Trick or treat! Give me something good to eat… and drink! Candy and beer are delightful enough on their own, but pair them together just right and we’ve got a frightfully delicious combination on our hands. GLBC’s resident Advanced Cicerone Michael Williams has some GLBC beer and candy pairings that will make you scream with delight.

Midwest IPA with Pearson’s Salted Nut Roll

The ultimate food and beer pairings don’t just taste great, they transport you to a certain memory or feeling, too. You know, Christmas Ale + gingerbread cookies = grandma’s house. So I’ve gotta pair Midwest IPA with the quintessential Salted Nut Roll. Do the flavors work? Sure. But it doesn’t get much more Midwest Nice than the Salted Nut Roll. (If you know, you know.) If you can’t get your hands on the real deal, a PayDay bar is a nice substitute.

Speaking of Midwest Nice, grab a Gimme Five! Variety Pack or Hop Madness IPA Variety Pack to enjoy Midwest IPA and other GLBC beers with your crew while passing out candy. That sounds like a perfect pairing to me! Use our Beer Finder to locate all our beers at a retailer near you.

Look, this is a brewery. We wear a lot of flannel around here, and we like it that way. But something about this crisp North Coast air has us rethinking our sartorial standard. Who doesn’t love a classic hoodie jacket combo under Friday night lights, or a chunky knit cardigan around the bonfire? And just like we love mixing up our cozy fall layers, we love mixing up our fall beer selection.  

Not sure which look to rock on your next trip to the pumpkin patch? Read on to pick your ultimate fall fit starter pack. 
 
Oktoberfest: The Fall Host with the Prost 
This time of year, there’s nothing that fills your pint more than rallying the group chat for an impromptu game night at your place, or crashing your neighbor’s clambake with a few 6-Packs in hand. Your look? A classic broken-in hoodie, a warm puffy vest, and some no-nonsense hiking boots so you can socialize for hours in all conditions. Just serve up our Oktoberfest with some grilled brats or order a round of soft pretzels for your whole biergarten table, and you’ll be in your extroverted stein-swinging element in no time.  

Cran Orange Wheat: Cozy Szn MVP 
What’s your favorite fall activity? All the things! You were made for the autumnal equinox, and you’ve got the calendar to prove it. Apple picking on Saturday afternoon? A visit to the pumpkin patch before Sunday brunch? Spontaneously frolicking through freshly fallen leaves? Check, check, and check. You’ll be dressed and down for whatever in a coordinated sweatsuit, dad hat, and some clean kicks. Pair your fall adventures with comforting crock pot casseroles and orchard-fresh fruit pies. And make sure to bring your bestie a can of the new Cran Orange Wheat, a deliciously fruited seasonal brew that’s basically a cardigan in a can. Pour some into your favorite coffee mug and sip with two hands—it’s just cozier that way. 

Nosferatu Imperial Red IPA: Longer Nights Don’t Bite 
Something about the chill in the air sends a chill down your spine—in a good way! Your gravitation towards all things dark and spooky makes you a daring adventurer as the days shorten. Roll up to the haunted house or your own favorite neighborhood haunt in a classic leather jacket to give yourself an edge, and a scarf to add an air of mystery (and because, you know, it’s cold at night!) Crack open a Nosferatu or two and dig into your favorite late-night bites: pizza by the slice (hold the garlic) or juicy burgers (rare). Ahhh, don’t you just wish this season were immortal?   

Edmund Fitzgerald Porter: Autumn is My Muse 
Autumn is just so… contemplative, isn’t it? The changing of the leaves, the thin air, the glow of porch lights, and the last sighs of summer. You love leaning into the poetry of the turning seasons, in your thick turtleneck and waxed canvas jacket. You plan a solo museum day for yourself, and a quiet weekend cabin retreat with your partner. Share ghost stories over a low country boil, or warm your soul with hearty stews and soups. And while you eye your ever-growing stack of newly purchased books (you’ll get to them soon!) light a fire and enjoy a rich and roasty Edmund Fitzgerald Porter from your favorite glass. Now doesn’t that just sound poetic?  

Dortmunder Gold Lager: Fall is My Favorite Sport! 
Your friends and family know not to plan anything on Sunday afternoons, Monday nights, Thursday nights, Friday nights, Saturdays (at any point), or… hmm should we just reschedule for Spring? Your pals are well aware that if they want to hang out with you, they’d better have the game on—with sound.  Dress in your lucky jersey, socks, and pom beanie, and build your fall fantasy roster with nachos, hot dogs, guacamole, all the chips, all the dips, and maybe a few gym days to keep yourself honest. For you, there’s nothing better than the classic balance of Dortmunder Gold Lager (especially since you know it was once called The Heisman). Bring your Gold to the gridiron and soak up the sweet taste of victory, you legend. And hey, speaking of legendary, why not add 73 Kolsch to your gameday roster? Now that’s a winning pick. 

