Toledo, Ohio Beer Scene?

There's the Maumee Bay Brewing Company in Toledo - Total Eclipse (Breakfast Stout) and Amarillo Brillo (Double IPA) are really good. There are a few different Anderson's stores in Toledo which are probably your best bet for craft beers, and there's always trips over the border for MI distribution.

 

Bottle Shops - The Andersons (Maumee, Talmadge, Sylvania), Merino's, Joe's Bevarage Center
Restaurants/Bars - Swig in Perrsyburg is pretty awesome. The Village Idiot has great pizza and great beer. The Attic on Adams has some pretty good taps but it's pretty divey/hipster.

I lived in Toledo through college and it's pretty lacking. Great bottle shops but not many bars or restaurants focusing on craft beer. You should definitely make the trip up to Ann Arbor if you get the chance, it's worth it.

 

Not sure how far off you want to look but https://www.facebook.com/pages/Flatrock-Brewing-Company/151136991607673 I have heard good things about.

 

Go literally right around the corner from the Beer and Wine Cave to Caper's for good food and a very nice draft list of unusual and sometimes hard to find stuff. I'll always advocate Maumee Bay. There have been a few places popping up lately with decent craft beer selections; 5th Street Pub in Perrysburg comes to mind. My favorites, like most people, include Swig and The Attic (probably the best beer selections of draft anywhere near here, period). For bottle shops, I would go with any of The Andersons stores (the biggest selection being the one in Sylvania, plus they have a growler station and sometimes have really rare stuff on it). I would also check out Marino's and Joseph's. A couple places, like The Local and The Pour House, I haven't had a chance to go to but are supposed to have a good selection of craft beer. Zinful in Waterville has 12 taps of mostly craft too, and is a good place if you're looking for extras like cigars, wine, etc. Rocky's is also doing pretty well for craft. I also second the suggestions both to try Flatrock and to visit Ann Arbor. I especially like Ashley's and Jolly Pumpkin, but there's a lot there and a lot I didn't get to check out yet.
Anyway, sorry for the long post, but these are my experiences here. Also, check out the Midwest forum for tasting announcements in the future.

 

If you have not yet tried a search using the Places feature of this BA website here is a list of the Breweries, Bars and Eateries in the 419 area code that have been listed by BA members. http://beeradvocate.com/place/list/...city=&s_id=&c_id=&zip=&area=419&submit=Search

 

Once a month, at a different place, there is an unofficial meeting of craft beer geeks in Toledo:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/craftbeernighttoledo/ for more details.

As for Denny's, sorry to say...but I believe he closed up shop.

This group is good to join as well, always people talking about what's new for sale around town and where the good taps are: https://www.facebook.com/groups/269853046417409/

Toledo is up-and-coming for craft beer. I've only lived here for 3 years and have seen a big change over the years.

These guys are a part of SMASH Toledo and give good reviews of places as well: http://toledocraftbeer.com/

Welcome to the 419 and I hope we tip a beer back together sometime!

 

Maumee Bay has been brewing some good beers for the past few years, I love their IPA along with Amarillo Brillo and Total Eclipse. Any Andersons and Joseph's Beverage Center are great stores. Alot of places Downtown Toledo have decent craft selections, the best are Attic, **** and Bull, and Home Slice Pizza upstairs.

 

There have been some great suggestions here. Surprised about your experience with the food at MBBCo. Was that during your recent visit? I really like their food there especially their pizza and burgers and the kids like it to which is a big plus. I think the food has been really good for the past several years under the new management. Cheers!

 

Yeah, I've always liked Maumee Bay's food. They've improved over about the last 5 years a lot with both beer and food.

 

As mentioned the 3 Andersons are good and you're pretty close to the Maumee location which has a great selection. I do most of my shopping there out of convenience, but Marinos has the biggest selection so I head out there whenever I can (check bottle dates there though). The Andersons on Talmadge and Joseph's are right by each other and it couldn't hurt to check them out, but if I'm out that way I just drive down the street 5 minutes to Marinos. Either way it's good to know all the spots, one kind of hidden 'jem' is the Holland Craft Beer Store. They converted from a basic liquor store to a craft beer/wine shop. Most likely wont find anything rare there, but they have a nice selection and a growler station with 6 taps that they rotate pretty frequently. Also Flicks in Temperance, from what I remember their selection is nothing special but you can get Shorts there so it's worth the drive if you have some extra time.

 

Where is Holland Craft Beer Store located at? Never heard of that one.
Also not far from Flicks is the Liquor Cabinet in Temperance, MI (Sterns and Lewis) that carries a lot of beers that are not distro'ed in the Toledo area. Both Michigan stores are the place to get your Short's fix.

 

In a small Plaza at the corner of Airport and Holloway. Right next to Aldi.

 

I visit Toledo several times a year to visit family. Been to Flicks too numerous times to count. Hell, I used to shop there when I went to school there. Many, many, moons ago. Never heard of Liquor Cabinet. How is their selection compared to Flicks? Flicks doesn't have the craziest selection by any means. So I'm guessing Liquor Cabinet will be comparable or better perhaps?

 

I have been to Liquor Cabinet a couple of times since they have opened. I would say their craft beer selection blows Flicks out of the water in that department. I didn't care for their Hopslam policy, but I was craving some Sierra Nevada Pale Ale so it gave me a reason to take care of the crave. Welcome to Toledo.

 

Last time I checked, Denny's was still closed.

Also, the beer store in Holland is called Holloway Beer & Wine now.

Spikechiquet - thanks for the ToledoCraftBeer.com shout out!

 

Wasn't aware of the Hopslam policy as I will get it in Toledo next weekend but I think I know what you are talking about. In order to get a bottle of Sweet Repute I had to buy a 4 pack of Red's Rye PA. I was ok with that but I don't really like being told in order to buy a beer I have to buy some other beer too.