When I lived in Scotland one of my favorite television shows was Tales of the Unexpected. Created by the wonderful Welsh writer Roald Dahl it aired on British television between 1979 and 1988. While we may not realize it all of us are probably familiar with Dahl’s work. Dahl wrote the screenplays for the James Bond movie You Only Live Twice as well as for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. These movies had more than Dahl in common. Both were based on Ian Fleming novels and both had Albert R. Broccoli as one of their producers. In addition to screenplays Dahl also wrote children’s fiction including James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the latter making its way to the silver screen as Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory. Tales of the Unexpected, of which I was an avid viewer, made for suspenseful television. Each episode was self-contained and told a story which had something of a sinister undertone. Each story had an ending that was unanticipated and unexpected – a twist if you will – hence the title of the show.

So what does an old British television show have to do with beer? Well the show popped into my head recently when I visited an Ohio winery. Last month my wife and I and two friends spent the day touring some wineries in northwest Ohio. Last year we did the same, except that the wineries we visited were in southeastern Michigan. To make the most of our day out we picked out the wineries that we planned to visit in advance. This year we identified four wineries – Majestic Oak in Grand Rapids, Knotty Vines in Wauseon, Leisure Time in Napoleon, and Stoney Ridge in Bryan. Our game plan was to finish the day at a brewery – Father John’s Brewery in Bryan. But just like the television show there was an unexpected twist to our day; unlike the television show, however, this occurred at the beginning, not the end, of our trip.

We arrived at our first port of call, Majestic Oak Winery in Grand Rapids (actually it’s closer to Neapolis than Grand Rapids) just before noon. I had enjoyed a hearty breakfast and so was looking forward to sampling some wine. Although I am a million miles away from being a wine connoisseur (I never pay more than $10 for a bottle of wine in a supermarket) I do enjoy drinking it every now and then. Well imagine my surprise (and delight) when I entered the winery tasting room and spied two beer taps. I had no idea the winery sold beer. As I was soon to learn not only did they sell beer but they brewed it as well. What an unexpected  way to start our winery tour.

The owners of Majestic Oak Winery opened Neon Groundhog Brewery on the grounds of the winery in May 2015. They had two beers on tap the day we visited – Forecaster, a nut brown ale and Twisted Rooster, a red rye ale. I sampled both and opted for the Forecaster – we were on a schedule and so only had time for one. The current beer portfolio also includes Neon Lights (a blonde ale), Snicker’s Stout (an oatmeal stout), and a soon to be released Varmint (an India pale ale). Neon Groundhog is one of the approximately 700 new breweries that are expected to open their doors during 2015. I am not sure how much beer Neon Groundhog plans to brew on an annual basis, but I suspect that it will be a pretty small volume. Having said that you never know what the future may hold – Russian River Brewing Company started out as a small brewery on the grounds of the Korbel Winery in Guerneville, CA. Today Russian River is one of most respected craft breweries in the country and is producing some of the most sought after beers.

Although she was busy behind the bar I managed to grab a few words with the brewery’s co-owner Laura Rufenacht. Laura and her husband, Doug, opened the winery just two years ago, and then decided to add the brewery. Laura, like many small business owners I have encountered, like to buy local when they can. At first I assumed that she was referring to the grains (which she was) but then I discovered that their brewing system was also locally manufactured. It was made by SABCO Inc. of Toledo. So this probably is a huge admission of my ignorance, but I never knew that there was a manufacturer of small-scale commercial brewing systems in Toledo. A quick perusal of the SABCO website shows that they have been around since 1961. They specialize is small-scale brewing system for start-up and nano breweries and their customers have included Delaware’s Dogfish Head.

Shortly after my visit to Neon Groundhog my September/October issue of The New Brewer appeared in my mailbox. The New Brewer is the magazine of The Brewers Association, the trade group that represents the interests of the craft beer industry in the United States. As I thumbed through the latest issue I came across an interesting article by Alan Moen titled Beer in Wine Country. In the article Moen provides an interesting examination of the connections that exist between wineries and breweries and the fact that they coexist in close proximity to each other in some parts of the country, most notably California, Oregon, and Washington. In some instances, as in the case of Majestic Oak Winery and Neon Groundhog Brewery, they even occupy the same space and share the same owner.

Small breweries such as Neon Groundhog represent, in my opinion, the heart and soul of the American craft beer industry. Data from The Brewers Association show that somewhere in the region of 20% of American craft breweries produce less than 130 barrels of beer on an annual basis. New craft breweries often open without much fanfare. As noted above I was not aware of Neon Groundhog’s presence. From what I can tell the only media coverage surrounding its opening was in a small suburban newspaper. But I am glad that I had not heard of its existence. Stumbling upon it unexpectedly like I did was like finding a $20 bill on the sidewalk – not a life changing event but enough to brighten up my day.