RubberDucks unveil new craft beer station

The Akron RubberDucks unveiled a new craft beer station Tuesday at Canal Park that will offer 24 different brews for $7 or $9.50 depending on the individual beer.

Called Jobu's Craft Brews, the station will be located on the concourse behind home plate. It will feature beers ranging from Yuengling, Destihl, Elevator, Omission, Redhook, Goose Island, Summit, Kona, North Country and Widmer Brothers. They are all brands controlled by distributor House of LaRose.

“Craft beer popularity is increasing across the country and we felt it was time we met our fans’ preferences,” RubberDucks Director of Food and Beverage Brian Manning said. “This new window really accentuates our Canal Park beer options and we can’t wait for Opening Day for our fans to get a taste!”

Opening day is April 9.

Earth Talk: Helping Prevent Amazon Deforestation

Dear EarthTalk: What can I do to help prevent deforestation in the Amazon even if I don’t live in the region?  -- J.G.  

The Giant Egg Hunt with Whole Foods Market

You won’t have to worry about the weather if you bring the kids to Whole Foods in Upper Arlington for the annual Giant Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 4 at 12 p.m.  They’ll hide 500 eggs around the store for the kids to find. Registration is required, as participation Read More

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Thrillist names Cleveland one of "Best Drinking Cities in America"

Thrillist, the website that produces list after list after list, has named Cleveland as one of the "11 Best Drinking Cities in America." Cleveland -- thanks to places like Great Lakes Brewing Co., Market Garden Brewery and others -- comes in at No. 9.

"One of the most fascinating revival stories in the post-recession Rust Belt, Cleveland’s bringing some serious thunder to the national drink scene," the website says. "So much so, in fact, that it’d be surprising if the city was absent from the top of most 'best beer city' lists in five years or less"

To read the full list -- which puts New Orleans at No. 1 -- click here.

Dayton Beer ramps up its profile with new brewery

Housed in a strip mall in suburban Kettering, the Dayton Beer Co. is downright tiny. There’s a microscopic bar. Limited seating. Paltry parking space. And confined brewing area.

But get ready to toss all those small synonyms out the window.

Dayton Beer is about to get big and raise its profile with a new brewery.

Dayton Beer is set to open a downtown Dayton location in mid-April with more than 8,000 square feet of space -- and that doesn’t even include a 1,000-square-foot patio.

Twelve-ounce cans and 22-ounce bombers will follow, along with plans to start distributing in Columbus and later Cincinnati.

“It’s stressful but exciting,” owner/brewer Pete Hilgeman said during a tour last week. “It’s nice to see it finally come together.”

He opened the community’s first craft brewery in years in 2012, starting as a nano operation and building up to the 15-barrel system that he planned to fire up this week.

The new production brewery and tasting room — located in former Weiler Welding space at the corner of East Second Street and Madison Street just a block from Fifth Third Field — is the polar opposite of the original brewery, which will remain as a pilot operation and tasting room.

In addition to ample space, the new site features 36 taps. Hilgeman won’t be able to fill all those with his own brews. He hopes to have six to 10 Dayton Beer brands available at any given time and then he’ll fill the rest exclusively with Ohio-made beers.

The brewery has large glass garage doors on each side. On the west side of the building, the doors go all the way up and open to the patio. On the east side, they open halfway.

Those doors provide plenty of natural light and when opened will allow a ton of fresh air to flow through the building.

The floor is sealed concrete, while the bar top and tables feature reclaimed cedar wood. Hilgeman also proudly showed off upscale bathrooms, which are housed in ... well ... what looks like a little house.

“The whole feel inside is supposed to be modern, rustic, German beer hall,” he said. “A little mix of new world, old world. We wanted it to have the neighborhood pub feel to it.”

The plan is to open to the public April 16. There likely will be a soft opening April 12, which also happens to be opening day for the Dayton Dragons. The tasting room will be open initially Tuesday through Sunday.

The 15-barrel O’Neill’s Bay Co. brewhouse and new fermenters and bright tanks will allow Dayton Beer to produce up to 6,500 barrels a year. Hilgeman hopes to make 2,000 in the first calendar year.

