Rivertown Brewing Co. in Lockland will release a couple of interesting collaboration beers next year. The brewery has teamed up with New Holland Brewing Co. in Holland, Mich., and Smooth Ambler Spirits in Maxwelton, W.Va.

The New Holland effort is called Funk Vessel, a sour ale. "Most breweries that collaborate you come up with a recipe and the brewers meet and you sit down and brew this beer," Rivertown co-owner and brewer Jason Roeper said. "What we decided to do is, screw that, we'll exchange vessels. So we sent them our vessels, our barrels, and they sent us their barrels. So we're making the same beer but in different vessels in different breweries."

Eric Bean, owner and brewer at Columbus Brewing Co. in Columbus, gets hit up all the time about when Bodhi, the brewery's highly rated double India pale ale, will finally be available in bottles. Aleheads.com has called it the best beer in Ohio, and the picky reviewers on BeerAdvocate.com swoon over it.

So when will it hit the market? "We don't know," Bean said. "We're working on it. It's an important beer for us so we want to make sure it's right."

Great Lakes Brewing Co. and Mitchell's Homemade Ice Cream are partnering again to release a beer ice cream. Christmas Ale Ginger Snap will be available starting Thursday for a limited time at the Great Lakes brewpub in Cleveland and at Mitchell's locations in Northeast Ohio.

The primary flavor is Great Lakes Christmas Ale, a holiday beer brewed with honey, fresh ginger and cinnamon. Mitchell's adds organic ginger, Vietnamese cinnamon, local honey and homemade ginger snaps.

Oskar Blues brewer Dave Chichura spent last week bouncing around Cleveland as part of Cleveland Beer Week. The Colorado-based Oskar Blues, known for hoppy beers and being the first craft brewery to put its beer in cans, moved into the Ohio market this month.

Chichura offered this observation about the Ohio beer scene: "It's pretty amazing. There are a lot of beer savvy people here ... It's like Colorado over here minus the mountains. People really like their big hoppy beers here ... I like when people are drinking big, aggressive beers. It's cool."

Here are a couple interesting beer-related stories:

-- The Ravenna Record-Courier profiles Crafted Artisan Meadery, a new meadery in Suffield Township in Portage County. “There’s a lot of good craft beers out there, but until recently you couldn’t go out and find a good, crafted mead," owner and mead-maker Kent Waldeck tells the newspaper. To read the full story, click here.

Thanks to a trademark complaint, Buckeye Brewing Co. in Cleveland will change the name of its Nighty Night winter beer. It will be called Night Night when it's released again in 22-ounce bottles in early December, co-owner and brewer Garin Wright says. (The label here is from last year's brew.)

Buckeye -- which also operates the Buckeye Beer Engine in Lakewood -- came out with the limited-edition, Belgian-style dark strong ale last year. It clocked in at 12 percent alcohol per volume and lived up to Wright's claim that you want to go "nighty night" after drinking one.

The Sharonville Chamber of Commerce's Wine, Art, Beer and Cigar Festival returns Saturday (Nov. 3) to the Holiday Inn on Hauck Road in suburban Cincinnati. The event -- which features more than 25 beers and 37 wines -- runs from 6 to 10 p.m., with special VIP admission starting at 6 p.m. To see the list of beers, which remarkably do not include any Cincinnati-area breweries other than Samuel Adams, click here.

Tickets are $50 for the VIP tasting, and general admission tickets are $25. For a WKRC story about the event, click here.

Nick and Justin Herstich of Akron were announced Friday night as the winners of the West Point Market 2012 Bottle My Brew homebrew challenge. (A photo of the winners is below.) They made an American barleywine that was a hit with the four judges: Thirsty Dog Brewing brewer Tim Rastetter, Thirsty Dog co-owner John Najeway, Winking Lizard partner John Lane and myself.

The Herstiches received $1,000, a trophy and will have their beer brewed by Thirsty Dog. It will be available at West Point and select Winking Lizard Taverns next year.

