West Point Market, an upscale grocery in Akron, will hold a beer tasting to kick off St. Patrick’s Day celebrations from 7 to 9 p.m. March 16. The event will feature food pairings and beer from Thirsty Dog, Cellar Rats, Samuel Adams, North Coast, Elevator, Southern Tier, Founders, Goose Island and Hoppin’ Frog. Nearly every brewery is bringing five beers. (A full list can be found by clicking here.) The cost is $25 and reservations can be made by calling 330-864-2151, ext. 129. I’ll also be there to chat about beer or sign my book Ohio Breweries.

The Moerlein Lager House -- the state's newest brewpub -- opened Monday in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati media have done plenty of stories about the opening. You can check out some of the coverage here: Cincinnati Enquirer, Fox19 and WKRC Local 12. The Moerlein Lager House is the fourth new brewery to open so far this year in Ohio. The others are: Buckeye Lake Brewery in Buckeye Lake, Alexandria's in Findlay (which hasn't started making beer yet) and Four String Brewing in Columbus.

Rust Belt Brewing Co.in Youngstown is looking to expand. The brewery hopes to raise $30,000 by April 14 to outsource some of its production to a contract brewer, revamp its bottling process and expand into new markets, the Youngstown Vindicator reports. And Heidelberg Distributing Co. has picked up Rust Belt's products with plans to distribute across Ohio, the National Beer Wholesalers Association reports. Heidelberg plans to expand toward Columbus and Cincinnati once Rust Belt can supply the inventory. To read the full Youngstown Vindicator story, click here.

CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries won the National Restaurant Association's Responsibility Award at the recent 2012 Cheers Beverage Conference in New Orleans for its responsible alcohol service program. CraftWorks operates Gordon Biersch, Rock Bottom and the Cleveland ChopHouse in Ohio. CraftWorks has partnered with the National Restaurant Association's ServSafe Alcohol program to train all employees who interact with guests. The restaurant trains about 3,000 people per year and requires all employees to be recertified every three years.

Ohio will give a big hearty welcome this week to Sixpoint Craft Ales, a Brooklyn brewery that sells its signature craft beer in 16-ounce cans. The brewery has scheduled several special events around the state to celebrate its arrival. The first taste will be Wednesday at the Lackman Bar in Cincinnati from 4 to 6 p.m. and at the Cock & Bull in Hyde Park in Cincinnati starting at 6 p.m. The Cock & Bull will have six taps devoted to Sixpoint. On Thursday, Bodega in Columbus will hold a tasting at 5 p.m. The Cleveland area will host several events Friday: at 5 p.m. at Lizardville in Bedford Heights, 5 p.m. at Tremont Tap House in Cleveland and 7 p.m. at the Buckeye Beer Engine in Lakewood. And the Mustard Seed Market in Bath Township will hold a tasting and demonstration from noon to 1 p.m. Saturday.

Spinoza's Pizza & Salads in Beavercreek will hold a special "Ohio Tap Takeover" on Wednesday featuring eight Ohio breweries. The event -- which is free to get in -- begins at 6 p.m. and there will be live music at 7 p.m. The featured beers are: Thirsty Dog Siberian Night, Rivertown Blueberry Lager, Rivertown Hop Baron, Ohio Double Irish, Elevator Bock, Elevator Baltic Porter, Columbus IPA, The Brew Kettle Old 21, The Brew Kettle Wipple, Samuel Adams Tasman Red and Weasel Boy Wiley Wolverine. (For a full description of each beer, click here.) I'll also be at the event and speaking about Ohio breweries at 8 p.m. and I will have copies of my book Ohio Breweries available for sale.

Cellar Rats Brewery in Madison is Ohio's only brewery located at an estate winery, Debonne Vineyards. (At least until Valley Vineyards opens its brewery this year.) Winery workers Tony Debevc Jr. and Ed Trebets launched Cellar Rats in 2008 and the brewery has steadily grown from having only draft available at the brewery-winery to selling several of its beers off-premise in bottles. For those unfamiliar with the winery business, "cellar rats" is a term used to describe workers who toil long hours in the winery cellar.

