Tag Archives: Mt Carmel

Event Review: Columbus Microbrew Festival

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As the summer slowly winds to an end, there are few events in Columbus outside of Ohio State football that I actually get excited about. For the past three years. the one thing I truly look forward to is the Columbus Microbrew Fest held every year at the North Market – now in its 6th year. Typically the festival is held indoors with beer from Columbus breweries; but not only was this year’s Microbrew Fest held outdoors, the lineup was expanded to include other breweries in Ohio. The one thing that really set this local beer fest from other big festivals held in Columbus is the fact you actually get a chance to speak with the people who are responsible for making beer and who really care about their product (brewers, owners, etc) instead of distributor reps or volunteers. Local staples such as CBC, Barleys, and Elevator were present, and the Columbus beer scene also welcomed a few newcomers to the festival: Hoof Hearted Brewing, Zauber Brewing Company and Four Strings Brewing Company - each bringing multiple samples for festival goers to check out.

Admission to the fest was only $20 which included a souvenir pint glass, 10 tasting tickets, and a $5 coupon good at any shop in the North Market (additional tickets were also available for 50 cents as well).  I started off by checking out a brewery from Ohio that I have never heard of, Great Black Swamp Brewing Company. I went with their Black Frog Stout which wasn’t anything special, but overall not a bad beer. After that I spent a little time and a majority of my tickets at the Neil House Brewing stand; you saw in our last post we all really enjoyed their Milk Stout, so I needed to get my hands on some more. Neil House also offered a Imperial Bourbon Barrel Stout that was my favorite of the fest. Right next to the Neil House stand were Hoof Hearted brewery where I tried three of their offerings Permafrost Wheat Porter, Musk of the Minotaur IPA, and Permafrost Coffee Chipotle Porter (which had a lot of different things going on; the peppers offered a slight burn but mostly a roasted flavor that accented the coffee and chocolate you typically find in a porter).

Zauber Brewing was up next for me and I was a little let down. When I saw via Twitter that they had brewed an IPA, I was excited and made sure I was there right when the fest started on Saturday, but alas they were out. So I sadly moved on to the next stand (I had previously had their beers so I saved my tickets). My second-to-last stop was at the Elevator Brewing Company stand where I ran in to my beer rep, so I spent most of my time there because my pint glass of Wicked Goat seemed to be bottomless. Wicked Goat is their 3 Frogs IPA aged in Woodford Reserve barrels for nine months, and it is the last in their barrel-aged series. I know I’m getting this when it comes out, so I’ll hold off a review until then (plus they said the beer was incomplete; it’s going to be dry hopped before they bottle it). My last beer was at the Mt. Carmel Brewing stand where I had my second favorite beer, 3rd Shift Imperial Coffee Stout. It had a solid roasted espresso taste and it followed that with hints of vanilla and chocolate.

Matt also had a chance to visit the fest this past Friday; we haven’t really talked about it, but hopefully he got his hands on some good beers.

Here are some of his thoughts.

Overall, I really enjoyed the fest, even though it was very packed on Friday night and the required tickets needed for beers differed between map and the stands at times. The best beer I tried there for the first time was the Permafrost Coffee Chipotle Porter by Hoof Hearted. This is a beer I would drink and drink, well balanced and full of flavor, and the chipotle added that little kick that made it super unique and fun to drink. I wish they would have had the standard version available for comparison, but it wasn’t available Friday night.

Coming in a (very) close second for me was CBC’s Creeper – holy shit, these guys can make an IPA. My love for Bohdi has been documented and I was expecting Creeper to not be nearly as good, but I was wrong. It was very close, a little less floral and grapefruity than the Bohdi, with a little bit more lingering bitterness.

Others I enjoyed were Mt. Carmel’s 3rd Shift Coffee Stout, Neil House’s Imperial Bourbon Barrel Stout, and Hoof Hearted’s Musk of the Minotaur.

Beer Review: Mt. Carmel Brewing Company – Stout

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Brewery: Mount Carmel Brewing Company
Beer Style: Stout
ABV: 6.7%
Size: 12 oz. bottle
Beer Advocate: 83
RateBeer: 93

This past weekend I made a 29.5 hour round trip to Minnesota and back to help my future brother-in-law move.  When we began the trip, I wasn’t sure that my body could take it, but I survived (despite being basically useless for the last few hours of the trip).  So, after a grueling Monday at work I was exhausted and looking forward to getting a good nights sleep for the first time in days.  If you’d think any of that was going to stop me from having a beer though, you’d be horribly wrong.  When I got off work, I wanted two things: a cold beer and to go to bed early. I only got one of the two – but it was the right one.

