BeerCamp Columbus

Yesterday afternoon was the first annual BeerCamp Columbus. Held at Wild Goose Creative and presented by Surly Girl Saloon, the sold-out event was kicked off by a parade, in which Kevin and I marched. Led by Parade Master Jim Ellison, our small-but-mighty troupe included an art car, CD-101 truck, Lady Gaga, a T-shirted dog, bicycle-mounted goose, and a live chicken. I dressed up as Punky BREW-ster. When asked by various passersby what we marching for, we simply shouted “Beer!” Our five uniformed police escorts seemed a little confused throughout the half-mile trudge, but we (and our handful of spectators) enjoyed every minute.

Columbus Brewing Company tapped kegs of Scottish Ale, Pale Ale, IPA, and Saison. There were cooking, baking, homebrewing, and beer label competitions featuring such entries as Stout Chili, Black And Tan Mac ‘N’ Cheese, Guinness Braised Pork Belly, Chocolate Porter Crepes with Raspberry Lambic, Kentucky Breakfast Stout Cupcakes, and Beer Cupcakes with Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout. Members from ThoughtCo were on hand custom screenprinting T-shirts, and local indie rocker Kyle Sowash enthused the crowd with songs written especially for BeerCamp. I guess John Ciardi was right: fermentation and civilization really are inseparable. Click here for more photos.