Ohio Brewing Co. in Akron is expanding. The brewery recently added a six-head, Meheen bottling machine and a Quadrel labeling machine. (Quadrel Labeling Systems is based in Mentor, Ohio.) The brewery had previously been bottling on contract. Workers are able to crank out 60 to 65 cases an hour in the warmer weather -- more when the temperatures are cooler. "We'll be able to get our beers in more of the marketplace," said Chris Verich, the director of brewing operations who's pictured below. "We've been waiting for this day when we could do our own bottling. No more contracting." Ohio Brewing has inked a deal with Premium Beverage Supply in Columbus to have its beer distributed in central Ohio, he said. The brewery also has plans to expand distribution to western Pennsylvania.

Beer is losing popularity among U.S. drinkers, especially young adults, according to a new Gallup telephone poll. When asked whether they most often drink beer, wine or liquor, only 36 percent of respondents said "beer." That was the lowest percentage since 1992, Gallup said. Wine tied beer at 35 percent and liquor brought up the rear at 23 percent. The biggest drop for beer was among young adults ages 18 to 34. There was a 12-point drop among that age group. The decline in popularity for beer may just be temporary, Gallup concluded. "Whether beer continues to lose ground to other forms of liquor or rebounds may depend on the future direction of young adults' drink preferences," the poll said. To read the entire analysis, click here.

The Utica Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y., is reporting that beer prices may rise because of an increase in hop and barley costs. Utica is home to F.X. Matt Brewing, one of the last family-owned regional breweries in the country. “Cost of production is up, and the cost of raw materials is up,” Fred Matt, president and chief operating officer for F.X. Matt Brewing Co., told the newspaper. He predicts a 25 to 30 percent increase in barley prices, and 10 to 25 percent increase in hop prices that may hit in October. To read the entire story, click here.

Chardon BrewWorks & Eatery delivered four kegs of its craft beer to Shooters on the Water in Cleveland last week. The delivery marked a significant milestone for the Geauga County brewpub, which opened in March 2010. It's the first Chardon BrewWorks beer sold outside the nanobrewery and restaurant. "Chardon BrewWorks is excited to embark on this new stage of business and now has plans to self-distribute its beer to many other local Northeast Ohio establishments," owner and brewmaster Mike Nedrow said in a news release. The beers available at Shooters include: Pride of Geauga Maple Porter and The Third Gift Christmas Ale. The porter is made with only Grade A Geauga County maple syrup provided by Grossman Maple Products of Chardon. The Christmas ale is spiced with cinnamon, ginger, sweet orange peel and honey.

Yahoo!, the online search engine, put together a list for me of the most-searched beer brands within the last month. Not surprisingly, Budweiser topped the list. Here are the rest of the top 12 in order. Why 12? That's what Yahoo! provided: Heineken, Blue Moon, Bud Light, Corona, Dos Equis, Miller Lite, Coors Light, Samuel Adams, Gordon Biersch, Sierra Nevada and Newcastle.

Beer festivals can get stale. Same location. Same breweries. Same beers. Year after year. But the seventh annual Blues & Brews — one of the largest beer festivals in Northeast Ohio — will have plenty of “firsts” this year. For starters, the location is new. The event will be held Aug. 6 at Lock 3 Park in downtown Akron. It’s the first time the festival hasn’t been at the picturesque Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens. Then there’s the beer itself .... To read the full story in today's Akron Beacon Journal, click here.

The fourth annual Bock and Rock beer festival is Saturday (July 30) at Four Seasons Park in Minster in western Ohio. The beer tasting features more than 30 brewers and more than 80 beers. The special guest this year is Luke Purcell, brewmaster at Great Lakes Brewing Co. in Cleveland. He will provide a breakdown of Great Lakes beers during the special VIP portion of the event, which begins at 4 p.m. The general admission portion starts at 6 p.m. VIP tickets are $40, while advance general admission tickets are $20. Each admission comes with 15 sampling tickets and a sampling glass. The event is sponsored by the Minster Civic Association. For more details, including a breakdown of the brewers, click here. Minster, by the way, is home to the Wooden Shoe Brewing Co.

