Great Lakes Strikes Again

On the stumbling heels of Christmas Ale comes the next slobber-inducing sensation at Great Lakes Brewing Company, Tempus Fugit. According to the resident experts (whom I assume are Luke and his minions),


"a complex strong/old ale brewed with honey and five different malts that features a medium hop presence."

What does this mean to you and me? Don't drink more than two if you plan on driving anywhere or three if you're planning on a run for public office. Perhaps the brewers had this in mind when they named the beast, as the ever reliable Wikipedia notes that -

"The meaning is sometimes used less colloquially as: "Meanwhile, the irreplaceable time escapes," expressing concern that one's limited time is being consumed by something which may have little intrinsic substance or importance at that moment." (emphasis mine)

Thanks, guys. Now not only are you brewing unique, excellent, award-winning beers that will knock us off our respective bar stools, you're rubbing our Latin-illiterate faces in it. Cool, real cool...

No word on the label, though if I had my say it would show a picture of my freshman dorm room. It will be available (in the brewpub only) on January 2nd, leaving just enough time between New Year's Eve and then to rehydrate.

Cleveland Beer Week Beckons

Oh what a time to be a beer lover in Cleveland...

Though we missed out on the Bourbon Barrel Blackout Bombers at Great Lakes this week (they sold out in under two hours!), the future looks pretty bright. Cleveland Beer Week, which is exactly what it sounds like, begins today (in four hours and fifty minutes, but who's counting) and runs until Saturday, October 24th. Scheduled are a plethora of events, the choicest of which (in my humble opinion) are listed below:

Friday, October 16th: Dogfish Head Event at Southside
The beloved brews of Dogfish Head will be on tap and in the bottle, including relative rarities like Sahtea and the mysteriously promised "special releases". Unfortunately however, Ohio's archaic liquor laws prohibit the selling of the uber-high octane 120 Minute IPA.

Showing Some Moxie
A little rich for my blood, but sounds suspiciously like heaven: "Join Moxie The Restaurant for a 4-course dinner with beer selections from Merchant du Vin, including breads and meats paired with Lindemann's Cuvee Renee, mushroom fondue with Ayinger Weizen-Bock, fondue with roasted shallots with Ayinger Octoberfest, domestic raclette with Rochefort 8, imported raclette with Samuel Smith's India Ale, and chocolate fondue with Celebrator Double Bock. $45/person. "

Saturday, October 17th: Fat Heads Gets Hoppy
Ohhhh lordy... Relative newcomer Fat Heads hosts a (wait for it) IPA festival featuring more than 30 (!) different brews. On top of that, for the $25 entrance fee, you get a t-shirt, tasting glass, and 6 drink tickets. (To my imaginary secretary; "Cancel all my appointments, something important just came up.")

Sunday, October 18th: Kegs and Eggs at Beer Engine
Preempt your sorrows of another Browns dismal performance (hey, I'm hopeful, but realistic) with more Dogfish Head, poured through the magnificent Randall the Enamel Animal (if you don't know what it is, you don't need to). Plus, eggs.

Monday, October 19th: So Good, Why Not Go Back?
Beer Engine again, but this time with the pro's: "Meet Ron Jeffries of Jolly Pumpkin, Greg Gireszal of Hofbrau Beer, Isaas Hartman of New Holland, Veronica Sanders of Bells Beer, Jim Lutz of Flying Dog, Michael Bell of Founders, Adam Avery of Avery, Pete Larsen of Global, Garin Wright of Buckeye, and Brad Clark of Jackie O's, and tast their brews along with those from Unibroue, B. United, Dogfish Head, Stone, Breckenridge, Two Brothers, Clipper City, and Brewdog." They even have a photo booth on hand, which is weird.

Okay, if you hit all these events, you need to take a break, so I'll skip to the main event:

Saturday, October 24th: Cleveland Becomes Beer Mecca
The underutilized and gorgeous Arcade downtown will host BREWzilla, showcasing more than 50 different breweries, hundreds of brews, and providing general euphoria. Incroyable...

So, like Christmas in October, Beer Week descends on Cleveland with a fury. For (much) more information on the literally hundreds of different events, go to http://www.clevelandbeerweek.org/. Happy hunting!

My First Start-Up

I realize I've been slacking a bit with the blogging (to your utter dismay I'm sure), but I have a good reason. I'm putting together the requisite materials to open my own business. What will it be, you ask?

NoCoToCo will offer excursions based upon differing themes throughout the Midwest (and beyond, eventually). Interested in beer, perhaps? Have a free weekend and want to get away? Well, consider this:

Three days, a chartered bus with all the amenities. Start at the eminent Great Lakes Brewery in Ohio City, where we lay out the itinerary and enjoy a toast to the weekend fun to come. First stop is Ann Arbor (the enemy's lair, I know) for lunch and a tour of Jolly Pumpkin Brewing Company, then on to Kalamazoo for dinner and a rendezvous at my beloved Bell's. An evening free to your leisure, overnight in a three to four star hotel, and on to Munster, Indiana in the morning. There we visit Three Floyd's Brewing Company, crafter of the immensely popular Dark Lord Imperial Stout. After some lunch and a few libations, it onward to Chi-town for some fun at Goose Island Brewing Company and a Cubs game. After the game enjoy a free evening in Chicago and another night at a superior hotel. Sunday we board the bus and roll home sweet home by 5:00 p.m.; refreshed and rejuvenated. Sound good? I thought so too.

There will be other themed trips available as well, for antique lovers, oenophiles, or sports fans. How about a trip with 15 of your closest friends to an away Browns game and a designated ride all the way home? As I said, I'm working on the details, and will have more information in the near future. I would certainly appreciate any feedback you might provide; shoot me an email if you're so inclined.

Also, in a related note, there is a Future of Cleveland party this evening (April 22nd) at the beautifully restored Fenn Tower on the campus of Cleveland State University. Cool Cleveland, the sponsor of the event, bills the event as follows:

"While enjoying open bar and tasty appetizers, you'll discuss Cleveland's future with eight of CSU's executives-in-residence - top experts recruited from business, law, technology, politics, education and more - where you can pick their brains for career advice and make valuable connections."

See and be seen!

Back To Our Roots - The Local Food Movement Via Film Fest

Tractors?! We don't need no stinkin' tractors! (Actually, they do, I'm just being smart)

Spent an enjoyable Monday evening at the Cleveland International Film Festival, viewing a production about local food, food economics, food politics, food production, and beer. The beer aspect was thanks in large part to the sponsorship of the Great Lakes Brewing Company, who also play no small role in the film itself. Poly Cultures: Food Where We Live, is a seven chapter story about the important role of locally grown crops, and the policies, legislation, and people who are working in support of them.

One segment focuses on Hale Farm & Village, a replica 19th century town set within the beautiful Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It has a small farm (hence the name). And on this farm they had some weeds, e-i-e-i-0.... So, along comes the ever-ecologically minded Conway brothers from GLBC, and presto! The 'Pint Size Farm' has suddenly sprung to life; producing a large amount of produce for the company's restaurant in Ohio City. According to Christine DeJesus, the Master Gardener, “This 6,000 square-foot farm will parallel a true culinary experience and feature a scent garden, edible flower garden, intensive herb garden, pollinator garden, medicinal tea garden and crop rotation areas with Asian cucumbers, heirloom tomatoes, French filet green beans and more. The farm will use only biological and sustainable methods to create a place for education, enlightenment and natural entertainment." Also of note, the herbs produced will soon be featured in Great Lakes' Earth Day beer, Grassroots Ale.

On a side note, Katie and I were pleasantly shocked when who should appear in the film but... us! Though only for a moment, and from a distance, we enjoyed approximately 3 seconds of our promised 15 minutes of fame. Along with the Ohio State Fair Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest in which I placed second in 1989, that leaves me with about 13 minutes and 42 seconds.

