Columbus Brewing Co., the second oldest craft brewery in Ohio, will expand its distribution into Northeast Ohio starting next week. "It's been on our wish list or a target for a long time," owner and brewer Eric Bean said. "It's a great beer market and we want to be a part of it." Columbus will start out with draft beer, including its IPA and Bodhi, a double IPA. Bottles will follow by April or sooner, Bean said. Columbus will hold three launch parties next week, all at 6 p.m.: Lizardville in Bedford Heights on Tuesday, 101 Bottles in Kent on Wednesday and Buckeye Beer Engine in Lakewood on Thursday. Bean will attend each event, along with other brewery workers.

The Dayton Daily News has a story about the new Cellar Dweller Brewery, which will be at Valley Vineyards in Warren County. The brewery expects to release its beers this spring and have a full unveiling June 2 at the winery's annual festival, A Taste of Warren County. Valley Vineyards will become the second estate winery/brewery in Ohio. Debonne Vineyards also is the home to Cellar Rats Brewery in Madison. To read the full story, click here.

Lager Heads Smokehouse was always known as a great barbecue joint in Medina County, but it wasn't until mid 2010 that owners and brothers Matt and Jon Kiene decided to add a brewery. At first, the beer was just available on draft at the brewpub. But last year Lager Heads Brewing began distributing in 22-ounce bottles. The brewery also has plans to add 12-ounce bottles.

Question: Lager Heads started out as a barbecue restaurant in 2004 and didn’t add the brewery until years later. Why did you decide to get into brewing your own beer?

So far, so good for Four String Brewing Co. in Columbus. Actually, so far, so great, says owner and brewer Dan Cochran. "The response here in Columbus has been absolutely nuts," he said. "[I'm] just trying to keep up ... The Columbus market has been really open to a new brewery and been super supportive." Four String made its debut earlier this month. Right now, it's producing two beers: Brass Knuckle and Backstage Blonde. The beers are available in about a dozen bars and restaurants throughout the Columbus area and Cochran is adding another 12 soon. His production brewery also is open for tastings and growler sales from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. He is open sometimes on weekends and posts when on the Four String Facebook page. He recommended several places where you can find his beer: Brazenhead, Buffalo Wild Wings, Matt the Miller's Tavern, Bodega, Woodlands Tavern and Brews Cafe.

Three Ohio breweries are among Ratebeer.com's 2012 list of the "Best Brewers in the World." Hoppin' Frog Brewery in Akron is ranked 20th. Great Lakes Brewing Co. in Cleveland comes in at 45th and Jackie O's Pub & Brewery in Athens is 56th. Hoppin' Frog's Barrel Aged BORIS the Crusher also is rated as the 32nd best beer in the world. Ratebeer.com considers its competition the largest in the world with more than 140,000 beers from more than 12,000 breweries worldwide. "WOW, I'm blown away!!" Hoppin' Frog owner and brewer Fred Karm said in an email. "Hoppin' Frog Brewery was just rated 20th Best Brewery In The World for 2012 by RateBeer.com!! That is three years in the top 25, and five years in the top 100 -- a testament to our intense focus on making great beer!" Three Floyds Brewing is the top ranked brewery and Westvleteren 12 is the rated as the best beer.

RateBeer.com also handed out awards for best beer bars, best brewpubs, best beer retailers, best restaurants for beer and best breweries to visit. Many Ohio spots were highlighted.

Ballantine and 1899 Pub in Willoughby are holding their third annual IPAlooza starting Feb. 1. The event, held at both bars, is a mini-beer tour featuring 29 different India pale ales on tap or in bottle -- one for each day of the month. People pay $20 and receive a commemorative IPAlooza hoodie, $1 off each IPA on the tour, and access to a Troegs Scratch 55 DBL IPA Beer Series Tapping Party on Feb. 22. Anyone who finishes all 29 IPAs within the month can attend a wrap-up party. For more details and a full beer rundown -- which includes offerings from Green Flash, Three Floyds, Willoughby, He'Brew and Stone -- click here.

Christian Moerlein will tap its Emancipator Doppelbock at the second annual Pretzelfest at 5 p.m. today (Saturday) at Venue 222 in Cincinnati. The event -- which features beer, pretzels and music -- is part of the 20th annual Bockfest celebration in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. For more details or tickets, click here.

