Great Lakes Brewing Co. - Hopkins International Airport

Bar, Eatery, Beer-to-go

5300 Riverside Dr
Cleveland, Ohio, 44135-3130
United States

(216) 267-3440 | map
greatlakesbrewing.com

Located near Gate C14 of Hopkins International Airport.
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.89
Reviews:
8
Ratings:
19
pDev:
10.03%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by ttylicki:
Photo of ttylicki
Rated by ttylicki from Ohio

4/5  rDev +2.8%

Nov 12, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of jophish17
Reviewed by jophish17 from Georgia

3.28/5  rDev -15.7%
vibe: 2 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 2
Visited summer 2023. I hoped to go to the main brewery while briefly in town but settled for the airport location. Vibe is airport bar, aka dull. 8 beers on tap including classics like the Dortmunder and Elliot Fitzgerald, but some newer rotating brews including a Kolsch and Hazy IPA. Both beers I had were fresh, solid but nothing special. Food was lackluster, my so who eats chicken nuggets like candy refused the kids tenders. Service was a highlight, really swift experience which is welcome in an airport. Not a beer destination but CLE is better than it would be without GLBC.
Aug 05, 2023
Photo of emerge077
Reviewed by emerge077 from Illinois

3.89/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.75 | food: 3.75
Nestled along the C terminal, Great Lakes offers 8 drafts with 3 rotating seasonals. A central U-shaped bar and booths line the large windows, with a view of planes taxiing up to and from the gates. Lots of flatscreens and top 40 music complete the basic airport bar vibes.

Service was friendly and timely, it was fairly dead during the afternoon and they were fine with us just hanging out for an hour or two.

Selection was ok, nothing mindblowing or small batch, but reliable GLBC standbys. I had a Conway’s and Bierwolf dunkelweizen.

Food was serviceable, the menu could use an overhaul. Nothing sounded too exciting, the margherita flatbread we had was fine.

You could do a lot worse for an airport bar, this one lands solidly in the middle.
Feb 02, 2020
 
Rated: 3.48 by PhillyStyle from Georgia

Jun 13, 2016
 
Rated: 4.5 by afsdan from Colorado

Aug 04, 2015
 
Rated: 4.5 by mikepcarney from Ohio

Jun 14, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by FaradayUncaged from Michigan

Nov 05, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by dbrauneis from North Carolina

Oct 04, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Barnsley from Pennsylvania

May 21, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by muraco3 from Ohio

Mar 16, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Mersh from Connecticut

Feb 23, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by boszormeny from Canada (ON)

Dec 29, 2013
 
Rated: 4.5 by Booner818 from California

Nov 17, 2013
Photo of mdunman
Reviewed by mdunman from Texas

4.01/5  rDev +3.1%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
Considering it's in an airport in Cleveland, it was a great stop. Other than the situation, it was just a good place.

In a small nook in the airport with a couple TV's and dim lighting was a nice place that served plenty Great Lakes brews. The bartender was a talkative, nice woman who made the afternoon pleasant.With its selection of Great Lakes brews on tap, it was worthwhile, but at a fairly high premium that made me second guess my choice. If I'm back at that airport any time soon I'll go back for sure, but I wouldn't get more than a beer or two.
Jan 05, 2011
Photo of steve8robin
Reviewed by steve8robin from Massachusetts

3.83/5  rDev -1.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4
This is by far the best craft beer place I've found in any of the airports I've been to. I was actually very surprised to see it on the directory when I found out my flight was delayed a while. I went and had some Edmund Fitzgerald on tap. Good stuff. They had 8 different GL brews on tap. Great way to kill time in CLE airport. Atmosphere was very much like an airport, but what do you expect when it's in an airport. Quality was good since it was the first good craft beer pub I've seen in an airport. Service was good, but nothing to special. Selection was great if you're looking to try some GL.
Oct 22, 2010
Photo of TommyW
Reviewed by TommyW from Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev -1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3
If you have a long layover in Hopkins; this is a great way to kill some time, which is what I was doing.

Place has a nice large bar area with plenty of seats and room for bags. Plus, there are a large number of tables around.

There were about 8 Great Lakes beers on draft. I had the Lake Erie monster, which tasted clean and fresh. Servers give pretty nice pours as well. There is also a pretty large selection of spirits to choose from.

I did have any of the food, but I checked out the menu and there really wasn't anything exciting about it. I was actually kinda hungry, but the menu was just to dull to tempt me.

The prices on the food seemed high, but the prices of the beer seemed pretty reasonable to me; it is in an airport though.
Jun 05, 2010
Photo of Bierguy5
Reviewed by Bierguy5 from Ohio

3.53/5  rDev -9.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3
Stopped in here to kill some of our 3 hours layover on the way back from Vegas. Very small area, with some seats at the bar, and a few tables. Some signage from Great Lakes. Not bad for an airport.

3 Great Lakes beers were on tap while we were there, Dortmunder, Eliot Ness and Burning River. While we were there, the Burning River blew, and was not replaced while we were there. Nice imperial pints.

There was one bartender, and it was very easy to see that she had been there all day, and was frazzled. Tip- they ID every single person, if you are buying a beer or not. Kind of annoying, but it is posted on the wall.

The sad part, but what should have been the most expected, was that it was very expensive. Pints were $8 each, plus tax. Wow! Our beers were cheaper in Vegas. However, if you have time to kill, and want a good beer in an airport, this seems about right.
Jul 05, 2009
Photo of DaPeculierDane
Reviewed by DaPeculierDane from Wisconsin

3.6/5  rDev -7.5%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5
Wow, I'm happy to see an airport bar on BA. I'd like to someday see a separate category for these.

4 Great Lakes taps when I was there and I believe one bottle. There was also one macro beer if I remember correctly. Very expensive.

Staff consisted of one elderly blonde lady. She was kind and prompt but didn't know the beer.

This would not be beerfly worthy outside of an airport but in an airport, I'll take 4 Great Lakes beers at any price and with a smile on my face over the alternative. (Consider this review a comparison to airport bars only)

Worth a stop if you're stuck in the airport for a bit and get tired of the giant Sam Adamses and shots of tequila over at the Tequireria.
Jun 04, 2007
Photo of klewis
Reviewed by klewis from Ohio

4.03/5  rDev +3.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3
Stopped by after getting to the airport about an hour early. AKSmokedPorter's description of the bar and its offerings are right on, so I don't feel the need to elaborate much more. Only one bartender when I was there as well, but at noon on a Wednesday, service was prompt and friendly. The beer selection was slim and the prices were quite expensive compared to your average pub, but being an airport bar, this was expected and on par with others. This is definitely the place to be if you've got a layover or some extra time to kill at Cleveland-Hopkins.
Dec 03, 2006
Great Lakes Brewing Co. - Hopkins International Airport in Cleveland, OH
Place rating: 3.89 out of 5 with 19 ratings