Ohio beer drinkers will have plenty of choices among festivals this weekend, as there are four big events in Albany, Chardon, Cincinnati and Columbus.
Here’s a quick rundown:
• The 15th annual Ohio Pawpaw Festival is Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Lake Snowden in Albany. The event celebrates the native Ohio fruit, and breweries create special beers using pawpaw. Full details: www.ohiopaw pawfest.com.
• The annual Cincy Beerfest on Fountain Square is Friday and Saturday. The event will feature about 200 beers, live music and food trucks. Full details: www.cincybeerfest.com.
• The Columbus Microbrew Festival is Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the North Market in Columbus. The event will feature 20 Ohio breweries. Full details: www.north market.com.
• The second annual Chardon Brewfest is Saturday in Chardon. The event will feature 22 breweries from Northeast Ohio and surrounding states. Full details: www.chardonbrewfest.com.
Thirsty Dog pawpaw
Speaking of the Pawpaw Festival, Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. in Akron has created a pawpaw beer for the event. The brew, called Saison Paw Paw, is a Belgian-style farmhouse saison.
Thirsty Dog used a pound of pawpaw, which has a tropical quality, for every two barrels of beer, co-owner John Najeway said. The beer is 8.1 percent alcohol by volume.
Saison Paw Paw is draft only. It will be available at the festival — obviously. It’s also on tap now at the Thirsty Dog tasting room, 529 Grant St., Akron, and will be available at select locations throughout Northeast Ohio, Columbus and Perrysburg.
Thirsty Dog is one of six breweries that made a pawpaw beer for the event. The others are: Weasel Boy, Jackie O’s, Buckeye, Marietta and Black Box.
Beer, wine fundraiser
Akron General Hospice of Visiting Nurse Service will hold its fourth annual Joyful Tastes of Life fundraiser from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 10 at St. George Family Center, 3204 Ridgewood Road, Copley Township.
The event features wines from around the world, craft beer from local breweries, and food by area restaurants.
Lagerheads Brewery, Thirsty Dog Brewing Co., Heidelberg Distributing Co. and Superior Beverage Group are among those participating.
Tickets are $50 and available at www.akrongeneral.org/joy or by calling 330-344-6888.
Crave dinner
Crave, 57 E. Market St., Akron, will hold a beer dinner at 6 p.m. Sept. 23 featuring Lagerheads Brewing Co. from Medina.
The cost is $50, plus tax and tip. For tickets or more details, including a description of each dish and beer, go to http://eat drinkcrave.com.
Beer samplers
• The Akron Beacon Journal’s Ohio Breweries Beer Blog won second place for best weblog from the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists.
• Elevator Brewing Co. in Columbus won the “Best of Show” award at the Cleveland Labor Day Oktoberfest Microbrew Competition for its Dark Horse Lager. The beer also was selected as “All German Best of Show.” Black Box in Westlake won the “Best of the Rest of the World” category for its Cloud Nine Belgian Wit.
• Heidelberg Distributing Co., which is based in Dayton, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this month.
• Kona Brewing Co.’s Pipeline Porter will enter Ohio for the first time this month. The beer is made with freshly roasted Kona coffee from the Cornwell Estate Coffee plantation.
• Bloomberg News reported that Boston Beer Co. founder and brewer Jim Koch is now a billionaire thanks to company shares doubling in the past year.
• Redd’s Apple Ale has done so well that MillerCoors is releasing Redd’s Strawberry Ale.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his beer blog at www.ohio.com/blogs/the-beer-blog. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrick.com.