....part 2 tasting Micro Brews~Wooden Shoe Brewery

For the third straight day, a light snow or frozen fog has descended on the area.  Games of the Junior High girls are scheduled at Lincolnview tonight, then tomorrow sees my first of 2 straight Fridays, without a game.  Tomorrow night I just don't have one scheduled, next Friday we will be on our way to West Virginia for the wedding, which happens on February 5th.  Brother Mike arrived back in Celina yesterday, after taking mom down to Naples, and then spending two weeks himself.  Saturday morning I will do a boys JH double at St. Marys, then head south to the Cincinnati area, and meet up with the friends of Hal and Lisa, along with Sam and Lisa's dad and brothers, for a skiing and then dinner and night out bachelor party.  Staying at the motel in Northern Kentucky, before heading back to Celina on Sunday morning.

After my "road trip" the back roads to Minster yesterday where I picked up a couple 750ML bottles of the locally brewed ales, a black and a dark brown, I sat down last night to try a glass or two of both.  Here are the results of my "research":

Wooden Shoe Black Ale_____

This Black Ale gets my grade of A-  The only reason for the minus on the A is the lack of a staying head...but really who cares?  Nobody drinks the foam or head anyway.  Deep dark color with  little aftertaste.  For those that like a dark beer, especially dark stouts,  you will like this.  The price for the 750ml bottle is pretty pricey, but it's not like you're going to down a six pack in one sitting, if you are inclined to do that, this is not for you....stick with the standard dark brews, or better yet, head back to drinking pale American Lager Beers.

Wooden Shoe Tippecanoe "Canal Jumper"_____

This Copper Ale gets my grade of C  Just not my type of brew.  A copper colored drink with lots of spice, mostly in the cinnamon flavor...a hint of pepper...if you like this type of ale, with minimum alcohol content(4.5% compared to the Black Ale at 7.5%), you might like this one.  Buy yourself a 25.3 oz bottle and see if you might like it...just not my type, but we all don't agree on what constitutes a brew that we like.  Next time over, I'll buy 2 bottles of the Black Ale, and leave the "Canal Jumper" to others.  I will probably head over on the next Saturday morning that I have open, and see what they have on tap at that small brewery in Minster, Ohio.  I really am interested to see what the have and how the proceed with the brewing process in that limited space.

Errands to run....back later>>>>

Photos~The Brew House of Wooden Shoe in downtown Minster, Ohio...and the two brews I purchased and sampled last night.  My personal favorite Black Ale, and the lower alcohol content Tippecanoe "Canal Jumper"...