Question: Cellar Rats Brewery is located at Debonne Vineyards, your family-owned estate winery, and is one of the few winery-breweries in the country. Why did you decide to get into the brewing business?

Fat Head’s Brewery & Saloon, Stone Brewing Co. and Bear Republic Brewing Co. have produced a video to promote their collaboration beer called TBA. The beer is an “extra hoppy brown ale” made with brown sugar and molasses. Check out the video below:

The Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co. is celebrating its 145th birthday with a cross-country promotional tour that will include stops in Cincinnati and Cleveland. Fifth generation brewers brothers Jake, John, and Dick Leinenkugel will join the tour to greet fans and talk about beer. The brewery -- a division of MillerCoors -- will feature samples of Sunset Wheat, Honey Weiss, Berry Weiss, Leine's Red, Creamy Dark, Classic Amber Lager, Summer Shandy and Big Eddy Wee Heavy Scotch Ale. Leinenkugel also is teaming up with Wisconsin-based Sartori Cheese Co. to offer beer and cheese pairings. "We're looking forward to heading out on the road, meeting fans, celebrating our birthday, and sharing our family's story that began in 1867 with our great-great grandfather," company President Jake Leinenkugel said in a prepared statement. "We're proud to pair our award-winning beer with award-winning cheeses from Sartori and showcase the versatility and food-pairing abilities of our beer." The tour kicks off during baseball spring training in Phoenix. It's expected to be in Cincinnati and Cleveland the week of May 17, a spokeswoman said. More details on the Ohio stops are expected closer to the dates.

Samuel Adams is making a special beer for the Boston Marathon. The Boston Athletic Association and Jim Koch, founder of Samuel Adams, made the official announcement Thursday. Samuel Adams Boston 26.2 Brew will be low in calories and alcohol. "Our partnership is a perfect fit because of our shared history: a Boston-born brewery joining the biggest of Boston traditions," Jim Koch told the Boston Globe. "I released my first batch of Samuel Adams Boston Lager to the public on Patriots Day in 1985, the day of the Marathon right here in Boston. I faced a lot of challenges getting that first brew packaged and distributed in time, but I had set Patriots' Day as my deadline. About half of our first 25 accounts were within three blocks of the finish line. So, the Marathon's finish line was my starting line." To read the Boston Globe story, click here.

Columbus Alive!, an entertainment tabloid in Columbus, has a short Q&A with Dan Cochran, the owner and brewer at the Four String Brewing Co. in Grandview. He tells the paper that he plans on offering retail sales at his brewery. To read the story, click here.

For the seventh consecutive year, the Brewers Association will recognize American Craft Beer Week, a celebration of U.S. craft brewers across the country. The week is May 14-20. "Last year, all 50 states held official celebrations to hoist a glass to America’s small and independent craft brewers," Julia Herz of CraftBeer.com said in a prepared statement. "As the excitement for craft-brewed beer continues to grow, our goal is to list even more events in each state in 2012." The association is compiling a list of American Craft Beer Week events. Last year, there were 1,500 events at more than 1,300 different breweries and retailers. So far, there are no events listed for the week in Ohio. To check out the calendar, click here.

Cincinnati will soon be bursting with new craft breweries. The Moerlein Lager House, a brewpub along the Ohio River, is slated to open this weekend. Triple Digit Brewing, an off-shoot of Listermann Brewing Co., releases its first beer next week. And then there are Blank Slate Brewing Co. and Double Barrel Brewery – two smaller production breweries near Lunken Airport. Both will offer draft at first and then have plans to transition into bottles too. I stopped by both breweries to get an update on their progress during a visit last weekend to the Queen City. (See videos below and check out previous posts on them for more background.)