With the increased capacity, Dayton Beer will launch its chocolate coffee stout Java Man Cometh and Oregon Alley IPA in 12-ounce cans.

Hilgeman hopes to release those in May and will use a yet-to-be-determined mobile canning company. Two or three more beers are expected to be introduced in cans by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Broken Empire Russian Imperial Stout and Area B Experimental IPA are slated for release in 22-ounce bombers.

Dayton Beer will start distributing outside Dayton in Columbus and then move onto Cincinnati. The ultimate goal is to go statewide and beyond, Hilgeman said.

The new brewery is smack in the middle of an area of downtown that’s being redeveloped. There are townhomes, apartments and condos being built all around.

“This whole area, in a year or two, you’re not going to recognize it,” Hilgeman said. “Luckily we’re right in the middle of it. I’m not that old but I’ve never seen so much momentum in Dayton. Downtown is really renovating itself.”

Another benefit is that Dayton Beer is within walking distance of Warped Wing Brewing Co. and Toxic Brew Co.

The craft beer community has gone crazy since Dayton Beer first opened. There are now 12 breweries in the city and suburbs.

“It’s been wild,” Hilgeman said. “Dayton has embraced it a lot. It’s cool to see. There’s so much more that we can do to make it bigger and better. Hopefully this brewery fits in that process.”

Studio Movie Grill Special Needs Screenings

Studio Movie Grill Arena Grand Theatre offers special needs screenings of family-friendly movies throughout the year.  These special screenings allows families to enjoy movie-outings together which otherwise may be impossible due to a child’s needs or behaviors.  The Special Needs screenings are shown with the lights up and the volume lowered, and children are free to talk, Read More

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Baskin-Robbins: Get scoop For $1.31

Baskin-Robbins, the world’s largest chain of ice cream specialty shops, is kicking off of a cool “Celebrate 31” promotion to celebrate its 70th birthday. On March 31, customers can enjoy any 2.5- or 4-ounce scoop of ice cream (in a cup or cone) for $1.31 and its classic two-scoop sundae for $3.31 at Read More

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Zoofari 2015 – One Wild Night

The “wildest” party of the year, Zoofari, returns to the Columbus Zoo!  Zoofari 2015, presented by Nationwide Insurance, will be held at the Columbus Zoo on Saturday, June 20, 2015.  Party like an animal at this annual adult-only festival with over 100 of Central Ohio’s best restaurants and bars serving their signature dishes, Read More

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8 cheap date night ideas

A date night is a way to reconnect as a couple. But you don’t have to have the typical dinner and drinks to make the experience romantic. With a little bit of planning and imagination, your date nights can be memorable and cheap. Become the chef. Instead of going out to dinner, find your favorite Read More

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Sketch in the City: Band Antics #2

Tour van nightmares!

Camelot Cellars Adult Easter Egg Hunt

Don’t let kids have all the Easter fun; Camelot Cellars is hosting an Adult Easter Egg Hunt!   On Saturday, April 4, 2015, from 1-3 p.m., drink some wine and search for eggs around the winery.  The eggs will be filled with fun prizes, including two eggs with prizes worth $50!  Participants may collect up Read More

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New Belgium bringing beer and film tour to Columbus

New Belgium Brewing is bringing its 2015 Clips Beer & Film Tour to Columbus in September.

Clips is a beer tasting and short film festival, with proceeds raised going to local nonprofits.

“We have another exciting season lined up with a couple new stops, new toys, new beers and new films,” Christie Catania, Clips national special events manager, said in a news release. “We’re excited to tour around the country and work with amazing local groups doing great work in their communities. The funds raised will help each of them continue their mission long after the show wraps up.”

The Columbus event -- one of 20 nationwide -- is set for Sept. 24 at Columbus Commons.

