World Beer Festival Arrives In Cleveland in July 2013

Press Release -  All About Beer Magazine

THE WORLD BEER FESTIVAL 
INVADES CLEVELAND, OHIO!

Over 4,000 beer enthusiasts head to downtown Cleveland for the

inaugural World Beer Festival; a celebration of fine craft beer.

Cleveland, OH – May 8, 2013 – After successfully presenting almost 30 festivals in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Virginia since 1996, All About Beer Magazine proudly announces the inaugural World Beer Festival-Cleveland. The festival takes place July 13 at North Coast Harbor Dock 32, Cleveland Browns North Parking Lot. Unique from other beer festivals, the World Beer Festival focuses heavily on an education component. Festival attendees will be taken on a one-of-a-kind beer adventure in the “Art of Beer Village,” an area dedicated to beer education through food and beer pairings, ingredient samplings and educational seminars. The World Beer Festival fosters its mission to expand the beer community by providing an essential experience for a life enriched by beer.

Over the course of the 1-5pm session, consumers will have the opportunity to
sample over 200 beers from over 70 locally, nationally and internationally recognized breweries. This truly unique tasting event brings together the brewers and the beer that have shaped today’s craft beer culture. See why forbes.com, USA Today and Wired Magazine claim World Festival as one of the premier beer events in the country!

General Admission tickets cost $40 and include a tasting glass with 40 taste
tickets for 2-oz samples from over 200 different beers. VIP admission includes a tasting glass and 40 tickets along with a festival commemorative glass, access to a private hospitality area complete with private bathrooms, and an upscale food buffet. In addition,VIPs will be allowed access to the festival at 12 p.m., for a special preview hour. Tickets can be purchased online at worldbeerfestival.com


“We are excited to bring our vision of a beer festival to the thriving craft beer
community of Cleveland,” said Daniel Bradford, Publisher of All About Beer Magazine and Producer of the World Beer Festival. “For over 30 years I have sought to educate the public about beer appreciation and quality while fostering the development of local beer communities. The World Beer Festival is organized around those values, creating an exciting and informative environment for beer lovers of all stripes.”

World Beer Festivals are presented by All About Beer Magazine, based in Durham, NC. Located in unique settings, each festival is a source of anticipation and pride for the cities they visit. Its two longest-operating festivals sell to capacity, with audiences of over 8,000 people. With their emphasis on education and moderation, the World Beer Festivals have significantly advanced area beer cultures, expanding retail offerings and raising consumer appreciation.

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Cleveland Beer Week Returns In October 2010

Photos courtesy ClevelandBeerWeek.org

Clevelanders love their beer, and the city has a long history of crafting brews. The first Cleveland Beer Week in October 2009 was such a success that it is returning again in October 2010. Here is the official press release; further details on the week and all the events can be found at ClevelandBeerWeek.org .


CLEVELAND BEER WEEK is Set for October 15-23

Impressive Support from Community in 2009 Shapes Planning for Second Annual Celebration

The second annual Cleveland Beer Week, a nine-day celebration of craft brews, will take place from October 15-23, 2010, and will feature hundreds of craft beer tastings, dinners, demonstrations, leisure activities, educational programs, and specials at bars, restaurants, and grocers throughout Cuyahoga County and beyond. Established in 2009 as the first event of its kind in northeast Ohio, Cleveland Beer Week is a not-for-profit, collaborative celebration that raises awareness of the craft and import beer industry—particularly the rich tradition of brewing in Ohio—and promotes patronage at local establishments.

By all measures, the first annual Cleveland Beer Week in 2009 was a grand success. With little more than three months to plan, organizers from local retailers, breweries, and distributors—led by founding members from Winking Lizard, Heidelberg Distributing, and Heinen’s—produced a craft beer festival that rivaled others around the country and featured a staggering 500 events at more than 120 venues. In an independent survey conducted after the celebration, 100% of participating retailers, breweries, and distributors reported increases in both patron traffic and revenue during Cleveland Beer Week. The average increases were reported as 11-20% for patron traffic and 6-15% for revenue, with impressive increases of 21-30+% reported by 33% of respondents for patron traffic and 25% of respondents for revenue.