Blank Slate, located in a nondescript gray building that used to house airplane parts, is shooting for an April 1 launch date. “I am planning to have beer in the fermenter in March,” owner/brewer Scott LaFollette said. The initial plan is to release a rye saison, possibly with peppercorn, and an English-American hybrid session bitter on draft. “Unless I change my mind, which I reserve the right to do,” LaFollette said with a laugh.

Listermann Brewing Co. has a new brewer -- and a whole new brand, too. Kevin Moreland, a homebrewer and former beer buyer in northern Kentucky, has taken over the brewing operation at Listermann and will be launching Triple Digit Brewing Co. next week. The plan, Moreland said, is to focus on selling Triple Digit in the Cincinnati and northern Kentucky market. The Listermann brand -- with reformulated recipes -- still will be available at the brewery and Listermann homebrew shop. He described Triple Digit as "a boutique-style brewery" that focuses on high gravity ales and lagers. The name refers to specific gravity.

"We want to do odd stuff that a lot of breweries aren't doing on a regular basis," Moreland said. The first Triple Digit beer -- Gravitator-Double Bock -- will be available on draft during Cincinnati's Bockfest. Moreland said it's a malty, strong German-style lager with a big bready character and 9.8 percent alcohol. Triple Digit beers will be available on draft and in 22-ounce bottles. The first two packaged products are Volume One, a Belgian-style tripel and Aftermath, a Scottish-style wee heavy. They are set to be released in late March.  The beers will be self-distributed in Ohio and by Chas. Seligman Distributing in Kentucky. Moreland also said he plans to release small batches of barrel-aged beer throughout the year. "It's been exciting," he said. "You're going to see a lot of good things from us."

Chris McKim is owner of -- and the original brewer at -- The Brew Kettle Taproom & Smokehouse in Strongsville. The Brew Kettle is a brew-on-premise business, where people can come in and brew beer under the supervision of a professional brewer. But it's much more than that. It's also a restaurant and a production brewery. The Brew Kettle's profile has climbed in recent years thanks to its beers winning numerous awards, including medals at the Great American Beer Festival.

The Cincinnati Enquirer has a story about the new Moerlein Lager House, which is scheduled to open to the public next Monday (Feb. 27). Christian Moerlein owner Greg Hardman tells the newspaper that the brewpub -- expected to help with the renaissance of downtown -- cost more than $10 million. "There was no cheapin’ out here," Hardman told the paper. The Enquirer got a sneak peak at the brewpub, located along the Ohio River, and its story includes a couple of photos of the interior. To read the full story, click here. The newspaper also has a story about Cincinnati's brewing history. To read that, click here. Hardman is scheduled to participate in an online chat at noon today (Feb. 20) sponsored by the newspaper. Click here for more details or to participate.

The Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake will hold a special beer pairing, four-course dinner featuring Cornerstone Brewing Co. at 6 p.m. March 31. Cornerstone is located in Berea, but also has a location in Madison near Geneva-on-theLake. The event includes an overnight stay and breakfast, and starts at $239 per couple. For reservations, click here or call 866-442-9765. The promo code is "BEER."

The Buckeye Beer Engine in Lakewood will hold a special beer pairing dinner featuring Sierra Nevada at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The dinner will include Pale Ale, Stout, Ruthless Rye IPA, Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale, Ghidorah Double IPA, 2010 Jack and Ken's Black Barleywine, Bourbon Barrel Quad & Ovila Quad, and Kellerweis. Tickets are $60. For reservations call 216-226-2337. To see the menu, click here.

Drinking Made Easy, the television show that celebrates boozing it up, won't stop in the Buckeye State during its third season -- likely a huge disappointment for Ohio fans. The show, hosted by Zane Lamprey, recently announced the lineup for next season in an email to fans and asked for suggestions on places to visit. The 13 communities that made the cut are: San Antonio, Houston, Baton Rouge, Louisville, Indianapolis, Santa Monica, Anchorage, Juno, Burlington, The Hamptons, Nantucket, Montreal and Quebec. The show, which appears on HDnet, has not yet filmed an episode in Ohio. Late last year, Lamprey told me in a telephone interview that he fully expected an Ohio visit in season three.