Cellar Rats Brewery in Madison will start distributing its Black Rat Imperial Stout in four-packs in mid-February. The beer -- which will retail for $10.99 -- has been available in bottles only at the brewery. The 9.2 percent alcohol beer also will be on draft at select bars and restaurants. Cellar Rats describes Black Rat this way: "This imperial, milk stout is big and full of flavor and may remind you of an Irish coffee with lots of cream and sugar." The brewery also plans to start distributing Piper's IPA in bottles in March in six-packs.

Spinoza's Pizza & Salads in Beavercreek will hold a special five-course beer pairing dinner at 7 p.m. Tuesday with Mt. Carmel Brewing Co. from Cincinnati. The featured beers will be Amber Ale, India Pale Ale, Nut Brown Ale, Stout and Cincinnati Beer Week Barleywine. The cost is $24.95. For more details, click here.

The Athens News has handed out awards for the best nightlife in Athens and Jackie O's Pub & Brewery was cited several times. The brewpub earned honors as first runner-up for "Best Bar for People Over 30;" and was named "Best Live Music Venue" and "Best Happy Hour." Jackie O's bartender Jonathan Holmberg also was named "Best Bartender." To read the full story, click here.

The Montessori School of Dayton's Brew Ha-Ha has released the full beer list for its beer tasting on Saturday. The event will feature an exclusive, early taste of Founders Double Trouble, which is moving into the Dayton area in about a week. Double Trouble is a 9.4 percent imperial IPA. Other breweries represented are: Ohio Brewing, The Brew Kettle, Weyerbacher, Stoudts, Troegs, North Peak, New Holland, Dark Horse and Bell's. The full rundown of individual beers can be found by clicking here. The event is from 5 to 10 p.m. at the school. Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door.

Bud Light Platinum -- a new beer from Anheuser-Busch InBev that targets "trendy" beer drinkers -- will hit store shelves on Monday. The company describes the brew this way: "It's smooth, bold and effortlessly sophisticated, but with the drinkability that consumers expect from a light beer." The beer, which comes in a blue bottle, has 6 percent alcohol by volume, compared with 4.2 percent in the standard Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch InBev has a brewery in Columbus, but so far Bud Light Platinum is being made only at the Baldwinsville, N.Y., Cartersville, Ga., and Los Angeles breweries.

The Zanesville Times Recorder newspaper reports that Weasel Boy Brewing Co. is about more than just beer. The Zanesville brewpub also is getting known as a music venue. "Our plan has always been to have a place that is different," brewer and owner Jay Wince told the newspaper. "This music is here, and it is a place where people can come with friends and enjoy it." Musician A.C. Collins said: "I'm impressed. I didn't know what to expect from a brewery. But it is unique, classy and it's a very attractive music scene." To read the full story, click here.

Willoughby Brewing Co., a brewpub in Willoughby, is making two special beers for the upcoming Winter Warmer Fest, brewer Rick Seibt says. One is Cosmic IPA, a beer made with Australian Galaxy hops. The other is Anniversary Ale, a 9 percent Belgian strong dark ale. The Anniversary Ale honors the brewpub's 14th anniversary, which takes place in February. The sixth annual Winter Warmer Fest -- a fundraiser for the Ohio Craft Brewers Association -- is from 2 to 6 p.m. Feb. 25 at Windows on the River in Cleveland. The cost is $35 and includes 20 four-ounce samples, appetizers and music. For more details about the event, click here.

Great Lakes Brewing Co. in Cleveland has won medals for its Blackout Stout, Edmund Fitzgerald Porter and Christmas Ale at the 2012 World Beer Championships conducted by the Beverage Testing Institute of Chicago.  Blackout Stout scored 94 points for an exceptional rating and a gold medal in the imperial stout category. Edmund Fitzgerald scored 93 points for an exceptional rating and a gold medal in the porter category. Christmas Ale scored 89 points for a highly recommended rating and a silver medal in the winter ale category. Since 1988, those three beers have won 16 gold medals at the World Beer Championships, with Edmund Fitzgerald Porter achieving “World Champion” status twice.

