This is how you start off your Saturday Tailgate!

Friday night at the Columbus Microbrew Festival.

You know how some bloggers tell you a bunch of personal stuff that you don't really care about. This will end up being one of those posts. Should still be interesting.

First up, doing some serious drinking, what's the transportation going to be? Rode my bike, and by bike, I mean bicycle. Rode to work. Came home, fed the dogs, rode downtown to the festival, drank, rode home. 30-35 miles before it's all said and done. Not exactly Tour de France impressive, but probably more than your butt can handle.

Beers that I had! Keep in mind, this is my 4th time doing this festival, so I was being particular.

1. Elevator Brewing Co. Ryan's Rye IPA. Way, way, way too bitter. Grade: C-
2. Elevator Brewing Co. Mocha Plum Stout. Who dumped coffee grounds in my beer. Grade: D.
3. Elevator Brewing Co. Black Wheat (Aged) Maybe the stout ruined the flavor, but I didn't like it. Tasted medicinal. Grade: D. Elevator is actually a really good brewery, but it was not working for me tonight.
4. At this point, I went and grabbed a New Yorker from Barry's Deli. 1/2 pound or so of corn beef, cole slaw, russian dressing on Rye bread. Hey, two parts Rye!. Puts down a nice foundation for beer drinking. The fourth beer was Barley's Brewing Co. Imperial Pilsner. A really nice beer with a lot of flavor, which you don't think of when you think Pilsner. Grade: A-
5. Beer 5 was Barley's Smokehouse & Brewpub Cherry Porter. Barley's has two locations, with different beers. This was ok. I'm not a big porter fan. It was very smoky tasting. World-Wide-Kev eventually showed up. This was his last beer of the evening. He likes this style, but was not overly impressed. Grade: C. I couldn't taste the cherry at all, he thought that it was there, but just a hint.
6. It's starting to get busy and I want to try the Columbus brewing company selection. I go to where they are located. The space used to be a restaurant. They have a nice U-shaped bar with seats available. All of the bartenders are dressed as Elvis. Why didn't I bring my camera? It gets even better. The price guide calls for two drink tickets for a 1/4 pint. They are only accepting 1, and are pouring heavy. Yee-hah. Beer 6 is Columbus Brewing Co. Summerteeth. It's a clean crisp beer and a great palate cleanser for an event like this. Grade: B.
7. Columbus Brewing Co. Bodhi - A Double IPA. Holy shit is this good. When you smell the beer, you smell fresh hops. I mean, fresh from the plant hops. Tons of hops, but not too bitter. Grade: A+.
8. Columbus Brewing Co. Saison. Belgian style. It's well established that this is not my thing, but still, not too bad. Grade: C+ for me, probably a B+ for people who like this kind of beer. At this point World-Wide-Kev shows up. Did I mention that the bartender poured me a three quarter pint, instead of a quarter, since the Bohdi is so strong, and it's important that I have the opportunity to appreciate the Saison. I'm in beer heaven.
9. Columbus Brewing Co. Apricot Ale. I love this beer in the bottle. It's even better on tap. It's the beer that you give to people who don't like fruit beer. It's not at all sweet, but you taste the apricots. The fruit in the on-tap version tastes so fresh. Grade: A.
10. Columbus Brewing Co. 90 Shilling Ale. I wasn't about to give up this great seat. Especially when the line to the bar is 30-40 deep and I'm getting my drinks without the wait. Red in color. Tastes like a porter. It's actually a Scotch Ale. Not my thing. Grade: B-.
11. Another Round of Bodhi. Yummm.
12. Columbus Brewing Co. Turkey Neck Stout. Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels. Again, I do not taste the bourbon. It's not bad. World-Wide-Kev thinks that it tastes like Jaeger. At this point, I am embarrassed for him. He tells me that they have it at the bar in his office. They have a bar in his office. Yes, they have a bar in his office. Grade: C+.
13. As we're leaving the CBC bar, the guy gives us a taste of the Saison mixed with the Bodhi. Good things happen when you're cleaning out the tap for the next beer. Very tasty, but not an official beverage. Grade: Inc.
14. Holy shit, this place is shoulder-to-shoulder-to-elbow crowded. We fight our way to Barley's booth. WWK gets the Cherry Porter and I grab the Bombshell Blonde, which at this point, I can't fairly grade.

So, I've had probably 6 pints of really good beer. Time to get on the bicycle in the dark. Short version, I didn't die. I had a lot of great beer for $15, plus you keep your pint glass. That's how you start your tailgate eve tailgate. Oh yeah. You can't spell Trojan without OJ. Saw it on a t-shirt.