Newman Creek Cellars, a homebrew and wine-making shop, has opened in downtown Massillon. The business offers basic supplies for beer and wine-making, including Brewer's Best kits from LD Carlson.

Owner Bob Mann said Newman Creek Cellars also will offer beer and wine-making classes. Mann, a full-time ammonia refrigeration technician, said he's been a passionate homebrewer and winemaker for about three years.

The Oliver House, home of the Maumee Bay Brewing Co. in Toledo, has opened a new specialty craft beer and wine shop called The Middle Grounds Market. It's the only shop of its kind in downtown Toledo.

"Downtown Toledo now has the highest residency numbers they've seen in a very long time," said Shannon Mohr of Maumee Bay. "At our brewery, we have so many excited craft beer drinkers that opening a bottle shop just seemed like a natural progression. Not to mention the amount of wine drinkers we have coming in to Rockwell's steakhouse regularly. Now, we can offer not only our wine list, but any wine available in the market itself (for a corking fee)."

The Dayton Beer Co. in Kettering, which opened earlier this year, is already expanding its brewing capacity.

Owner/brewer Pete Hilgeman launched the production brewery and taproom in suburban Dayton with a 1 1/2-barrel system. Business has been so strong that he's now upgrading to a 7-barrel system. (See photos below.)

Winking Lizard partner John Lane never paid much attention to the beer prices charged by distributors in past years. The bill would come in and if his cost rose, he'd raise his price accordingly for his customers.

But not anymore, Lane told about 200 distributors and suppliers gathered Wednesday for his annual Winking Lizard meeting in Bedford Heights. "I cannot push it anymore on our consumer -- not in the state of Ohio," he said.

The Brew Kettle in Strongsville is expanding. The brewery is adding 3,000 square feet to its production facility -- which is just down the street from its brewpub and brew-on-premise business.

The expansion is needed to keep up with demand, owner Chris McKim said. The extra space will allow the brewery to add two 40-barrel fermenters and a 30-barrel bright tank, and to devote more space to its bottling line. The new equipment also means the brewery will be able to produce about 8,000 barrels a year.

Samuel Adams will release its 10th anniversary batch of Utopias in November. The beer, which clocks in at 29 percent alcohol by volume and thus isn't available in Ohio, comes in a special black decanter.

The 2012 version is a blend of batches and includes some of the brewery's original Triple Bock from 1993.

Here are a few interesting beer-related stories:

-- Ohio ranks seventh in the country in terms of beer shipments, according to new data from the Washington, D.C.-based Beer Institute, the Dayton Business Journal reports. It should be no surprise considering Ohio is home to an Anheuser-Busch InBev brewery in Columbus, MillerCoors brewery in Trenton and Samuel Adams brewery in Cincinnati. To read the full story, click here.

West Point Market in Akron will hold a beer tasting Friday and announce the winner of its statewide “Bottle My Brew” challenge. The tasting is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. at the grocery, 1711 W. Market St. It includes food, jazz by the Josh Rzepka Trio and prizes for the best Halloween costume.

There will be 50 beers available from breweries such as Weasel Boy, Willoughby, Rivertown, Thirsty Dog, Hoppin’ Frog, Great Lakes, Cellar Rats, Elevator, Oskar Blues and Samuel Adams. Oskar Blues brewmaster Dave Chichura is scheduled to make an appearance and chat with beer drinkers.

Granite City Food & Brewery announced plans Monday to open a restaurant next year in Lyndhurst in suburban Cleveland. The Minneapolis-based chain had previously said it was looking at the Cleveland market.

Granite City has signed a long-term lease in Legacy Village, an upscale, outdoor mall. The company has 27 restaurants in 13 states, including one in Maumee in suburban Toledo.

Blank Slate Brewing Co. in Cincinnati has signed a distributing deal with Cincinnati-based Stagnaro Distributing, owner and brewer Scott LaFollette announced on his blog. Stagnaro also handles two other Cincinnati craft brands: Rivertown and Triple Digit.