614 Magazine in Columbus has a story highlighting the special releases planned this year by Columbus Brewing Co. And although the story doesn't state it outright, it appears from comments made by owner and brewer Eric Bean that the brewery's popular Hop Odyssey program won't return this year. Hop Odyssey involved Columbus Brewing making a different hoppy draft beer each month. "We may revisit Hop Odyssey in a year, but it really has limited our ability to play," Bean told 614 Magazine. "It's like we showed everybody that we can make some really hoppy beers, but we want to diversify what we do. Perhaps a few malt-forward offerings . . . believe or not, we can do malty." To read the full story, which includes a rundown of when some special Columbus Brewing beers will be released, click here.

The Great Crescent Brewery is expanding into the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky market in March. The Aurora, Ind.-based craft brewer is owned and operated by the husband and wife team of Dan and Lani Valas, and was founded in 2008. Its first Ohio offerings will include: Aurora Lager, Dark Lager, Blonde Ale, IPA, Coconut Porter, Bourbon's Barrel Stout and its seasonal and special release beers. The beer will be available on draft and in the brewery's signature 16-ounce cans. If you can't wait until March to try it, Great Crescent will be available at the Cincy Winter Beerfest, which takes place Feb. 10-11 at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati. Great Crescent selected Stagnaro Distributing as its distributor for the Ohio and Kentucky markets.

Hoppin' Frog Brewery in Akron celebrated its fifth anniversary last year. The production brewery, known for its frog logo and 22-ounce bottles, has quickly earned a major following for producing bold, flavorful beers. Brewer and owner Fred Karm is fond of saying he makes beers that he likes -- and it's great that others enjoy them, too.

Question: Why did you become a brewer?

The Ohio Craft Brewers Association will host the sixth annual Winter Warmer Fest from 2 to 6 p.m. Feb. 25 at Windows on the River in Cleveland. The event will feature 50 hearty winter brews. The cost is $35 and includes 20 four-ounce samples, appetizers and music by Austin Walkin' Cane. For more details or tickets, click here.

Samuel Adams is releasing two new beers: Alpine Spring and Whitewater IPA. Alpine Spring -- a spring seasonal -- is an unfiltered wheat made with Tettnang-Tettnanger hops. "Fall, winter and summer are distinct seasons and it's easier to recognize beer styles that complement seasonal palates and menus," founder Jim Koch said in a prepared statement. "But spring has always posed a unique challenge -- we're in limbo, waiting for winter to be over and for summer to arrive. Not only is Alpine Spring a new recipe, but it's our first unfiltered lager." To view a tasting video, click here. Meanwhile, Whitewater IPA is a fusion of a white ale and IPA. Both will be available in six-packs. Whitewater IPA also will be included in the Samuel Adams Brewer's Choice Variety 12-pack.

Akronist, a website dedicated to online news in Greater Akron, has a video interview profiling the Ohio Brewing Co. in Akron. The video features Chris Verich, owner and manager of brewing operations, talking about the brewery. Check out the four-minute video below: 

Samuel Adams is looking for some help from Twitter, Facebook and Google+ friends to create the ultimate collaboration beer. The brewery has teamed up with social media enthusiast Guy Kawasaki for the Samuel Adams Crowd Craft Project. Through Feb. 5, people can visit the Samuel Adams Facebook page to share their ideas for the beer, including the color, body, malt, hops and yeast. The brewers will gather up the fan favorites in each category and design a recipe to brew in February. The beer will debut March 10 at Kawasaki's Girl + Guy party in Austin. It also will be on tap in select bars throughout Austin and at the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery. Samuel Adams' Facebook fans will be the first to know when this beer will hit new markets, the brewery says. "I think it's still up in the air as to which is the better social networking tool -- Facebook or beer," Samuel Adams brewer Bert Boyce said in a prepared statement. "My love of beer is something I share with the Samuel Adams drinkers -- I'm sure that their choices will collectively create a great tasting brew. We can't wait to see what they come up with."

