COLUMBUS, OHIO
Within walking distance of Barley Brewing, historic former speakeasy, ELEVATOR BREWERY, located in the Columbia Building (built 1897), featured antique ballroom ceiling and religious pane glass windows, July ’04. Its rustic interior perfectly duped old pre-Prohibition atmosphere and the beers flowed from large right side bar with eloquent marble columns.
Quaffed fruit-hopped caramel-coated Vienna-malted Prohibition Amber Lager; ashy soft-watered raisin-chocolate-y Procrastinator Doppelbock; fruity-hopped Necessity IPA; spicy tea-hopped Bleeding Buckeye Red Ale; chocolate-y stout-like Dirty Dick’s Nut Brown Ale; and wood-smoked cherry-dropped chocolate-coffee lightened Coal Porter during initial visit.
On quick two-hour stop on the way to Wheeling-Pittsburgh in August ’06, tried dry medium-bodied 13th Floor Pale Ale, with its wort-like waft imbuing sour wheat frontage, toasted oats spine, minor spruce hint, and acidic citric accrual. Followed that up with cotton candied Belgium Wit, a spicy lemon pith-y mandarin orange-licked banana-snipped softie.