A few weeks ago, I followed my own advice and took a vacation day to drive to Athens, OH to attend the 2nd annual Ohio Brew Week. The event reminded me of “FestivALL Charleston” for Ohio beer. There were several beer-oriented events such as brewing demonstrations and beer tastings spread throughout the town, many taking place simultaneously.

It appeared that most of bars in Athens were in the “Brew Week” spirit. Participating bars flew the “Brew Week” flag and dedicated some precious Draft Tap space to feature Ohio craft beer. I really liked the fact that we were able to buy a small 3 oz. taster size of any beer, instead of having to commit to a whole pint. I was able to try many more beers this way without getting “buzzed.”

Some Notable beers were a Kolsch-style beer called Xtra, from Columbus’s Elevator Brewing Co. and “Paw-Paw wheat” from Marietta Brewing. The Paw-Paw beer is something special because as far as anyone knows, it’s an original. Brewer Kelly Sauber was sort of commissioned to brew this beer for the Ohio Paw-Paw festival. The beer was so popular and so many paw-paws are needed, It must be planned well in advance. Kelly tells me that the Paw-Paw is one of the most “sustainable” fruits, yielding minimal environmental impact. I am intrigued by the beer’s story, but its flavor is just a bit sweet and cloying for me. Marietta’s other beers are not so experimental, but are always pretty “spot on”, especially Kelly’s Scotch Ale.

I ran into a few of the event organizers. They were supposed to send me a list of winners from the food competition which was centered on food items that actually contained beer in the recipe. I do remember them commenting that the winner was a chocolate stout ice cream made by an Athens area chef.

All in all, the event was worth the 90-minute drive. On the way home, my friend Charles and I started thinking about ways we could do something similar in Charleston; maybe even during FestivALL! We could highlight West Virginia-made beers in several area pubs. Hey, brewing is an art! So why not?

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