Angels on the Avenue will hold its fifth annual Winter Beer Tour on Feb. 25. The tour -- a fundraiser for the St. Augustine Health Campus in Cleveland -- starts at 9 a.m. at P.J. McIntyre's Irish Pub in Cleveland and includes stops at Thirsty Dog Brewing in Akron, The Brew Kettle in Strongsville, Cornerstone Brewing in Berea, Cleveland ChopHouse in Cleveland and Market Garden Brewery in Cleveland. The cost is $50 and is limited to 50 people. The tour includes chauffeured bus transportation provided by Lakefront Lines, all taxes, driver tip, draft beer on the bus, and tastings at most of the breweries. Special hotel rates have been established with the Hilton Garden Inn and include shuttle service to and from P.J. McIntyre's for the tour. The hotel rate is $69, plus tax. Guests may bring any food or beverages on the tour. There are scheduled stops that will include time for lunch and dinner. For more details or to reserve a spot, contact Joe Dailey at jdailey@ppg.com or 216-701-3143. Payments are due by Feb. 6.

Draft Magazine has released its 2012 edition of "America's 100 best beer bars." The list includes the Buckeye Beer Engine in Lakewood, La Cave Du Vin in Cleveland Heights and McNulty's Bier Markt in Cleveland. The magazine also gives a special nod to the Winking Lizard Tavern chain. For the full rundown and explanation, click here. And I've re-posted this item because a couple of readers have rightfully pointed out that I royally screwed up the previous post, which linked to the 2011 list. My apologies. The Dilly Cafe in Mariemont, by the way, fell off the 2012 list.

The website Drink Up Columbus has a beer review -- the first one that I've seen -- of the new Four String Brewing Co. in Columbus. Contributor Sage Wolfe tasted the brewery's two offerings: Backstage Blonde and Brass Knuckle APA. The article also includes a rundown of where to find the beer. To read the full review, click here.

Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. is making two special beers to help commemorate the 200th birthday of Cuyahoga Falls. Bicentennial Old Ale will be available on draft starting Saturday and Sunday at the Frozen River Festival at Falls River Square in downtown Cuyahoga Falls. The event marks the kickoff of a year's worth of events celebrating the city’s bicentennial. The beer is 7 percent alcohol and is made with dark malts, giving it a slight chocolate flavor, said John Najeway, co-owner of Thirsty Dog. Next month, it will be available in bottles in area grocery stores. The brewery also will make a nut brown ale called Bicentennial Nut Brown for release in August. Thirsty Dog created the beers after being contacted by the city’s bicentennial committee. "They thought it'd be neat," Najeway said about the collaboration.

TBA finally has an ETA. TBA, a collaboration beer made by Fat Head's Brewery & Saloon, Stone Brewing Co. and Bear Republic Brewing Co., will be released Feb. 15. The beer -- and yes, TBA really is the name -- is an "extra hoppy brown ale" made with brown sugar and molasses. TBA also features a first for a Stone beer ... cascade hops. The beer will be available on draft at Fat Head's in North Olmsted and select beer joints; and in six-packs at the brewpub and beer stores. "The collaboration project at Stone was one of the most memorable and rewarding experiences of my brewing career," Fat Head's brewer Matt Cole said in an email. "Connecting with respected peers and developing something new and unique can be challenging.  Each brewer adds a different component which ultimately leads to something completely new." One of the biggest challenges was coming up with a name, he said. Thus, TBA. There are three labels, each with a personal message from one of the brewers. The label shown here contains the message from Cole.

As most craft beer fans know, Cole is big on brewing collaborations. In the past, he has collaborated with Stone, Bear Republic, Columbus and Troegs -- among others. (A Fat Head's-Bear Republic beer called Ryevalry won a gold medal in 2010 at the Great American Beer Festival.) And now that Fat Head's is opening a production brewery in Middleburg Heights, Cole wants to make sure that Fat Head's becomes a collaboration go-to site. "Fat Head's Brewery has plans to start an ongoing collaboration project called the Endeavor Series, which will invite brewers from the United States and Europe to create some truly unusual and extreme beers," he said.

Beer sales fell last year, dropping to the lowest level since 2003, according to Beer Marketer's Insights. Worldwide, shipments fell 2.9 million barrels, or 1.4 percent from the previous year, the publication said. The Los Angeles Times noted that Anheuser-Busch InBev saw shipments drop 2.9 million barrels, or 2.9 percent, to 98.8 million barrels. That's the first time the company has shipped less than 100 million barrels in a decade, the newspaper said. MillerCoors saw shipments drop 3 percent to less than 60 million barrels. Both companies also lost market share in 2011, with Anheuser-Busch down 0.7 of a percentage point to 47 percent and MillerCoors down 0.4 of a percentage point to 28.4 percent. Both companies have breweries in Ohio. To read the full newspaper story, click here.

