Overnighter In Cleveland ...

That pretzel chicken is phenomenal, just about the only thing I'll order there now but I always liked their food and enjoyed that they tried to get all local ingredients. The beer just doesn't do it for me anymore. I was never big on their core lineup but the seasonals kept me coming back. Lately the seasonals just don't taste right though so now I really have no reason to give them my money.

 

Fun to watch the humblebrag of homies who are saying how "over" Great Lakes is.

Yeah, if you live in the area, maybe it's over for you, but it has a place in the history of craft beer in Cleveland as well as Ohio, and their beers are still spot on for each style. Great Lakes, like Boston Beer Co, doesn't jump to each Big New Thing in beer ticking, they just produce high quality beers.

And especially since the OP is one of the founders of this site, I'd think he'd hit GL just for his general beer knowledge. I'm sure he & the Conway Boys would enjoy chatting. And if Jason crosses the street to Market Garden, he would probably also enjoy having a beer with Andy and Sam.

 

The only reason I don't go to Great Lakes more is that Ohio City isn't in my list of favorite neighborhoods and I don't want to deal with the big crowds. If I lived down there, I would be there as often as I am at Fat Head's now.

Sorry to hijack your thread, Jason. Hope you received some good tips.

 

Ohio city is a great place for any brew experience. Great beer and great food. What more could you want. I used to work down there and the people are awesome down there. There's a lot of beer to choose from in such a small area, and the food is pretty good as well. If you are going down there to hang out and enjoy your beer, I would recommend going down there anytime between the afternoon until like 9pm. After that you get your people who just want their vodka redbulls down there. Every place down there has an awesome tap list and the occasional "how'd did the get that on draft beer". I highly recommend at least checking it out, if you have the time. Hope you enjoy your time in Cle!

 

I still like hitting up Great Lakes a few times a year. I like their food and it's a cool atmosphere, but like others have said, I think it is a must hit up spot for people that are traveling to the area. They started the entire craft scene here in Cleveland and if someone is a craft beer fan traveling from out of town, I think they should get a feel for how it all started.

PS. I like how the guy crapping on Uber doesn't even live in Ohio so why he felt the need to add his two cents regarding transportation in the CLE area is beyond me.

 

I like Great Lakes.

 

Well said

What's the bar in the cool building with rotunda ceilings?

 

Heinen's

 

My top 3 in Cleveland would be Fat Heads (taproom/production facility, not the restaurant location), Platform and probably Great Lakes.

On that note, I STILL need to visit Great Lakes... 10mins from the damn place but yet to step foot inside (Not a big fan of most of their stuff, but still want to at least check it out).

 

When you go there be sure to ask them to show you the bullet hole from when Eliot Ness was there. Two different stories, one that he shot at someone, and one that someone shot at him. But nifty nevertheless.

 

If you're going to Ohio City, skip Nano or even possibly Market Garden and go to Brick & Barrel instead. It's just on the border of Ohio City & the Flats next to the Bike Co-op.

 

This. These guys don't get enough love; they're coming along strong IMO.

 

If I went to Boston (I've never been) I'd stop at Boston Beer Co. I'd probably get the same treatment from local Boston BAs. Just a guess. But I'd still want to visit there nonetheless.

If you think about what Great Lakes offers in terms of beer, food, and atmosphere I'd enjoy it as an out of towner. I enjoy taking my family there once in a while as someone that lives here. I actually like their beer and food. And think about the location. The upstairs used to be John D Rockefeller's Law offices. The first floor has a brewpub feel, bar with Elliot Ness bullet hole in it (as described earlier), a year round bier garden with retractable roof, patio, and the basement is a cellar.

Just sayin.

 

If I were to talk best bar it would have to go to Lizardville. The Bedford and Copley locations are the better locations IMO. The Bedford location made draft mags top 100 best beer bars in the US in 2012. A craftbeer.com poll named the Bedford location best beer bar in Ohio. I also remember reading a few years back at beernet that Winking Lizard as an entity has purchasing power close to a top 4 or 5 distributor nationally. Its hands down the best beer bar in Cleveland with a local selection. You should hit a Lizardville and Winking Lizard while here to check one out. Its as much an institution to me as Great Lakes or Fat Heads.

http://www.cleveland.com/drinks/index.ssf/2016/02/lizardville_named_best_beer_ba.html

Its about a 20-30 minute ride from everything else you are looking at as Bedford is East side and Copley is in Akron. If you have to check out the Bedford location then I'd say go for it. If you wanted to get a sense of what they have to offer I'd suggest hitting the Lizardville in Lakewood. It doesn't open until 4 PM. Just be aware of that. Winking Lizard locations all open at 11 AM.

If you chose to hit Lakewood Winking Lizard/Lizardvile you could also hit Buckeye Beer Engine, Deagan's, and you aren't far from Tremont Taphouse. Even Melt next to Deagan's has a good selection. As does Rozi's next door to that. Rozi's is a bottle shop. But they always have a good Ohio selection on about 6-8 taps. Its one of the original craft beer stores in the area.

Sorry for being verbose. You've got a lot to choose from!!

 

Huge difference between Winking Lizard & Lizardville locations. Make sure you visit a Lizardville for the best selection. They will have everything the Wrinkly Liz has plus much more.

 

LOL!

 

Tremont Tap house, Town Hall, & Deagan's are some of my favorite bars with good local beer options.

 

Don't know why people bash Great Lakes. Their beers are spot on to style, the food is pretty good too and the ambience of the brew pub is hard to beat! We love doing a day trip on Saturdays from SE Michigan to hit up the farmers market, Great Lakes and then go to Brew Kettle for the best wings in the Great Lakes region.