A new brewpub is coming to Central Ohio. The Buckeye Lake Brewery is planning to open this fall in Buckeye Lake, a small village located off Interstate 70 halfway between Columbus and Zanesville. The owner, who asked that his name not be published yet, said he hopes to be open around Oct. 1. His application for a brewery license is pending before the Ohio Division of Liquor Control. The owner, who's a homebrewer, didn't want to release many details about the operation because, well, he said he's still working on those details. "We're going to be a small, little local brewpub," he said. And he means small. The brewpub is expected to be only about 1,000 square feet. The brewery's motto already is set: "Drink Local. Drink Better." The website is up and running, but the only item on the site is the brewery logo.

The Abita Brewing Co. in Abita Springs, La., is joining the long list of craft brewers selling its beer in cans. Three of its flagship brews will soon be available in cans: Amber, Purple Haze and Jockamo IPA. "We feel confident that today's cans are a quality solution that will preserve and protect the flavor of Abita," Abita President David Blossman said in a prepared statement. "For many years people associated craft beer with glass bottles, but the perception and the technology of the aluminum beverage can has changed." Plenty of craft brewers now offer beer in cans. Alas, none in Ohio so far. Black Box Brewing in Westlake had plans to can but they fell through. There also was talk last year about Maumee Bay Brewing Co. in Toledo -- maker of Buckeye Beer -- adding cans. There are plenty of benefits to cans. They are easy to recycle, weigh less to ship and can be taken some places where glass bottles are prohibited. Abita will offer cans in six- and 12-packs and expect them to reach store shelves early next year. The brewery will continue packaging in glass, too. Abita is the 30th largest brewer in the United States.

UPDATED: Ohio has nearly 50 breweries -- with many more slated to open within the next year. Many of these breweries are award-winning and have picked up medals at the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup. So which is your favorite? Bowing to limited public pressure and because I certainly don't want to be accused of slighting any brewers here in Ohio, I've added nearly every brewery -- private operations and yet-to-open breweries excluded -- to this list of choices.

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Teamsters Local 957 in Dayton is taking a dispute with Heidelberg Distributing Co. public. The union complained in a news release Friday that the company wants to get rid of health care coverage for retirees and force employees to accept a poor contract, according to the Dayton Daily News. The union has bought two electronic billboards in the Dayton area for its "Budweiser distributor is tasteless" campaign. Heidelberg distributes Anheuser-Busch InBev and other brands. The dispute could lead to a strike, the union says. To read the full newspaper story, click here. To read the Teamsters news release, click here.

The two-day Great Lakes Burning River Fest -- a fundraiser for the nonprofit Burning River Foundation -- continues from 1 to 6 p.m. today (July 24) at the Historic Coast Guard Station on Whiskey Island in Cleveland. Tickets are $10 at the gate. The event includes plenty of live music, food, vendors, environmental displays and, of course, beer. The highlight for beer drinkers is the release of a fresh batch of Christmas Ale, the popular spiced beer that is reserved for the holiday season. Wright Pils and Burning River also are available. The beers are $5 each. Be warned, though, if you're just interested in beer. The event is much more about the music and environmentally friendly displays. My father and I stopped in Saturday before the torrential rains hit. Below are some photos. For more details about the event, including a Youtube message from co-owner Pat Conway, click here.

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The Cleveland Plain Dealer profiled Great Lakes Brewing Co. and co-founder Pat Conway on the front page Sunday. (I missed the story until someone pointed it out today.) The popular brewery and brewpub, located in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood, are anticipating "another year of record sales (up to $30 million this year) and a third straight year of 20 percent growth," the newspaper reported. The story, written by business writer Janet Cho, also served as a preview for this weekend's Burning River Fest, which features the release of fresh Christmas Ale -- one of the brewery's most recognizable and popular brands. The Plain Dealer put together a nifty graphic that breaks down the festival. To read the full story, click here.