Cincinnati Beer Week Barleywine Ale -- a special collaborative brew made by six Cincinnati-area brewers -- will be released during a special tapping party at 6 p.m. Thursday at Rock Bottom Brewery in downtown Cincinnati. Rock Bottom brewer Mitchell Dougherty will make a few remarks to commemorate the first pour. The event will include live music by Used-Tacoulds, with Rock Bottom assistant brewer Luke Cole on the harmonica. The beer will be available on draft exclusively that night and six-packs should be hitting stores by the weekend. "We're anticipating an unprecedented turnout," Patrick Ian Clark of Mt. Carmel Brewing Co. said in an email. The beer was made at Mt. Carmel with brewers from Mt. Carmel, Christian Moerlein, Listermann, Red Ear, Rivertown and Rock Bottom working together. You can view a short video of the bottling process by clicking here. Cincinnati Beer Week is Feb. 2-9.

Mike Mullins is the owner and brewer at Sugar Ridge Brewery, a small production brewery in Perrysburg outside of Toledo. Sugar Ridge is available only in the Toledo area (check the website for specific locations). Mullins, by the way, has a restaurant background, including a restaurant management degree from The Ohio State University and a culinary arts degree from The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.

Question: Why did you become a brewer?

Take a bow, Ohio. Several media are reporting that D.G. Yuengling & Son has passed the Boston Beer Co. to become the largest U.S.-owned brewery and the fourth-largest brewer in the United States. All this thanks to hefty sales in the Buckeye State. Yuengling moved into Ohio late last year and sales have been tremendous, according to retailers and distributors. The Allentown Morning Call newspaper cited Beer Marketer's Insights for the news. That said, the Brewers Association had Yuengling ranked higher than Samuel Adams in 2010 -- and you have to discount Pabst Brewing Co., which is American-owned but doesn't actually own a brewery. Pabst is ranked third, behind Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors.  To read the newspaper story, click here.

Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant in Columbus is changing brewers. Chris Alltmont, who has been at the brewpub for nearly seven years, is leaving Feb. 3 to take a job at the new production brewery being set up by Fat Head's Brewery & Saloon in Middleburg Heights. Keith Jackson, 29, who had worked at Columbus Brewing Co. for several years, is taking over at Gordon Biersch, which specializes in German-style lagers. "It's going to be a great experience," Jackson said. "Chris is an amazing brewer and is doing a great job of showing me the ropes. It's exciting." Jackson, a Lebanon, Ohio, native and Ohio University graduate, started homebrewing in 2004. After college and before his entry into professional brewing, he developed GIS mapping in an office setting. He also lived in Seattle for about four years before coming back to Ohio. "Seattle is where my interest in beer really took shape and where I really started to think more seriously about getting into brewing," he said.

As for what beer drinkers should expect, Jackson replied: "Continue to expect some high-quality beer coming out of here." He added that he's excited that CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries, which owns Gordon Biersch, is providing its brewers with a little more freedom. For example, Alltmont created a Belgian triple that is set to be released Feb. 2. And Jackson said he'd like to make a hoppy beer. Alltmont said he's exciting to be returning to Northeast Ohio, where he had been a professional brewer before joining Gordon Biersch. The Fat Head's production brewery remains a work in progress, he said, but hopefully customers will start seeing Fat Head's beer on store shelves in March. Alltmont noted that people can follow the brewery work on the Fat Head's Brewery Facebook page, where there are plenty of photos. "Things are moving along really well," he said.

Indigo Imp Brewery in Cleveland has released its newest specialty beer: Dragon. The black beer, available in four-packs, is made with rice and barley. The brewery created the beer to celebrate the Lunar New Year, the Year of the Dragon and Indigo Imp's location in Cleveland's Asia Town. "A unique creation, Dragon is a German-influenced ale with a definite malt character," the brewery said in an email. "A special black malt provides the color and a slight roasted flavor with none of the astringency normally associated with heavily kilned malt." The use of rice provides a drier finish.

