Garrett's Mill Brewing Company

Immediately stunning upon crossing the bridge into Garrettsville, it looks like a colonial museum or other relic of the past, yet is maintained quite well, inside and out. Heck, it's even more welcoming inside, with a lighter wood color making for a brighter, inviting glow, especially thanks to the ample, large windows looking out over the cascades. They also have a patio out there, with an ice cream and hot dog window that's quite perfect for a sunny summer day like this, but we opted to dine-in amidst the old mill artifacts, as we worked up a sweat hiking all over Nelson Ledges.

Popping in around open on a Sunday, we sat our large group of seven at the one large table they had, though the other tables seemed mobile enough to combine if needed. There's a bar area in one room with hightops, while the back dining room is a little more formal with bench seats and the aforementioned view. The bartender came out to our table and took our orders promptly and pleasantly.

Even though the bar has quite the sizeable board of beers listed, they really only had six or so on draft, listed on a paper sheet provided with a clipboard that included the daily food specials and other beverages separate from the larger food menu. One of those drafts was a cider, while another was a guest IPA, so their own selection was quite sparse. Of those was a birch beer that tasted more like a root beer, as well as two other fruit beers and a wit. It seems as though they've almost entirely given up brewing beer flavored beer, hence the guest draft, and not just because of the limited selection, but also because what we had wasn't great, though the birch beer was interestingly better than Not Your Father's.

All that having been said, it now seems a given that most people come here for food, and rightly so, as its all quite well made, and also fairly unique. We got a variety of dishes, like a cajun shrimp salad with coconut goat cheese, a peanut butter bacon burger that itself was deep fried, and some super juicy beer battered onion rings, among other things. All was quite tasty, including fresh cut fries that scratched that fair food itch rather spot on.

It's just too bad about their beer, as I wanted to like it. They either need to give that operation up and starting stocking a solid draft selection from other Ohio brewers, or else find someone with a passion for brewing classic styles, as I imagine the majority of patrons popping in would prefer a refreshing pint of more traditional, lighter suds, as opposed to strange, experimental goofy brews that are more suitable for playful one and done sips than sessional drinking.