Molson Coors is launching a low-alcohol beer in Britain aimed at women who shy away from drinking beer. Called Animee, it's "a sparkling alcoholic beverage with lemony and rose flavors," according to a story in the New York Daily News. The beer is only 4 percent alcohol. The brewer apparently is trying to attract the 79 percent of British women who steer clear of beer. To read the full story, click here.

Growlers are starting to show up everywhere -- even gas stations. Twelve APlus Sunoco stations in the Buffalo, N.Y., area are experimenting with selling draft beer as part of a Craft Beer Exchange pilot program. A Buffalo News story last week jokingly noted that you can now fill up twice at the gas station. "Just during this first month, it really has been a success by word of mouth alone," Sunoco spokesman Joe McGinn told the newspaper. "It's clear there's interest there." The company told the newspaper that it will study the sales results for three months before deciding whether to expand the program. To read the full story, click here. You can also read a Convenience Store News story by clicking here.

The Buckeye Beer Engine in Lakewood will tap a keg of Brewery Ommegang's Belgian Independence Day Saison at 7 p.m. today (July 21). The brewpub sent out an email today about the special tapping, saying that Heidelberg Distributing Co. sold them the only keg of the beer on the west side of Cleveland. Today is Independence Day in Belgium. The Belgian Independence Day Saison is made with coriander, grains of paradise, lemon peel, and white pepper.

SunCo Entertainment, which organizes the annual Big Tap In beer festival in Boardman, will hold the first octoBREWfest Sept. 17 at the Stark County Fairgrounds in Canton. The proceeds will benefit the Alliance Firefighters Charities. The event will feature German beers, as well as seasonal, harvest, pumpkin and Octoberfest-style beers from more than 50 breweries. A special VIP event -- which costs $55 -- runs from 2 to 3 p.m. The main festival is from 3 to 6 p.m. and costs $40. Tickets go on sale July 25. The participating breweries so far are: Arcadia, The Brew Kettle, Brooklyn, Buffalo Bills, Dogfish Head, Flying Dog, Founders, Great Lakes, Harpoon, Heavy Seas, Hofbrau, Hoppin Frog, Lakefront, Leinenkugel, Main Street, Ottercreek, Pauliner, Samuel Adams, Shipyard, Southern Tier, Stoudts, Thirsty Dog, Warsteiner, Weyerbacher and Willoughby. For more details, click here.

Black Box Brewing Co. will be featured in the new movie Fun Size, a teen comedy being filmed now in Cleveland. "They are going to use our beer bottles in the film," owner and brewer Jerome Welliver said. The small brewery in Westlake produces Javelin Ale and Plumbers Crack Ale. (Javelin Ale just won the third place People's Choice award at Ohio Brew Week.) Welliver said he knows that an appearance in the film is priceless advertising for his small brewery in Westlake. Black Box is distributed now only in Cuyahoga County and even then it can be difficult to find. "We can’t keep up with demand in Cuyahgoa County," Welliver admitted. Fun Size stars Chelsea Handler, Johnny Knoxville and Victoria Justice.

More breweries are going green. Not with their beer, of course, but in the way they operate. Representatives from Great Lakes Brewing Co. in Cleveland, Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. in Akron and Jackie O's Pub & Brewery in Athens participated in a panel discussion about sustainable energy practices last week during Ohio Brew Week. They talked about issues such as recycling and using local products. "A brewery is the center of a community, and becomes a forum for discussion and debate," Jackie O's owner Art Oestrike said, as reported by the Athens News. "The more you're doing these kind of things, the more the community supports you. If you're working with local farms and organizations, then you're getting it (back) at the cash register." To read the full newspaper story, click here.

