Granville Brewing The Betrayer (6/10)

Granville Brewing (located, of course, in Granville, Ohio) produces The Betrayer, a Tripel brewed with honey.

It pours a slightly cloudy amber with a finger-thick white head that disspates relatively slowly and leaves behind considerable lacing.

The aroma yeasty and slightly sweet.

The flavor starts mildly sour and bitter, drops into a very subtle Belgian spiciness, and finishes mildly hoppy.  I had no problem finishing the 22-ounce bottle, but I can't say this was my favorite tripel by any means.  I prefer mine sweeter, spicier, and a bit less hoppy. this is not to say The Betrayer is bad.  It isn't.  It just doesn't fit my profile of what a tripel should taste like.  I'm sure there are others who would disagree.

ABV: 9.5%

IBU:  unknown, maybe 27-28

My Rating:  6/10

(Found locally at Ale Wine and Spirits of Powell)

Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale (8/10)

Kiuchi Brewery, makers of the Hitachino Nest line of beers, produces some really unusual (and very good) beers.  While I'm not a big fan of their XH (Extra High) beer, their Sweet Stout is excellent.  I'd heard about Red Rice Ale on a beer calendar my wife gave me for Christmas last year, but it took a while to find a bottle. (That quest was made slightly more difficult because Kiuchi stopped making beer for a while to produce bottled water for survivors of the earthquake in Japan in early 2011.)

Red Rice Ale is unique in that it uses a red variety of rice that's indigenous to Japan.  The red rice adds a subtle red color to the beer, and some sake (rice wine) notes in the flavor.

The beer's aroma is much hoppier than its actual flavor.  The flavor is mild, with a malty and strawberry-like note to it.  Very pleasant and easy to drink.

This can be found locally at The Anderson General Store and perhaps at other local retailers.  I've seen Hitachino Nest products at Whole Foods Market in Upper Arlington and at Giant Eagle Market District in Upper Arlington.

ABV: 7%
IBU: 26
My rating: 8/10

Black Diamond Brandy Barrel Aged Grand Cru (8/10)

Black Diamond Brewing Company created this Brandy Barrel Aged Grand Cru in 2011.  The label reports that 75% of the contents consist of ale brewed with fruit with vanilla beans added, and 25% is ale aged in brandy barrels. 

It pours a slightly cloudy copper color with a persistent beige head.

The aroma has a very strong vanilla note to it, accompanied by fruit and grain.  On balance, it reminds me of a warm fruit muffin, like a cranberry or blueberry one.

The flavor, on the other hand, is nothing like a fruit muffin.  It starts with a creamy vanilla, backed with a balance of hops bitterness, fruit sweetness, and toasted grain.  It's a complex flavor with several distinct stages to it.  As you hold it in your mouth tasting it, the taste changes from one flavor to another.  I got some brandy, some cream, and a finishing note of hops.

Beer Advocate visitors call it just "average" and rate it 79/100.  I think they're being a little harsh.  I'm saying it's above average but giving it a very similar 8/10.  It's not a beer I'd want to drink all the time (like Gulden Draak or Ommegang Three Philosophers) but I'd certainly have it again.

ABV: 9.0%
IBU: unknown
My rating: 8/10

Brooklyn Sorachi Ace (6/10)

I have something of an odd relationship with Brooklyn Brewery.  I met some of their representatives at a beer festival in the past, and they were really great people.  That makes me really want to love their beers, because I know that they care very deeply about what they're doing and they want people to enjoy the fruits of Brooklyn's labors.  So it saddens me that I haven't found one of their beers yet that I absolutely love.  Their Brooklyn Local 2 is perhaps my favorite of their products.  (Must remember to review that one soon...)

Sorachi Ace is a very interesting beer.  It's a Saison style Belgian ale, but brewed with a unique variety of Japanese hops called Sorachi Ace.  The Sorachi Ace hops reportedly have a very lemony aroma, which comes through clearly in the finished product.

It pours with a thick, foamy white head that lasts quite a while. The beer itself is amber in color.  The flavor is mildly hoppy, reminding me somewhat of the Japanese beer Asahi... just a bit hoppier.  There is some Belgian-like spiciness to the flavor, and a fruity/lemony note that comes from the Sorachi Ace hops, I suspect.  I like Sorachi Ace, but don't love it.

ABV: 7.6%
IBU: 34
My rating: 6/10

Two Brothers Domaine Du Page (8/10)

Two Brothers Brewing Company of Illinois produces several beers.  Domaine du Page is a French Style Country Ale.

Domaine Du Page pours into the glass a medium brown color, with a minimal white head that dissipates fairly quickly and leaves little or no lacing behind.  The aroma is reminiscent of tea or something floral.