Words by Marissa DeSantis
Illustrations by Megan Monsman

There’s no better way to celebrate a special occasion than with a beer. But what about a very special occasion, like a 35th anniversary (which we happen to be celebrating all throughout 2023)? That calls for a very special beer – specifically, a barrel-aged beer. That’s where our 35th Anniversary Barrel Aged Imperial Amber Lager comes in. To mark this momentous occasion and this momentous beer, we sat down with GLBC Operations Manager and barrel program director Justin Michalovic to talk beer, barrels, bourbon, and more.

What is your role at GLBC, and how did you get there?

I’m the Operations Manager for our production brewery in Ohio City. It’s my job to ensure our team releases the highest quality product possible for our customers, and that it gets to them when they want it! I started at GLBC over 11 years ago on the bottling line and have been learning as much about our processes since, leading to my role today. Being able to grow into a position you’re passionate about is one of my favorite things about working at a small company like GLBC.

How did you become involved in our barrel aging program?

One of my biggest goals in the brewery is process improvement, and that’s how I got involved in our barrel aging program eight years ago. Barrel aging is a complex endeavor! It doesn’t hurt that I’m also an avid bourbon drinker and collector. I’m very grateful that I get paid to work with two of my favorite things: beer and bourbon.

Barrel program director Justin Michalovic (left) and Cellar Tech David Gerding (right) transferring beer out of bourbon barrels.

Why does aging beer in bourbon barrels work so well? Are there beer styles that work best for bourbon barrel aging?

At its best, barrel aging adds yet another level of nuance and refinement to some already complex beers. The beers that tend to age best are high ABV robust styles that can hold up with a little bit of oxidation.  That natural process diminishes hop flavors and makes malt flavors become more honey- or sherry-like.

Because the wooden barrels we use are ever-so-slightly porous, the beer will transfer in and out of the wood over time, which allows the beer to pick up flavors of the spirit previously aged in the barrel. During this process, the beer will also pick up a little bit of oxygen, so beers that are high in alcohol (a preservative) and have darker malts (which have antioxidant properties) work best.

While we take every step we can to avoid oxidation in styles like IPA, for styles like Imperial Stout, Barleywine, and so on, these flavors can become very interesting or even preferable, depending on the drinker. I’m always experimenting with aging different styles of beer, as well as using different spirits barrels, length of aging, and temperature of the aging environment.

Speaking of big, complex beers, tell me all about the 35th Anniversary Barrel Aged Imperial Amber Lager.

It’s a doozy! We decided to go back to our roots for our special 35th anniversary release with a beer inspired by Eliot Ness Amber Lager, one of our first two recipes alongside Dortmunder Gold Lager. It’s the same malt-forward grain bill as its untouchably smooth forbearer, but with the much higher alcohol content of 12.1%! That big ABV and big malt flavor are a perfect pair for the Bulleit bourbon barrels in which the beer rested for six months. The final product picked up tons of vanilla and charred wood notes from those barrels, a perfect complement to the caramelly, dried fruit character of the base beer.

How do you go about selecting bourbon barrels? 

Since I’m a big fan of bourbon, I try to pick barrels from bourbons that I enjoy drinking. Another factor is the amount of time between the barrels being emptied at the distillery to the time we can put beer into them. For the most part, I like to put beer into barrels within two weeks of them being emptied.  The “wetter” the barrels, the more likely that they are free from flavor-altering bacteria thanks to the high level of alcohol that still resides in the barrel staves.

Tell me about the quality control processes you employ in barrel aging.

We store different beer styles at different temperatures to allow each beer to soak in as much spirit flavor as possible.  I’ve found that big beers, like the 35th Anniversary Barrel Aged Imperial Amber Lager and Barrel Aged Blackout Stout, tend to fare better aging at a higher temperature than some more standard ABV beers like Christmas Ale. We also taste samples from each aging beer monthly to ensure that we are picking up the correct amount of spirit and barrel flavor throughout the process. With hundreds of barrels in the cellar, it’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it!

What are your favorite GLBC BA beers?

My favorite has to be Barrel Aged Alberta Clipper. It has a special place in my heart as it was GLBC’s first barrel aged beer that was my idea! The 2017 vintage of Barrel Aged Tripel Dog Dare is another standout, and ended up winning an award at the prestigious Festival of Barrel Aged Beers. And I love how Barrel Aged Christmas Ale just keeps getting better and better as we’ve continuously improved our barrel aging methods year after year.

Standout memories from leading the GLBC BA program? 

It’s the overall excitement from our employee-owners when they see a truckload of fresh bourbon barrels get delivered to the warehouse. While they know there will be some work to do (those things are heavy), everyone is excited to help fill and empty these barrels with palpable anticipation for how those beers will turn out.

Experimental small batch barrel aging in the GLBC Cellar Pub.

Any fun barrel aging projects you’ve been working on?

Always! I’m really excited about a few specialty barrels that Pub Brewer Steve Forman has aging now.  Those are small batches that will be available in the brewpub only this year (stay tuned to Much Abrew and our social channels for when they’re tapped!) but could someday turn into a full production run.  That’s the beauty and fun of barrel aging. We love getting to experiment creating interesting flavor combinations with different beers and barrels, and our fans love trying them!

Words by Justin Michalovic and Michael Williams