Reuters reported Tuesday that Anheuser-Busch InBev, which has a brewery in Columbus, plans to raise prices by 3 to 5 percent in October. The move is being made because of higher commodity costs, the wire service reported. The increases will go into effect Oct. 3 and will vary by brand, Reuters said. Anheuser-Busch -- maker of Budweiser and Michelob -- last raised prices in September 2010, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Jackie O's Pub & Brewery in Athens took home the top People's Choice award at the sixth annual Ohio Brew Week, which was held last week. The brewpub won first for its Kentucky Monk, a 10-percent, Belgian-style tripel aged in bourbon barrels. The other People's Choice winners were: second, 12 Dogs of Christmas bourbon barrel-aged from Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. in Akron, and third, Javelin American Amber Rye from Black Box Brewing Co. in Westlake. Other awards went to: best bartender: Julie Flint of the Smiling Skull Saloon; best server: Julie Sparhawk of the Oak Room; and best food of the week: Restaurant Salaam. At the Dog Days Talent Show, two dogs finished in a tie for the "Dog that Best Represents a Thirsty Dog" price, which includes a chance to be on a beer label: Scout, a mixed breed owned by Dan Whiteley; and Lilly Neustein, an English bulldog owned by Sam Hook. (See photo below.) You also can find a list of winners from the homebrew competition by clicking here.

The Great Lakes Burning River Fest returns this weekend. The two-day festival -- which includes a special release of fresh Christmas Ale -- is from 6 to 11 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Coast Guard Station on Whiskey Island in Cleveland. Tickets are $8 in advance or $10 at the gate. You can also buy a two-day ticket for $15. The event includes music, food, environmental displays and, of course, beer. The highlight is the release of Christmas Ale, the popular spiced beer that is reserved for the holiday season. Great Lakes is quick to point out that the Burning River Fest is the only place to find fresh Christmas Ale. Other bars and restaurants may offer the beer as part of Christmas in July promotions but they've just held the beer from last winter. Great Lakes takes freshness seriously -- just check out each bottle for a specific date that the beer should be consumed by. So the brewery frowns on having its beer released late. Burning River Fest is a fundraiser for the Burning River Foundation, a nonprofit that provides grants to environmental and conservation groups. For more details about the event, including a Youtube message from co-owner Pat Conway, click here.

The third annual Scene Magazine AleFestival returns Saturday, July 23. The event runs from noon to 5 p.m. at Lincoln Park in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood. General admission tickets are $25, while VIP tickets are $40. More than 100 beers will be available, and the festival also includes music and food. A portion of the proceeds benefits the Merrick House and Cleveland  Heroes. For more details, click here.

Noodlecat, a new restaurant in Cleveland, will hold a beer tasting with Donn Bichsel from Dogfish Head Craft Brewery at 5 p.m. Tuesday. He will pour My Antonia, Burton Baton and Raison D'etre. The beer will be paired with three ginza buns, which are traditional Japanese steamed buns. Tickets are $40 a person and can be purchased online at www.beersandbuns.eventbrite.com.

D. G. Yuengling and Son Inc., which announced earlier this year that it will move into the Ohio market, has selected the wholesale distributors who will handle its beers in the state. And those distributors have something in common -- they all currently represent Anheuser-Busch InBev. Nabbing the Yuengling business is seen as a major coup for a distributor because of the expected swell of support from Ohioans once the beer is available here.

"We feel real good about it," said Jim LaRose, president and chief operating officer of distributor House of LaRose, which covers the Greater Cleveland and Akron areas. "It's a great moment for our company and our folks." He called it an "honor and privilege" to represent Yuengling in the state, while also quickly adding that he's proud to handle the top-selling AB InBev brands.

Acme Fresh Markets opened a new growler station today at its North Canton store on North Main Street. It’s the third store in the Akron-based grocery chain to start offering draft beer to go. The others are in Coventry Township and Cuyahoga Falls. The stores have six rotating taps. "It's been really successful,” said Jon Albrecht, the beer buyer for Acme. The reusable growler costs $3.99. The beer is extra and the cost depends on the brand. The beers available now at the North Canton store are: Leinenkugel Summer Shandy, Lefthand Milk Stout, Founders Dirty Bastard, Avery Maharaja, Southern Tier IPA and Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. Acme updates its Facebook page each Friday to let customers know what’s available.