The flavor is malty and slightly sweet, with a touch of caramel and a mild hops note.  The flavor of tea is there, too, but very slightly.

The opinions of the reviewers on Beer Advocate are pretty diverse, though most like the beer.  The site's official reviewers give Domaine Du Page a 91 (for "exceptional") while the visitors to the site rate it only an 85 (or "good").

ABV: 5.9%
IBU: 24
My rating: 8/10

Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer (10/10)

On a recent trip to Kenny Road Market, I picked up a bottle of Crabbie's Alcoholic Ginger Beer.  The beer is produced by John Crabbie and Co. in Glasgow, United Kingdom.

The label recommends serving it over ice with a slice of lime or lemon.  I tried it first over ice, then with some lemon juice.  In the first case (ice only) it reminded me of a sweeter, milder version of Vernor's Ginger Ale.  With lemon, the sweetness became less intense and the overall flavor did improve (though it was actually great from the start).  After a few sips, you pick up a bit of a burn from the ginger.

The aroma is that of a ginger ale soft drink, sugary and with a strong ginger aroma.  The color is a clear yellow with a thick white head that dissipates relatively quickly.

If you like ginger ale soft drinks, you'll enjoy this ginger beer.  If you're looking for something more like a beer and less like a soft drink, you'll want to steer clear of this.  It is very, very soft drink like.

Since I enjoy an occasional ginger ale, I really liked this.  I'm giving it a 10 out of 10.  I can't imagine a better ginger beer.

ABV: 4.8%
IBU:  Not applicable, really, but estimated 0 or 1.
My rating: 10/10

Kenny Road Market

For as long as I've been enjoying craft beer, Kenny Road Market has been my go-to shop for purchasing it.  Its location near the intersection of Kenny Road and Bethel Road makes one of the closest craft beer retailers to where I live and work.  But its selection of beer, its occasional specials, and it knowledgeable staff keep me coming back.

One of the signs on the outside of the shop indicates that they have over 500 different beers in stock.  I've no reason to doubt that, and I've included a number of pictures here to help illustrate the kind of selection you're going to find inside.

Depending on how well my cell phone was able to focus for these photos, you should be able to identify many of the beers that were on the shelves during a recent visit.  Since the stock changes over time, I can't promise you that any beer you see in these images will still be stock when you get there, but Kenny Road Market does their best to keep popular craft beers in stock.  Like any retailer, they're limited by what their distributors can get them.

Kenny Road Market has both a large refrigerated section of beer, and a decent selection of beers which aren't refrigerated.  In the pictures here, you'll be able to identify beers from a number of different craft breweries.

In the image at the right, you'll see Gulden Draak in the bottom of the case (the white bottle in the bottom left of the image).  Above it is a bottle of Karmeleit Tripel.  On the shelf above that, some Lindenman's lambic beers.

You'll also see the inexpensive Baltika beers from Russia, which I've found to be quite good for a $2 bottle of beer.

In the right-hand case, you'll see a row of Samuel Smith brews, a row of Evil Twin beer, and a selection from St. Peter's.

And yes, there are some mass-market brews showing in that window as well.  In this case, you'll find a Heineken and a Corona.

In other refrigerated cases, you'll find brews from Stone, Bell's, Samuel Adams, Hoppin' Frog, Dogfish Head, Goose Island, Leinenkugel's, Southern Tier, Heavy Seas, Thirsty Dog, Left Hand, Great Lakes, Columbus Brewing Company, Penn Brewing, Founder's, Sierra Nevada, Harpoon, North Coast, Brooklyn Brewing, and many others.  And since Kenny Road Market caters to all beer lovers' tastes, you'll also find a large selection of mass-market beers from Anheiser-Busch, Miller, Coors, and the like.

You'll also find a selection of wines there.  Not being a wine drinker, I can't tell you how good (or bad) the selection is.  You'll have to make that call for yourself.

As I mentioned earlier, you'll often find "specials" in the store.  During a visit in January, they offered a selection of $10 "mystery cases" which contained 24 randomly chosen beers.  During another visit, they were offering cases of a German beer for $10.  On other visits, I've seen greatly reduced prices on seasonal beers or other unfamiliar beers.  Sometimes, these specials have been hard to resist.  It's worth dropping in there regularly to see what they have.

When you enter the shop, make your way to the right-hand rear corner of the store.  There, you'll find a refrigerated case offering a "make your own six-pack" option to select any six singles found in the case for a price of (as of this writing) $10.99.  You can also buy any individual single in that case for $1.99.  This is a great way to try a number of different craft beers without shelling out a lot of cash.  That case is pictured at the left.

I'll conclude the article with a number of (sadly, mostly blurry) photos of the selection to give you some idea of the number of breweries and individual beers you can expect to find there.  Beer Advocate rates them a 93/100 or "exceptional".