The fifth annual Art of  Ale beer tasting returns March 9 to the Akron Art Museum. The event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. in the museum lobby. The featured breweries are: Hoppin' Frog Brewery, Indigo Imp Brewery, Main Street Grille & Brewing Co., Rockmill Brewery, Thirsty Dog Brewing, Lager Heads Brewing, Elevator Brewing and Ohio Brewing. Distributor House of LaRose -- which distributes Goose Island and other brands -- will participate. The event also includes food from Lucky Penny Farm Creamery, Or Derv Foods, Devitis Italian Market, Our Daily Bread, Pierogi Lady of Hartville and Old Carolina Barbecue; and homebrewing demonstrations by the Society of Akron Area Zymurgists. I also will be there and available to chat about Ohio brewing and sign copies of my book Ohio Breweries. The museum is giving away a brewing experience at The Brew Kettle in Strongsville and a homebrewing kit as prizes. The art galleries will not be open during the event. Tickets are $35 for museum members and $50 for nonmembers. For more details or to buy tickets, click here or call 330-376-9186 ext. 222 or ext. 225.

Founders Brewing Co. is taking over the Acme Fresh Market on Bailey Road in Cuyahoga Falls on Friday. The grocer will hold a special tasting featuring all beers from the Grand Rapids, Mich., brewery. The event is 6 to 7:30 p.m. The featured draft beers are Red’s Rye PA, All Day IPA, Centennial IPA, Double Trouble, Breakfast Stout and Porter. There also will be a limited number of bottles of Curmudgeon’s Better Half, an old ale brewed with molasses and aged in bourbon barrels that have also aged Michigan maple syrup. The tasting is the first time Acme has devoted its draft taps to a single brewery. Samples are 25 cents and there is a limit of four per person. Or Derv Foods of Akron will provide appetizers.

Christian Moerlein Brewing Co. in Cincinnati has commissioned a limited edition Rookwood Pottery stein to commemorate the opening of the Moerlein Lager House. The stein will be unveiled at the brewpub’s grand opening on Feb. 25. It depicts images of the new Moerlein Lager House in Smale Riverfront Park, a street scene at the site of the original Christian Moerlein Brewery in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood and early Cincinnati riverfront images including a paddlewheel and a cobblestone road.

“The road symbolizes our journey in Cincinnati and the linking of Over-the-Rhine to the riverfront, as this was the route beer traveled during the middle 19th century to get to far away markets.” Christian Moerlein President and  Chief Executive Officer Greg Hardman said in a prepared statement.

Barrel aged Thirsty Dog Siberian Night has been declared a national grand champion by the U.S. Beer Tasting Championship. The beer, an imperial stout made in Akron, topped the barrel aged category in the organization's winter 2011-12 competition. Samuel Adams, which has a brewery in Cincinnati, won the Scottish category with its Wee Heavy. For a full list of winners, click here.

Dan Cochran is the owner and brewer at Four String Brewing Co., a small production brewery which opened last month in Columbus. Cochran also is known for another craft -- rock 'n roll. He's the bassist with the band Big Back 40. Right now, Four String distributes two beers in the Columbus area: Brass Knuckle and Backstage Blonde.

Question: Why did you become a brewer?

Latis Imports has teamed up with Stagnaro Distributing in Cincinnati and Superior Beverage in Columbus and Cleveland to bring several new beer brands into the Buckeye State. Ohioans will soon see PALM, the top selling ale and specialty beer in Belgium; Steenbrugge Abbey Ales, including Steenbrugge Blond, Dubbel Bruin, Tripel and Wit-Blanche; Rodenbach, a Flemish sour ale from Brewery Rodenbach; and Brouwerij BOON, which produces BOON Kriek, BOON Oude Geuze and BOON Framboise. Stagnaro announced the partnership Thursday and said the imports will hit the Cincinnati market in bottles and draft in March. But people can try them today and Saturday at the Cincy Winter Beerfest at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati.

