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Ohio toasts an expanding beer festival scene

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The Associated Press Updated 3:01 PM Monday, January 16, 2012

AKRON, Ohio — Ohio is becoming the Munich of the Midwest, with growing numbers of beer festivals highlighting an expanding array of breweries.

"It seems like I could involve us in some kind of festival twice each weekend, maybe four times during the summer," said Fred Karm, the owner of Hoppin' Frog Brewery in Akron. "I get continuous requests to do festivals."

Nationwide, there are "hundreds for sure, if not more than 1,000," said Julia Herz, craft beer program director for the Boulder, Colo.-based Brewers Association, which organizes the Great American Beer Festival in Denver and World Beer Cup in San Diego.

According to the Akron Beacon Journal (http://bit.ly/ylqrr1), the website Beerfestivals.org highlighted 800 last year in the United States, but doesn't list every event.

Many groups have started holding beer festivals to raise money, bring attention to their causes or boost attendance. The Akron Art Museum will hold its fifth annual Art of Ale on March 9. The Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo zoos sponsor tastings. And the Montessori School of Dayton will hold its first Brew Ha-Ha on Jan. 28 for its capital campaign.

Fat Head's Brewery & Saloon in North Olmsted holds a tasting devoted to only India pale ales and double IPAs. Ohio Brew Week in Athens highlights Ohio-made beers. And Big Beers & Barley Wines in Dayton focuses on high-alcohol beers.

Longer events include Cincinnati Beer Week (Feb. 2-9), Dayton Beer Week (Aug. 18-25) and Cleveland Beer Week (Oct. 19-27), typically culminating in festivals.

"There's no better format than a festival to try new things and that's especially true for a newcomer," said Craig Johnson, the event director for the Big Joe Duskin Music Education Foundation, which runs the Columbus and Cincy Beerfests.

He said the first festival in Cincinnati attracted about 700 people five years ago and is expected to draw 10,000 next month.

Beer festivals have a longer history in Britain, where many have been held for more than three decades, said Paul Ruschmann and Maryanne Nasiatka, who run BeerFestivals.org.

"Not only do dozens of new festivals start up each year, but many organizers of existing events have added new ones," Ruschmann and Nasiatka told the newspaper in an email. "For example, the brewers' guilds in Indiana and Michigan built on the success of their summer festival and now hold winter events."

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Information from: Akron Beacon Journal, http://www.ohio.com

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January 16, 2012 07:56 PM EST

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