LaFollette writes that it wasn't the easiest decision. "Picking a distributor is probably the hardest decision that a brewery has to make short of actually deciding to start the brewery in the first place," he says. "I am fairly certain that I have a growing ulcer that if dissected would bleed the logos of all the local beer distributors." To read his entire blog entry, click here.  

Ed Westemeier, a grand master beer judge and brewery consultant from Cincinnati, was one of 185 beer experts who judged entries at this year's Great American Beer Festival. (He was one of three Ohioans. Jeremy Roza and Joe Waizmann were the others.)

Westemeier has traveled extensively through the the U.S. and Europe to learn brewing techniques. He used to be a beer writer for magazines and newspapers. He also has designed the recipes for a number of microbreweries, some of which you may have tasted. (But he's not allowed to say which ones.)

As Oskar Blues starts distributing in Ohio, brewmaster Dave Chichura will make several appearances in the Cleveland area to chat with beer drinkers.

His first stop will be the Willoughby Brewing Co. in Willoughby at 6 p.m. Monday. Chichura also will stop at 8 p.m. Monday at nearby 1899 in Willoughby and at 9:30 p.m. Monday at Wild Goose in Willoughby.

Hoppin' Frog Brewery in Akron has brewed a special batch of BORIS The Crusher Oatmeal-Imperial Stout for Cleveland Beer Week, which runs through Oct. 27. The beer, called Cleveland Crusher, is available on draft at bars and restaurants.

The beer is based on BORIS but was made with Belgian chocolate malt instead of roasted malt. "This creates a richer, smoother, more chocolatey flavor -- the perfect complement to this dark, full-flavored stout," owner Fred Karm said in an email.

Indigo Imp Brewery in Cleveland will hold a beer-tasting from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday called "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" as part of Cleveland Beer Week. The event will be at the brewery and feature limited release cask-conditioned ales, cheeses and jazz.

Owners Matt and Kathy Chappel will attend the event and answer any questions about the brewery or beer. A limited number of tickets, which cost $35, are available. For tickets, click here.

Arthur's Cafe in Cincinnati is turning over its tap handles to Cincinnati-made beers Tuesday in an event called the "All Local Draft Kickoff Celebration." The restaurant will feature Rivertown, Mt. Carmel, Blank Slate, 50 West, Triple Digit and Christian Moerlein.

"These breweries have worked incredibly hard to bring Cincinnati back to its rich brewing heritage. Now its our turn to do our part," the restaurant said in a Facebook post.

The former Hudepohl brewery in Cincinnati is going up for auction on Tuesday. The opening bid is $250,000. The brewery was opened in 1885 by Ludwig Hudepohl II.

Hudepohl has a storied history in Cincinnati. But it fell on hard times and was sold to rival Schoenling Brewing Co. in 1986. Later, all production was shifted to the Schoenling brewery, which was sold in 1997 to Boston Beer Co.

Hoppin' Frog Brewery's Frog's Hollow Double Pumpkin Ale won the third annual blind pumpkin beer tasting last weekend at Vintage Estate Wine & Beer in Boardman.

The event is unusual because beer drinkers sample a variety of pumpkin beers without knowing the brand that they are tasting. They rate them based on appearance, taste and aroma. The beer with the highest overall score wins. Fifty-five people participated this year.

The fourth annual Cleveland Beer Week returns Friday for a nine-day run of special tastings, dinners and educational programs. It culminates Oct. 27 with the giant festival known as Brewzilla.

The week begins at 7 p.m. Friday with “Collaboration Kickoffs,” the release of six collaboration beers made by 15 local breweries.

Hoppin' Frog Brewery in Akron will release its Cafe Silk Porter from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday at the brewery.

"For years we have brought our coffee beer tower to many events to pour our Silk Porter through fresh coffee beans for a super tasting festival beer offering," owner and brewer Fred Karm said in an email. "For many, it is the highlight of visiting the Hoppin' Frog booth at a beer fest. Now, you can buy this tasty beer infusion in bottle form to take home! "

 Beer consumers are more satisifed with craft and imported beers than the big national brands, according to the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index released today. ACSI assigns scores to a variety of consumer brands to gauge customer satisfaction.

Overall, customers are less satisfied with the brewing industry, as the ASCI score fell 1.2 percent from last year.

The Winking Lizard Tavern chain is saying goodbye to Miller Lite and Bud Light on draft. The Winking Lizard is dumping those national brands in favor of Yuengling Light effective Nov. 1, saying it's tired of price increases by Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller and doesn't want to pass the cost onto customers.

"The big guys just don’t care anymore," Winking Lizard partner John Lane said. "They’ve been giving it to us on the chin for the last couple of years."

Scott LaFollette, the owner and brewer of Blank Slate Brewing Co. in Cincinnati, has an interesting take on Stone Brewing Co.'s "Enjoy By" IPA campaign. Beer drinkers went bonkers over the Stone beer, he says. While not disparaging the Stone effort, he questions whether people have forgotten that local breweries are making fresh beer all the time.

LaFollette writes on his blog that he released a new IPA at the same time as Stone. "I didn't have to drive it cross-country day and night to insure its freshness," he wrote. "I didn't run a twitter campaign to see who gets the 'opportunity' to drink it at its freshest. I just sold it to a few places and they put it on tap. It's fresh. Why? Because I just made it and it hasn't traveled farther than five miles since then." 

UPDATED: Three Ohio breweries won medals at the Great American Beer Festival last weekend in Denver, highlighted by a gold for Weasel Boy Brewing Co. in Zanesville.

Weasel Boy's Anastasia Russian Imperial Stout bested 57 other entries in the competitive imperial stout category. This isn't the first medal for the beer. Anastasia won a bronze at the 2010 Great American Beer Festival.

Chad Melis is the spokesman for Oskar Blues, the Longmont, Colo.-based brewery that launched the craft beer in a can revolution in 2002. That's when the brewery, which had opened in 1999, released Dale's Pale Ale in a can. Thanks to Oskar Blues, craft breweries around the country now can their beer. This month, Oskar Blues enters the Ohio market.

Question: Why did Oskar Blues decide to enter the Ohio market?

Chardon BrewWorks & Eatery in Chardon is doubling its BrewWorks beer lineup and has dropped all outside beer brands, wine and liquor. The move is designed to take advantage of a new state law that allows brewers to sell their own beer at their breweries without having to purchase a second costly liquor license.

Instead of having six Chardon beers on tap at the brewpub, there will be 12. The following beers will be available year-round: Pride of Geauga Maple Porter, Donna Do Ya Wanna Hefeweizen, Working Man Pale Ale (ESB), Golden Spike American Pale Ale, Ironworker India Pale Ale and Muzzy Cream Ale. There also will be six rotating taps: a nitro, stout, imperial, fruit, seasonal and brewers' choice.

Ohio State and Michigan don't battle on the football field until Nov. 24, but a Granville bar is holding a special Ohio vs. Michigan craft beer tasting from 5 to 9 p.m. Nov. 10.

Brews Cafe is sponsoring the event, which will feature five brewers from Ohio going against five brewers from Michigan. Beer drinkers will be able to vote on their favorite. Ohio will be represented by Rockmill, Columbus, Thirsty Dog, Barley's and Fat Head's. Meanwhile, Jolly Pumpkin, Dark Horse, Founders, Bell's and New Holland will represent Michigan.

Anheuser-Busch InBev is releasing a new Shock Top brand called End of the World Midnight Wheat, a jab at predictions that the world will end Dec. 21. The new beer -- made with wheat, chocolate malt and Mayan chili spice -- will make its debut at this weekend's Great American Beer Festival.

"There's no better place to give beer lovers a first taste of End of the World Midnight Wheat than GABF," Shock Top brewmaster Jill Vaughn said. "And since the new beer is brewed in Fort Collins, there's little chance we'll run out."

It's hard to believe that Cleveland -- recently dubbed by GQ magazine as one of America's top five beer cities -- doesn't have a homebrew shop. There are plenty surrounding Ohio's second largest city, but none in Cleveland itself. That will change in November when The Cleveland Brew Shop opens in the Tremont neighborhood near downtown.