Travel + Leisure magazine asked its readers to vote on the best cities in the United States for finding excellent microbrews. "Not surprisingly, you'll find two of the top three beer-quaffing towns in the Pacific Northwest, but the rest of the Top 10 are scattered across the U.S.," author Katrina Brown Hunt writes. "It's a sign that the microbrews—made in relatively small batches, and often emphasizing quirky flavors—are becoming more mainstream, and perhaps even flourishing during the recession." Portland, Ore., tops the list. Denver, Seattle, Providence and Portland, Maine, round out the top five. (There's not an Ohio city among the top 20.) To read the entire story, click here.

Brian Yaeger, author of the book Red, White and Brew, has written an article for the Craft Brewers Association about how to approach beer festivals. Some of his tips? Buy tickets in advance; get there early because special beers may run out; and don't drink before you go. He also recommends some festivals to hit and cites the 46th annual German-American Festival from Aug. 26-28 in Oregon, Ohio, and 35th annual Oktoberfest Zinzinati from Sept. 16-18 in Cincinnati. To read the entire article, click here.

Vermont topped the nation last year in terms of breweries per capita, according to a new analysis by the Craft Brewers Association in Boulder, Colo. With 21 breweries in Vermont, there's a brewery for every 29,797 residents. Ohio, with 47 breweries last year, ranked 32nd with a brewery for every 245,458 residents. Ohio may creep up that list next year considering several more breweries are expected to open in the state, including the BottleHouse Brewery in Cleveland Heights, the Christian Moerlein brewpub in Cincinnati, Black Squirrel Brewing in Kent, Vitruvian Brewing Co. in Yellow Springs and Toxic Brew Co. in Dayton. Mississippi, which has only two breweries, ranked last in the Craft Brewers analysis with a brewery for every 1,483,649 residents. To see all the rankings, click here.

Victory Brewing Co. -- maker of such favorites at HopDevil and Golden Monkey -- has launched a contest asking beer drinkers to submit two-minute videos showing how they have been "inspired by Victory." The videos will be posted online and a Victory panel will select a winner, who will receive $500 and a Victory prize pack. The Downingtown, Pa., brewery often receives letters, thank you notes and photos of beer-inspired tattoos, and artwork posted on Victory's Facebook page. “We have some incredibly creative fans,” marketing manager Karen Noonan said in a prepared statement. “We are constantly inspired by their ideas so we decided to challenge them to be even more imaginative, and then reward them for it.” All contest submissions must be received by Aug. 1. The winner will be announced Sept. 7. For full details, click here.

One of the most humorous beer competitions in the state takes place at 8 p.m. today in Athens during Ohio Brew Week. It's the second annual Miss Plumbers Crack Competition hosted by the Smiling Skull Saloon and Black Box Brewing Co. Contestants have to answer beer trivia questions, perform a talent and show off a plumber's pose. The winner receives an all-expense paid trip to Cleveland, where she'll get a professional makeover, photo shoot and night on the town. Her photo also will appear on bottles of Plumbers Crack Ale.

Maxim magazine devotes the July edition of its "The Great American Bar Search" to Cleveland. It's not an indepth article, but just a one-page list of eight places to visit on "Your Eff-LeBron Tour," as the magazine puts it. The rundown: Deagan's Kitchen & Bar, Buckeye Beer Engine, Melt Bar & Grilled, The Harp, Happy Dog, Prosperity Social Club, ABC the Tavern and McNulty's Bier Market. Each location gets only a one- or two-sentence explanation. As for the Beer Engine: "Beer snobs will wet themselves amid the nearly 30 local brews on tap. (Warning: Requests for Bud Light will be shot down.)" The magazine also recommends tasting Great Lakes Brewing Co.'s Lake Erie Monster.

The Minnesota government shut down on July 1 and there was a major casualty -- at least for beer drinkers. Hundreds of bars and liquor stores weren't able to renew their licenses on time so they can't buy beer, wine and liquor to sell to customers. "I can handle a few more weeks but after that I either gotta open up illegally, which I don't want to do, or I just gotta shut her down," liquor store owner Dennis Pursley told the Wall Street Journal. The latest news is that MillerCoors may have pull all its brands out of the state. The quirky story is getting major media attention from around the country. To read some of the coverage, click on: Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune and Pioneer Press.