This local food (locavore) movement has been at the center of sustainable agriculture push for communities, and this, along with City Fresh, have begun to put theory into action. Kudos to the filmmakers, Tom Kondilas, Brad Masi and David Pearl, for shining a light on the people and organizations who are helping to: bring quality produce to the inner-city, utilize organic farming techniques to produce their crops, re-use and recycle waste to 'close the circle' from growing to garbage, and generally promote community development through creation of neighborhood gardens and garden clubs. The city of Cleveland is a better place because of every single person involved with Poly Cultures.

Afternoon Delight (For Beer Lovers)

Winter Warmer is in itself anachronistic, but when prefaced with the premise that said alliterative combination is in reference to a festival celebrating the strongest beers of the season, it is quite apt. I can attest that I came out of the third annual festival warmer than when I went in. Held at Rock Bottom Brewery in Cleveland's Flats, this installment treated revelers with the work of 13 local breweries.

The ticket, $30, was again raised for this year's event (as it was last year), though the price of admission did entitle attendees to feast on a small but satisfying buffet lunch. But let's get real, no one bought their ticket for the food.

The beer was the main event, and boy did it deliver. Historically, brewers opted for stronger recipes for the cold winter months. Those worthy brews were the impetus behind the festival. Hundreds of hop-heads, amateur brewers and curious beer lovers crowded into Rock Bottom, armed with the complimentary pilsner glass and 15 sample tickets. Katie and I met up with my parents as we have done for the past two years (it's become a greatly anticipated tradition for the Simmons'), and got down to business.

The star of the show, in my own humble opinion, was Hoppin' Frog's India Pale Ale (IPA) entry, Hoppin' To Heaven. Frog, from Akron, consistently puts out much-admired styles available in 22 ounce 'bombers'. My only beef with them is that they don't produce the traditional six pack, a hindrance to wider distribution and interest. The Hoppin' To Heaven was chocked full of hops, but well balanced by a spicy, almost tea-like malt. There are plenty of IPA's that lay claim to extremely high IBU's (International Bitterness Units), but there are few that offer the complexity of this. I don't think I'd pick over my beloved Bell's Two Hearted Ale, but it would be close.

Other winners included new Cleveland brewery Indigo Imp's cask-conditioned Winter Solstice, Brewkeepers' Olde 21 IPA, and the ever popular Great Lakes Brewing Company's (GLBC) Blackout Stout. Surprisingly, GLBC didn't offer a beer unique to the festival, or one not available at the Restaurant in Ohio City. I asked Luke, the company's head brewer, why no surprises this year. He said that between preparing the upcoming seasonals and the increasing production of flagship brands, there just weren't enough hours in the day. I could go on ad infinitum about the marvelous offerings, but that would bore all but the most devoted beer lovers. I'll just say that there was no place on Earth that most attendees would rather have been than in cloudy, cold Cleveland on a Sunday in February... except maybe Belgium.

Named for the massive 2004 blackout that darkened much of the Eastern Seaboard, as well as the Cleveland area, not for the condition prompted by excessive drinking.

BYOG

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, the Chico, California based pioneer in the micro-brewery movement, has added another entrepreneurial and environmentally forward thinking feather to their already well-plumed cap. A byproduct of brewing, yeast, just happens to be the exact material needed for this kick-ass contraption, the EFuel100's MicroFueler, to turn it into clean running E85 ethanol!
The price tag of $9,995 is a bit steep for the average homebrewer (and I'm guessing unless you're really banging out some batches way too much yeast capacity), but for a relentlessly greening brewing company who just happens to already collect rainwater, grow their own local veggies, recycle a huge percentage of their restaurant waste and have a van that runs on vegetable oil, it could be just the thing! Now if only there were a company like that around here (I'm looking at you Great Lakes)...

If anything, it would invite some very positive press, increase recycling, cut down on carbon emissions (every little bit helps, right?), further position the company in eyes of consumers as being environmentally friendly, and fuel your tanks as well! Also, it would provide a unique addition to the landscape on Market Avenue...