To read the full news release, see below:

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New Belgium Brewing’s Clips Beer & Film Tour
Traveling to 20 Cities in 2015

The tour offers an evening of short films and beer sampling to benefit local nonprofits

Ft. Collins, Colo., March 26, 2015–New Belgium Brewing is taking its 2015 Clips Beer & Film Tour to twenty cities coast-to-coast. The beer-toting, film-traveling, nonprofit-benefitting show will run from May to October, during its sixth season.

Clips is a free event, with all proceeds from beer sales going to local nonprofits. Since its inception in 2010, Clips Beer & Film Tour has raised more than $520,000 for nonprofits nationwide and brought more than 35,000 people out to their local parks for a fun and philanthropic night of movie watching and beer tasting.

Clips offers a venue where guests can try New Belgium’s more esoteric beer offerings, pairing them with inspiring short films created by New Belgium fans. Up to 16 beer varieties will be on tap, including some of the more hard-to-come-by beers from the Lips of Faith sereis, as well as brewery classics.

New Belgium beers will be available in 3-ounce samples, 12 ounce pours, or cans. Served up by local beneficiary volunteers, there's plenty of fun to be had once the sun sets and the films start rolling. Food from local vendors will also be available.

“We have another exciting season lined up with a couple new stops, new toys, new beers and new films,” said Christie Catania, Clips national special events manager. “We’re excited to tour around the country and work with amazing local groups doing great work in their communities. The funds raised will help each of them continue their mission long after the show wraps up.”

New Belgium also teams up with a local sustainability partner at each stop and has diverted at least 85 percent of event waste from landfills over the past five years. As for the films, New Belgium is still on the hunt, with the submission window closing on April 1.

To learn more about the submission process go to http://www.newbelgium.com/events/clips-beer-and-film/submit-your-film.aspx. New Belgium will select about 20 short films to feature during the tour.

2015 Clips Beer & Film Tour will roll through each of the following cities:

Kansas City, MO May 21 Theis Park

Bloomington, IN May 29 Bryan Park

Chicago, IL June 5 Eckhart Park

Grand Rapids, MI June 11 Ah-Nab-Awen Park

Austin, TX June 19 Long Center for the Performing Arts

Boulder, CO June 25 Valmont Disc Golf Park

Santa Barbara, CA July 10 Chase Palm Park

Sacramento, CA July 24 Southside Park

Seattle, WA July 31 Gas Works Park

Colorado Springs, CO August 6 America the Beautiful Park

Madison, WI August 27 Olin Park

Asheville, NC September 4 Pack Square Park: Roger McGuire Green

Reston, VA September 10 Reston Town Center

Charlottesville, VA September 17 Washington Park: Lower Field

Columbus, OH September 24 Columbus Commons

Atlanta, GA October 2 Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark Field

Nashville, TN October 9 East Park

Charleston, SC October 15 Marion Square

Miami, FL October 22 Margaret Pace Park

Tampa, FL October 29 Curtis Hixon Park

For the latest information on Clips, go to NewBelgium.com/Clips. For more information on New Belgium Brewing, visit NewBelgium.com.

About New Belgium Brewing Company

New Belgium Brewing, makers of Fat Tire Amber Ale and a host of Belgian-inspired beers, is recognized as one of Outside Magazine’s Best Places to Work and one of the Wall Street Journal’s Best Small Businesses. The 100% employee-owned brewery is a Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly Business as designated by the League of American Bicyclists, and one of World Blu’s most democratic U.S. businesses, and a Certified B Corp. In addition to Fat Tire, New Belgium brews ten year-round beers; Ranger IPA, Rampant Imperial IPA, Shift Pale Lager, Slow Ride Session IPA, Snapshot Wheat, Sunshine Wheat, 1554 Black Lager, Blue Paddle Pilsner, Abbey Belgian Ale and Trippel. Learn more at NewBelgium.com.

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Bunny Romp at The Hills Market

The Hills Market in Worthington Hills is hosting the Annual Bunny Romp on Saturday, April 5, 2015 from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. The pancake breakfast will begin at 8 a.m. – enjoy a stack of pancakes served with sausage and coffee for $5.  The Easter Bunny will arrive at 11:30, followed by an Read More

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