of a lush green, forested area. There was also an adjacent event space in the form of a heated pop-tent area, which ran the length of the main tasting room and had its own bar. Visitors can also get a visual into the brewhouse, which looked quite large, perhaps a 50bbl or even 100bbl system. You can take a cool virtual tour of the entire building, which I recommend.

There is unrest in the forest...

Up next, it was time for something dark and decadent. Brewed in collaboration with a local vegan dessert maker, Grateful Grahams, S'More Gratitude is a rich yet balanced stout inspired by the classic (but messy) campfire treat everyone loves. To achieve its S'Morey goodness, vanilla beans, lactose, cocoa powder and cacao nibs from local chocolatier Maverick Chocolate are incorporated into the recipe. Chocolate-forward with a hint of smoke and graham cracker crust in the finish, this beer went down far too easy, much like its solid marshmallowy counterpart. I'll take one of these around the campfire any day!

Pleeps and S'More Gratitude.

Somehow we missed an IPA called State of Mine, a collaboration with two favorite OH-based breweries, Fat Head's and Jackie O's. The beer itself features an experimental hop variety known as HBC 637. HBC stands for the Hop Breeding Company, a leader in hop research and development responsible for breeding the Citra and Mosaic hops varieties, among others. Theses are actual copyrighted names, unlike many of the old guard hop varieties such as Chinook, Cascade, Centennial, etc. The numbered hops are often referred to as "experimental hops" and, once they latch on (if in fact they do), they are given an actual name. This beer definitely had a Fat Head's flair, as two of my favorite East Coast IPAs are Headhunter and Hop Juju. However, this wasn't quite that good. Still, it was an enjoyable take on the West Coast IPA style.

Pleeps experiencing a new State of Mine.

Deuane decided to plow on through to Columbus in order to have a shorter drive home on Monday, so we acquired accommodations for the evening and set our sights for the destination of last year's Drinksgiving adventure. Since we'd visited recently, I recommended a stop at Wolf's Ridge. You may remember that my "beer of the trip" last year was from this brewery. The beer was Terre Du Sauvage Green, a dry-hopped farmhouse saison fermented and conditioned in oak with a mixed culture containing Brett and saison yeast. I hadn't forgotten about this beer. The food menu also features a bit more upscale fare, which made it an easy choice since we'd also be eating dinner.

I could tell Deuane was beginning to fade, so I decided to make the best of our visit. I figured Columbus would be a one-and-done stop before turning in for the evening. I started off with a pour of Tropical Terre Du Sauvage, a barrel-aged, dry-hopped sour ale brewed with pink guava and passionfruit. While this wasn't as memorable as last year's beer, it was still on-point. Brewslut opted for Costa Del Sol, a key lime gose, which was pretty tasty as well.

However, the good stuff was quickly coming 'round the bend. Grandma's Cookie Dire Wolf, a holiday variation of its Dire Wolf Imperial Stout, was a no-brainer for me. Brewed with walnuts, dates and spices, this 10.3% heavy-hitter was smooth, rich and, indeed, cookie-like, with a festive spicy note of cinnamon and nutmeg in the finish.

"Yeah, I got this!" - Pleeps

You'd think it would end there, but I was able to coax a few more minutes out of Deuane. Although he was done, I managed to suck down a pour of All the Breakfast, an 10.7% ABV Imperial Cream Ale brewed with a ton of ingredients including a malt bill of rice, oats, corn, barley, and smoked malt, plus Ohio maple syrup and lactose. Oh yeah, plus they conditioned the beer on vanilla, cacao, coconut, cinnamon, coffee, and orange peel. Whew! That was a mouthful... both literally and figuratively. Might as well go big for the last beer of the day, right? And with that, it was off to the hotel.

We spent the majority of Monday on the road heading home, but we managed to work in a stop in West Virginia at Berkeley Springs Brewing. Located in the town of Berkeley Springs, the brewery's beers utilize mineral water from the local Warm Springs. Originally incorporated under the name Bath, it has been known by name of its original Virginia post office, Berkeley Springs, since 1802.  The region contains mineral water springs frequented by Native Americans indigenous to the area. After settlement by Europeans, the mineral springs drew many visitors, including our nation's first president, George Washington. We actually visited Berkeley Springs State Park and got to see George Washington's "bath," where he apparently bathed in mineral water from the springs. The town is also known for its famed Apple Butter Festival, founded in 1974, which continues to this day.
Appropriately, it was Berkeley Spring Brewing's Apple Butter Ale that drew us here.

Tap handles at Berkeley Springs Brewing Co.

D and C had conflicting opinions about this place, so I decided to tread lightly and dip my toes into the unknown waters. I decided my best bet was to go with a flight rather than get burned with 16 ounces of a sub par or flawed beer. Here's the skinny:

• Coolfont Cream Ale - a limited edition, easy-drinking cream ale celebrating the rebirth of the nearby Coolfront Resort. 
• Apple Butter Ale - ale brewed with apple juice and allspice. A nice alternate to a pumpkin ale during the autumn months. 
• Stonewall a la Mode - a white IPA with lactose and vanilla (if my memory serves me).
• Tiramisu Stout - variation of its standard oatmeal stout with flavors of the Italian dessert.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with the beer here. Carolyn also seemed to enjoy her beers more than I had anticipated. I liked the Tiramisu Stout quite a bit, so Brewslut and I split a full pour as our final beer. It seemed to be the clear winner for all of us, actually. And with that, it was time to hit the rocky road back to good ol' Pennsyltucky. 

Pleeps representing at Berkeley Springs.

We arrived safely in PA at around 6 p.m. and ended up, of course, at Pizza Boy. This place typically serves as a postscript of sorts to many of our westward trips, and this time was no different. During our visit, I enjoyed a pour of Simcosis Neurosis, an IPA hopped exclusively with Simcoe. This was one of my favorite IPAs from Pizza Boy in recent history with its notes of pine, mango and citrus fruit. We were a day early for the draft release of a new fruited sour called Ice Dreamz, but Nate grabbed a few cans for us to enjoy while we were there. This particular version features cranberries, cherries and tangerines, with cherry being the dominant flavor. It's always a pleasure to swing by Pizza Boy for a beer or two at the end of a trip.

Well folks, stick a fork in another Drinksgiving. All in all, I was consistently impressed with the quality of the breweries we visited this time around. The ratio of very good to forgettable was very skewed to the "very good" side of the spectrum. I always expect a few duds and one or two completely abysmal experiences, but Lexington, Louisville, and Cincinnati all really delivered, making this one of the most enjoyable Drinksgivings since its inception. Until next time...