The Athens brewery tour

Years ago, my friend Ben introduced me to Athens’ finest, Jackie O’s Brewery through their raspberry wheat, IPAs and phenomenal season pawpaw wheat. As home of Ohio University, it seemed natural that the college town would flash some brewing ingenuity.

Yet in years of drinking Jackie’s, neither of us had made the pilgrimage to Athens. Hell, the last time I stopped in Athens for any amount of time, it was spring break 1998 and I was five months shy of the legal drinking age.

Since Jackie O’s opened, Athens had added Little Fish and a cidery. A road trip was in order.

We started at West Side Cider House, a former bike bar called the West Side Tavern. The interior was comfortable but also had a beautiful wooden bar and counter fixtures that showed the room's age. Along with a full-service bar, West Side makes its own ciders and bourbon, rotating the flavors with whatever fruit is available seasonally. None of the apples come from further away than the Chillicothe area. Each of us ordered a flight to take in the full spectrum of West Side’s ciders. They were a highly regional and experimental bunch. They were out of the bourbon, hence no samples.

Yunnan black tea-infused cider had a nice bitter punch upfront. Goldrush was bone-dry but boozy thanks to a high ABV. The blackberry cider was semi-sweet, but the fruit-forward character made it pleasant on a summer afternoon. Zingebar, a semi-sweet with ginger and lemon, showed sharp flavors of both ingredients and often tasted like a warm-weather cocktail perfect for porch sipping. The pawpaw cider was also semi-sweet but possessed a subtle character of Ohio’s favorite native fruit. Rounding out the flight wads Circle B Mead, which clocked in at an intimidating 15 percent ABV. Due to three years of aging, the mead was quite dry and not sweet at all.

We left with growlers of the pawpaw cider and the blackberry cider. They would not last long into the weekend. The cider house and the staff’s many recommendations for other spots to hit, including a third brewery, Devil’s Kettle.

But we already picked our destination. The blocks around OU were hustling on a Friday afternoon, and we had to venture there. Jackie O’s brewpub sits in central Athens on West Union Street. We could indulge in whatever rarities the brewpub offered and fill up on comfort food. We stuck with small pours to go with our lunch, maximizing what we could drink without approaching intoxication.


With an IPA called Bobby O’s on the menu – a collaboration with my old Columbus watering hole, Bob’s Bar – I knew where to start. Bobby O’s was a New England-style IPA brewed with Citra, Centennial and Eukenot hops, amazing with its complexity without demolishing the palate. Groove Tube IPA was in the same class and nearly as good. Ja, Bitte kolsch went down as clean and easily as a kolsch should, while Kinda Fuzzy presents its peach and apricots early and often. Provender, a brett saison brewed with alfalfa, has the same problem of most brett beers as the yeast tramples all other character. Perpetuum, a naturally soured Berlinerweisse, provided a strong pucker. Proper Slacks, an American wheat, was pale but boosted by a stiff serving of Citra and Mosaic hops. Polished Silver loaded up with Citra and El Dorado, while Dripping with Diamonds had a wild yeast to create a brett/farmhouse IPA, with a champagne-effervescence driving it in fresh directions.

The atmosphere of the brewpub was relaxed, although we hit it between lunch and dinner, and a Friday rush was surely coming soon. Talking Heads played on the stereo and my bison burger was quite tasty despite the frequent changes in libation.

For our last stop, we needed only follow Union Street west across the Hocking River and into a more rustic part of Athens. Just a mile from Jackie O’s, Little Fish’s modern brewing facility could have stood anywhere in southeastern Ohio. The beers were pure Athens, and some of the bolder brews coming out of Ohio or anywhere. We arrived as the taproom opened.

Little Fish foeder

Little Fish barrel racks

Little Fish does not shy from its farming location, producing a series of excellent farmhouse and saison-style brews. Giving Tree saison had a tremendous malt bill, with syrup, barley, oats and wheat to contend with Nugget hops. The brew also uses spruce tips. Woodthrush Bier de Garde uses a blend of saison and wild yeast to craft a less malty companion beer to its standard saison, although the spice contingent (coriander, lemon peel, and grains of paradise) remains quite forward.

Another saison was easily my top pick – Wha’ Me Eat – Cucumba, a collaboration with Yellow Springs Brewery that uses Comet hops and local cucumbers for a bitter yet refreshing saison that I could have drank all day.

The other beers were just as creative. Gus SMASH was a single-hop and single-malt pale ale named to honor a brewery employee. The PA only uses Cashmere hops and Ohio-grown pilsner malt, making for a clean, everyday beer with a good hop profile. You Wanted a Hit shows how easy and approachable NE-style IPA can be. Ridgerunner, a milk stout with local organic coffee, showed that Little Fish’s brewing prowess extended beyond farmhouse and IPAs.

Loaded up on growlers and large-format bottles, we were ready for a cabin night in southeastern Ohio and the holiday weekend ahead. With our fill of West Side, Jackie O’s and Little Fish, there was just no room for Devil’s Kettle. There’s always next time, yet who knows who will set up shop in Athens before that happens.

The big board at Little Fish