Brew Fest: Lorain, Ohio

We'd seen a couple of signs for what's currently the only brew festival in Lorain County, Ohio:  Brewfest Waterfront District in downtown Lorain, Ohio.

Then we saw an article in the local newspaper that quoted one of the organizers as saying; "There's a misconception out there about Lorain....it's not the cesspool that people seem to think it is."

Probably not a Chamber of Commerce-approved message. But we went. And it was great.

For $30 per person, we each got coupons for 15 four-once beers and an over sized shot glass to drink them. 

First we walked around the couple of blocks of downtown Lorain that were blocked off, scoped out the beer tents (and the two wine tents ) and the food trucks. Then we stopped at our favorites.

I'm a dark beer lover and had four samples. The most interesting was SpinDoktor Hard Root Beer out of Hudson, Ohio, which was exactly what it sounded like: spiked root beer. I also tried and liked Milk Street Stout by Franklin Brewing of Elyria (and whose owner, we found out after the fact and who we talked with at length, was the organizer who made the "cesspool" comment. Enthusiastic brewer and a great organizer.)

Jim is an IPA lover and had quite a few more samples than I did.  First because he can handle way more beer and secondly because IPAs are what every brewery seems to be making these days. (I drove home, by the way.) Jim thought the Black Frog IPA out of Toledo -- owned by the first African American commercial brewer in Ohio -- was OK but a little sour. He really liked the JackieO's Mystic Mama IPA out of Athens, Ohio. He also liked the Head Hunter IPA from Fat Heads in Middleburg Heights and the Citra Dog IPA out of Thirsty Dog Brewing Company from Akron. The latter is brewed with citra hops which are becoming Jim's favorite hop variety.

Lorain is on Lake Erie and dissected by a large river, which seems like the perfect location for a city. So why is it so depressed?  Vermilion, Ohio, for example, is just ten miles to the west and touts itself as the "crowning jewel" of the south shore of Lake Erie. It's a lovely town with sailboat-filled lagoons, lovely homes, restaurants  and shops. Then there's Lorain, i.e. the cesspool. But it's not a cesspool and it has so much potential. Years ago Vermilion bet on boat harbors, beaches, recreation, and tourism.  Lorain bet on steel, ship building, and the Ford Assembly line. We all know how that worked out.

Lorain can turn around and one of the leaders in the comeback seems to be Lorain's mayor.  We saw him at the festival and he looked like he was about 18.  I researched him on line; he's actually 30 and is one of the youngest mayors in the country for a city the size of Lorain's (68,000).  He was 27 when elected and is running for a second term.  

You go, mayor. And you go, Lorain. Actually, everybody out there go to Lorain. If nothing else visit Lorain's beautiful Lakeview Park, maybe one of the few beaches in the country where you walk through roses to get to the water.  Then buy something and support Lorain.

Jim with a beer in front of the Brew Kettle, a Strongsville, Ohio brewery we've been to before. The festival's brochure said that 40 breweries were at the festival.  We think it was more like about 30.  Whatever the number, there were plenty of choices. Plus the food was great.

The festival was held in downtown Lorain, Ohio,  which has so much potential:  It's right on a Great Lake, next to a large river, and has some beautiful old buildings. One thing that might help:  If marijuana is legalized in Ohio (legalization will be on the ballot this fall and it's still a big if) Lorain will be home to one of 10 state growing/processing centers.  The grow site will be just east of the location above in an industrial park.

From your lips to God's ears

Somehow, I just find this amusing. It's in Penfield, Ohio, and the asking price is $75,500.

One sick dog

Our dog, Cooper, has almost recovered from a bad bout of pneumonia.  Pneumonia is tough on anyone, but it's especially hard on a 16-year-old doggie.     

For several weeks Jim spent a lot of time getting Coop's meds down him and trying to get him to eat. Besides having little energy, Coop just didn't have the appetite for his regular food, let alone the peanut butter, cheese, turkey, pill pockets and other treats Jim used to entice Coop to swallow his meds.   

It was lucky we were in Ohio when Coop got so sick.  First, Bev's brother is a veterinarian and lives about 40 miles away; he, Dr. Rust, and the rest of the staff at Apple Hill Animal Hospital in Broadview Heights have been wonderful.  Second, at my Mom's, Cooper doesn't have to climb steps like he does when we are on the road or at home in Salt Lake. Third, Cooper sleeps in my Mom's garage which has a fairly cool floor even in Ohio's heat and humidity. Adding to the coolness is the homemade doggie air conditioner Jim made by cutting a hole in the top of a Styrofoam cooler, filling the cooler with ice, and setting up a fan so the rising cold air goes directly to doggie.