Christian Moerlein Brewing Co. will tap a limited edition English Summer Ale at 6 p.m. Tuesday at The Lackman in Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. Brewmaster Michael Carver will be at the event to talk about the beer and Christian Moerlein. The beer is made with all English pale malt, and a combination of Centennial, Fuggle and East Kent Goldings hops. "The finish is crisp and dry, quenching the thirst on a hot summer day," according to an email from the brewery. Christian Moerlein also will have a Moerlein Lagers & Ales Biergarten at the inaugural Queen City Sausage Festival, which takes place this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Riverfront Levee in Newport, Ky. Admission to the festival is free.

Fishers Foods will hold a Summer Beer Fest from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at its Fulton Drive grocery store in Canton. People will be able to sample 17 different beers and munch on kettle-style beer chips, cheeses and Old Carolina barbecue. The cost is $5 per person. The beers featured are: Magic Hat #9, Samuel Adams Summer Ale, Great Lakes Commodore Perry, Schlitz Gusto, Zywiec, Leinenkugel Summer Shandy, Peroni, Waterloo Premium Dark, Stella Artois, Hoegaarden, Victory Golden Monkey, Thirsty Dog Cerberus, Flying Dog Woody Creek White, Bell's Two Hearted Ale, Lagunitus Little Sumpin Sumpin Ale, Left Hand Sawtooth Ale and Heavy Seas Loose Cannon. "We’ve done a number of wine tastings for the last several years and we just started last year to add in beer tastings," store owner Jeff Fisher said. "What a great way to highlight some of the smaller beer producers ... What we've tried to do is choose beers that people are really passionate about but the general public doesn't know and here’s the chance to try them." The event, held in the beer and wine area, is casual, he added.

Listermann Brewing Co. owner Dan Listermann talks about his favorite style of beer -- smoke beer -- during a visit to his Cincinnati homebrew shop and brewery in late 2010:

Tom Long, the new chief executive officer of MillerCoors, tells the Chicago Tribune that the company is changing gears from cost-cutting to growth mode. One area for growth? Craft beer. "Organic growth in craft and imports and light beer is our ambition because our future earnings power will come from that growth more than from cost savings, and so that is the challenge of the business," Long told the newspaper. MillerCoors, which has a plant in Trenton, Ohio, owns the Blue Moon and Leinenkugel brands. Long added: "The beer market is really interesting right now. We want to play in the fast-moving waters of crafts and imports. We want to hold and take position in the biggest part of our business, which is in light beers. And we want to protect the economy beers, because there's still lots of value-conscious drinkers out there." To read the full Tribune story, click here.

Rust Belt Brewing Co. former brewer Lee Gidley talks about the production brewery in Youngstown. Since this video was taken in late 2010, Rust Belt has released a new brand of higher alcohol beers under the name John Young Select. Gidley is now working at Hoppin' Frog Brewery in Akron:

Beer rules at sports stadiums and arenas around the United States. But apparently wine is catching on at baseball parks. Reuters reports that baseball stadiums are improving their wine selection -- just as many have gone upscale with some food and boosted their craft beer offerings in recent years.  "I've known people in the wine business who would go to sporting events and drink beer, because they wouldn't drink the wine. Now, they don't have to," John Sergi of Centerplate, a hospitality company, that paired the stadiums with retailers of top quality wines, tolde Reuters. To read the full story, click here.

Willoughby Brewing Co. brewer Thomas Gaboury talks about the brewpub's best-selling beer in late 2010. Since this video was taken, the brewpub was sold to new owners and Rick Seibt has taken over as brewmaster. Gaboury is still with the operation:

Ratebeer.com has a list of the best 25 Ohio-made beers based on reviews on its website. The top two -- which are tied with an identical score of 99.8942453259388 -- are Thirsty Dog Brewing Co.'s Siberian Night and Hoppin' Frog Brewery's Barrel-Aged B.O.R.I.S. Imperial Stout. Both Thirsty Dog and Hoppin' Frog are Akron breweries and the list is dominated by brewers in Northeast Ohio with one notable exception. Jackie O's Pub & Brewery -- a brewpub in Athens that rarely bottles -- has an amazing 10 beers represented in the top 25. Hoppin' Frog has the next highest total with six. Great Lakes Brewing Co., Buckeye Brewing Co. and Fat Head's Brewery & Saloon also are represented. You can check out the entire list by clicking here.

