Fat Head's Brewery

I don't know who told you the food was horrible, but I would say it's average.

Anyway, the taplist shows two pumpkin beers available now - a regular and Imperial version. Both are pretty good. Everything they brew is solid, but my favorites on now are Head Hunter(of course), Hop JuJu, GÜDEHOPPY PILS, Sunshine Daydream Session IPA and Bumble Berry. If you're inclined to buy bottles, do it at the bar to get the freshest beer.

http://fatheadscleveland.com/Fat Heads On Tap.pdf

 

This place is really good, I was just there about a month ago. Definitely check it out man! (Go Raiders).

 

Every single beer I've had at the brewpub has been nearly perfect for the style. You cannot go wrong with any of them, the brewers at FH are just very skilled and consistent. If they are serving a pumpkin beer when you go, try it without hesitation.

 

The Food is "big" but not exactly bad. Its average. Laughably large hamburger buns...

Sunshine Daydream is worth a try.

 

I like the food more than Great Lakes, Beer Engine or Brew Kettle. I always get "Paul's Pro Pastrami" which is basically grilled pastrami and sausage with cheese, fried egg, pickles and spicy mayo on top. It's super huge and tasty. The chips aren't great though, but when your sandwich is really the size of your head, you don't need 'em. Like something spicier? Beauty and the Beastie headwich is super hot BBQ pork sandwich. Awesome. Also, the smokehouse wings are great but sometimes a bit fatty.

Beer-wise, try a sampler of everything. There's literally hardly ever a bad beer made in house, a few mediocre styles, but even their corn lager was good for what it was. Hop Juju is SO good! Cheers!!

 

Last time I was there I did a full board and was a bit underwhelmed. The beers were okay, but other than their hoppy beers I wouldn't get any of them again.

 

That's BS...the food is awesome and their portions are huge. Try the smokehouse wings and Southside Slopes sammie. The beer takes the spotlight. Currently, they have Head Hunter and Hop JuJu on cask and they are tapping Jolly Sleigh Christmas Ale tonight. You will hard pressed to find a bad beer here. If you're solely looking for beer, hit up Fat Head's and The Brew Kettle in Strongsville.

 

The food quality depends on what day of the week it is. They have a couple different cooks. The good one is there at least on Thursdays and Sundays.

 

I like Fatheads' food personally. Their Hawaiian pizza is good, as are many of the sandwiches. The head hunter onion rings are also really good, but really spicey. In fact, that is a warning I would give about Fatheads generally. They put their hot sauce on lots of their food by default. It is pretty damn spicey and can interfere with beer tasting, so watch out for that.

As several people have already mentioned, their beer is excellent. A sampler might be the best way to start as everything is worth trying. Head Hunter is pretty much as good as PtE IMO and their Battle Ax Baltic Porter is as good an interpretation of the style I have ever had. Since 'tis the season, their regular pumpkin ale is great too. The imperial pumpkin is also good, but not mind-blowing. Their blueberry beer is also really popular and is surprisingly good too. Plus, it is served with actual blueberries floating in it!

Enjoy!

 

Paul's Pro Pastrami is definitely FTW. My favorite sandwich of theirs, for sure.

 

The smoked wings are amazing.

If it is hoppy or a lager it's usually good imo. Their baltic porter is great, too.

Worst case scenario they do some quality guest taps as well, but frankly their own beer is more than adequate to keep you occupied.

 

Just a word of warning to the OP -- the smoked wings are whole wings, so don't over-order them as an appetizer and then expect to have room for your entree. But they are excellent so don't miss out on getting them just because of my warning. (Take extra people to help eat them.)

I had a sampler when I was there, and I thought every one was a very good beer. I didn't see the session IPA on the menu (it's tucked in on the right side of the menu away from the beer list) until after I had made my selections for the flight, so I ordered it separately. I think it is the Sunshine Daydream that someone mentioned above. It is also very good.

 

Just drank a Hoppin' Frog BA Frog's Hollow..that and Pumking are the best pumpkin beers I've had..and both are widely available in the Cleveland area. By a twist of fate: I bought it at the brewery today (I live in Columbus however).

And if you want good Cleveland pastrami: Corky and Lennie's
And if you want the BEST corned beef anywhere: Slymaan's (they are only open M-F from 6:30-2:30)

 

I'd put Beer Engine before Fat-Heads, but agree that Great Lakes and Brew Kettle do not have a food menu that impresses me AT ALL (and Great Lakes menu is over-priced in addition to being poor) Brew Kettle boasts their BBQ/pulled-pork/whatever, which I love, but when I ordered it from there one time, it was the LAST time.

Beer Engine's food is simple, but good.... It would be nice if all these places worked on their menus (not necessarily 'fancier' just tastier, even if simple... better stuff that goes with beer....) This certainly isn't a requirement however, because if I'm looking for simply a great meal, there are many other non-beer-related options for that in the Cleveland Area.....


Enjoy your trip back home.

 

going to just second everything that everyone else has said.

was just there visiting in laws this past weekend--brought back growlers of Hop Juju and Head Hunter, but everything we sampled there was great. They also had some cool stuff from Stone on since it was Cleveland Beer Week

 

The smoked wings and garlic fries are killer. The sandwiches I've tried have been good, but over the top huge.

 

If you don't mind a little drive try Lagerheads in Medina. A great BBQ joint with plenty of house brewed beer. Their Tyranny is a favorite of mine