Tag Archives: Blueskies Brewery

2018 Year in Review

So another year is about to draw to a close. And with that, it is time to look back on my brewery visits for the year. This year, I visited a record sixty-six breweries. At the start of the year, I set myself a goal of fifty-two breweries, an average of one per week. So I more than met my target.

Of the breweries that I visited, twenty were in my home state of Ohio, forty-one were in states other than Ohio, and five were outside of the United States. In addition to Ohio, I had the opportunity to visit breweries in five other states – Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, and Texas. Outside of the United States, I visited breweries in Italy, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.

Of the sixty-six breweries that I visited, I had been to thirteen of them at least once before (indicated in italics in the lists below), which means there were fifty-three breweries that I visited for the first time.

This year, I also kept track of the craft beer bars that I visited. Throughout the year, I visited nine craft beer bars – three in Austin, TX, and one each in  Toledo, OH and Ann Arbor, MI. I also visited craft beer bars in Rome (Italy), Lisbon (Portugal), Zurich (Switzerland), and Innsbruck (Austria).

Creating a list of craft beer bars visited did raise some interesting definitional questions. To qualify as a craft beer bar, does that mean that all beer that it sells must be craft beer? If not, what proportion of the beer must be craft beer? Does a bar that sells predominantly macro-beer, but has a couple of craft beers on tap, qualify as a craft beer bar? I did give this some thought as I set out to create this list. Here is where I ended up, from a definition perspective. To qualify as a craft beer bar, the beers available must be predominantly craft beers. It is ok to have one or two macro-beers, but no more than that. Also, it must have craft beers from more than one brewery. For example, while most of the beers available at the Brewdog bar in Rome are brewed by Brewdog, the bar does have a nice, albeit, small selection of other craft beers. While you may debate the criteria I used to define a craft beer bar, it worked for me.

Below you will find a list of all the craft breweries and craft beer bars that I visited during 2018. Following this list, you will find one photograph from each of the places that I visited. I hope that you enjoy these. They are intended to capture the beauty and diversity of craft beer.

For 2019, I will once again set a target of fifty-two craft breweries. While I am tempted to try to beat my 2018 total of sixty-six breweries, I want to keep this a fun, non-stressful, venture – fifty-two seems a reasonable target.

Ohio Breweries (20)

US Non-Ohio Breweries (41)

Non-US Breweries (5)

Craft Beer Bars (9)

Collision Bend Brewing Company, Cleveland, OH
Torn Label Brewing Company. Kansas City, MO
Grizzly Peak Brewing Company, Ann Arbor, MI
Boulevard Brewing Company, Kansas City, MO
Basecamp Brewing, Portland, OR
Ethereal Brewing, Lexington, KY
Casual Animal Brewing, Kansas City, MO
Draught House Pub & Brewery, Austin, TX
Hair of the Dog Brewery, Portland, OR
Grapevine Brewing Company, Grapevine, TX
Border Brewing Company, Kansas City, MO
McMenamins John Barleycorns, Tigard, OR
Earnest Brew Works, Toledo, OH
Elbow Lane Brew and Smokehouse, Cork, Ireland
Nano Brew, Cleveland, OH
Great Black Swamp Brewing Co., Perrysburg, OHBlue Tractor BBQ & Brewery, Ann Arbor, MI
Maumee Bay Brewing Company, Toledo, OH
Black Fire Winery & Brewery, Tecumseh, MI
Flatrock Brewing Company, Napoleon, OH
Rising Sons Brewery, Cork, IrelandCatawba Island Brewing Company, Port Clinton, OHBlack Frog Brewery, Holland, OH
Patron Saints Brewery, Toledo, OH
Twin Oast Brewing Company, Catawba, Island, OH
Vanguard Brewing Company, Wilsonville, OR
Anbra Brewery, L’Aquila, Italy
Blueskies Brewery, Onsted, MI
Armadillo Ale Works, Denton, TX
Market Garden Brewing Company, Cleveland, OH
Franciscan Well Brewery, Cork, IrelandDeception Brewing, Dundee, OR
Brink Brewing Company, Cincinnati, OH
Blue Owl Brewing, Austin, TX
Great Lakes Brewing Company, Cleveland, OH
Austin Beerworks, Austin, TX
Mirror Twin Brewing Company, Lexington, KY
Wayfinder Beer, Portland, OR
Butcher and The Brewer, Cleveland, OH
B. Nektar, Ferndale, MI
Blue Stallion Brewing Company, Lexington, KY
Brewer’s Table, Austin, TX
Wild Side Brewing Company, Grand Rapids, OH
Brewery Emperial, Kansas City, MO
Little Beast Brewing, Beaverton, OR
Deep Ellum Brewing Company, Dallas, TX
Windermere Brewery, Ings, United Kingdom
Arbor Brewing Company, Ann Arbor, MI
Denton County Brewing Company, Denton, TX
Urban Artifact, Cincinnati, OH
10 Barrel Brewing, Portland, OR
Ill Mannered Brewing Company, Powell, OH
Country Boy Brewing, Lexington, KY
Jolly Pumpkin Cafe & Brewery, Ann Arbor, MI
Rock House Brewing, Lexington, KY
Cotton Brewing Company, Adrian, MI
Atwater Brewery, Detroit, MI
Black Cloister Brewing Company, Toledo, OH
Barley & Board, Denton, TX
Inside The Five Brewing Company, Sylvania, OH
Adelbert’s Brewery, Austin, TX
Double Shift Brewing Company, Kansas City, MO
Max’s Fanno Creek Brew Pub, Tigard OR
Brewdog Craft Beer Bar, Rome, Italy
Cerveteca Craft Beer Bar, Lisbon, Portugal
Banger’s, Austin, TX
The International Beer Bar, Zurich, Switzerland
The Casual Pint, Toledo, OH
Beer Plant, Austin, TX
Hop Cat, Ann Arbor, MI
Tribaun, Innsbruck, Austria
Growler USA, Austin, TX

HAPPY NEW YEAR