Mt. Carmel bills their stout as “black in color, our stout enters with a dark fruit aroma atop a thick light brown head as the crown of a chocolate malt body. The beer is balanced with hints of coffee and the intense flavor of roasted grains.”  The stout poured jet black with a medium brown head.  It smelled deliciously sweet and chocolatey with a prominent coffee aroma.  The first taste floods your palate with a sweet and citrusy taste that fades to chocolate and then coffee.  It finishes very smooth with a pleasantly sweet aftertaste.  I found Mt. Carmel’s Stout to be very good, and as it warmed up it became even better.

While I’ve been underwhelmed by a few of the Mt. Carmel beers I’ve tried, I really enjoyed this one and I’d certainly recommend it.  I’ll certainly be buying it again.

Ratings:
Sessionability: 4-pack. It’s a bit thick and heavy to drink all day, and the 6.7% ABV could be dangerous as well.
Overall: 5-pack. Delicious.  Not the best stout I’ve ever had, but very good.
Would Best Be Consumed: Would’ve been excellent with a good meal, but was very good by itself.  I wouldn’t drink it on a hot summer day, but would be good just about any other time.

Beer Review: Summer Wheat Ale – Mt. Carmel Brewing Company

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Beer Name: Summer Wheat Ale
Brewery: Mt. Carmel Brewing Company
Beer Style: American Pale Wheat Ale
ABV: 4.8%
IBU: 34
Size: 12oz Bottle
Beer Advocate: 85
Untappd: 3

Work was unexpectedly busy, my girlfriend is gone for a week on a cruise with her mom, and we have a useless Wednesday holiday this week.  Is it any surprise that I wanted to drink tonight?

When I bought Mt. Carmel’s Summer Wheat Ale, I was expecting a “normal” wheat beer.  I guess that’s what I get for not reading the label.  I was instantly surprised upon pouring this beer: It smelled light and citrusy (which was expected), but I was momentarily confused by the amount of hops I smelled.  Mt. Carmel describes their Summer Wheat Ale as “bright, citrusy and hoppy, this summertime ale salutes the flavor of the American hop and gives way to a smooth refreshing finish.” Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by this.

The beer poured very easily and left little head that went down very quickly.  Summer Wheat is nicely carbonated and has a distinct bitter taste – almost like an IPA, but more mild.  There was a definite wheat flavor, along with citrus, caramel, and spice in addition to the bitter taste from the hops, but it all worked together nicely.  At first, I found the bitterness overpowering (we all know how much I hate IPAs), but once the beer warmed up a little and I started taking bigger gulps to allow the Summer Wheat to hit my palate differently, I found that I quite enjoyed the beer.

Summer Wheat won’t be making my short list of favorite summer beers, but it was interesting and different, in a good way.  If you like summer-style beers and IPAs, I would venture a guess that you’ll enjoy Mt. Carmel’s Summer Wheat as well.

Ratings:
Sessionability: I’m not a huge fan of the bitter taste, but I can see most people drinking these easily. 4-pack.
Overall: I’m going to go with a 4-pack. I didn’t like it much at first, but it really grew on me and I ended up enjoying it overall.
Would Best Be Consumed: Straight-up summer beer. Perfect for a hot day/night when you want something refreshing.

Beer Review: Springtime Ale – Mt. Carmel Brewing Company

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Beer Name: Springtime Ale
Brewery: Mt. Carmel Brewing Company
Beer style: Wee Ale
ABV: 4.5%
IBU: 19
Size: 12 oz bottle
Beer Advocate Score: 78
Rate Beer Score: 43

I moved to Cincinnati a few months ago, so after settling in and smoothing out the hiccups at my new job, I decided to start looking around for local beer to try. The first brewery that I came across was Mt. Carmel Brewing Company; I was walking through the Party Source and their Springtime Ale caught my eye in the “build your own 6-pack” section, so I picked one up to try…and I’m glad that I did.

Mt. Carmel’s Springtime Ale is “A fine wee ale in the Scots’ tradition – rich and malty flavors be our brewer’s mission. The sweit aroma and frae flowerin’ heather are reminiscent of a fine spring day in Scotland.” (http://mtcarmelbrewingcompany.com). Simply put – it’s a good beer (despite the website’s poor attempt at conveying a Scottish accent) with heavy flavors of chocolate and caramel.  Finished very clean with just a slight linger of chocolate and “fresh bread.” I finished the entire glass in about five gulps, and wish I had a few more bottles in the fridge. This is definitely a beer I’ll be picking up again.

According to Mt. Carmel’s Twitter, they just had the Grand Opening of their taproom on April 23rd, so I will be heading down to there to check it out as soon as I can.

Ratings:

Sessionability: I give it a 5-pack (I could drink a few before it got to be too much)
Overall: I give it a 4-pack (4 out of 6)
Would be best consumed: Any mild to warm spring day. Too heavy for summer, not heavy enough for the dead of winter.