Nocterra Brewing, Columbus OH

25 September 2025

Officially, this is known as the “Audubon” location for Nocterra because you have to drive through the Scioto Audubon Park to get here. This park, one of many in the Metro Parks system — almost 29,000 acres of parks across 7 counties with over 230 miles of trails — has an interesting history and you can read about it here if you feel like it.

Nocterra has a lot of space here — there’s the downstairs area you see here, an outdoor area partially visible in the first photo, and an upstairs seating area above the brewing room (the windows at the back of the last photo). Ordering is either at the bar or directly from your table via ToastTab (scanning a barcode at the table) and everything is delivered to you. They have a good selection of beer and a small but interesting food menu, and while they do offer some set flights, you can order as many 5oz pours of beers as you want to build your own flight and that’s what I did.

I’ll describe these left-to-right in the paddle with the separate beer in front taking the final position. This won’t be in the order I drank them, but it’s simpler this way.

Foliage Finder – Pumpkin Ale, 5.5% – While I thought this was a bit heavy on the spice, it was actually a really good pumpkin ale. I’m not sure I’d want a full pint of it, but that’s pretty much the case with all pumpkin beers for me. One a season is about my limit for enjoyment.

Noctoberfest – Festbier, 4.7% – Of course I had to try this! There was a mild bread flavor and a fair amount of “tang” without being bitter. I can’t say it was my favorite, but if I’d wanted a pint of something this certainly would have been in the running.

Ripstop – New England IPA, 6.5% – Of the two NEIPAs I sampled, I preferred this one. I could taste the citrus in it as well as pine, but their hop choices aren’t my favorites, to be honest.

Trail Break – Helles Lager, 5% – This was crisp, clean, and German, and was almost certainly my favorite of the six. It was interesting and had no bite to it at all … it was just delicious.

Wither & Bloom, Farmhouse Ale, 4.7% – An interesting name and an interesting taste — cranberry and hibiscus definitely came through. I liked the cranberry but am not a fan of hibiscus, so I don’t think I’d want more than this size in spite of the color.

Diagonal to Nowhere – New England IPA, 6.5% – This was definitely dank and piney, almost certainly using hops more typically associated with West Coast IPAs than NEIPAs. It wasn’t for me.

I appreciated that the meals were not overwhelming; the burgers are 6oz rather than 8oz and there isn’t a mountain of fries. Everything here was very good, if messy (thanks to the black aioli).

I’ll definitely keep Nocterra on my list for possible return visits when I’m in Columbus again. In nicer weather — it was starting to rain as I left — it would be fun to explore some of the park and walk part of the riverside trail!