The proposal to allow high-alcohol beer sales in Ohio isn't dead after all. State Rep. Dan Ramos, D-Lorain, is working on legislation that would increase the legal limit for beer from 12 percent to 21 percent. He said he would introduce the proposal soon. "It’s not just good for beer drinkers and brewers and good for commerce and jobs, it's lessening government regulations at its core," Ramos said. "With that idea and intent, I think we should be able to get some bipartisan support." Ohio's craft brewing industry continues to grow and several of those brewers, including the well-respected Hoppin' Frog Brewery in Akron, are interested in making niche, higher alcohol beers that are now barred from the state. To recap the issue, the new state budget bill included a provision that would have increased the limit to 18 percent. But the provision got yanked at the last minute for some unknown reason. The lawmakers who did the yanking haven't returned phone calls. Even Ramos said he's trying to figure out why because he needs to know what sort of opposition his proposal will face. "Somebody must not like it and I want to know who and why," he said. Ramos pointed out that he was working on his legislation well before the budget bill, but held off introducing his proposal because he thought it would be approved with the budget. He said he opted for the 21 percent limit because that's the limit permitted for alcohol to be sold at grocery stores and other retailers in Ohio. He added that he's not opposed to having no limit at all as many other states do, but he thought that would lead to a lengthy discussion about overhauling the state's liquor laws and slow down the process.

Christmas comes but once a year. But Christmas beer? Well, that’s so special that it now comes twice. Many Ohio breweries are releasing new batches of their holiday beer this month as part of “Christmas in July” promotions. Bars and restaurants also are hosting special Christmas events, hoping to attract more customers by offering the popular spiced beers that are usually reserved for the bone-chilling dead of winter as opposed to the heat of summer.

"It seems like a fun little gimmick and people love Christmas ale in this town more than any other town," said Rick Seibt, brewmaster at Willoughby Brewing Co., which will have a new batch of its Wenceslas Spiced Christmas Ale available soon. The Willoughby brewpub has a giant beer board alerting customers about the current selections and what’s coming up. As soon as people saw the Christmas beer, they started getting excited, Seibt said. "There’s a buzz around," he said.

Little Mountain Brewing Co. owner and brewer Bob Weber talks about his brew-on-premise operations in late 2010:

Zymurgy, the magazine produced by the American Homebrewers Association, has published its annual reader survey highlighting the "Best Beers in America" for 2011. Two Ohio breweries are represented. Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, made by Great Lakes Brewing Co. in Cleveland, was tied for 14th. Boston Beer Co., which has a brewery in Cincinnati, made the list with Samuel Adams Noble Pils (20th) and Samuel Adams Boston Lager (26th). Those two breweries also made the list of the country's top breweries: Boston Beer at 8th and Great Lakes at 15th. Zymurgy, which has been doing the survey for nine years, compiles the list by asking readers to rank their top 20 favorite beers.  "The Zymurgy readers' poll grows in numbers and prestige each year," Zymurgy Editor Jill Redding said in a statement. "As homebrewers and beer lovers, our readers have some of the most sophisticated and knowledgeable palates on the planet." Russian River Pliny the Elder was the top beer -- for the third year in a row. Dogfish Head Craft Ales topped the best brewery list. To see the full results, click here.

The sixth annual Ohio Brew Week, the massive, more-than-a-weeklong festival in the college town of Athens, kicks off Friday. The event highlights craft beer made in Ohio and features tastings, beer dinners, talks, a golf tournament and homebrew competition. The special guest speaker is Lew Bryson, a beer journalist who writes for several beer magazines, blogger, beer reviewer for All About Beer magazine and author of several brewery travel guides. He is giving various speeches throughout the week. Earlier this year, Ohio Brew Week was named one of the top 10 summer beer festivals by the website Road Trips for Beer. You can find more details and a full schedule for the event by clicking here.

