Читать книгу Fifty Must-Try Craft Beers of Ohio - Rick Armon - Страница 21

Bumble Berry

Fat Head’s Brewery | www.fatheadsbeer.com

Fat Head’s Brewery

Production brewery/tasting room:

17450 Engle Lake Drive

Middleburg Heights, Ohio 44130*

(216) 898-0242

Brewpub:

24581 Lorain Road

North Olmsted, Ohio 44070

(440) 801–1001

First brewed: 2009

Style: Fruit beer

Alcohol content: 5.3 percent

IBUs: 13

Awards: Won the Brewing News Global Warming Open in 2010

Available: Year-round on draft and in bottles

IF YOU LIKE THIS BEER, here are five other Ohio craft beers to try:

• Rivertown Blueberry Lager

• Rocky River Blueberry Ale

• Thirsty Dog Raspberry Ale

• Willoughby Railway Razz

• Jackie O’s Razz Wheat

FAT HEAD’S BREWERY has built its reputation with hoppy beers like Head Hunter IPA and Hop JuJu. But every brewery needs that bread-and-butter beer that appeals to a mass audience and sells like crazy.

For Fat Head’s, that’s Bumble Berry, an ale that features honey and blueberries. The beer, one of the brewery’s original recipes, is served at the brewpub with blueberries floating in the glass.

Fruit beers aren’t exactly the manliest or the most-sought-after style by craft beer geeks. But co-owner and brewer Matt Cole is far from embarrassed that Bumble Berry has turned into the brewery’s best seller. In fact, the brewpub goes through a barrel a day; the brew represents an amazing 20 percent of all the beer consumed at the restaurant.

“I actually got some pushback from some of our partners that that was going to be one of the beers that we were going to start out with,” Cole says. “I’m kind of proud of its success, to be honest with you.”

The inspiration for Bumble Berry dates back to a trip to Boston and a visit to Boston Beer Works, where Cole was introduced to Bunker Hill Bluebeery. The flavor worked, and the beer was refreshing. He figured he would make his own blueberry, eschewing the usual raspberry.

“The nose is great, and the flavor is not offensively sweet,” Cole says. “We work hard to get this kind of toasted dryness in the beer that gives it a drinkability. . . . You need one of those beers in your portfolio. It helps pay the bills.”

Note

*Opening November 2017