North High Brewing, Westerville OH

24 September 2024

I’d been to another North High location on a previous trip; this was my first time in Westerville, a suburb of Columbus and also home to Temperance Row Brewing Co, Westerville OH. I forgot to get a photo of the exterior of the building, and there also seemed to be a good-sized outdoor area with a very large projection TV screen. Very. Large.

They were delightfully NOT busy when I arrived around 2pm and while my waitress seemed to be spending a lot of time in conversation with people at a people somewhere behind me, she was always right there at my table when I needed something. The flight, left to right, was two year-round beers and two seasonals:

Five Pale Ale – American Pale Ale, 5.5% – This is one of their standard offerings and it’s a nice, solid pale ale, easy to drink and quite enjoyable. There’s nothing particularly distinctive about the taste, but that’s OK because there’s also nothing to get in the way of enjoying it over the long run.

Falutin – NEIPA, 6% – This is also a standard offering. It was perfectly fine, but this has become such a crowded category that it’s very difficult to stand out in a really good way (but easy to stand out in a bad way). Falutin was absolutely enjoyable but also nothing special if you’re used to multiple NEIPA choices at every pub.

Wildcard – English Pale Ale, 6.3% – My first impression of this one — and it was the first I tried from the flight — was that it was all malt flavor and nothing else. Still, it did grow on me as I sipped it. I’d have to be in the right mood to order a pint, but I enjoyed this size.

Oktoberfest – Märzen, 5.6% – I rather liked this one! It’s not as outstanding as a true Oktoberfest like the Paulaner I had yesterday, but it definitely provided the clean taste I enjoy in this style. I was so tempted to follow with a pint of this one, but decided on the Five instead.

This is their Standard Burger with all the normal toppings, and it’s a mouthful! I’m not always able to finish a burger of this size, but it was so good that I did anyway. My only complaint was that the fries seemed like they’d been sitting around under a heat lamp for a while; they could have been fresher and crispier. Still, the burger made up for them.

I’d seen a cheesecake on their menu and ordered that for dessert only to find they’d run out. The other dessert offering was Buckeye Pie, peanut butter and chocolate, and sure, why not? I’m in the Buckeye State! When it arrived, I was surprised by how small it was … but it was so thick and rich that by the time I finished I was very happy it wasn’t larger! It was certainly as tasty as the burger.

Based on my visits to two of their locations, North High is a solid place to go for both beer and food. I’ll certainly keep them in my rotation for future visits to Columbus.