Buckeye Brewing Co. co-owner and brewer Garin Wright talks about his operation and his best-selling beer in late 2010 at this production brewery. He also runs the Buckeye Beer Engine brewpub.

Goose Island Beer Co., which is controlled by Anheuser-Busch InBev, makes a wheat beer called 312 Urban Wheat Ale, an homage to the Chicago area code where Goose Island is based. Now, Anheuser-Busch InBev has applied for federal trademarks for 14 area codes throughout the United States, including "216" in Cleveland. The request was made May 20 to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The news was apparently first reported by the subscription-based Craft Business Daily and was picked up this week by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper. The move gives rise to speculation that the brewer is perhaps interested in making city-specific beers. That wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility. In 2006, Anheuser-Busch produced an Ohio-specific beer at its Columbus brewery: Burnin' Helles. The company confirmed in an email that it had applied for the trademarks but provided no other details. The Post-Dispatch reported that in addition to Cleveland, the other area codes are: 314 (St. Louis), 412 (Pittsburgh), 305 (Miami), 619 (San Diego), 202 (Washington, D.C.), 602 (Phoenix), 704 (Charlotte, N.C.), 702 (Las Vegas), 214 (Dallas), 415 (San Francisco), 303 (Denver), 615 (Nashville, Tenn.) and 713 (Houston).

Quarter Barrel Brewery & Pub co-owner and brewer Brandon Ney talks about his nanobrewery in Oxford in late 2010:

Rocky River Brewing Co. brewer Jim Lieb talks about his best-selling beer in late 2010:

The seventh annual Blues & Brews beer festival in Akron -- one of the largest beer events in Northeast Ohio -- returns Aug. 6. The festival website is up and running with details about how to get tickets and even how to volunteer at the event. General admission tickets are $35 in advance or $55 for the Brewer's Circle. (Tickets jump $5 the day of the event.) The Brewer's Circle runs from noon to 2 p.m., and the general admission portion is from 2 to 6 p.m. Although a list of breweries isn't online yet, the website says there will be more than 200 beers available from 73 breweries. In case you're wondering, the parking will be free at the Lock 3 garage. The event is presented by Akron's Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. and the Winking Lizard Tavern, with Acme Fresh Markets and Tramonte Distributing as sponsors. If you've got great drinking stamina, Thirsty Dog will be offering tours at its brewery -- located just about a mile away -- from 6 to 11 p.m. after the festival.

The yet-to-open Black Squirrel Brewing Co. has a new logo. (See left) Co-owner Matthew Stroia said he and his business partner are still scouting potential locations for their small production brewery and may expand their search outside their first choice of Kent. "Honestly, in the Kent area, we are finding a lot of places that are just a little too big or need too much updating," he said in an email. "We are considering expanding our proximity search, but we would still focus our distribution on Kent, regardless.  Ultimately, we would like to be in Kent."
They also would like to open by September. "That being said, we don't want to rush into a place for the sake of just starting the brewery," he said. "We want to have an efficient and high quality location. We still hope to have one of our beers contract brewed soon, but again, we do not want to rush into that by sacrificing quality." The signature beer will be a honey India pale ale. He said almost all of the Black Squirrel beer will use organic ingredients. "For example, we have a couple of organic farming collaboratives for hops and an organic honey farm for honey," he said. Black Squirrel also plans to distribute coffee.

As part of promoting the release of Blue Moon Summer Honey Wheat Ale, Blue Moon Brewing Co. is offering fans a chance to become an "honorary brewmaster for a day" at its Denver brewery. People can upload photos to the Blue Moon Facebook page, where the photos will be electronically transformed into artsy Blue Moon paintings. (Click on the "Photo Crafter App" for details.) People will be entered into a sweepstakes for various prizes, including a trip for four to the brewery. The winner will collaborate with brewmasters Keith Villa and John Legnard, and receive an insider's tour. The promotion runs to Aug. 31.

David Harcum, who helped bring a brewery to the private Hide-A-Way Hills development south of Lancaster, talks about the beer in late 2010: