The following is the Brews Traveler feature from the summer issue of WNY Craft Beer Magazine. If you didn’t already know, Cleveland rocks.
BREWS TRAVELER: CLEVELAND, OHIO
The rebirth of the Rust Belt is well underway. You needn’t look any further than downtown Buffalo to know that. People are flocking to the city, and that includes out of town visitors. With a reemergence of brewing in Buffalo, and a list of new top notch bars and restaurants to overbook your social calendar, our area is on the move.
For an example of another city that is brimming with new life on Lake Erie, you only need to travel a few hours west on the I-90. Cleveland’s rebirth has been going strong for several years now, and is easily classified as one of the hipper cities to visit throughout the entire country. Lucky for us Western New Yorkers, it’s a perfect weekend getaway, or even a one-nighter. That’s exactly what some of the WNY Craft Beer Magazine team did recently; 24 hours of beer drinking our way through Cleveland.
We embarked on our journey bright and early, and stopped for a beer before we even hit the city limit of Cleveland. Willoughby Brewing Company’s expansive brewery, taproom, and restaurant is conveniently located right off the highway, and just about 20 miles from downtown. Housed in an over 100 year old building that once served as a rail-car repair depot, it’s the perfect stop to stretch your legs after zipping down the Thruway. A stop here must include a taste of their Peanut Butter Cup Coffee Porter; a 5.5% ABV beer that brings you a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup flavor to start and then finishes with a hit of bitter roasted coffee on the swallow. Bring some home too, as Willoughby offers 32 ounce Crowlers for $9 each.
Willoughby Brewing Company
While the city of Cleveland will be the focus of the main part of the evening, first head to the western suburb of North Olmsted, and the home of Fat Head’s Brewery and Saloon. With a lengthy list of Great American Beer Festival medals, Fat Head’s beer is legitimately some of the best in the entire country. While their IPAs and Double IPAs, like Head Hunter, Hop JuJu, and Ibusive receive much of the fanfare, don’t let beers like their Battle Axe Baltic Porter or Alpenglow Weizenbock go by without a taste. Find a seat at the enormous zig zagged bar, and start tasting; four ounce samples typically range from $1.25 to $2.25 each. Bring your appetite as well, because the burgers and “Headwiches” are, you guessed it, the size of your head. You can also visit the large production brewery not far down the road, with a limited food menu and 16 taps pouring growlers, pints, and samples.
Fat Heads
Now it’s time to head towards the city, and the neighborhood known as Ohio City to be exact. which has been the home to Great Lakes Brewing for the last 27 years. A neighborhood that has been revitalized through the power of food and beer, Ohio City is dotted with bars, restaurants, and breweries, all centered around the European style West Side Market and Great Lakes Brewing. Take a full tour of the brewery, or check out the brand new Beer Symposium Center, a brewing museum, full of interactive displays. Afterwards, grab a beer at the upstairs taproom, the downstairs speakeasy pub, or on one of the outdoor patios. You could easily spend an entire day just at Great Lakes, but we must move on.
Great Lakes Brewing Company
From a veteran of the craft beer game, head a half mile west to a new brewery with a tasting room twist like no other. Platform Beer Company is housed in a long narrow storefront with an equally long bar top extending nearly the length of the building. The difference with Platform’s tap room is that they’re not only serving up their own delicious beers, but they sport several guest taps pouring the likes of Three Floyds, Fat Head’s, Columbus, and Mikkeller just to name a few. It doesn’t stop there. Platform has also begun an “incubator program.” Through this set up, an experienced homebrewer is able to brew their beer on Platform’s system, and serve it in their tasting room. They also offer the brewer learning modules on things such as brewhouse setup, recipe formulation, yeast care management, business planning, and supply chain management. Talk about a group of people that love craft beer; Platform is a can’t miss spot.
Next up on the docket is Market Garden Brewery, also in Ohio City. Bar, top notch restaurant, gorgeous beer garden; this place has it all. While the indoor bar areas have certainly been designed with the utmost detail, the beer garden in the back is one of the finest around. An outdoor fireplace is the centerpiece of the inner wall, while long narrow high top beer garden tables surround it. With overhead heaters for chilly nights, this place is where to enjoy a beer outdoors when it’s warm or cold. Try out their Citramax, a 6.7% ABV IPA that is packed full of tropical fruit flavor. If you’re looking for something refreshing in the beer garden, then reach for the Wahoo Wit. Market Garden’s beers are also served at NanoBrew, located just a block away, where they also serve limited experimental test batches as well.
Market Garden
A lot to pack into one day? This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Cleveland. The list of beer bars and nationally recognized restaurants is enough for another full article. Embrace the Rust Belt revival and spend a night or two in Cleveland. Just make sure you’re thirsty when you get there.