Samuel Adams, which has a brewery in Cincinnati, is releasing two new beers as part of its 22-ounce Single Batch series. Dark Depths is "a dark and fierce Baltic porter" made with citrus hops, the brewery says. Cinder Bock is a double bock made with specialty smoked malts. The beers are available in single bottles nationwide. Samuel Adams plans to upload special tasting videos for each beer soon at http://www.youtube.com/samueladams.

I have added a permanent "page" at the top of this blog with the rundown of the Ohio beer festivals this year. I will continue to update that list through the year so it can serve as a good "beer festival" resource. Again, if you notice an event that is missing, email me at rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com and I will add it. And thank you for all the positive feedback about compiling the list.

The Moerlein Lager House in Cincinnati will hold a special gala Feb. 25 to celebrate its opening and raise money for Cincinnati Parks. The event -- called 'Moer' for Cincinnati -- begins at 6:30 p.m. and tickets are $150. "It will be an all-out celebration of Cincinnati beer history in-the-making!" the company said in an email. "From the arrival of the Over-the-Rhine-based Christian Moerlein Horse Team and the tapping of the first keg to the special 'appearance' of Cincinnati's legendary beer barons and keepsake mementoes for our guests, this gala celebration will be remembered as the start of another inspiring chapter in Cincinnati's beer brewing and culinary history." Proceeds will benefit Cincinnati Parks' Explore Nature! program. For more details and tickets, click here.

The Yellow Springs News has a lengthy feature about the future Vitruvian Brewing Co. in Yellow Springs. Shane and Jacqui Creepingbear are building their brewery now. "We used to joke about why has this never been done in Yellow Springs, and at some point that changed to 'Why aren't we doing this?' And then it became, 'We should do this. We can do this!' " Shane Creepingbear told the newspaper.  To read the full story, click here.

Arnold's Bar and Grill in Cincinnati will host three area brewers during a special party Jan. 21 celebrating all things local. Greg Hardman of Christian Moerlein, Jason Roeper of Rivertown Brewing and Dan Listermann of Listermann Brewing are expected to be there at 7 p.m. to chat with folks about their beers, Fox 19 reported. Local musicians Jake Speed and the Freddies Old Time Music Revue featuring Daniel Martin Moore will perform. For more details, click here.

Fresh off an announcement about expanding its distribution in North Carolina, Great Lakes Brewing Co. in Cleveland says it's now moving into the State College-Altoona-Johnstown areas in central Pennsylvania starting in February. Great Lakes already is available in the Pittsburgh, Erie and Philadelphia markets. The rollout will involve multiple customer appreciation events, meet-and-greets, tastings and giveaways throughout the area, Great Lakes said in a news release. Beer drinkers can visit www.greatlakesbrewing.com/centralpa and follow @GLBCinCentralPA on Twitter for exclusive updates and event announcements, the brewery said.

Drink Up Columbus is giving away two VIP tickets to the Columbus Winter Beerfest, which is Saturday. The event at the Greater Columbus Convention Center will feature more than 260 beers and will be a great spot to sample Columbus' newest brewery, Four String Brewing Co. The winner will be notified by email by 5 p.m. Thursday. For full details on the giveaway, click here.

Mark your calendars. Ohio is filled with beer festivals to attend. Some such as the International Beer Fest in Cleveland and the Cincy Winter Beerfest in Cincinnati will draw thousands. Others such as the Frozen Falls Beer Festival in Garrettsville and the Celebration of the Hop in North Olmsted will attract hundreds. I've tried to compile a rundown of all the beer festivals in the state this year. The list is lengthy -- and incomplete. Some organizers didn't get back to me. Or a date or location hadn't been selected yet. If you are aware of a festival or event not listed here, email me at rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com and I will add it. Also, this list will be permanently situated at a page at the top of this blog soon. Click on the festival name for more info and if there's no link, there's no dedicated website to link to:

•?Saturday: The Columbus Winter Beerfest at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. The event will feature more than 50 breweries and 250 beers.

When Fred Karm started out as a professional brewer in the early 1990s, there weren’t many beer festivals around to show off his talent. It’s a much different story today. "It seems like I could involve us in some kind of festival twice each weekend, maybe four times during the summer," said Karm, the owner of Hoppin' Frog Brewery in Akron. "I get continuous requests to do festivals." As interest in and sales of craft beer continue to grow, so do the number of beer-related events and festivals. There are so many now that beer experts can offer only an educated guess on the overall number nationwide — even for major ones that draw thousands of drinkers. To read the full story in today's Akron Beacon Journal, click here.

