New to Ohio (2017)

I remember picking up a half-growler of Rackhouse Ale at Heinen's for $9 I think, which I felt was a steal compared to what they charge for a bottle.. I thought it was great stuff, I was pretty impressed.. I really liked their Barrel Aged Christmas Ale last year too, which I also had from a growler filled at Heinen's.. I never had either from the bottle so I can't compare..

 

In general I have typically found GLBC draft > bottles. This held for their BA releases as well.

 

My favorite GLBC beer (after Nosferatu, of course)

 

Thanks again for the recommendation because everything you wrote was spot on. The food was good (German cuisine in the summer can be a bit bland but the lunch special provided a rounded meal at a good price that left me comfortably full) and the beers were a pleasant surprise. One of these days it will dawn on me that you can't trust online menus to be current. As a result I was faced with some unexpected choices and, since it was the middle of the day and I didn't want to get hammered, I went with a flight. I know and understand why some here consider them inadequate with which to evaluate beer, but let me put it this way: if I'd just ordered a pint of one, it would've been the saison which was unexpectedly good; but I would've missed out on the Biere de Garde which was jaw droppingly good. The flight was rounded off with Blueberry Gose and the Winzig, both of which got thumbs up. We ended with a small glass of Roggenbier, which was good but a small step below the beers in the flight. The brewmaster was friendly and helpful, service was good and the place was pleasantly crowded.

 

Fairly kind words from a guy who calls himself... 'Captain Hate'
Haha, it's always good to hear personal reviews though. Wish more people would do so.

 

So... Who has kept up with all the new CLE area breweries? As far as going to them and how do they compare to each other?

I think the last (new) ones we went to was Sibling Rivelry, Masthead and Goldhorn if I recall. Masthead being the best of the trio. Now with Saucy, Collision Bend, Terrestrial, Noble Beast, etc... How are all those relative to each other?

Hard to keep up anymore, especially with so many just being OK. I am happy just sticking with Fat Heads or Hofbrau if we go out (usually staying at home these days, especially with four of my own beers on tap all the time!). But just curious if Cleveland has another must-do yet or if all the new ones are all just middle of the road?

 

My wife and I went to Masthead, Noble Beast and Collision Bend last week and Saucy and Terrestrial the week before. Each of these have their own, dynamic spaces that are nice additions to the Cleveland area beer scene. As far as their beers go, they all right in the middle of the aisle as far as tastes go...nothing spectacular but nothing horrible. Each of those listed have food options available walkup pizza ordering at Saucy and Masthead (huge selection of white and reds at MH) to delivered food services from area spots at Terrestrial. I think that if you are in the neighborhoods of these newbies then they are worth trying at least once. The views from Terrestrial right now are great if you enjoy lake views. I would add that these breweries are on par with others that have opened in the last few years such as Platform, Sibling Revelry, Goldhorn etc in that they are doing good things but not great. Like you, places like Fat Heads, Willoughby Brewing and even Great Lakes still reign supreme over the new kids on the block.

~ASW

 

Appreciate the review @Stinger80OH

It's what I had expected... While CLE has a lot of new places, aside from a few notable mentions in the area the "strength" of our quality is not all that great across the board compared to other regions. Hopefully it makes it there, but the bar needs to be raised...!

 

To throw in my 2 cents, outside of Fatheads and to a lesser extent Brew Kettle, Bottlehouse is the only brewery that consistently puts out memorable brews in the near-downtown area. Add to that the fact they produce meads and ciders as well and the fact the Lakewood location commonly has 22-24 options on tap, it's really the only place in the area I continue to go back to, rather than a one-and-done.

 

I think we are spoiled. Masthead is really good and what I had a Terrestrial was good, too. Only had one beer at Noble Beast, the IPA, but it was above average.

 

Imo masthead is the best new place in terms of all around line up. I have liked everything I got there so far pretty much.

I think I have been everywhere except hansa and goldhorn but I have tried a few of their beers my least favorite places in terms of beer were sibling, collision bend and working class.

I thought the alt beer and one of the fruit beers at noble beast were really good but their stout I did not care for at all really.

Saucy is really nice but they need to do something about the service there. I have been twice and both times had issues. The beer is for most part good kind of hit and miss imo. Good pizza. I liked terrestrial also I love the location of it. I need to go back to bottle house I only tried ther beers
It's crazy all the new places that have opened but I like it and hope they all do well

 

I also liked what I had at Masthead quite a bit, been hoping to get back there soon to see how they are holding up.

@Djc We went to Goldhorn a few months back and I wasn't impressed at all. Beautiful space, but many of the beers I found to be a little "off" flavor wise. Could be better now though that they are established a bit more.

 

My order is Noble and Masthead solidly on top of the pack. Both have good to awesome clean beers, and Noble is a bit more eclectic, a bit more "beer geek". Noble is my pick for best of the new breweries but honestly can't wait to head back to both.

Saucy has a shit ton of promise. Kolsch was amazing. All the other beers opening week were a tad thin but that'll get dialed in. 4-6 months from now they may be one of the best breweries in Cleveland.

Terrestrial was a mixed bag. Some good beers but some horrendous ones. Trendy lineup littered with stuff like NEIPA and kettle sours. Seems like they're gonna keep mixing it up and have an ever evolving lineup.

Collision Bend didn't have off flavored beers but I want to see more personality. They were pretty safe and all the beers had a bit too much carbonation. Gotta revisit in a few months.

 

A bit off-topic but how was the food at Collision Bend? We are going there for dinner tomorrow night. From what we gather, we expect to be disappointed by the beer and pleased with the food

 

We had the 420 fries, Arancini, meatball and a pizza. All delicious.

 

Awesome; thanks!

 

Agreed. The food was outstanding. The beers -- meh.

 

SN Oktoberfest has hit cleveland! Got mine at Macks just now.

 

To each their own, but bro it is July 27th.

 

@wolfatyourdoor

So... A malty lager is considered THAT seasonal? Sheesh.

Am I correct that you don't enjoy any stouts, barrel aged offerings or anything of the sort during Spring/Summer?... Cause you know, that is FAR more "seasonal" season wise than an Oktoberfest may be...

I don't get that relation... Ill drink them year-round if offered (they are not, so I brew my own whenever I feel like it!)