Tremont, a once scary area (at least when I was going to high school nearby in the mid 1980s), has become a hot spot for young nightlife and restaurants. It's also around the corner from Ohio City, where you can find Great Lakes Brewing Co., Market Garden Brewery and Nano Brew Cleveland.

Winks Bar and Grille, the new concept from the folks behind the Winking Lizard Tavern, opened today in the Galleria at Erieview mall in downtown Cleveland.

The restaurant focuses on Ohio-made beer, wine, liquor and food as much as possible. It has 33 taps for craft beer. For more details, click here.

Elevator Brewing Co. in Columbus has signed a distributing deal with House of LaRose that is bringing Elevator beers to Summit, Medina, Portage and Stark counties in Northeast Ohio.

The following beers are showing up in the area this week: Oktoberfest 1810, Bleeding Buckeye Red Ale, Mogabi Hoppy Wheat Ale, Dark Horse and Three Frogs IPA.

The Norwood Service League is holding the inaugural Great Norwood Micro-Q from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday at 5229 Montgomery Road. The event will feature barbecue, zydeco and craft beer. It's being held to help celebrate the social service agency's 95th anniversary.

The four featured beers are: Hop Bomber Pale Ale from Rivertown Brewing, Losantiville Pre-Prohibition Lager from Listermann Brewing, Aftermath from Triple Digit Brewing and Golden Ale from 5Rabbit Cerveceria. Rivertown, Listermann and Triple Digit are Cincinnati beers, while 5Rabbit is from Chicago. The barbecue will be provided by City Barbeque. There also will be desserts made by Buskens, Servatii, and Sweets by LaDawn, and non-alcoholic drinks available.

The Acme Fresh Market in Montrose in suburban Akron will turn over all its draft handles from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday for a tasting of The Brew Kettle, an award-winning production brewery and brewpub in Strongsville.

“We want to partner with them to bring more attention to another awesome local brewer,” said Jon Albrecht, the beer buyer for the Akron-based grocery chain.

Here's some interesting Ohio- and non-Ohio-related beer news:

-- The website Drink Up Columbus has a few stories about beer scene in Columbus. Oval Brewing, which has yet to open, has changed its name to Land-Grant Brewing Co. Actual Brewing, which has yet to open, has launched a line of yeast. And Drink Up Columbus has a write-up on 101 Beer Kitchen, a new gastropub. To read the coverage, click here.

Flatrock Brewing Co. in Holgate passed its final inspection from the state last week and hopes to have its first beer ready to sell in about a month. That initial beer will be Towpath, a pre-Prohibition classic American pilsner that mirrors a recipe from an old brewery that used to be in Napoleon. It's made with local sweet corn and honey, owner and brewer Lawrence Pritchard III said.

"Very light beer. More flavorful than Budweiser or Coors Light. It's kind of like that gateway beer we want local people to try," he said.

Willoughby Brewing Co. won the Best of Show award at the Fat Head's Celebration of the Hop IPA Fest on Saturday for its Cosmic IPA. The beer, which beat out more than 30 other IPAs and imperial IPAs for the top honor, also was named as the best IPA at the annual judged competition held at the Fat Head's Brewery & Saloon in North Olmsted. The Brew Kettle's Old 21 was named best imperial IPA.

Cosmic dethroned The Brew Kettle's White Rajah, which had won the last two years. "Once I tasted Cosmic, I knew it would win," The Brew Kettle brewer Jack Kephart said afterward. He even bet Willoughby brewer Rick Seibt $10 that Cosmic would take the top award and Kephart said that he collected on that bet.

Anheuser-Busch InBev donated $2.5 million Wednesday to the Folds of Honor Foundation as part of its Budweiser Walk-off a Hero program. The company donated $5,000 for each walk-off win during Major League Baseball's regular season. There were 205 walk-off wins. Budweiser also contributed a portion of sales from May 20 through July 7 to the nonprofit, which provides educational scholarships to families of fallen or injured soldiers.