The Brew Kettle took home the top prize at the seventh annual Cole's Barleywine Competition for its Jack Hammer Barley Wine. Jack Hammer -- created by brewer Jack Kephart -- also won the competition in 2010 and finished second last year. The event, organized by the Brewing News, took place last weekend at Cole's in Buffalo. This year's competition featured 21 barleywines from around the country. Jack Hammer will be available at The Brew Kettle Taproom & Smokehouse in Strongsville starting Monday when the brewery kicks off Ogre Fest, an annual weeklong celebration of big beers. The brewpub will feature nearly 60 different draft barleywines, imperial stouts, Belgian-style ales, imperial IPAs, and other high-alcohol and experimental beers. To see the full lineup, click here.

Maumee Bay Brewing Co. in Toledo will release its new Dark Heart Chocolate Cherry Porter today (Thursday). The brewpub used nine diferent grains, cherry puree, cocoa nibs and whole vanilla beans from Madagascar to create the beer just in time for Valentine's Day. The beer is 6.5 percent alcohol by volume. Upcoming releases for March include Blood Orange Imperial Wheat, Irish Red and Buckeye Bock.

Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. will hold a special firkin tapping at 5 p.m. Thursday at its tasting room. For the first time, the Akron brewery will use its restored 1957 mahogany-finished dual beer engine to tap a cask-conditioned saison. The beer engine was rescued from the original Peninsula Night Club, which is now a Winking Lizard Tavern in Peninsula. Society of Akron Area Zymurgists member Jim Lucas donated the beer engine to the brewery last year, Thirsty Dog co-owner John Najeway said. The saison was dry-hopped and is 8 percent alcohol. Thirsty Dog produces about 100 cask-conditioned firkins each month, Najeway said.

When Ken George took over as manager at the Lakewood bar Eddy & Iggy’s, he knew he needed to do something to bring in more customers. As a former owner of the defunct Brew Keeper brewery in North Ridgeville, naturally his thoughts turned to beer. But not just any brand. He wanted an Eddy & Iggy’s beer — something customers would be able to buy only at his place. Today, the bar has 14 house beers, with about eight of them on tap at any given time.

The Rail, a gourmet burger restaurant at the Summit Mall in Fairlawn, has started a monthly beer class featuring Ohio-made brews and appearances by Ohio brewers. Restaurant owner Mike Mariola started the classes after noticing plenty of interest in Ohio beer, which also happened to be the best-selling draft beer at The Rail. "There seemed to be this curiosity of finding new stuff and there are a lot of local breweries popping up," he said. "[The classes] seemed like a nice way to introduce new beers to our customers." Matthew Barbee, owner and brewer at Rockmill Brewery in Lancaster, will visit Thursday. Rockmill makes well-respected Belgian-style ales on a former horse farm. There are two tasting sessions — at 6 and 7:30 p.m. The cost is $12. Seating is limited and reservations can be made by calling 330-864-7245. The Rail will stock Rockmill Witbier and Dubbel if people cannot attend the tasting. Akron’s Ohio Brewing Co. will be the featured brewery at the next class on March 15.

The Wooster Daily Record has a story about Paul Fryman, a Wayne County native who plans to open a production brewery in Wooster. The Fryman family is taking its time getting the brewery -- which has no name yet -- up and running. Fryman, whose last brewing job was as brewmaster at Great Adirondack Brewing Co. in Lake Placid, N.Y., expects to start making beer in two or three months. "It's going to happen eventually," Fryman told the newspaper about a brewery setting up in Wooster. "We wanted to be the first. The community has been really excited and (the brewery) will help this corner of downtown Wooster." To read the full story, click here.