Jackie O's Pub & Brewery in Athens has a well-deserved reputation for pumping out some of the tastiest and most unusual beers in Ohio. (Remember Hogwash, the brew that smelled and tasted like breakfast sausage?) That's why a comment today by brewer Brad Clark seems so inconceivable. With Jackie O's opening a separate production brewery this summer, the brewpub system will be used to make even a wider range of styles and be devoted to even more experiments, Clark says. He already envisions saisons, German sours and some lagers.

Clark will oversee the production brewery and hand over the keys to the brewpub to a new brewer. (That brewer has been hired but Clark declined the identify him.) "He'll have the ability to experiment even more than I have because I'll be pulling the higher volume beers out the brewpub operation," Clark says. "He will have more creative license."

The Montessori School of Dayton will hold its first-ever Brew Ha-Ha from 5 to 10 p.m. Jan. 28 to raise money for the school's capital campaign. The featured breweries are: Stoudts, Ohio, North Peak, New Holland, Founders, Dark Horse, The Brew Kettle and Bell's. Food will be provided by Little Miami River Catering. The event is at the school, 2900 Acosta St., Kettering. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. For more details, click here.

Chardon BrewWorks & Eatery in Chardon will release several special beers during a "Birth of the Speakeasy" party at 7 p.m. Saturday. The brewpub is asking people to attend in 1920s costumes and tell the doorman that "President Wilson sent me." The ragtime band QS Jazz will perform. The beers will include Fire of 1868 Smoked Amaretto Ale and Cow Tipping Milk Stout (on nitro).

The Winking Lizard Tavern is looking at opening a new Columbus location. "We are diligently looking for either a Winking Lizard or a Lizardville," partner John Lane said in an email. "We just haven't had much luck down there finding a place." He's been looking in city neighborhoods both on the east and west sides. Lane announced last week that the chain -- which runs the immensely popular World Tour of Beers and is one of the best beer bars in the state -- plans to open two Lizardville bars this year in downtown Cleveland and Rocky River. That got a few Columbus fans wondering about their market. The Winking Lizard has two locations in Columbus now.

Great Lakes Brewing Co. in Cleveland announced plans today to enter the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill market, also known as "The Triangle," late next month. The brewery has been distributed in Charlotte and Greensboro since March 2010. "We've been courted by distributors all over North Carolina for a number of years now, and there's a large population of Ohioans clamoring for our product down there," co-owner Patrick Conway said in a prepared statement. "We are committed to our methodical growth and look to penetrate deeper in the states we currently serve. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill presents an excellent opportunity, and we look forward to providing our customers with the products they love." Great Lakes serves 12 states and Washington, D.C.

Coors Light has surpassed Budweiser in sales and is now the second best-selling beer in the United States behind only Bud Light. Budweiser, known as the King of Beers, has fallen to the third, according to Beer Marketer's Insights. "Anytime you can dethrone the king, it's special," MillerCoors spokesman Pete Marino told Advertising Age. "We will celebrate this great accomplishment appropriately with our entire system who has worked hard to deliver outstanding growth on Coors Light for the past seven years." Both MillerCoors and Anheuser-Busch InBev have breweries in Ohio. To read the full Advertising Age story, click here.

When Jay and Lori Wince opened Weasel Boy Brewing Co. in Zanesville, they wanted to create a little different atmosphere for a brewery – at least for Ohio. They took inspiration from a few brewpubs in Colorado that are set up more like a coffeehouse than a brewery. The brewing equipment is up front and customers have to walk past it to get to a small bar. And the bar area has no televisions, forcing people to – gasp – actually talk to each other.

Question: Why did you become a brewer?

The news keeps getting better for craft beer drinkers in the Dayton area. The Dayton Beer Co. hopes to open in Kettering, a Dayton suburb, as early as March.  The brewery plans to celebrate Dayton heritage with its beer names, such as Inventors IPA and Patterson Pale Ale, the Dayton Daily News reports. “We want Dayton to be proud of its history and to give Daytonians a product they could call their own,” brewer-owner Pete Hilgeman told the newspaper. To read the full story, click here.