“Walk-offs are one of the most exciting ways to win in baseball,” Rob McCarthy, vice president of Budweiser at Anheuser-Busch, said in a prepared statement. “Knowing that each walk-off this season will help support and honor our wounded or fallen heroes and their families made each walk-off even more exciting and meaningful.”

Oktoberfest and pumpkin beers are still lingering in the stores and the weather has yet to turn frigid here in Ohio, but that hasn't stopped Founders Brewing Co. from declaring it stout season.

The award-winning brewery from Grand Rapids, Mich., released its Breakfast Stout late last month. And so far, co-founder Mike Stevens says, Ohioans are lapping it up. Breakfast Stout sales are up 198 percent so far over the same time period last year, he says.

Triple Digit Brewing Co. in Cincinnati has unveiled its new website, which includes a breakdown of its beers and details about the tasting room.

Check out the site by clicking here.

Crafted Artisan Meadery in rural Portage County opened in June, but it will hold its grand opening from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 20. The meadery puts its own modern perspective on the ancient beverage through exploring new flavors using fresh, local ingredients that can include fruit, spices, or even coffee beans and bourbon barrels.

"Although most of our meads use raw, unfiltered Ohio wildflower honey, just like wine grapes or beer malts, there are endless honey varietals here in Ohio and elsewhere that each offer up their own characteristics," owner Kent Waldeck said in a prepared statement. "When hearing the word mead, it is easy to conjure up images of the Renaissance Fair but mead is so much more than that. Consumers are seeking out unique, local and handcrafted products and this aligns with exactly who we are as a company. We’re excited to be open and sharing this ancient beverage with the Ohio region!"

Fat Head's Brewery & Saloon in North Olmsted has finalized the beer lineup for its annual IPA Fest, which takes place Saturday and features only hoppy beers. There are two tastings: 1 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $30.

Here's the beer rundown:

The beer lineup is nearly set for Cincinnati's Craft Beer Oktoberfest taking place Saturday at Listermann Brewing.

The beer festival will feature only Cincinnati breweries: Mt. Carmel, Rivertown, Blank Slate, Triple Digit, Christian Moerlein, Rock Bottom, Cellar Dweller, Wiedemann, 50 West and Quaff Bros. The Blotarian Brewing League also will be there all day brewing beer. (See map below.)

Hoppin' Frog Brewery in Akron will release its Oktoberfest from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday at the brewery. The lager is 7.3 percent alcohol by volume and a 22-ounce bottle will sell for $7.99.

Zydeco Bistro also will have its mobile restaurant at the brewery from noon to 1:30 p.m. to serve lunch. The food truck will offer a specially prepared German bratwurst cooked in the Oktoberfest beer.

Oh to be Michael Keaton in Multiplicity for just one day. Saturday will be a huge day for beer lovers in Ohio, but unfortunately there's no way to be in Cleveland, Dayton and Cincinnati at the same time. Here's the beer event rundown:

-- Fat Head's Brewery & Saloon in North Olmsted will hold its annual IPA Fest. The beer tasting features hoppy beers and only hoppy beers. There are two tasting sessions: from 1 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. and awards are handed out for the best. Tickets are $30.

GQ has high regard for Cleveland as a beer city. The magazine chose Cleveland as one of the "5 Best Beer Cities in America" in its October issue. The others are: Los Angeles, Denver, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Pretty heavy company.

The national media rarely ventures outside of the Ohio City neighborhood when reporting Cleveland's beer prowess and CQ is no different. The magazine highlights Great Lakes Brewing Co., Market Garden Brewery and Nano Brew Cleveland. To read the report, click here.

Paul Fryman is the owner and brewer at the new Wooster Brewery in Wooster. Fryman, a Wayne County native, opened the brewery this year after stints at Great Divide Brewing, Snake River Brewery and Great Adirondack Brewing. The seven-barrel, steam production brewery and large tasting room are in a large red-brick building dating to 1899.

Question: Why did you become a brewer?