Blues & Brews — one of the longest running beer festivals in Ohio — is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
The beer landscape has changed quite a bit since that inaugural tasting was held at Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens in Akron.
“We’ve seen a lot of new breweries opening over the years,” said John Najeway, co-owner of Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. and organizer of the event, which takes place Aug. 2 at Lock 3 Park in downtown Akron. “Obviously, the number of Ohio breweries has grown.”
Only a handful of Ohio breweries participated that first year. This year, there will be 25 to 30.
“The audience has changed, too,” Najeway said. “They are more craft beer knowledgeable. They are coming and seeking out beer they want as opposed to just drinking beer.”
That first event drew 500 beer fans. Najeway admitted that he had hoped somebody, anybody would show up back then. This year, there will be anywhere from 2,200 to 2,700.
The 10th annual Blues & Brews will feature about 70 breweries and 250 beers.
General admission runs from 2 to 6 p.m., with a Brewers Circle ticket allowing people to start sampling at noon and giving them a crack at specialty beers, along with lunch provided by co-sponsor Winking Lizard Tavern.
As is the case every year, some Ohio brewers are making their Blues & Brews debut, including MadTree from Cincinnati, Seventh Son from Columbus and Millersburg from Millersburg.
There are plenty of other new brewers, too: 5 Rabbit, Revolution, Destihl, New Belgium, Deschutes, Flying Monkeys, Lake of Bays and Grand River.
Festival host Thirsty Dog will offer 20 beers, including sours and fruit-infused firkins.
In addition to the beer, there will be live music and food available from the Winking Lizard.
General admission tickets are $40. Brewers Circle tickets are $60. Both include 25 tasting tickets and a souvenir glass.
For more details or to buy tickets, go to: tinyurl.com/l5ss62g.
Beer at the Pier
Add another big beer event to an increasingly crowded festival schedule in Cleveland.
The Cleveland Metroparks has announced Beer at the Pier from 3 to 7 p.m. Aug. 9 at Edgewater Park. The event, which supports the Cleveland Metroparks Trails Fund, will showcase Ohio-made craft beer and include live music and food.
Fat Head’s Brewery and Great Lakes Brewing Co. are helping put together the festival.
The brewery lineup features: Cellar Dweller, MadTree, Fifty West, Black Box, the Brew Kettle, Buckeye, Cellar Rats, Columbus, Cornerstone, Franklin, Jackie O’s, Little Mountain, Main Street, Market Garden, Ohio, Portside, Rivertown and Willoughby.
Tickets are $35 and include 25 samples. VIP tickets, which get you in at 2 p.m., are $50.
For more details, go to: tinyurl.com/kycr365.
Deschutes dinner
Hudson’s Restaurant, 80 N. Main St., Hudson, will host a four-course beer dinner with Deschutes Brewery at 7 p.m. July 31.
Mirror Pond Pale Ale will be served when guests arrive. The dinner will showcase Black Butte Porter paired with French onion soup, Hop in the Dark with beef pasta, Mirror Mirror Oak Aged Barley Wine with grilled skirt steak and Inversion IPA with cheesecake.
Tickets are $40.
Reservations are required and can be made by calling 330-650-1955.
Free beer for life
Four years ago, Chardon BrewWorks, 200 Center St., Chardon, offered LeBron James free craft beer for life if he decided to stay in Cleveland.
Well, as we all know thanks to “The Decision,” the best basketball player in the world took his talents to South Beach and never got a chance to cash in on the offer.
But now that he’s returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Geauga County nanobrewery says it’s letting bygones be bygones and the offer for free beer still stands.
Owners Mike and Donna Nedrow penned an open letter to James last week letting him know: “Any time, buddy. Call or text. Or just show up. Your mug is waiting.”
“Forgive and forget,” Mike Nedrow said in a telephone interview.
He admitted that he doesn’t know whether James will take him up on the offer or not, but he’d love to sit down and have a beer with King James.
Clydesdales in Columbus
Clip clop. Clip clop.
The Budweiser Clydesdales are at the Ohio State Fair in Columbus. The iconic horses will appear in daily parades at the fair today through Aug. 2.
They also will take part in a ceremony Sunday with Columbus Distributing to hand out a $5,000 educational scholarship to a Columbus-area military family, on behalf of the Folds of Honor Foundation, Budweiser and the Budweiser wholesaler network.
The scholarship is one of 600 that Budweiser and its wholesalers will fund through a $3 million donation to Folds of Honor this year. Budweiser and its wholesalers have raised nearly $10 million for military families since partnering with the Folds of Honor Foundation in 2010.
Breweriana convention
The National Association Breweriana Advertising — also known as NABA — will hold a free brewery collectibles show Aug. 2 in Toledo in August as part of its 43rd annual convention.
The show, which is open to the public, is set for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Grand Plaza Hotel downtown. It will include breweriana for sale and appraisals for people wondering how much their beer items are worth.
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.