enlightenment. Or maybe the name is just paying homage to the kick-ass Bodhi character played by Patrick Swayze in the film Point Break.
Whatever the real story, the beer is delicious, and Columbus fans can’t get enough of it. For years, the beer was available only on draft. Bean was hounded all the time about when Bodhi would be in bottles. That finally happened in 2016, when Columbus moved to a larger location and upgraded its brewing system.
“We definitely have a philosophy around our hoppy beers,” Bean says. “I don’t like bitter hoppy beers. I think that’s the beauty of Bodhi. It’s so approachable . . . But it’s not that it’s so soft that the super high-end bitter freak isn’t attracted to it, too. That beer is designed for a pretty broad audience.”
B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher
Hoppin’ Frog Brewery | www.hoppinfrog.com
Hoppin’ Frog Brewery
1680 E. Waterloo Road
Akron, Ohio 44306
(330) 352–4578
First brewed: 2006
Style: Imperial stout
Alcohol content: 9.4 percent
IBUs: 60
Awards: Gold medals in 2008 and 2011 at the Great American Beer Festival (The barrel-aged version also has won medals.)
Available: Year-round on draft and in bottles
IF YOU LIKE THIS BEER, here are five other Ohio craft beers to try:
• Seventh Son Oublitte
• Actual Fat Julian
• Hoppin’ Frog D.O.R.I.S. the Destroyer
• Weasel Boy Anastasia Russian Imperial Stout
• Royal Docks Vlad the Impaler
B.R.I.S. doesn’t exactly paint a picture of a strong, bold brew. The mind wanders to other . . . well, we won’t go there. But that’s how B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher Oatmeal-Imperial Stout began. Hoppin’ Frog Brewery owner and brewer Fred Karm, as a homebrewer, created a big, hearty Russian imperial stout after sampling one at the former Liberty Street Brewing in Akron. Karm knew that an R.I.S. would be part of his lineup when he eventually opened his own brewery.
He dubbed his homebrew “bodacious”—thus the B. But it wasn’t until he added oatmeal when he started Hoppin’ Frog that Bodacious Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout, or B.O.R.I.S. for short, was born.
“The oatmeal was a natural additive to that beer to add more body and flavor,” Karm says. He also knew that oatmeal could help with marketing, figuring he wanted to attract the same beer drinkers who enjoy the well-known Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout.
He recalled his first Russian imperial stout homebrew as insane and thick.
“When I started Hoppin’ Frog, I wanted to remake those homebrews that make people say ‘Oh, my God,’” he says. “The ones you would write home about. The ones you would covet, not wanting to drink the last one. Those are the beers that I wanted to make here. That bodacious Russian imperial stout was perfect.”
B.O.R.I.S. went on to win gold medals at the Great American Beer Festival in 2008 and 2011. It also is the award-winning beer that keeps on giving.
Karm has released many barrel-aged versions of B.O.R.I.S., winning a gold medal at the 2012 World Beer Cup and a bronze at the 2013 Great American Beer Festival. He even created D.O.R.I.S. the Destroyer Double Imperial Stout, the hoppier cousin to B.O.R.I.S.
“From day one, my staff felt [B.O.R.I.S.] was a winner, and my longest employee said you’re going to win a gold with this,” Karm says. “And we did. I couldn’t frickin’ believe it. From day one, it tasted so good I never messed with the recipe—never, ever. It’s one of those recipes that people lock up in safes. Oh yeah, we locked it up. That’s a recipe I think a lot of people want to get their hands on.”
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
