Exploring the Local Brewery Scene in Columbus, Ohio

With over 40 breweries & microbreweries, Columbus, Ohio is quickly becoming a must-visit destination for craft beer enthusiasts...

This post was created in partnership with Experience Columbus. As always, all opinions & thoughts expressed below are 100% my own.

When I moved back to my home state of West Virginia after living in the Columbus, Ohio area for 8 years, Columbus was just then starting to experience a growing craft beer movement. While local breweries were very few in number (think maybe Barley's, Columbus Brewing Company, & Elevator Brewing downtown), craft beer tap takeovers in local bars had started to become more & more popular. In fact, these tap takeovers is how I first experienced and fell in love with craft beers.

Fast forward 8 years later, and the craft beer scene in Columbus has totally evolved into a full-fledged local brewery movement. In fact, there are now over 40 breweries & counting in the Columbus area alone! I knew I had to get back to C-bus to explore the local brewery scene. I spent two days in the city- even embarking on a guided brewery tour- and I didn't even get to a fourth of the breweries in the city!

Even though I didn't get to experience everything Columbus's local brewery scene has to offer on this most recent visit, I did get a good taste of what the city has been brewing up since I moved away. Today I am sharing a few of my favorite craft beer gems from Ohio's state capital...

Franklin Park Conservatory: Blooms, Butterflies, & Chihuly

Beautiful blooms, fluttering butterflies, & colorful glass sculptures await you at the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus, Ohio...

This post was created in partnership with Experience Columbus. 

As always, all opinions & thoughts expressed below are 100% my own.

Located just outside of downtown Columbus, Ohio, Franklin Park Conservatory is a botanical oasis housing one of the most extensive collections of Chihuly glass artwork in the Midwest. The conservatory started in 1895 with just one Victorian-style glass greenhouse (aka, the Palm House that is pictured below), but has expanded since then to also include a conservatory, botanical gardens, as well as multiple art collection displays. 

Having lived in the Columbus area for over 8 years, the Conservatory has long been a favorite of mine in the city. I can easily spend a full day strolling through the various gardens in the conservatory & admiring the vibrant colors of Chihuly's glass sculptures. I was fortunate to be able to bring both my husband & my daughter to their first visit to the conservatory earlier this summer.

If you ever find yourself in the heart of Ohio, be sure to make a visit to Franklin Park Conservatory & Botanical Gardens a part of your Columbus itinerary. Need a little more convincing that the conservatory is a Columbus must-do? Check out some of my favorite exhibits below...

How to Roar & Explore in Columbus, Ohio

Not only is the fun-packed Columbus Roar & Explore Getaway budget friendly, but it also offers a little something for everyone in the family from the preschooler to the teenager to the adults...

My family & I were were offered the Columbus Roar & Explore Getaway package to review courtesy of Experience Columbus. 

As always, all opinions & thoughts expressed below are 100% my own.

My family & I have deemed the summer of 2016 as the summer of our family weekend road trips. Instead of going on a longer week long vacation to just one destination like we usually do in the summertime, we are opting for 2-3 days visits to 3-4 different family friendly spots instead. First on our family summer road trip list was the Columbus Roar & Explore Getaway. Not only was this fun-packed getaway budget friendly, but it also had a little something for everyone in our family from the preschooler to the teenager to the adults.

We started our visit to Columbus, Ohio with a little Roar first and headed to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium in Powell...