I think Cooper -- who was already in Jim's life when Jim and I met in 2003 -- is a lucky dog. Jim probably thinks he's the lucky one.

Cooper, a blue heeler mix.  He's feeling much better, thank you.

Bev's veterinarian brother, Bob, and his wife Suzie, a retired college professor.  Thanks so much for taking care of Cooper, Bob!  Bob's holding a can of Heady Topper beer that he brought back for Jim from a Vermont vacation. The beer is brewed in Waterbury, Vermont; last October it was rated the number one beer in the world by the Beer Advocate.  Bob said people were waiting in line for four hours to buy it -- but someone gave him two cans.  He gave one to his son and -- because he knows Jim loves IPAs -- he brought the other one back to Ohio to split with Jim.

Amish Country Brew Pub

Jim and I visited Ohio's Amish country a couple of years ago.  When we recently realized the area now has not only beautiful farms and scenery but also a brew pub, obviously we had to make a second trip. So Thursday we headed toward Holmes County, the center of the largest Amish community in the world.

First we drove to Kidron, just north of Holmes County and advertised as home to Ohio's oldest livestock market. The Kidron Auction is held every Thursday; Hereford cows and Holstein male feeders were on the auction block. Although I grew up on a farm, I wasn't sure what the term "male feeder" meant, although I should have been able to guess: male feeders are castrated cattle purchased to fatten up before slaughter. So sorry, guys.

The indoor auction hall consisted of a half circle of tiered platforms holding folding chairs and facing a small pen. The hall probably could have held two hundred people if you got all cozy.  Most of the attendees had to be Amish or old order Mennonites as beards, hats, bonnets, dark clothing and bare-footed-kids were everywhere. 

One by one the action folks brought in cattle, a helper poked the animal with a stick so it would move and people could view it from all angles, the auctioneer chattered, and someone made a purchase without a visible (to us) nod or raise of the hand. The poking and prodding bothered Jim, so we left after two cows - thankfully without accidentally buying either one. But later we did get a half peck of peaches from a Mennonite family.

Then we drove through Berlin, Ohio, in the heart of Holmes County. What a traffic jam. I'm guessing anyone navigating a buggy avoids downtown Berlin. We didn't stop, other than when vehicles were at a standstill. If you like browsing in gift, antique, quilting and cheese shops, it looks like the place to be.

Then it was on to Millersburg. Millersburg is a pretty town of about 3,000 people and the Holmes county seat. It has an imposing town hall and a gracious-looking brick building that was once a jail but now houses local government offices. I don't know anything about Holmes County politics, but maybe that's appropriate. We walked around town and then headed for Millersburg Brewing Company.

First, despite a prim appearance, I don't believe the Amish have a blanket prohibition against imbibing. However, the Millersburg Brewing Company is not owned or run by the Amish.  But then again, you probably didn't think it was.

If you want food at the brewery, you can buy a plate of trail bologna and Swiss cheese. We passed. Later that got me to thinking: What the heck is trail bologna?  Apparently it's bologna that's been made in nearby Trail, Ohio, since 1912. Trail is also known as Dundee, Ohio, because Trail is too small to have it's own post office. If you want, you can take your own beef or venison to Trail and have it ground into bologna.  Good to know.

As for the beer: Jim tried the Major Holmes IPA and ordered a glass of the French Ridge IPA; both were only OK, he said.  I had tastes of the Imperial Pumpkin Ale and the State Route 39 Stout. I and liked them both -- so I ordered a glass of the two mixed half and half. Very good.

One more thing:  When I was a kid, an Amish couple and their children lived on our farm in a former chicken house remodeled by my dad.  Their names were Nevin and Emma Byler and Nevin worked on our farm.  Nevin, Emma, and kids:  If you are out there somewhere we still think of you. Hope all is well.

Home of the Kidron Auction.

A line of bonnets at the Kidron Town and Country Store next to the auction house.  The Amish I'm familiar with do not wear printed fabrics.  But there are many different Amish and Mennonite sects with different rules/traditions and apparently someone out there wants these bonnets.  Or maybe they are purchased by tourists.

