This is an archived copy of what was originally posted in Facebook.
Saturday night's show at Lockport Brewery presented lots of reason to celebrate: Autumn offically arrived at 9:54pm, it was the final night of the Midwestern leg of the Great Brewery Tour, OSU football was winning, the division champ Red Sox were in town to play the division champ Indians, and most importantly, earlier in the day we learned that Lockport's Gateway American Pale Ale had won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver.
Lockport is a young (2 year) brewery in Bolivar, OH, which is an hour or so south of Cleveland on I-77. The brewery is conveniently located just off the highway, in a free standing building that houses the brewing facilities and a nice sized rustic taproom which opens into a patio area. Autumn arrived it wasn't kidding... Friday was a muggy 90 degrees, and then Saturday brought a high in the low 60s... so I played inside to the taproom.
Lockport Brewery - Bolivar, OH
Just starting to distribute. Beers available at the taproom, and on tap in Central Ohio.
Played: 9/22/18
Megan and Lys were handling the pours at the bar, and Megan served as my trusted guide through their beer selection. Naturally I had to start with the prize winner, the Gateway American Pale Ale (6.2%). A welcoming golden pour, just slightly hazy, and with a crisp body and finish. On the one hand it was light like a pilsner, but with hints of a more robust flavor like an ale, with a touch of a lemony flavor. Extremely drinkable and refreshing, this is the beer to buy your friend who is afraid of anything beyond Bud Light, yet still enjoyable to your more refined palette.
Next up was the Oktoberfest Lager (6.2%), a Bavarian Marzen style lager. My complaint with many Oktoberfests is they can be a bit sappy... but not this one. Nice and crisp medium bodied, with a little maltyness and a clean finish. Plus it came in a nice big stein, so it lasted almost all the way through my set.
After my set I refreshed with the fantastic Ruckus IPA (7.5%), powered by Mosaic, Simcoe, and Amarillo hops... none of which were overdone. A thirst quenching fully bodied drink, with a floral/citrus flavor (and matching aroma) that made me take notice on the first sip, but didn't linger so long as to be annoying. I really enjoyed the Ruckus, and would recommend searching it out.
Finally, to close out the night (and this first leg of the tour), I turned to the Amis de la Biere French Saison (6.9%). Lockport collaborated with Sandy Springs Brewing Company, creating a farmhouse ale made with over 110 lbs of blackberries. Similar to a fruited gose, it had a clear but slightly hazy rose hue, and a nice clean sip without any sappy or overly fruity aftertaste. Nice balance, the benefits of the fruit without overpowering the ligher aspects of the ale.
The folks at Lockport were very friendly, and the brewery had a festive air about it. Congrats to all of them for winning their national gold medal after only 2 years in business!
This wraps up the Midwestern first leg of the tour. In October I head east to New England, NY, and other eastern territories! I will post some closing thoughts in another post, stay tuned...
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