Looking for some help. If there's already a post out there with this info, can someone please provide a link? I'll be in Cleveland from this Saturday until Wednesday and hoping to visit some local breweries / craft beer bars and hit a good bottle shop or two to pick up some brews not available in Iowa. Any help would be appreciated if you can let me know the best stops to hit up. I'm staying in Cleveland Heights, but will travel 20-30 miles for some fine beverages. Brew Kettle, Dogfish Head, Fat Head's, Troegs and of course Jackie O's are on my list if you know the best spots to find these. Also, any local suggestions that I should know about would be much appreciated. Thank you much! Cheers!
Fatheads, brew kettle and great lakes. Check BA for bottle shops in Lakewood...Rozi's is a must. There are a lot in the area. There are tons of links with more info...do a search if you want.
I would head to Fat Heads and Brew Kettle in one trip. GLBC and Platform in one trip. Lizardville Bedford for bottles and drafts. Willoughby brewing is a short trip as well. Have fun!!
There's a shop in Cleveland Hts called The Wine Stop, it's a nice place worth checking out, since you'll be in the area.. they usually have good beers on-tap too..
Good stuff. Thanks for the suggestions. Are Oil of Aphrodite and Dark Apparition easy to come by or do they tend to be pretty limited? Also, I've seen Columbus Bodhi on a few tap lists and it seems to get great reviews. Is this available in bottles?
No Bodhi in bottles, draft only. They also just did a batch of Creeper, which won Gold at GABF last year and is delicious, so keep an eye out for that (also draft only). Oil and Dark App aren't as limited as the barrel aged versions and they are likely still hiding out at a few stores.
GLBC is always on my list, but gets ridiculously crowded depending on the city events and time of your visit. The whole street of West 25th could easily entertain you for an entire day: GLBC, Market Garden, Bier Markt, Nano Brew, etc (and some good eats there too). Willoughby, as mentioned is a good stop as well. Fat Heads is great if you venture to the West side a bit. If you're around Mentor hit up Save-On...doesn't look the part but I love that bottle shop. Just save some stuff for my next visit to the area.
Also, is Willoughby Peanut Butter Cup Coffee Porter around right now? Is it bottled or is this something that you would have to go to Willoughby's for and is tap only?
Columbus IPA is bottled and should be easy to find. Willoughby PBC Porter isn't bottled but they will fill growlers and, if they have them in stock, crowlers at the brewpub. It also makes sporadic appearances around town; I think Happy Dog (Near West Side) and Townhall (West 25th Street) try to always have it on tap.
How did I forget to mention Town Hall! That's my wife's and my favorite stop whenever we're in town. I've had PBC Porter there, roughly around this time last year I believe.
Concur. If you're there when they open West Side Market is definitely worth stepping inside. Though parking in that general area was/is never one of my favorite things.
if you're going to be in Cleveland Hts. you have to check out La Cave DU Vin. Great selections. Website says they also have Bodhi Dbl coming up so you may get there as they tap it. They're right there in Cle Hts and the winking lizard about 5 doors down usually has some good taps and bottles too. I agree with the earlier post -Lizardville in Bedford is also a good choice.
Appreciate the suggestions. The Wine Shop ended up being just a few blocks from where I stayed. I was able to get some Columbus Creeper on tap there, which was great. I made it to Townhall for some Willoghby's PBCP, Jukebox for some Bodhi and also made it to Rozi's and Lizardville and was able to pick up almost everything I was looking to get my hands on including a Bourbon Barrel Oil of Aphrodite and a Big Bad Baptist. Only thing I was bummed about not finding was Dark Apparition. Thanks again for your help.
That's a pretty nice selection of beers you were able to try. You definitely lucked out with that BB Oil of Aphrodite. A lot of their BA beers only stay on the shelf for a couple hours, depending on where you go. Did you make it to any breweries?
Unfortunately I wasn't able to make it to any of the breweries nearby. Went by GLBC, but at that time didn't have the time to stop. Next time I'd like to make it to Brew Kettle and Fat Heads for sure. If anyone is looking for BB Oil of Aphrodite, I picked mine up at Lizardville Bedford. They didn't have it out however. I asked if they had it or DA. I was really just looking for the regular version, but was delighted when they said they had a few BB Oil of Aphrodite in back. They keep it for regulars and for people asking for it specifically. That's where I picked up the BBB as well. I stopped in to The Wine Spot yesterday around noon before I left for home to pick up a couple sixers of other stuff and they had BB Oil of Aphrodite as well.
I'll also add that The Wine Spot really is a great place. The people were very nice, helpful and seemed knowledgeable. The beer selection was great for sixers, bombers and their taps considering it's called The "Wine" Spot. I would highly recommend this stop in Cleveland Heights if you haven't been. I would be in trouble if I lived where my brother-in-law lives, about 5 blocks from this establishment.
