COLUMBUS, OHIO
Near the campus of Ohio State University, North High Street’s downtown BARLEY’S SMOKEHOUSE & BREWING bettered local competitor Columbus Brewing but not Elevator Brewery, June ’04. Also got to attend Spoon show at garage club up the street that evening for perfect beer-and-music nightcap.
Over two-hour late afternoon period, I quaffed summery yellow-fruited barley-hopped Pilsner; lively dry-hopped whiskey-malted red apple dabbler Mac Lenny’s Scottish Ale; frisky fruited prickly-hopped Pale Ale; cherry-toned whiskey malted J. Scott Francis ESB; and light pale-bodied American-styled grassy-hopped Wheat.
Best bets: creamy caramel-malted Grand Marnier-liqueured orange-bruised fervency Glenlenny’s Scotch Ale (and its tremendous cask conditioned version) and alcohol-induced, overripe red-black cherry-sweetened, coffee-caffeine-daubed Anastasia’s Russian Stout.