Redemption
Comes in a Can THE RISE, FALL, AND REBIRTH OF HILLTOP LAGER
BY M I KE T HOM AS P HOTO P ROV I D ED BY HI L LTOP BR EWI N G
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hese days, Dan Cochran is busy meeting with distributors and getting marketing details ironed out for the launch of Hilltop Lager—again. In the summer of 2018, his current situation would have seemed almost inconceivable. Hilltop Lager, a decidedly working-class brew crafted by Cochran’s Four String Brewing Company, was all but inescapable in Central Ohio. With vintage-inspired art splashed across its 16-ounce cans, Hilltop and its light counterpart quickly became fixtures in the local beer scene since launching the year before. Originally intended to compete with the likes of PBR and Miller Lite in the crowded domestic lager category, Hilltop Lager bucked all of the trends established by the modern craft beer boom. In 2018, organizers of Columbus’ Community Festival announced that Hilltop and Hilltop Light would replace those aforementioned domestics as the fest’s only American lager options. It seemed Columbus finally had a stalwart hometown lager to call its own. And then, without warning, it was gone. In the fall of 2018, Four String Brewing closed its doors. For Columbus beer fans, the sudden closure of the brewery behind what was fast becoming one of the city’s most recognizable brands came as a shock. Hilltop Lager was an undeniable hit—how could have this happened? Answers were not immediately forthcoming. Cochran and Four String never issued a press release or spoke with media regarding the closure.
614NOW.COM SUMMER 2019
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