Cleveland

A 15 minute drive from the Great Northern Mall will get you to the Brew Kettle. They have one of my all time favorite IPAs (White Raja).

 

For bottle shops, I'd suggest a drive a down Detroit ave. in Lakewood. A bunch of decent to great bottle shops all on the same street. (Rozi's, Lizardville, Ross, Caps n Corks, Simones).

For breweries, you should try Brew Kettle and Platform if you've never been to them. Also Fatheads is always worth visiting (North Olmsted saloon for food, Middleburg Heights taphouse for the brewery feel).

 

You mean you don't want me to tell you to hit Jackie O's because it's a great place and they make fantastic beers and it's only a couple of hours from Cleveland (one way, but whatever...)?

 

Save-On in Mentor on 306/Mentor Ave would be your bottle shop in that area. There's a giant Red, Wine & Brew in Mentor, but I've never been there and don't support them anymore.

Lizardville in Bedford Heights is one of the best bottle shops / beer bars in East of the Mississippi....so go there if you haven't been.

Cheers! Go Tribe.

 

I'll be driving into Cleveland on a Friday morning later this summer, and unfortunately, Lizardville doesn't open until 3 p.m. it appears. What are the best bottle shops in the city itself? Or, we'll be heading south toward Wadsworth the next day, stopping at Fat Head's and Brew Kettle on the way, so a shop along that route would work also.

Thanks.

 

Huh?!? Save On is 45min away from Great Northern. Lizardville is more manageable at 30min

 

Mikes Bar & Grille in Berea is a nice place for eats and drinks.

 

Oh, shit. I was thinking Mentor Great Lakes Mall or whatever that is. My bad!!! I LIVE HERE HAVE NO IDEA WHERE SHIT IS.

self'd

 

Well at least we can all agree we have some pretty great malls

 

It's all good. I literally read the OP's post 5 times to see if I missed something before hitting "post reply"

 

Lizardville and the neighboring Winking Lizard in Bedford are not far from you. There is also a Winking Lizard in Independence. Melt on Rockside usually has a nice selection of beers, as well as great bar food/stuffed grilled cheese. Convenient Beer Mart on Brecksville Road is a great spot for bottles. That's all I've got off the top of my head, someone who lives closer to there can probably improve on that. Basically, you shouldn't have to travel far.

 

Why no love for RWB? They have a fine store and their tap list is usually pretty good.

 

Personal preference, but in short, they DO NOT care about beer or their customers in the least. They play all kinds of games that I have personally experienced. I personally choose to spend my money elsewhere. I'll leave it at that.

 

Another rec for Lizardville and Winking Lizard in Bedford (next door to each other), which should be a ~8 minute drive from Independence. There's a Winking Lizard in Independence which should be really close to your hotel (place is packed every day after 4:30 pm). Brew Kettle is ~20 minute drive.

 

Lizardville is very strong. If you're at Brew Kettle the North Park Fine Wine shop is my usual spot. Right off I71 on the Rt. 82 exit.

 

You can also check out Lizardville and the Winking Lizard that's next door to it.

 

I don't care where you're staying. GO TO PLATFORM BEER CO. it's on the near-west side just a stones throw from Cleveland's city center. Their Speech Merchant IPA is a world-class brew, and even better on draft at the source. Great friendly staff, awesome progressive brews.