Ever wonder how fresh that beer is on the store shelf? A Cincinnati company has developed a special application for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad that deciphers the codes to determine the true "Born On" dates. As most beer drinkers know, the fresher the beer, the better. The $1.99 MiBeerAge app from CRIRS REI LLC allows people to select the brand of beer, enter an alphanumeric code, and then see the exact number of days since the beer was canned or bottled. More than 70 brands are covered with more being added. The beers include mega brands such as Budweiser, Miller, Coors and Molson, and even craft beers such Allagash, Dogfish Head, Magic Hat and Ommegang. The 2.0 version of the MiBeerAge app is expected to be available in the next few days. For more details, click here.

The Vitruvian Brewing Co. is getting closer to opening in Yellow Springs. The brewery has moved into a space once occupied by the Nonstop Liberal Arts Institute and is remodeling the facility, the Yellow Springs News reported. Vitruvian hopes to have its first beer available in March, the newspaper says. To read the full story, click here.

D.G. Yuengling & Son will bring its seasonal Yuengling Bock to Ohio the first week of February, the brewery confirmed today. And there are plans to start selling Yuengling Porter and Lord Chesterfield Ale in the Buckeye State in April. Meanwhile, Yuengling Premium and Yuengling Light are expected to arrive in August. Yuengling, which markets itself as the oldest brewery in America and is the fourth-largest brewer in the United States, moved into the Ohio market for the first time last fall with its popular Lager, Light Lager and Black & Tan. Distributors and retailers have reported an overwhelming response from customers.

Remember when Ohioans with a craving for Yuengling used to make special trips to Pennsylvania and other states to stock up on their favorite beer? Well, that's a thing of the past since Yuengling moved into the Buckeye State late last year. But it turns out that Indiana residents are now traveling to Ohio to get their fill. "One gentleman came in and bought $300 worth of it," Christy DeLong, owner of the Antwerp Pit Stop in western Ohio, told the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette newspaper. To read the full story, click here.

The second annual Columbus Winter Beerfest will be held Jan. 14 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus. The event is expected to feature more than 200 beers. The Beerfest website says a list of beers will be posted on Jan. 7. A special VIP tasting begins at 6:30 p.m., with the regular tasting starting at 7:30 p.m. VIP tickets are $40 in advance or $50 at the door. VIP participants will receive an 8-ounce souvenir glass. The regular tasting is $30 in advance or $40 at the door, and participants receive a 5-ounce acrylic sampling glass. For more details, click here.

As far as I know, the Columbus Winter Beerfest is the first beer festival scheduled in Ohio for 2012. There are a ton of them. I am trying to compile a complete list of major events for a story next week in the Akron Beacon Journal and to post on this blog. If you know of an event that should be included, feel free to send me an email at rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com.

Consumer Reports magazine has anointed Coors as the best-tasting American lager -- at least among the ones tested during a blind sampling. "It has balanced flavors with some citrus notes, and no off-tastes," the magazine concluded in its report, which appears in the February issue. Coors, Name Tag, Big Flats Lager 1901 and Miller High Life earned a "Very Good" rating from the magazine and were selected as a Consumer Reports "Best Buy." (Name Tag is made for Trader Joe's, while Big Flats is a Walgreens brand.) The magazine also sampled Corona Extra, Budweiser, Miller Lite, Bud Light, Coors Light and Corona Light. Craft beer fans will find plenty to chuckle about when it comes to taste testing what many consider beer with no flavor. "None of these beers has enough complexity and balance to be excellent, but Coors comes fairly close," the magazine concluded.

The Casey Malone Show, which is broadcast on WFMJ and WBCB in Youngstown, recently stopped by the Indigo Imp Brewery in Cleveland for a segment. Phill Reda, co-owner of Vintage Estate Wine & Beer, accompanied Malone on the tour and beer tasting. Check out the video below:

Andy Phlipot is the co-owner of the Wooden Shoe Brewing Co. in Minster in west central Ohio. The small production brewery has a history dating back to 1869. It grew into a major regional operation but then was shut down in the 1950s. Phlipot and his business partners brought back the Wooden Shoe brand -- at first having the beer made on contract -- and then they opened their production brewery in 2010.

Question: Why did you decide to open a brewery?