Buckeye Lake Brewery, a small brewpub in Buckeye Lake in central Ohio, opened Sunday. The website Drink Up Columbus reports: "Their inaugural beer lineup will be a malty Irish Red Ale, a Blonde Ale featuring Saaz hops, and an American Pale Ale, as well as a tap dedicated to draft root beer.They plan to continue adding styles to fill out their six available beer taps, with a stout coming up next." To read the Drink Up Columbus story, click here. Buckeye Lake is the third brewery to open in Ohio within the last few months. The others are: Alexandria's in Findlay and Four String Brewing in Columbus.

A Lakewood woman has invented a way to boost the flavor of cheap beer. Mickie Reinhart has created Hops Drops, seven flavored liquids such as coffee, blueberry and chocolate that can be dumped in lighter lagers. "If you're drinking the cheap beer, why not make it a little tastier?" Reinhart told WKYC-TV. Hops Drops aren't intended for more flavorful or darker craft beers -- just lighter American lagers. To see the entire report, click here.

Bob Weber is owner of the Little Mountain Brewing Co. in Kirtland in Northeast Ohio. It's one of the few brew-on-premise breweries in Ohio. Opened in 2010, Little Mountain allows people to come in and brew beer alongside a professional brewer and then take that beer home with them. Weber also brews his own for retail sale and has a small bar at the brewery.

Question: Why did you become a brewer? 

Ohio is well-represented in the fifth annual Brewing News National IPA Challenge. The competition -- run like the NCAA's March Madness -- pits 128 IPAs against each other. They are judged in a bracket format until one is declared the winner. The competition began today (Saturday). The final round will be judged March 3. The Ohio brews entered:

Market Garden Brewery in Cleveland is offering an interesting promotion: a free growler on Super Bowl Sunday. Don't get too excited, though. The glass container is free, but you still have to pay for the beer inside. The jugs typically go for $8, according to the beer menu. "Before you head to your annual house party to watch the big game, stop by Market Garden and pick up a growler," the brewery said in an email. "You are guaranteed at least two high fives and one chest bump from your friends."

Yuengling Bock -- a seasonal beer from D.G. Yuengling & Son -- will be released in Ohio starting Monday. If you can't wait that long and live in the Cleveland-Akron area, the Winking Lizard Taverns in downtown Cleveland, Fairlawn and Independence have it on draft now. The Pennsylvania brewery brought back Yuengling Bock in 2009 as part of its 200th anniversary. The label features a goat sipping a beer from a goblet and is a re-creation of the 1941 artwork for the beer.

Tickets are on sale now for the second annual International Beer Fest at the I-X Center in Cleveland. The event, considered the largest competition of world beers in the Midwest, is May 11 and 12. The festival will feature three tasting sessions with more than 200 breweries from around the world and about 800 beers. "It is a natural fit that Cleveland and the I-X Center host a beer showcase and competition of this caliber," I-X President Robert Peterson said in a prepared statement. "As an exposition center with a proven track record of success, the I-X Center is thrilled to produce an event of this magnitude highlighting local, national and international beers and breweries. We are proud that International Beer Fest has quickly grown to become the largest beer centric festival in the Midwest." The event is more than just a beer tasting. Beers are judged and medals handed out; and there are plenty of educational seminars. General admission tickets are $45, while VIP tickets are $75. For more details or to buy tickets, click here.

The beer lineup for the sixth annual Winter Warmer Fest in Cleveland is set. The event, a fundraiser for the Ohio Craft Brewers Association, is 2 to 6 p.m. Feb. 25 at Windows on the River. Here is the rundown:

Sixpoint Craft Ales, a brewery in Brooklyn, N.Y., will start distributing in Ohio in late February. The core Sixpoint lineup comes in 16-ounce cans and is sold in four-packs. The brewery -- which uses the slogan "Uncanny approach" -- also has four seasonal beers and is introducing a new beer, a double India pale ale called Resin. Sixpoint will be distributed through Cavalier Distributing.

