One Year Ago, I Visited The World’s First and Only Craft Beer Hotel [WATCH]
In October 2020, my wife and I flew out to Columbus, Ohio for the first time to visit my sister and brother-in-law.
My youngest sister moved to Ohio in mid-2020 to be closer to her fiance. In September 2020, they were married in Illinois. In October, my wife and I flew out to Ohio to visit the newly-weds. While we certainly enjoyed quality time with the pair, we managed to spend quite a bit of free time checking out the craft beer scene in the Columbus area. Ohio actually has a very rich craft beer history and modern industry; while Minnesota has about 200 craft breweries and taprooms around the state, Ohio has over 300! One of the newest and most notable of those has become a craft beer mecca in its own right -- the BrewDog Hotel and Brewery affectionately named the DogHouse.
My wife and I first learned of BrewDog in the summer of 2018 when we stumbled across a taproom in London. We would later learn that BrewDog is actually one of the biggest, most well-renowned (if not notorious) independent craft breweries in the world! Originally based out of Scotland, they've become rather nefarious for publicity stunts including brewing the world's highest ABV beer (more than once); sewing bottles of beer into roadkill; brewing a beer at the bottom of the ocean; driving a tank down the middle of a street; and even picking a fight with the the President of Russia Vladimir Putin. So when BrewDog opened the world's first craft beer brewery and hotel in Columbus in 2018, I knew I wanted to visit someday.
With hours left before our flight back to Minnesota, my wife, sister, brother-in-law and I made the short drive down to Canal Winchester (just outside of Columbus) to check out the the DogHouse. Sure enough, it was as impressive as I'd imagined it would be! Everything is BrewDog- and craft beer-themed, from the lobby to the halls to the rooms themselves. Every room, for instance, comes with its own BrewDog beer on draft, beer fridge and shower beer fridge. Those who stay the night can see the sour program/brewing space from their rooms and wake up to the smell of locally-roasted coffee used in some of the beers. The hotel is also dog-friendly and features a large dog park outside. We didn't even have to spend a night to see most everything; as soon as we walked in the receptionist invited us to explore the facility! We checked out the hotel first; check out the short video below.
After exploring the hotel, we made our way to the brewery/taproom. Besides offering BrewDog merchandise and beer to go, there's also a BrewDog beer museum and super cool taproom/restaurant with a wide selection of BrewDog beer and fantastic food! Check out the video below.
While I may not have stayed at the world's first craft beer brewery and hotel, I can at least say I've visited! I highly recommend a visit -- or even a stay -- next time you're in Columbus, Ohio!