Читать книгу Fifty Must-Try Craft Beers of Ohio - Rick Armon - Страница 25

Clear Sky

Wolf’s Ridge Brewing Co. | www.wolfsridgebrewing.com

Wolf’s Ridge Brewing Co.

215 N. 4th St.

Columbus, Ohio 43215

(614) 429–3936

First brewed: 2014

Style: Cream ale

Alcohol content: 5 percent

IBUs: 14

Available: Year-round on draft and in bottles

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

• JAFB Wooster Wayne County Cream Ale

• Fifth Street Cure-Ale Cream Ale

• FigLeaf Basmati Cream Ale

• Star City Viking Cream

• Butcher and the Brewer The Jake

ALAN SZUTER wasn’t sold on the idea. His first brewer wanted to make a cream ale. But Szuter, who launched the Columbus brewpub and tasting room with his son Bob, wanted his craft brewery to be taken seriously.

His hesitation is understandable. With their light, easy-drinking profiles and use of corn, cream ales don’t have the greatest reputation among hardcore craft beer fans, who would prefer to gobble up a hoppy India pale ale or robust Russian imperial stout.

“My initial reaction was: Really? Cream ale?” Szuter recalls. “My correlation and history is Genny Cream, which is not a bad beer, but it’s just not a craft beer that comes immediately to mind. But he persisted and brewed it, and it immediately became one of our top sellers. We’ve kept it on ever since.”

Cream ales tend to fill a real need at a craft brewery. Not only are they easy to pound, thanks to the lower alcohol and crisp finish, but they also appeal to that beer drinker who’s into Budweiser, Miller, and Coors and is just dipping his or her toe into the craft pool.

Clear Sky, which employs flaked maize, got its name thanks to its clear appearance and the feeling that it’s the perfect brew to just kick back with while sitting in a deck chair. It was one of the first beers that Wolf’s Ridge packaged for retail sale.

“We try to focus on really drinkable beers,” Szuter says. “Even our big ABV beers are really drinkable. You don’t taste the alcohol.”

Award-winning brewer Chris Davison also has had a lot of fun with Clear Sky, creating plenty of different infused variations. They include the popular Clear Sky Daybreak, which is a coffee-vanilla version, and Clear Sky Cinnamon Toast Brunch, Clear Sky Creamsicle, Clear Sky Lemon Meringue, and Clear Sky Coconut Cream Pie.