Waiting cattle at the Kidron Auction.  When I was a kid my dad bought a Shetland pony for me from the Kidron Auction, and later bought some sheep for me. Mom remembers that he sold calves there.

Horses and buggies waiting for drivers to return from the Kidron Auction.  

An Amish man with a horse-drawn rake. I read that Holmes County is 42 percent Amish and that in about 15 years it may be the first majority Amish county in the country. 

The Holmes County Commissioners have their offices in this former jail in Millersburg, Ohio.

The taller building in the middle is the Millersburg Brewing Company in Millersburg, Ohio. It opened in 2012.

Kayaking: Lake Erie and the Black River in Lorain, Ohio

Tuesday morning we launched our boats at a small, driftwood-covered beach in Lorain, Ohio, just east of Spitzer's Lakeside Marina. The weather was calm and sunny. We had a great paddle out into Lake Erie, around a rocky riprap, past a fishing pier, and up the mouth of the Black River.

It crossed my mind that the return trip would be extremely easy since on the way back we'd be going with the flow of the river as it moved toward Lake Erie and with the small waves of the lake as they rolled toward the beach.

Then the wind kicked up. The downstream trip on the Black River was about as strenuous as the upstream one -- in other words, still easy because the river is slow. Once we got back into the lake, however...well, the waves were bigger than I like to see/feel them. 

The best way to kayak in rough water is to keep your boat's bow and stern perpendicular to the waves. But at a couple of points we just had to paddle parallel to the swells. So we did. And we got tossed around a bit. And we were fine. The most water either one of us took in was when I (Bev) got to shore and was immediately hit with a wave that rolled over my backside, legs, and the kayak's open cockpit .  

We may stay off Lake Erie for a while.

As for the Black River, however, we'd both go back. A few photos and words below describe the trip, except for that last section back on Lake Erie. I had to keep my hands off the camera and on the paddle.

Jim putting his boat in the water at the Lakeside Marina in Lorain, Ohio. Lorain is about 30 miles west of Cleveland.

Jim paddling out into Lake Erie, around a riprap and toward the mouth of the Black River.  It was calm when we put the boats in about 10 a.m., but pretty darn choppy when we returned at 2 p.m.

Lorain, Ohio, as seen from the mouth of he Black River.  Lorain flourished in the early 1900s and was home to ship building, iron ore plants, steel mills, and other rust belt industries -- in fact William McKinley Sr., father of the US president -- was the superintendent of Lorain's first iron furnace business. As the rust belt cities got even rustier, Lorain's fortunes took a downward turn. Its Ford Assembly Plant (where the Econoline van was built) shut down, plus steel plants slowed and finally stopped production. Lorain has a beautiful location, however, and could be a great city once again.

Bumpers made of huge logs chained keep a wall from damaging boats in parts of the Black River. The 12-mile-long river begins where its east and west branches meet in Elyria, Ohio. The branches travel further south into Ohio's Lorain and Medina counties.

Bev's boat headed for the The Charles Berry Bridge (named for a Lorain native and Iwo Jima hero) which crosses the Black River on Erie Avenue in Lorain. Built by the WPA in the 1930s, it's a drawbridge-type bridge. A nearby sign said the bridge opens every 30 minutes on the hour and half hour with a few exceptions.  We were there at bridge opening time, but it didn't budge. 

Jim about to kayak under the second bridge we cane to on the Black River in Lorain, Ohio: a vertical lift rail road bridge.

The same bridge as above ...except now it's been lowered and a train is on the tracks.

This vehicle and passenger ferry was tied to the side of the Black River just before the Lofton Henderson Bridge, the third bridge we saw on the river. A local newspaper article said the 90-foot vessel was Canadian made and operated and that it "mysteriously showed up on the Black River in the early 2000s having run aground..." The article also said no one knows who it belongs to. Instead of cars, it's now is full of swallow nests.

Lorain hosts an annual International Festival honoring the many nationalities who live in the city. It's held at the above-pictured Black River Landing. As we paddled, our view changed from parks like the above to gravel pits and heavy equipment.

A Great Blue Heron near the mouth of the Black River. You can tell it's a Great Blue by the black stripe on its head... and the fact that it's so freaking big. Blue Herons are the largest of the North American herons.