Building on the success of last year’s Cleveland Beer Week, organizers started planning early for 2010 and have already finalized and posted more than 225 events to their website, www.clevelandbeerweek.org/ Event postings will continue daily and up until Cleveland Beer Week begins on October 15. Visitors to the website may search events by date, venue, brewery, or neighborhood, and select events of interest to create their own personal itinerary. Of particular note are the following flagship events, competitions, and offerings:

The Ohio Craft Brewer’s Association has organized a collaboration that will produce six custom beers packaged specially for Cleveland Beer Week. The 12 breweries participating in the largest known collaboration of its kind in the world have created six brews, including a Strong Ale Barrel Aged by Great Lakes Brewing Company and Cellar Rats, a Smoked Black Lager by Thirsty Dog Brewing Company and Indigo Imp, a Rye Kolsh by The Brew Kettle and Willoughby Brewing, a Wet Hopped IPA by Fat Heads and Black Box, an Imperial American Porter by Hoppin’ Frog and Rocky River Brewing Company, and an Alt Bier by Buckeye Brewing and Cornerstone Brewery. Mixed 12-packs will be sold at retailers including Heinen’s in early October, and participating breweries will feature all six brews on draft during Cleveland Beer Week.

On Friday, October 15 at 7 p.m., Cleveland Beer Week will open with “Grains vs. Grapes: The Ultimate Match-up,” an official keg tapping and 4-course dinner, at Crowne Plaza in downtown Cleveland (777 St. Clair Avenue, Cleveland 44113). The evening will be hosted by special guests Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head, and Marianne Franz, president of the American Wine School. Frantz and Calagione will discuss a selection of wines and craft beers from Ohio brewers and Dogfish Head that they have paired with a multi-course menu created by the Michael Symon Restaurant Group. Jimmy Malone of Cleveland radio’s WMJI will serve as master of ceremonies and all proceeds will benefit the Malone Scholarship Fund that is managed by Cleveland Scholarship Programs. Advance tickets are required and are $75/person.

On Friday, October 22 at 6:30 p.m., Heidelberg Distributing will host “Ales on Rails” on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Departing from the Rockside Station (7900 Old Rockside Road, Independence 44131), this delightful ride includes a boxed supper and brews from Sam Smith, Bluegrass, Thirsty Dog, Fullers, Chimay, Ithaca, and Smutty Nose. Advance tickets are required and range from $25-$45 based on train car selection. All proceeds benefit the Malone Scholarship Fund.


The Society of Northeast Ohio Brewers (SNOBS) is sponsoring a “Son of BREWzilla Homebrew Competition” that is open to all entries registering before October 9 at www.beersnobs.org/contest. Participants may submit their first beer—from a choice of 23 categories—for $7 and additional beers for $5 each. The competition takes place at Fat Heads Brewery and Saloon (24581 Lorain Road, North Olmsted OH) on Saturday, October 23 at 9:00 a.m.; winners will be announced and prizes awarded at Cleveland Beer Week’s BREWzilla event that same evening. The “Best of Show” panel of judges includes Mitch Steele of Stone Brewing Co., Andy Tveekrem formerly of Dogfish Head, and Matt Cole of Fat Heads Brewery. The winning Best of Show entry will be brewed professionally by Fat Heads for the 2011 Great American Beer Festival Pro-Am held in Denver, Colorado.

Cleveland Beer Week will conclude with “BREWzilla,” a monster of a beer tasting, on Saturday, October 23 at the Galleria at Erieview in downtown Cleveland (1301 East Ninth Street, Cleveland 44113). BREWzilla will feature more than 100 breweries; a special “Ohio Brewery” area with various beers from local breweries as well as all 2010 collaborative brews; and food selections courtesy of Winking Lizard and Heinen’s including an Angus hot dog bar, beef brisket and vegetable hoagies, and various cheese stations organized by the style of beer with which they best pair. Additionally, Cleveland Beer Week has commissioned Lilly Handmade Chocolates in Tremont to design a chocolate creation inspired by a local brewer. Tickets for the Brewer’s Circle are $75 and include event admittance at 6 p.m., the opportunity to taste rare brews in the new “Brewer’s Circle Lounge” open all evening, and a commemorative Cleveland Beer Week t-shirt. General Admission tickets are $50 and for admittance from 7-11 p.m. All proceeds benefit the Malone Scholarship Fund.

Cleveland Beer Week is sponsored by Winking Lizard, Heidelberg Distributing, Heinen’s, Buckeye/Beer Engine, Goose Island, Great Lakes Brewing Company, Superior Beverage Group, Premium Beverage Supply, Cavalier Distributing, Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Akron Beacon Journal’s the330.com, ClearChannel radio stations WMMS 100.7 and WMJI 105.7, Crowne Plaza Cleveland City Center, Hudson Printing, and Cleveland Scene. Additional support is provided by Thirsty Dog Brewing Co., The Brew Kettle, Christopher Design, Metromix, Anchor Hocking, Rockin Cleveland Party Bus, and ACE Taxi.


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Check out my blog home page for the latest Cleveland information, All Things Cleveland Ohio.

Cleveland Beer Week

Cleveland Beer Week Logo, a Play on Cleveland’s “Free Stamp”

True Clevelanders need no special reason to drink beer. But, because Clevelanders can never have enough excuses, the first annual Cleveland Beer Week has been established, and will run from October 16 through October 24, 2009.

