Numbers Brewing Co. has no immediate aspirations to take the beer world by storm.
Co-owner and brewer Jeramy DeBord says he’d be happy to take his backyard by storm at first.
Numbers, a new nanobrewery, hopes to open in two or three months in Lisbon, a sleepy village about an hour southeast of Akron.
“We want to build a local customer base and strong base in Columbiana County and we can expand from there,” said DeBord, 37, who lives in Calcutta and works in information technology and software development.
He and his partners are turning a former liquor store into their brewery and tasting room, which also will offer small-plate appetizers. They have a Psycho Brew system ready to go that can make up to five barrels at a time, but they will focus on smaller batches at the outset.
DeBord has been brewing on and off for the last 15 years, starting in college with, as many folks do, a Mr. Beer Kit. He then made the transition into homebrewing as a serious hobby. He described himself as “an IPA, porter, stout kind of guy. Those are my three favorites.”
Numbers will offer six beers to start, ranging in style from a kolsch to a chocolate stout. DeBord expects the first line-up to feature a kolsch, witbier, porter, stout and a couple of India pale ales — or some combination of those styles.
“If we wouldn’t drink it, we won’t serve it at our place,” he said.
They plan to keg their beer initially, with limited distribution to local restaurants and bars. In the future, they’d like to move into bottling or canning, leaning toward canning.
DeBord said he and his partners are quite happy with choosing Lisbon, which has about 2,850 residents and serves as the county seat. There’s no other brewery in the immediate area, giving them a monopoly of sorts. The closest one is Rust Belt Brewing in Youngstown.
“It’s a strong little community,” he said of Lisbon. “We’re definitely looking forward to being a part of it.”
Wild Frog Wheat returns
Hoppin’ Frog Brewery will release its summer seasonal Wild Frog Wheat at 5 p.m. Thursday at its taproom, 1680 E. Waterloo Road, Akron.
The beer will be available both on draft and in bottles to go. Wild Frog Wheat is a German-style hefeweizen made with 100 percent German ingredients, including Weihenstephan yeast, the brewery said.
The Tasting Room also will open for lunch at 11 a.m. Friday for its second annual cookout. It will open at noon Saturday for another cookout.
Lunar Lager time
Thirsty Dog Lunar Lager is back.
Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. makes the beer, a Vienna-style lager, special for the Summer Moon Festival, which runs July 16-20 in Wapakoneta in western Ohio.
Wapakoneta is the hometown of Neil Armstrong and the Armstrong Air & Space Museum. If you don’t want to drive there, the brewery will release Lunar Lager on draft next Wednesday at its tasting room, 529 Grant St., Akron.
“It’s a nice malty lager weighing in at 6.5 percent [alcohol by volume]. Tasty,” co-owner John Najeway said.
Fat Head’s winner
Willoughby Brewing Co. took home the top prize Saturday in the Fat Head’s Heavyweight Brewer’s Brawl — an annual beer tasting that features high-alcohol beers.
The brewpub won for its Nut Smasher, an imperial stout with peanut butter that clocks in at more than 11 percent alcohol by volume.
“It’s a real strong kicker,” brewmaster Rick Seibt said.
Beer drinkers voted Nut Smasher as the best out of about 40 brews. Willoughby received a boxing glove as its prize.
The brewpub, 4057 Erie St., Willoughby, will hold a keg tapping at 6 p.m. today and there are plans to release the beer in 22-ounce bottles this month.
Nut Smasher also will be available at 6 p.m. July 12 at the Pigskin in Athens for Ohio Brew Week.
Platform opening
Platform Beer Co., the newest brewery in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood, opens at noon Friday.
Platform, 4125 Lorain Ave., is both a production brewery and tasting room. It’s also an incubator that hopes to turn out professional brewers.
It will launch with two house beers: a saison and tart boysenberry. There also will be plenty of guest brews.
Platform will be open from 3 p.m. to midnight Tuesdays through Fridays, and 10 a.m. to midnight on Saturdays.
If you can’t wait until Friday, Market Garden Brewery and Platform Beer released a collaboration beer called Rising Tides IPA last week at Market Garden.
Lockview honored
The Lockview, 207 S. Main St., Akron, has been named one of the 33 best beer bars in America by the website Thrillist.
It’s up there with HopCat in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Mikkeller Bar in San Francisco. The Lockview is the only Ohio bar to make the cut.
The website notes: “Outside of LeBron, Akron’s pride and joy is this comfort food and booze Mecca, with 150 bottles, 12 taps, and grilled cheese sandwiches that kids would be weirded out by.”
To see the full list and write-up, go online to tinyurl.com/mh33pmm.
Breweriana show
The Lake Erie Chapter of the Brewery Collectibles Club of America will host its 29th annual summer show from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 13 at the Ottawa Point picnic area at the Brecksville Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks.
Breweriana at the show will include items on display and for sale ranging from pre-Prohibition to today’s craft beer industry. There will be free cans and other items available for novice collectors. Appraisers and cash buyers also will attend.
Admission is free.
The BCCA is the largest nonprofit brewery collectibles club in the world. The Lake Erie chapter is one of seven in Ohio and one of 106 in the world.
Beer sampler
• Millersburg Brewing Co., 60 E. Jackson St., Millersburg, has released the latest beer in its imperial series, a 9.1 percent alcohol by volume India pale ale called Major Holmes.
• Rhinegeist Brewery in Cincinnati — which hasn’t started distributing in this part of the state — celebrated its one-year anniversary last weekend.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his beer blog at www.ohio.com/beer. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ.