USA, OH: Honest Friend Brewing hoping to open in Columbus next year

In most cases, the art on a beer can or bottle label is seen simply as an extension of its packaging, a way to catch the consumer’s eye and sell a few more units.

But when Honest Friend Brewing opens next year on Columbus’ South Side, the ambitious new brewpub plans to turn that idea on its head. According to co-owner Chris Carter, the brewery will create an immersive world of returning cartoon characters, which will appear and reappear on labels and in the taproom space itself, 614NOW reported on September 8.

“Our mission centers around how art and beer can complement each other. We embrace this in our brand through a universe of cartoon characters,” he said. “Each season, the characters have new stories that will be in conversation with the beers we release and the corresponding labels and other art that fills our space. Our hope is that people will grow to love the characters as much as the beer.”

Carter, who has served as a brewer at Seventh Son for the last seven years, will operate the city’s newest brewery alongside fellow co-owners Will Gutmann, a practicing attorney with a passion for craft beer, and artist and designer Kayla Lewis, who will oversee the creative direction and visual content of Honest Friend.

The new brewery will be located at 2140 S. High St. in historic Steelton Village. The 7,000 square foot space will include a production facility, taproom, outdoor patio with designated space for food trucks, a private event space and even plans for a full-service rooftop patio.

Honest Friend hopes to open sometime in the summer of 2023.

The South High Street spot will create a wide variety of styles, but it will favor “session” beers, which Carter describes as “mid- to low-ABV brews that are big on flavor but always leave you with room for one more.”