The Clevelandbeerweek.org website describes the event as a “not-for-profit, collaborative celebration to raise awareness of and education for the strong American and imported craft brew industry, while promoting patronage at local establishments.” Cleveland Beer Week will have several events at local bars, taverns, grocery stores, and other locations throughout the Cleveland area, and will include musical entertainment, tastings, and “brewmaster meet-and-greets”.

The week will open with a ceremonial keg tapping at the The Winking Lizard on Rockside Road in Independence on October 15 at 6:00 PM.

Clevelandbeerweek.org goes on to explain that the week “will culminate in a BREWzilla, a grand reception to be held on Saturday, October 24. A large-scale ale tasting and social gathering, BREWzilla will be held [at] The Arcade in downtown Cleveland and will feature more than 80 tasting stations, appetizers and other culinary delights that pair well with craft brews, entertainment, and guest appearances by renowned brewers. All proceeds from the Grand Reception will be donated to the Malone Scholarship Fund which is managed by the Cleveland Scholarship Program, Northeast Ohio’s only nonprofit resource that promotes educational awareness and community enrichment by preparing the workforce of tomorrow.”


All the details on the week and all the events can be found at clevelandbeerweek.org,




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Cleveland's Love Affair With Beer

My treasured beer bottle bank cap

The other day while sifting through a box of items I’d had packed away years ago, I found a giant beer bottle cap. It came from a giant glass beer bottle bank that belong to my grandparents that they used to save money for their grandchildren. They would start saving loose change, and then whatever was in the bank at the time one of their grandchildren was born, they would put all that money into a bank account. Since my parents had 6 kids, it seemed like my grandparents were always saving change. When my mother stopped having kids, my grandparents allowed me to have the bank, and I began saving my change in it as well. The day before my wedding – almost 33 years ago – as I was getting ready to pack up the bank, it tipped and I broke that beer bottle into a million billion pieces. After getting very upset about it, I decided to at least hang on to the bottle cap. When I found that bank bottle cap today, it made me think of the deep history of beer in Cleveland.

The giant beer bottle was for none other than P.O.C. Beer, produced by the Pilsener Brewing Company, located at Clark Ave. and W. 65th St. It was founded by Bohemian brewer Wenzel Medlin in 1892. The name Pilsener comes from the Czech city of Pilsen, where the light Bohemian lager beer was first made. The P.O.C. stood for many things, such as “Pilsener On Call,“ “ Pilsener of Cleveland,” and “Pleasure on Call”, but many Clevelanders, most of them probably growing up with beer in their veins, called the beer “Pride of Cleveland.” Since I grew up in a Bohemian family, beer was a huge part of the their heritage, in some cases, to their detriment!

The beer boom for Cleveland took place in the early 1900s. According to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History:

The industry in Cleveland reached its zenith in 1910, when 26 breweries were operating in the city. In addition to Bohemian, Cleveland, Columbia, Gehring, Schlather, Star, and Fishel (all in the Cleveland & Sandusky fold), there were the Beltz, CLEVELAND HOME BREWING COMPANY, DIEBOLT BREWING CO., Excelsior, Forest City, Gund, Leisy, Pabst, PILSENER BREWING CO., Schlitz, STANDARD BREWING CO., and Stroh breweries. Leisy, Pilsener, and Standard, all located on the near west side, were the most formidable independents. (The full history of Cleveland brewing can be found at the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History’s web site, here.)

Then, dark days for breweries in 1920 when prohibition happened, changing the focus of some local breweries, and putting some out of business. After prohibition was repealed, some breweries restarted and continued to flourish in the city. While over time the number of breweries decreased, their overall output increased. Over the next 30 years, smaller breweries closed and some merged with larger companies. Later on, national companies would soon grab up the bulk of the Cleveland market share and the last Cleveland Brewery (Schmidt) closed in 1984.

Since it’s been said that nature abhors a vacuum, it wasn’t long before Cleveland got another brewery of its own. In 1988, Patrick and Daniel Conway established the microbrewery Great Lakes Brewing Company on the west side of Cleveland, producing Dortmunder and Vienna-style beers. The company has quite the following, especially with their seasonal beers such as Christmas Ale, plus favorite brew Burning River Pale Ale, gaining them widespread popularity. They are also very involved in the community, sponsoring, for example, the Burning River Fest this August.

So while there may be fewer breweries in Cleveland than there were 100 years ago, Cleveland can still be proud of its beer heritage, and that Great Lakes Brewing Company has continued the tradition. Sadly, I haven’t had a beer in years, it gives me terrible migraines. But, if I can just find a giant Great Lakes Beer Bottle Bank…. I'd be happy.



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