eventy Ohio breweries are gearing up to celebrate American Craft Beer Week – May 10-16, 2021 – with a special statewide collaboration brew. From the Heart is a fundraising beer to benefit the Ohio Craft Brewers Association (OCBA), the non-profit trade organization working to promote and protect the state’s craft beer industry.
The From the Heart fundraiser was made possible through the generous support of OCBA allied business members Blue Label Packaging, Crosby Hops, Great Western Malting, Lemon Grenade Creative, Origin Malt and White Labs, who donated ingredients and packaging materials for the project.
Breweries participating in the collaboration purchased the donated ingredients from the organization and brewed a variation on an IPA/pale ale recipe developed by OCBA board members John Haggerty of Warped Wing Brewing and Mark Hunger of Great Lakes Brewing Company. The name “From the Heart” – coined by Krista Alvarado of 4KD Crick Brewery in Defiance – was chosen out of dozens of suggestions from OCBA members.
OCBA counts nearly three-quarters of Ohio’s 366 independently-owned craft breweries among its membership. The organization provides a wide range of member services, including legislative advocacy at the Ohio Statehouse, brewery marketing through programs like the Ohio On Tap passport app, technical and educational conferences and seminars, and community-building connections between breweries and the businesses that support the industry.
Since its establishment in 2007, OCBA has primarily funded its mission with funds derived from membership dues and large-scale beer festivals. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, OCBA was forced to cancel Columbus Craft Beer Week and the associated Six One Pour beer festival in both 2020 and 2021, as well as the 2020 Ale-O-Ween festival in Dayton and the 2021 Winter Warmer Fest in Cleveland. The loss of more than a year of event revenue has dramatically impacted OCBA’s operating budget.
From the Heart will be available on draft at participating brewery taprooms starting May 10, 2021. A number of the breweries plan to package the beer for limited distribution as well. Click a brewery in the map below for more details on specific availability.