Fat Head's Brewery has launched a beer blog to keep interested beer fans up to date on progress with its new production brewery being built in Middleburg Heights in suburban Cleveland. The blog now has plenty of photos detailing the work. "Once construction is completed, the blog will cover cool behind the scenes stuff, new releases, etc.," assistant brewer Shaun Yasaki said in an email. You can check it out by clicking here.

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning, which means six more weeks of winter. He also saw a six-pack of Samuel Adams Alpine Spring, the brewery's new seasonal beer and the "official" beer of Groundhog Day. The photo above was taken by John Heller and provided through the Associated Press.

Eric Bean, the owner and brewer at Columbus Brewing Co., has been elected as the new president of the Ohio Craft Brewers Association. He was chosen at a meeting last year but won't officially take the position until August. The current president is John Najeway of Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. in Akron. Najeway has headed the group since it was founded in 2008. Bean said his goals include better promoting Ohio-made beer and getting all the brewers in the state more involved in the organization -- not an easy task given how busy brewers are. The group has been splintered to a large degree with most of the concentrated activity and participation in Northeast Ohio, where the majority of craft brewers are located. But the Ohio beer scene is changing rapidly with many breweries opening or scheduled to open soon in Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton. Bean also said he'd like to organize a large association-sponsored beer event in Columbus and smaller events around the state. The group has much work to do to catch up with its peers in other states. Other brewers guilds operate websites to promote their breweries, sponsor joint events and some have created beer trails to advance beer tourism.

The Heinen's grocery in Brecksville will hold a special beer tasting from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Feb. 10. The event will feature beers from Rivertown, Mt. Carmel, Buckeye, Lager Heads, Rockmill, Cellar Rats, Thirsty Dog, Indigo Imp, The Brew Kettle and Willoughby. There also will be cider from Griffin Cider Works, light foods and Ohio cheeses. The event will include appearances by Ilona Simon of Budapest Blonde mixing cocktails and myself. I will be available to chat with folks and sign copies of my book Ohio Breweries. The cost is $15 to attend. To register, call 440-740-0535.

Market Garden Brewery in Cleveland hasn't been open a year, but it's already expanding to meet demand. "We are just finishing our latest brewery expansion, with the install of seven new tanks and a new cleaning system," brewer Andy Tveekrem said in an email. "This maxes out our brewing capacity here, so let's hope it's enough for a while!  It will allow us to catch up on brewing lagers again, which have been missing from the menu for a while." He said the brewpub was hammered over the holidays with customers, and has just started getting back to having 10 to 12 beers on tap regularly. As for new beers, the brewpub has Winter Porter, a big porter at 7.3 percent; Cleveland Illuminator Doppelbock at 8 percent; Trouble, a honey brewed IPA at 7.5 percent; and Malt Train, an ale at 7.5 percent. "You can see we have bumped up the alcohol a bit for the cold weather," he said. "Seems appropriate." Tveekrem also is aging some Winter Porter in a whiskey barrel for St. Patrick's Day. Other upcoming beers include: a Belgian Tripel coming out this month and a rye wheat bock for early March. The brewery also will release a Belgian IPA called Ice Breaker Ale on March 4 during an ice carving event on the patio.

The seventh annual AleFest Columbus returns to the Aladdin Shrine Center from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday. The event features more than 250 beers and more than 100 breweries. The cost is $40, which gets you 20 sampling tickets, a tasting guide and a commemorative tasting glass. "First and foremost, this festival is about the beer. I would highly recommend that guests take some time to look over the tasting guide," organizer Joe Waizmann told Uweekly, a weekly newsmagazine that targets Ohio State University students. "With your 20 sample tickets, after studying the guide, you'll find different areas to try different styles and types of beers. It really gives people a chance to leave their comfort zone and try new things." To read the full Uweekly story, click here.