Barley's Beer (and other history) Timeline Columbus, Ohio

This timeline is Brewdood's project, mostly because he's starting to forget the details. Though principally a Barley's ale history journal, other events, moments and amusements may be added at the whim of the author. The beers listed below represent the first time that beer was put on tap. An asterisk next to the beer means it is likely retired.

Click on a beer link to read about a specific ale, get some food pairing ideas and such. Beers with an asterisk (*) are either "one-off" special brews or beers no longer made.

If you have any personal recollections, moments, pictures or other contributions, please submit them here, and we may add them to the mix. And, yes, we know not every beer is linked yet. Send submissions to: timeline@barleysbrewing.com.

Cheers!

 

Barley's Brewing Company
Ale House No. 1

Celebrity sightings:
  • Jeff Smith, the "Frugal Gourmet"
  • Cheap Trick, before a concert at Polaris Ampitheater
  • James Doohan, Star Trek's "Scotty"
  • Stephen King, on his motorcycle book tour
  • Michael Jackson, influential British beer and whiskey writer, visits us while doing research on his book, Micchael Jackson's Beer Companion (1997). He goes on to write about the uniqueness of MacLenny's Scottish Ale, employing carmelized wort
  • Eddie George, with his mother
  • various members of the Columbus Blue Jackets
  • Coach Earl Bruce, as master of ceremonies and guest Christmas Ale tapper, at one of our anniversary parties
  • Frankie Hayduk, Columbus Crew captain, taps Barley's Christmas Ale
  • Jeni Britton Bauer, founder of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, taps Barley's Christmas Ale

Somethig you didn't know:

  • The beautiful mahogany back bar, already over 100 years old and hand carved, was brought to this country on ship in the 1930s by the Owner of the Gambrinus Brewing Company, for a bar he also owned across the street from the brewery called The Grotto

    When the land was taken by eminent domain for a Saint Ann's hospital expansion, the bar was moved to The Grotto II, at the current location of the Japanese Steakhouse

    Being next door and close to seeing its end with a wrecking ball, we rescued it and gave it its new home

    The two vertical beveled mirrored glass pieces are not original; when we inherited the bar, it had a bullitt hole in it; mirrors are not made this large any longer    , so we added one vertical piece to hide the wound, and the other for symmetry

    In 1992, someone came in and said he had pictures of the bar at its original Columbus location. He promised to bring them in, but never did
  • Someone once crashed the back end of a pickup truck into the back entrance to steal the cigarette machine. No suspect was ever found, and we don't sell cigarettes, nor permit smoking any longer
Barley's Brewing Company
Ale House No. 1

2011

  • Barley's Behjun Noel 11.17 tapped at our 19th annual Anniversary Party by guest tapper Jeni Britton Bauer, founder of Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream. (She also brought along a limited edition Barley's Christmas Ale ice cream, featuring cranberries, candied chestnuts, honey, fresh orange juice, crumbled sponge cake and holiday spices.)
  • Barley's Infinity Grand Cru 07.09 Our third Belgian is a dark strong ale, named to coincide with the nuptuals of our general manager, Jason Fabian and his lovely bride Gretchen
  • Wit's End 06.12 This Belgian wit bier was the 2010 Homebrewers Contest winner. Brewed by Andy Schultz and tapped at Afternoon With the Brewers

2010

  • Barley's Abbey Normal 10.15 This is our first foray into Belgian-style ales. It's a dark strong ale, brewed Belgian candi sugar and fermented with Belgian yeast. Great to ward off the ghosts and ghoulies in your life.
  • Barley's Blood Thirst Wheat 06.13 The winner of our 14th annual Homebrew Competition, this is a German style hefeweizen with brewed with Siciallian blood orange zest and blood orange puree added during and after fermentation. Congratulations to Lloyd Cicetti for coming up with this unusually delightful ale. This beer is noteworthy in that it is the only homebrewer winner to be brewed more than once and that it has found a place in the rotation of Barley's ales.
  • Barley's Mild Child 04.21 On the eve of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, we tap our second ever organic beer. Guest tapper was Mark Dimoff, Executive Director of the Ohio Environmental Council. Live entertainment support was by Miss Molly and Friends.

