Queen City Fresh: Cellar Dweller to release new beer line; cans coming in 2014

MORROW, Ohio - Cellar Dweller Craft Beers in Morrow is introducing a new line of high alcohol / high gravity beers aged in red wine barrels, head brewer Steve Shaw said at a recent beer dinner event at Firehouse Grill on Nov. 25.

They will be working on pilot batches in the next month and are targeting for these to be released mid to late summer 2014. The first style is going to be an Oatmeal Stout aged in a Cab Franc barrel.

The Cab Franc barrels house their Cabernet Franc wine which is their annual “Best Red in Ohio” winner. This wine was recently showcased in Washington D.C. at the Smithsonian Museum of American History, America’s Table Exhibition.

Long story short, these new beer are going to be residing in barrels with some award winning pedigree.

Canning in 2014 In addition to the new line of beers, Cellar Dweller announced during the event it will be canning Copperhead, an American Pale Ale and Shawsome, a black IPA after the first of the year. The beers will be sold in 16 oz. 4 packs. Cellar Dweller has already received proofs of their beer packaging and expect to make final selections soon. Rick Armon of The Beer Blog reported they will also be canning Hoppy Poppy, an India pale ale and Lookout Stout, a dry Irish stout.

Name change for Hoppy Poppy Before the Hoppy Poppy hits the canning line it will undergo a name change. The TTB which approves label names apparently doesn’t care for the use of Poppy in the name despite recipe submissions that clearly show it doesn’t include poppy seeds. Instead of continuing to fight it, they have decided to rename it Happy Pappy. The beer name was originally a play on his father’s CB handle name. Now it will be the actual beer name, Steve explained.

“So You Wanna Be A Brewer?” series Steve disclosed that the next beer in the “So You Wanna Be A Brewer” series will be an Oatmeal Cookie Stout. On 11/21, the first release of the series was Shutdown Cocoa Brown, an American brown ale. A collaboration beer with Danny Spears aka Beer Mumbo of Mumbo Brewing Company. That initial 9.5% ABV chocolaty beast did very well and found it’s way to tappings at Arnold’s Bar and Grill downtown and Arthur’s in Hyde Park. The beer was a well received pairing with desert at the beer dinner event. Limited quantities are still available in the tap room. Get it while you can.

Taproom and Brewery expansion Currently, beers are poured from a draft line near the main entrance where the wine is also dispensed. Although, there is ample space in the two large rooms on either side of the building there is no formal taproom area. The upstairs room will be undergoing a renovation that will provide a formal taproom / bar area. The new area will also have large televisions for viewing sporting events, food service and likely an extension off the back of the upstairs that will include a patio that overlooks the vineyards. The taproom construction is scheduled to begin after the holiday season which is a busy time for Valley Vineyards. The build out should take a few months is expected to be up and running early next spring. The brewery itself is also looking to expand it’s footprint so that it has the space to allow for canning and limited release 750ml bottles.

Distribution decision looming Cellar Dweller is one of a few breweries locally still self distributing. Demand has steadily increased for it’s product and a recent upgrade of the equipment to a 10 barrel system should allow Cellar Dweller to produce about 1,000 barrels next year. The increase in production and the decision to begin canning in early 2014 has Cellar Dweller currently weighing options on selecting a distributor or distributors that will service the Cincinnati and Dayton markets. The brewery situated nearly equidistant between downtown Cincinnati and Dayton is a unique location that can pull customers from both markets. The Dayton beer market is on the verge of a similar craft beer boom that Cincinnati has experienced that last few years.

New Seasonal Brew On 11/14, Cellar Dweller released three new test batches in it’s taproom. The porter called, Hey Porter, did very well and will become their next seasonal brew.

More tap handles Cellar Dweller will soon be found on to tap handles at Whole Foods Markets and Jungle Jim’s Eastgate.

Distillery Steve didn’t give many detail regarding this during the beer event other than it’s on the horizon at some point in the not too distant future. Once this happens, this location will have all the bases covered – beer, wine and spirits.

New Growler Station In a few weeks, Cellar Dweller is going to be only one of two breweries stations into town to have a CO2 purge station at their growler station. The other being the newly opened Ei8ht Ball Brewery in northern Kentucky. Queen City Fresh reported about The Growler Stop that has a similar if not the same contraption that recently arrived at the Wags Park Shell Station in Newtown, OH.

Exciting 2014 Ahead Valley Vineyards has always been a destination. The picturesque setting invites you to stay and take it all in. The award winning wines, famous dinners that include unlimited salad, vegetables, bread, deserts and your choice of steak and salmon that you get to grill to your liking and now craft beers make you easily lose track of time. Now that you’ll mind after a few glass of your choosing.

So there you have it. A little bit of everything going on at Cellar Dweller Craft Beers right now.

The Cellar Dweller is ready to arise from the darkness and enter the sunlight next spring with 16 oz. cans in hand and a basket full of sunscreen.

To listen to the complete audio from the Cellar Dweller Craft Beers dinner at Firehouse Grill, click here.

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