Prepare to spend the fall tipsy. The advent of autumn not only means Oktoberfest/pumpkin/spooky-themed beers but also early Halloween celebrations geared toward humans and animals.
East End brewery Streetside celebrates its first anniversary on Saturday with the release of Demogorgon, a bourbon-barrel-aged stout. Like the Stranger Things monster it’s named after, it is a beast at 13.1 percent ABV. The brewery will also be pouring Three Bagger triple IPA from DogBerry and a sangria punch from The Lackman. Expect live music, food trucks and special surprises.
For light frights, Darkness Brewing hosts a horror art show on Oct. 6, complete with the releases of Blumpkin black pumpkin ale and Witch Head Nebula blood-red IPA. Fibonacci’s popular Taps & Tarot event returns every Friday in October. For $15, tarot reader Sarah Hayes will read the cards and reveal your fortune. And animals can get into the Halloween spirit on Oct. 22 when Urban Artifact hosts Barks & Broomsticks. Bring your dog to the brewery dressed in costume. The best human, dog and human/dog combo costumes will win prizes.
New Beers
• The Woodburn Brewery just released its first beers in cans. Purchase tall boys of Hammer Session IPA and Salmon Shorts Sightings (blonde ale infused with strawberries and rooibos tea) at the brewery.
• March First wins best idea for a seasonal ale: Apple Fritter Cider, which is brewed with locally sourced apples and the same spices Holtman’s Donut Shop uses in their apple fritters. On Wednesday, the brewery hosts a release party; Holtman’s will be there with their famous fritters.
• Also on Wednesday, Fibonacci — with assistance from Urban Artifact — will release their second sour ale of the year: Cata Soursop. The tropical soursop fruit has flavors of strawberry, pineapple and tangerine and a custard-like mouth feel.
• On Saturday, Fifty West’s Production Works gets charitable: From noon-3 p.m., 10 percent of taproom sales will benefit the Dragonfly Foundation, a nonprofit that helps families cope with childhood cancer.
• Also on Saturday, Triple Digit/Listermann will bottle release a few versions of their Chickow! beers: Barrel-Aged Chickow!, Barrel-Aged Blueberry Vanilla, Barrel-Aged Turtle (caramel, chocolate, hazelnut) and Barrel-Aged Kopi Luwak, made from very expensive coffee beans. There will be roughly 30 cases of each for sale.
Events
• On Wednesday, Listermann’s Trivia with a Twist will focus on cats. It’ll be a night of general trivia, but a dollar from every beer purchased will go to the Ohio Alleycat Resource & Spay/Neuter Clinic.
• On Friday, Braxton Labs hosts an all-day Beer Science Fair. Braxton, Moerlein, Rivertown, MadTree, Urban Artifact and Mt. Carmel will present a total of 15 firkins containing experimental brews. Vote for your favorite and enjoy live music in the beer garden, plus snacks from Cheese –N– Chong.
• Finally: beer and cheese together — but not in beer cheese. OTR cheese shop The Rhined brewed a beer with Listermann, and on Monday they’ll reveal the still-unnamed collaboration and pair it with four cheeses and four other Listermann beers. The event will be held at the brewery’s taproom and costs $25.
• What better way to honor Friday the 13th than with Bad Tom Smith’s Bad Luck Coffee Porter, made with local Luckman Coffee beans? The 5-9 p.m. Oct. 13 release party includes barbecue from D’Vine Swine.
• On Oct. 14, Brink Brewing hosts a chili cook-off and homebrew competition. All entered items should contain chilies, and the brewery will tap a chili firkin. Awards will be given for People’s Choice and best homebrew.
• Middletown brewery FigLeaf turns 1 on Oct. 14. The birthday celebration includes 18 of their beers on tap, including the just-released Inculpatory Imperial IPA, plus live music, food trucks and cask beers.
• In other news, 16 Lots Brewing Company opened in mid-September, making it the first craft brewery in Mason. ©