2009

  • Blurry Bike IPA 10.10 If we can count correctly, this is the tenth different IPA we've brewed. A crisp, bitter session IPA. 5.8%ABV
  • Black Bike Bier 06.14 A German-style shwarzbier, it's a crisper take on British-style souts and porters. This brew was the creation of Matt Boehm, winner of the 2008 Homeberwer's Competition, and tapped at Barley's 14th annual Afternoon with the Brewers. Mixed half and half with champagne, it's called "The Bismark," a favorite drink of Otto Von Bismark.
  • Twisted Ivan Double Porter 03.06 A turbocharged version of Barley's Ivan Porter, this one is deep and complex. Not to mention we think it's the strongest imperial porter made in the world. It's certainly the strongest dark beer we've ever brewed, weighing in at 11.0% ABV.

2008

  • E=IPA(squared) 06.22 The winner of our 2007 Hombrewer's Competition by Victor Gonzalez--an imperial IPA loaded with hops. A formula that would leave Einstein himself scratching his head
  • Frambwha!? 06.02 America's first fruited wheatwine includes almost over thirteen pounds of fresh Oregon raspberries in every barrel. Sweet, but not for the faint of heart...unlike any beer you've ever had

2007

2006

  • Barley's fourteenth anniversary party with guest Christmas Ale tapper Andyman, CD101 FM 11.16
  • Heavy Horses Strong Olde Ale* 06.1 Barley's 2005 Homebrew Competition winner, Jeff Hornberger

2005

2004

  • Barley's Weizenbock 09.06 A double strength, malty wheat ale that puts you in the autumnal frame of mind
  • Anastasia Russian Imperial Stout* 06.21 Barley's 2003 Homebrew Competition winner, Jay Wince

2003

  • Matt's APA* 06.21 Barley's 2002 Homebrew Competition winner, brewed by Matt Paulson

2002

  • Barley's BarleyWine! (11% ABV) 10.11 Barley's first offering since repeal of-strong --ale prohibition in the State of Ohio!
  • Devil's Moon Weisenbock* 06.21 Barley's Homebrew Competition winner, brewed by Mark Irwin

2001

  • Bambino Signorino Stout 11.09
  • Full Moon Ale* 06.05 fifth Barley's Homebrew Competition winner, brewed by Mark Irwin and Mark Katona (tie)
  • Stoutasaurus Rex06.26 Barley's Homebrew Competition winner, brewed by Bill Hughes & Chris Ticknor (tie)

2000

  • Pipebuster Brown 10.2
  • Primordial IPA* 06.09 fourth Barley's Homebrew Competition winner, brewed by Bill Hughes & Chris Ticknor

1999

  • Barley's seventh anniversary party with guest Christmas Ale tapper Maxx Faulkner, WCBE 90.5 FM 11.18
  • Norma Iguana Pilsner* 06.09 third Barley's Homebrew Competition winner, brewed by Matt and Sue

1998

  • Barley's sixth anniversary party with guest Christmas Ale tapper Maxx Faulkner, WCBE 90.5 FM 11.19
  • Jimmy's Amber Haze* 06.09 second Barley's Homebrew Competition winner, brewed by Jim Hayes
  • GlenLenny's Scotch Ale ??

1997

  • Barley's fifth anniversary party with guest Christmas Ale tapper Maxx Faulkner, WCBE 90.5 FM 11.20
  • 09.04 first firkin served in Columbus, Ohio, and possibly Ohio in the modern craft brewing era: Centennial India Pale Ale
  • Queen Ann Stout* 06.17
  • Al's American Pale Ale* 06.09
    first Barley's Homebrew Competition winner    , brewed by Al Fosha, travelling from Chicago to brew it

1996

1995

1994

1993

1992

  • Hell Mary 11.27 With Brewdood working the bar, two lovely coeds invent the Hell Mary, Barley's versioon of the Bloody, using Gates of Hell sauce, itself formulated just three weeks earlier, prior to opening
  • Barley's Pale Ale 11.20
    Barley's Brewing Company
    Ale House No. 1 opens 11.20
Barley's Smokehouse & Brewpub
Ale House No. 2

2012

2011

2010

  • Barley's VS ESB 10.20 our latest in the pale ale / bitter / ESB continuum--Very Especial Extra Special Bitter
  • Katie's Summer Wheat 07.08 A refreshing wheat ale with just a hint of Oregon cherries. Named after one of our great bartenders.