If you've never been there, I can't recommend strongly enough that you check it out!

Kenny Road Market
4658 Kenny Road
Columbus, OH 43220
Phone: (614) 538-1100

More photos of the amazing selection at this market:

The following list, which is not complete, contains the names of the breweries whose products were on the shelves at Kenny Road Market during a visit in March 2013.  This should provide some idea of the brands and beers you might find on the shelves during a visit to the store:

• Abita


• Affligem


• Alesmith


• Anchor


• Anderson Valley


• Asahi


• Aventinus


• Avery


• Ayinger


• Ballast Point


• Baltika


• Bear Republic


• Bell's


• Black Sheep


• Breckenridge


• The Brew Kettle


• Brooklyn Brewing Co.


• Chang


• Chimay


• Chouffe


• Columbus Brewing Co.


• Dark Horse Brewing


• Dogfish Head


• Duchesse De Bourgogne


• Dundee


• Dupont


• Duvel


• Elevator Brewing Co.


• Epic Brewing


• Estrella


• Evil Twin


• Flying Dog


• Flying Horse


• Founder's


• Full Pint


• Goose Island


• Great Divide


• Great Lakes Brewing Co.


• Green Flash


• Hayward's


• Heavy Seas


• Henry Weinhard's


• Hofbrau


• Hoppin' Frog


• Innis & Gunn


• Iron Fist


• Kaliber


• Kentucky Ale


• Kingfisher


• Kona Brewing Co.


• Kostritzer


• La Trappe


• Lagunitas


• Leffe


• Left Hand Brewing


• Lindemans


• Magic Hat


• Maredsous


• Mission Brewing


• Modelo


• Monk's Cafe


• Morland


• New Holland


• Newcastle


• Nogne


• North Coast


• O'Fallon


• Ohio Brewing Co.


• Ommegang


• Orval


• Oskar Blues


• Paulaner


• Penn Brewing


• The Perfect Crime


• Petrus


• Pig's Eye


• Radeberger


• Revolution Brewing


• Rivertown


• Rogue


• Samuel Adams


• Samuel Smith


• Sapporo


• Schneider & Sohn


• Shiner


• Shock Top


• Sierra Nevada


• Singha


• Sixpoint


• Smithwick's


• Spaten


• St. Bernardus


• St. Feuillien's


• St. Peter's


• Stiegl


• Stillwater


• Stoudt's


• Straffe Hendrick


• Taj Mahal


• Tecate


• Thirsty Dog


• Tommyknocker


• Trappist Achel


• Trappistes Rochefort


• Troeg's


• Tsingtao


• Tusker


• Victory


• Weihenstephaner


• Wells


• Westmalle


• Weyerbacher


• Widmer Brothers


• Wychwood


• Zatec

Hayward's 5000 (7/10)

In the craft beer enthusiast community, beers brewed in India are generally looked down upon.  While Indian beers like Flying Horse Lager, Taj Mahal, or Guru aren't likely to be confused with great beers like Ommegang's Art of Darkness or Victory V-Twelve, they're not exactly terrible.  In fact, when I'm dining at an Indian restaurant, I'll generally order an Indian beer (especially if I've never had that particular one before).  For me, it's just a part of the overall experience.

My favorite Indian restaurant in Columbus is the excellent Aab India in Grandview, near the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Grandview Avenue.  If you enjoy Indian food and haven't made the trek to Aab India yet, let me urge you to make it a point to get there. For now, let's get back to the beer.

Haywards 5000 Super Premium Lager is brewed by Shaw Wallace and Company in Mumbai, India.  It's a malt liquor, with a fairly strong 8% alcohol content.

Poured from the bottle, it's a clear yellow color with virtually no head.  The beer leaves behind no lacing in the glass.

The flavor is mild, malty, and slightly sweet.  The hops presence is minimal at best. This combination alone would get it a 7 out of 10 on my rating scale.  The fact that its flavor is an excellent complement to the flavors of Indian food (washing them down without competing with them), solidify that ranking.

Since that rating is pretty high, I feel it's important to qualify it.  Haywards 5000 is not one of the beers I'd want to be stranded on a deserted island with.  There are probably a dozen others that would come to mind first.  On the other hand, it's definitely the best of the Indian beers I've had so far. If I was stranded on an island and a load of it washed ashore, well... let's just say it wouldn't go to waste.  I can't say the same for, say, a load of IPAs.

The Beer Advocate crowd definitely disagrees with me on this one, and I respect their reasons.  They rate it "poor" or 64 out of 100.  Reviewers commented that "something metallic and medicinal is present" (I didn't notice this) and "it is what it is - not that bad... not that great either".  Most admitted that while it wasn't their favorite, it wasn't bad.

ABV: 8%
IBU: unknown
My rating: 7/10