Ok I did a search of the forums before asking, but unlike some other regions/cities there isn't a ton of current information on here related to these two cities. I am going on a baseball road trip that will put me in Cincinnati on a Tuesday and Cleveland on a Wednesday. I figure I have time for 1-2 breweries in each city or area so I'm really trying to make sure I hit the right spots. I'm fairly standard in the sense that I prefer pale ales, IPA's, imperial stouts as my most bought styles. Here's where I am thinking so far: Cinci-? Cleveland-Fat Head's (based on what I've read) Food-Mabel for lunch, B Spot for dinner (Food Network fan so wanted to check out Michael Symon's places) Also, I live near Chicago so Great Lakes brewery or chasing Three Floyd's on tap, etc. are not desirable. Thanks
Cincinnati: For APAs and IPAs go with Rhinegeist and MadTree. Rivertown does some really good sours. 50W and Blank Slate are smaller and more diverse but always among my top 3 Cincinnati breweries. 50W is also a brewpub. Great food, but the serving sizes are a little small imo. Rivertown had BBQ. There are plenty of bars/restaurants with good beer selections in the city. What kind of food are you looking for?
Thanks for the suggestions. I don't mind smaller places at all if the beer is great. As for food, I'm open to anything done well and local. I like to try different styles of food so anything great is what I'm in for
If you like real BBQ, I would avoid Mabel's. B Spot is great though. You could do B Spot for lunch and one of his other restaurants for dinner (Lola or Lolita), but to be honest, there are soooo many other great spots for food including some of the nearby breweries/beer bars like Great Lakes, Market Garden, Townhall, Tremont Tap House, etc... Fat Heads is a must but you should figure out which location to hit up. Depending on what time you're heading up from Cincy, the Tap House might not be open yet (check the website for hours). The restaurant is in North Olmsted, about 10-15 minutes from a B Spot at Crocker (Westlake). Even if you don't want to go to Great Lakes, that area has a lot of cool places. Town Hall and Tremont Tap House have some of the best draft selections in the city.
Fat Heads is awesome. Their Head Hunter and Hop JuJu are my favorites by them. Trailhead is a nice pale ale. I would also suggest Platform Brewing and Brew Kettle. Platforms White IPA is delicious and not overly wheaty. Brew Kettle White Rajah IPA is my go to beer as they have it in 6 packs at my local store. As for food, Cleveland is an exceptional food city. Slymans for corned beef, Angelos pizza in Lakewood for pizza, B spot for burgers is a good choice, Barrio for life changing tacos. Everything listed is very low key and fairly reasonably priced (Barrio's margaritas are expensive but excellent. They also had Columbus Bodhi on tap last time I went and of all the beers listed, I would rank this one #1 hands down with Fatheads Hop JuJu a close second). Enjoy Cleveland!
I know you mentioned hitting 1-2 breweries per city, but squeezing them in and 2 other places for lunch/dinner may be rough. Don't hesitate to eat at Fat Heads. Delicious food and filling, though if you're a "foodie"-type, maybe you've got your sights set higher than FH fare. (They may have that type of food also, but I never get past the "fill'er up" headwiches.) Also, if you're not tied to Symon places, don't sleep on Melt either. The best sandwich I ever had was just on the menu for a week, but their basics and the monthly specialties are awesome/sound great. For beer, Fat Heads is a must. You can't go wrong with Brew Kettle. Even though it's not a brewery, you may want to check out Tremont Tap House. Always a great draft list, but not sure how much will be something you aren't able to get at home. Never been to Platform, but from what I hear, I want to and I don't think you'd regret it either.
Do lunch at the B-spot in strongsville on royalton road, rte 82. Close to the highway (I-71) that runs between cinci and Cleveland, southwest of the city. Next, hit fat heads brewery on Sheldon road, a little more than 10 minutes north of B-spot. Then, go to Great Lakes for a brew and ride their Fatty Wagon shuttle to and from the game instead of paying for parking near the field.
If I had to pick only two in Cincinnati, it would easily be 50W and Blank Slate. MadTree would be third currently.
Personally, I would skip Bspot and Mabel's; neither is very good imo. Maybe The Brew Kettle would be a good option for lunch/dinner.
My personal choices would be Fat Head's and Brew Kettle in Cleveland and Rhinegeist and MadTree in Cincy.
I would say Fat Heads and Brew Kettle for sure in Cleveland and Mad Tree in Cincy. I would not dismiss going to the Moerlein Lager House on the river. Great food and they carry a ton of guest beers on tap and in bottles.
Thank you all for the thoughtful recs. Fathead opening at 4 is key info as I probably have to get there at open and just get a quick 2-3 and get to the game. Are the two ballparks craft friendly?
Great American Ballpark is very craft friendly. Two options on the lower level serve a variety of beers brewed by breweries in Cincinnati. Also the suggestion for Moerlein Lager House is excellent. Wonderful food, beautiful view, next to the stadium, and great craft beer selection. Obviously they serve mostly Christian Moerlein brews (which is somewhat overlooked in the Cincinnati beer scene) but they have other guest taps and bottles. Another option that is one of my personal favorites in Cincinnati is Tafts Ale House. Old church turned into a brewery in downtown that serves great food and has some solid beer. Rhinegeist and Tafts are about a 5 dollar uber ride to the stadium. Madtree, 50 West, and Blank Slate are about 15 minutes from the stadium. Rivertown is about 20-25 depending on traffic (75 sucks).
The taphouse at the production brewery opens at 4, but Fathead's saloon in North Olmsted opens at 11 am daily. They have a lot of the same beers as well as some different ones and a larger food menu. The only downside to it is it feels more like a restaurant than a brewery unlike the Taphouse on Sheldon Rd.
Unfortunately Blank Slate isn't open on Tuesdays down here. I would recommend MadTree, 50 West, and Morlein Lager House since you'll be right there.
In Cincinnati, out of the breweries I have been to… My choices would be MadTree, Blank Slate, Listermann and Rivertown. MadTree has a really good, unique selection. Blank slate while small has very impressive brews. Listermann caught me by surprise, I wasn’t going into it with any real expectations but they had some really delicious stuff. Rivertown for lambics/sours, which are awesome! They had a huckleberry sour along with their 2015 lambic this past weekend and both fantastic. While Rhinegeist had some decent brews, the atmosphere (while impressive in size) wasn't for me. Very frat-party crowd and extremely loud due to all the concrete everywhere. Wasn't my type of place, but others may love it. We went to 50 West last year and I don’t remember being that impressed by them, but I would like to try again. In Cleveland, Fat Heads Taphouse is king. Platform is another cool spot and usually has a good guest tap list as well. Great Lake's is nearby just down the road and worth stopping in just to see the place, cool atmosphere. Brew Kettle while I like the beers, the “brewery” is a sports bar. It is very underwhelming in that regard… I am as much into the atmosphere of a place as I am the beer, so that is seriously one reason I hardly ever go to BK. If you can, make a quick stop in Columbus… They are doing some incredible beer there! Even if just enough time for a flight at Wolf’s Ridge and North High (and close to each other, too).