2009

  • Barley's Auric Golden Ale 09.30 A golden ale with mystical healing powers. (Not really, but wouldn't that be cool? Then again, who's to say?
  • Ali Ali Ale 09.19 This is a Scottish Export ale that was brewed for Alex Francis' wedding day. Alex is our brewmaster's first son
  • Barley's Red Molly 06.24 A red ale celebrating red hair and black leather, our favorite color scheme (with apologies to Richard Thompson)
  • Bitter Dan eXtreme IPA 04.23 The first IPA that we added hops every step of the way, including in the mash tun. Enjoy your bitter experience
  • Barley's 1516 Dunkel 04.08 Another lager from Barley's. This one's a German style dunkel, the first beer brewed under the German Beer Purity Law of 1516

2008

2007

  • Barley's Oktoberfest 10.03 Our first true lager, meant for celebraitons!
  • Barley's Left Coast Pale Ale 03.20 A California style Pale Ale: blonde and great drinkability
  • Hoptopus late April A Pale Wheat with a huge dose of citrusy hops
  • The Highland Hammer 02.26 Our first blend experiment: an artful blend of Robert Burns Scottish Export Ale and Centennial IPA. We classify it as a peated bitter, meant to transition into the Spring

2006

  • Double Dog Dare Imperial IPA 07.25 An IPA that tips the scale at 8.0% ABV. Immediate hit, scheduled to be brewed about once a year hereinafter

2005

  • Saint Joan's Revenge 10.27 A decadent verision of Alexander's Russian Imperial Stout, matured in Jack Daniels barrels obtained directly from the distillary
  • Barley's Blueberry Ale* 09.08 A one-off pale ale with blueberries

2004

  • Cup O Joe Coffee Porter* 10.11 Experiment modifying the coffee stout; stout deemed superior and will be brewed hereinafter
  • Pint O Joe 06.30 A coffe stout made with Kona coffe beans specially roasted for us by Stauf'; served at Mo Jo Lounge on the Short North Cap occasionally

2003

2002

  • Old Oscar's Brown Sugar 04.17
  • The Ox Brown Ale* 07.25 a "one off" tribute ale to John Entwhistle, bass guitarist for The Who, who died in LasVegas on June 27
  • Saint Nick's Winter Warmer (9% abv) 11.21 Barley's second strong ale offering, and first the the 'House

2001

  • Mindola's Granola Oatmeal Stout 06.19
  • Paw's Alt* 05.02, guest brewer, Smokehouse

2000

  • Spring Bock* 05.24 Homebrew Competition winner, AJ Zanyk
  • first Oysters & Stout held on leap day 02.29
  • first Robert Burns Dinner and Robert Burns Scottish Export Ale Tapping 01.25
  • Robert Burns Scottish Export Ale 01.25
  • Lowe's Oatmeal Stout* 02.15

1999

  • Laurel's Cherry Wheat* 02.10
    Barley's Smokehouse & Brewpub
    Ale House No. 2 establishes 10.13

1998

  • Barley's Cherry Porter 09.16
  • Ol' 33 Tavern Ale* 08.26
  • Lil's Smokin' Stout* 08.07
    Barley's Smokehouse & Brewpub
    Ale House No. 2 opens 08.07

Barley's Smokehouse
& Brewpub
Ale House No. 2

Celebrity sightings:
  • OSU atheletic director Gene Smith for a business meeting
  • Dave Thomas enjoyed a pulled pork sandwich by himself
  • Fairport Convention, prior to a concert
  • The Stylistics, take out order
  • Country singer Mindy McCready, at a special breakfast CD party
  • Kirk Herbstreit, for a business lunch
  • We came "this close" to catering a private event for Bette Midler

Something you didn't know:

  • Our location, when it was Jack Bowman's Steakhouse in the 60's, was the first place in the country to offer a salad bar.
    It was located about where the brew house is now, according to the Grumpy Gourmet, Doral Chenowith